Social Influence and Manipulation Tactics

Social Influence

• Social influence is the effect that others have on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Conformity is the change in behavior due to the influence of others.
• Obedience is the change in behavior due to direct orders from an authority figure.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

• The Elaboration Likelihood Model explains how we process social influence using two routes: central and peripheral.
• The central route requires careful consideration, motivation, and the ability to evaluate information.
  • This leads to lasting attitude changes and more predictable behavior.
• The peripheral route relies on heuristics (mental shortcuts) and automatic responses.
  • It leads to less durable attitude changes.

Langer et al. (1978) - showed that people respond automatically to the word "because" regardless of the excuse given.

Tactics of Manipulation

• All manipulation tactics rely on heuristics.
• They influence attitudes by manipulating the mental shortcuts people use.

Authority

• We defer to experts and authority figures to help us make decisions.
• This is especially true when situations are ambiguous or we lack information.
• People don't need to be real authorities to be seen as experts.

Scarcity

• Rare items are perceived as more valuable.
• Limited availability increases desirability, driving demand.
• Phrases like "closing down sales" exploit scarcity, creating a sense of urgency.

Reciprocity

• We feel compelled to repay others for gifts or favors.
• Regan (1971) - found people bought more raffle tickets when they received a free Coke.
• We repay favors, even to strangers, and often with a higher value than the original favor.

Collectivism vs Individualism

• Hitokoto (2016) - found that collectivist cultures have stronger feelings of indebtedness than individualistic cultures.

Reciprocity vs Concessions

• The door-in-the-face tactic involves a large request followed by a rejection.
  • This then leads to a small request, which you are more likely to accept.
• Cialdini et al. (1975) - showed this tactic was used in a study asking people to chaperone juvenile delinquents at a zoo.
• The concession technique involves offering you a smaller favor instead of the larger one you initially requested.
  • This makes you more likely to agree to the smaller favor.
• Miller et al. (1976) - found that people are more likely to comply with the smaller request after being offered a larger one.

Liking

• People are more likely to comply with those they like.
• Regan (1971)- showed that liking someone leads to higher compliance rates.

Four Liking Heuristics

1. Contact and Cooperation - We like people we interact with more.
2. Conditioning and Association - We associate positive things with the people or objects we like.
3. Physical Attractiveness - We tend to view attractive people more favorably.
4. Similarity - We are drawn to people who share our characteristics.

Halo Effect

• We assume that physically attractive people have other desirable qualities.
• This leads to biases in our views of their intelligence, kindness, and social skills.
• Clifford & Walster (1973) - found more attractive children were rated as brighter and more successful in school.

Conditioning and Association

• Attractiveness can be associated with expertise and trustworthiness.
• Praxmarer (2011) - discovered this correlation, finding that more attractive people in ads are believed more often.

Similarity

• Heider (1958) - proposed that similar people tend to be attracted to one another.
• Shared characteristics create a bond, making us more inclined to like someone.
• Burger et al. (2004) - found that people with the same birthday were more likely to comply with a request.
• Jiang et al. (2010) - confirmed that similarities improve positive attitudes.

Chameleon Effect

• We unconsciously mimic others' body language, expressions, and speech patterns.
• This helps build rapport and smooth social interactions.
• Chartrand & Bargh (1999) - demonstrated that we mimic others without realizing it.

Echo Effect

• Copying someone's speech patterns or paraphrasing their words can increase liking and compliance.
• Van Barren et al. (2003) - found that echoing someone's speech can lead to larger donations.

Consistency and Commitment

• People strive to be consistent in their actions, statements, and beliefs.
• We value consistency and try to avoid appearing inconsistent.

Foot-in-the-door Tactic

• A small request is made, followed by a larger request.
• This is a powerful way to exploit our desire for consistency.
• Freedman & Fraser (1966) - found that agreeing to a smaller request makes you more likely to agree to a larger one.

Low-Ball Tactic

• A product is initially advertised at a low price.
• However, hidden extras, not mentioned initially, increase the price.

Bait-and-Switch Tactic

• A product is offered at a good price, but then becomes unavailable.
• The consumer is then pressured to buy a more expensive or inferior substitute.

Social Validation

• We look to others for cues about how to think, feel, and behave.
• We are more likely to engage in behaviors if we see others doing them.
• This is responsible for the bystander effect.
• Guadagno et al. (2013) - showed social validation can increase tipping amounts.

Social Validation and Liking

• Social validation effects are stronger when the person performing the behavior is similar to us.

Cultural Differences

• Collectivist cultures emphasize group harmony and conformity.
• Individualistic cultures value independence and self-reliance.

Collectivism vs Individualism and Influence

• Collectivists are more likely to comply with social validation.

• Individualists are more likely to comply based on their own past commitment or consistency.

• Regardless of culture, personal personality style is a bigger predictor of compliance than culture alone.