More than half a century ago, during the Second World War, psychologists were seriously interested in the question: how to make a person say "yes"?
Then it was necessary for propaganda among the troops and population of the enemy, for conducting psychological warfare. Since then, numerous sociologists and psychologists have studied the ways in which one person can influence the views and actions of another. But the goals of most of this research in our relatively peaceful times are completely different: to get you to buy this or that product. For this, six methods are used, six stimulating factors inherent in humans. They are considered in his article by the psychologist of the University of Arizona (USA) Robert Cialdini.
Thanks
In almost all nations, the feeling of gratitude is considered one of the most important. It is assumed that this feeling was strengthened in human behavior through natural selection - those families and primitive communities whose members were characterized by this feeling turned out to be stronger and more successful. Therefore, when we receive a gift, even small, even unnecessary, we want to give something in return.
One of the American charities sent letters to private addresses asking for a donation, taking addresses from the telephone directory. 18 percent of recipients responded. When a small gift, a pocket calendar, was included in the same letters, 35 percent of recipients sent donations.
This technique is used not only by benefactors. Firms producing cosmetics, cigarettes, stationery, and various food products often arrange free distribution or tasting of samples of their products in stores, or even right on the street. After that, many buyers feel obligated to buy the product.
Pharmaceutical firms annually spend millions of dollars to support medical research and tens of thousands - on small gifts to individual doctors - a fountain pen, a calendar, a bag with the company logo … The expense is small, but a gift can affect both the research results and what drugs they prescribe doctor to his patients.
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In 1998, the New England Journal of Medicine (USA) conducted an analysis that showed that of the researchers who tested the safety of a new heart drug and received some kind of financial support from the manufacturer of this drug, only 37 percent allowed themselves to be critical. On the other hand, all 100 percent of those who did not find any flaws in the new drug either used the firm's grants for research, or worked in one of the firm's departments, or the firm paid them some business travel.
A gratitude gift does not have to be material, it can be some kind of service. Or even not a service, but a concession. The author of the article conducted the following experiment. Random passers-by were stopped in the street and asked to help the teacher with the schoolchildren's excursion to the zoo. Only 17 percent agreed (by the way, I wonder how many people would be willing to help the teacher here?). Then psychologists began to start with a much more "brazen" request: having stopped a passer-by, they asked him if he would agree to work for free at school, looking after children, for two years, two hours a week? They all refused. Then the experimenter asked the second question: "Okay, could you go with a group of schoolchildren to the zoo right now?" Here 50 percent agreed.
True to your word
The owner of a famous restaurant in Chicago was very annoyed by sloppy customers: after ordering a table, many then did not appear in the restaurant. By changing two words and the intonation in the phrase with which the clerk who accepted the orders addressed the future visitor, the restaurateur achieved that instead of 30 percent, only 10. These two words allowed the order taker to receive something like a promise from the client, which is then inconvenient was not fulfilled. She used to say, "Please call us if your plans change." Now - "Could you give us a call if your plans change?" Here she made a short pause, and the client, naturally, answered: "Yes, I'll call." And thus he made a clearer commitment.
Another example is a fundraising campaign for people with disabilities in Israel. On the advice of psychologists, two weeks before the collection of donations, people went to their homes, offering local residents to sign a petition in defense of the disabled. When fundraisers came to the same houses two weeks later, the collection almost doubled compared to those areas where there was no such psychological preparation. Those who signed the petition were now uncomfortable not to help the disabled themselves - with their own money.
Imitation
On a winter morning in 1969, a man stopped at a busy intersection in downtown New York. For 60 seconds he gazed up at the sky. These were the conditions of an experiment conducted by psychologists at City University of New York to see how passers-by would react. Most simply walked around the onlooker, some pushed him, and only 4 percent stopped to stare at the sky too.
Dr. Matthias Rath, a German physician and businessman, advertises his system of "cell medicine" with a photograph of the much more famous scientist, Louis Pasteur, next to his portrait.
The signatures explain that Pasteur opened the way to rid mankind of infectious diseases, and the system of Dr. Rath (who has nothing to do with Pasteur and his discoveries) will make it possible to forget about many other common diseases. We have a portrait of the twice Nobel laureate Linus Pauling used to advertise vitamins, but they do not explain that Pauling received both awards not for vitamins.
Then the conditions of the experiment changed a little: not one, but five "provocateurs" were placed at the intersection. Now the example of the five onlookers was followed by 18 percent of passers-by. When the number of "decoy ducks" was increased to 15, 40 percent of passers-by began to stop, and in one minute there was a real traffic jam at the intersection. After that, the psychologists apologized to the audience, and those with shameful smiles went about their business.
As one of the studies has shown, if collectors of donations, going from house to house, show in each house a bill for the change of money, in which the neighbors have already signed, then the "harvest" increases dramatically.
The effect of imitation is widely used in advertising: TV clips often show how crowds storm the store to buy the advertised product, how friends quarrel over a pack of gum …
Less well known are cases where the imitation effect works in the opposite direction, which was not expected by the advertising customers. Thus, campaigns against smoking, alcohol and drugs usually emphasize that these types of social evil are widespread and continue to spread. TV public service advertisements show teenagers smoking or drug addicts sniffing cocaine, showing graphs of rising alcohol consumption … All of this is true and with the best intentions, but the effect is unexpected: sociological studies have shown that unwanted behaviors spread more widely after such campaigns.
Sympathy
It is easier for people to say yes to someone they like. Some firms do not sell their goods in stores or advertise in print or on television, but distribute them to friends and acquaintances. Examples - the well-known herbalife, steel dishes "Zepter". The American firm Tupperwair, which makes plastic food cans, sells its products through specially hired housewife agents.
Such a housewife gathers her friends at her house specially to show them wonderful sets of household cans, inexpensive, practical, convenient, beautiful and easy to clean, and empty cans are nested inside each other like nesting dolls and do not take up space at all … And friends buy dishes. It exploits the fact that you would rather say yes to your girlfriend than to a stranger. It is estimated that every 2.7 seconds such a trading session starts at home somewhere in the world. Moreover, 75 percent of these home sales of the firm occur outside the United States - a country rather individualistic.
A study conducted 30 years ago in Canada showed that likable, photogenic personalities are more likely to win local government elections. Moreover, voters, if asked whether the candidate's appearance plays a role, stubbornly insist that they do not attach importance to such external, superficial features, but only look at the programs and business experience of the candidates.
Hence, the widespread use of fashion models and famous actors in advertising, which many like.
Authority
Actually, it is quite difficult to get Americans to cross the street in red light. But the number of those who go to the red light after the “leader” increases by 350 percent if this assistant experimenter is not dressed in anything, but in a formal business suit - a black or dark “three”, with a tie and gold cufflinks. These signs of "authority" and high social status make many pedestrians follow a person dressed like that, even if he is clearly violating traffic rules. A corresponding experiment was carried out in Texas in 1955.
It is customary for us to walk across the street, not really looking at traffic lights, not to mention the clothes of others. Another example is closer to us: an actor in a white coat appears in an advertisement for toothpaste and declares that this paste is "recommended by all dentists." Reasonable, although not entirely honest advertising move.
Deficiency
While working at the University of Florida, psychologist Stephen West noticed that one day students began to speak significantly better about the quality of food in one of the cafeterias on campus. Even the day before, they preferred other catering points. It turned out that there was a fire in the cafeteria and the institution had to be closed for several weeks for repairs. The food "tasted better" after the renovation. This case proves once again that we value more what is inaccessible to us.
This ad, from a 1944 English magazine, illustrates another principle: you shouldn't let the customer forget the brand. The General Electric Company reminds of itself: “Tanks cannot move on toasters. Therefore, our toasters, like most other General Electric appliances, will only appear again after the war, and in a new and improved version.
In the meantime, we spend metal and work on other, more priority goals. At the same time, the firm strengthens its image, hinting that during the war it works for defense - probably, if not tracked tracks for tanks, then something no less significant.
Therefore, advertisers do the right thing by inserting phrases like “the offer is valid only for a week” or “stocks of goods are limited” into their texts. If a product uses rare and hard-to-find natural raw materials, for example, shark fins, plants from Tibet or stardust, it must be mentioned in advertisements, whether this is true or not.
A student who was making a diploma from the author of the article, while studying at the Faculty of Psychology, owned a beef import company in the United States. As an experiment, he asked his employees, who were calling supermarkets with offers of meat supplies, to add the news that the drought in Australia would soon reduce meat imports from the continent (which was the pure truth). As a result, beef purchases have more than doubled compared to those unannounced stores. Then, when calling the third group of stores, managers of the company began to add that this is confidential information received from an employee of the Australian National Weather Service. These stores bought 600 percent more beef than those simply offered meat from Australia.
These six factors have different significance within different cultures. The employees of the national branches of a large bank were asked to help their colleague in performing some official task. Americans, when deciding whether to help or not, asked themselves the question: "Do I owe anything to this colleague, did he help me in my difficulties?" (thanks). It was important for the Chinese whether the person asking for help was the boss or what kind of relationship he had with the boss (authority). The Spaniards based their decision mainly on sympathy for this or that employee. For the Germans, the most important thing turned out to be loyalty to their duties: if they were able to convince them that, according to official instructions, they were simply obliged to help this employee, then they helped.
So, ad agencies use six human perception and behavior traits to get us to say yes. All these features of our psychology are generally useful, otherwise they would not have been fixed by natural selection. And there is nothing immoral about their advertising use. On one condition: if the advertised product is really good.
Are we doomed to be manipulated by those who know and can apply these principles? Not. Now that you are familiar with the fundamentals of advertising persuasion, you can independently identify the six tricks in advertising or propaganda and act on the basis of rational considerations, not emotions.
