The following is my review and summary of the Law of Dissonance as presented by Kurt W. Mortensen in his book "Maximum Influence: The 12 Universal Laws of Power Persuasion". The Law of Dissonance is law 1 in this book and it can be an extremely useful law to understand when becoming a person of influence. It seems to parallel the chapter "Commitment and Consistency" in the book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini which is also probably why I like it so much. Commitment and consistency are powerful psychological triggers for influencing human behavior and they can be further understood by fully understanding the law of dissonance. This chapter does this amazingly well and also provides many useful examples, tidbits, strategies and research studies to help smooth the rough edges of this theory. So without further ado, let's get to the juice of: "The Law of Dissonance". Enjoy.
The Law of Dissonance
"There is only one way... to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it." -Dale Carnegie
People will normally act in a manner that is consistent with their beliefs, attitudes, and values. If someones actions don't match their beliefs, attitudes or values, then one or the other will have to eventually change in order to achieve harmony.
Internal pressure is the secret.
The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Leon Festinger in 1957 at Stanford University asserted that: "When attitudes conflict with actions, attitudes or beliefs, we are uncomfortable and motivated to try to change."
Methods of Protecting Mental Consistency
Denial
People will deny that there is an inconsistency.
Modification
People will modify their beliefs, attitudes and values to match their actions.
Reframing
People will change their interpretation of the inconsistency to make it seem as if it didn't exist.
Search
People will search for clues in reality to refute an inconsistency, "there must be some mistake".
Separation
People will separate their attitudes, values or beliefs that are perceived to be inconsistent with their actions from other similar attitudes, values or beliefs. In effect, they will "cut off the infection before it spreads".
Rationalization
People will make rationalizations for the existence of an inconsistency. They make excuses and justifications.
Everyday Examples of Dissonance
- Someone is a strict vegetarian but they see a stylish leather jacket on sale and they want to buy it.
- Someone made a New Year's resolution to exercise every day but it is halfway through February and they haven't gone to the gym once.
- Someone is on a stringent diet when they see Ben and Jerry's ice cream on sale at the grocery store.
Maintaining Psychological Consistency
In order to maintain their psychological consistency, some people will simply make something true in their mind that isn't true, but that supports their beliefs, values, attitudes and/or or actions, and others will simply refuse to observe contradictory information to their beliefs, values, attitudes, or actions.
Examples:
- Smokers who wont read articles about the dangers of smoking.
- Political activists who won't watch or listen to commercials or speeches given by opposing party members.
- A person who is more confident of their bet made at horse track or casino after they have placed their bet because they have justified it to themselves.
People tend to convince themselves that they have made the right decision in order to reduce dissonance.
People will fight to eliminate their dissonance.
Examples:
McDonald's and the London Activists Suit
McDonald's took five London activists to court for libeling them in a leaflet entitled "What's Wrong with McDonald's". The case evolved into the longest court proceeding in the legal history of Britain. It came to be considered "The most expensive and disastrous public relations exercise ever mounted by a multinational company," all so that McDonald's could eliminate dissonance.
Using Dissonance to Create Action
Examples:
Researchers, Beach-goers and Stolen Radios
Researchers did an experiment in which one researcher would place a radio next to a beach-goer and then leave and then another researcher would pretend to be a thief and steal the radio. Only 20% of beach-goers who witness the theft made any attempt to stop the thief. Next, the researchers did the same experiment except that they would have the researcher with the radio ask the beach-goer: "Could you please watch my things?" each beach-goer consented. This time, after the thief took the radio, the law of dissonance kicked in and 95% of the beach-goers sought to stop the thief either by chasing, grabbing back the radio or physically restraining them.
Most people try to follow through when they promise they will do something, especially if it's in writing.
Corporations Sponsoring Writing Contests
Corporations will often sponsor writing contests with huge prizes because they want consumer endorsement. Having made a written commitment to support and endorse a product, a consumer will now more willingly to buy their product.
The Law of Dissonance in Marketing
The Bait and Switch
Get them to mentally commit to doing what you want them to do.
Examples:
Bait and Switch in Retail Stores
Some stores advertise very low prices on one item such as a television with the small print "Quantities Limited". By the time people go to the store, all the bargain televisions are sold out, but the potential customers have now committed themselves in their minds to buying a new television. Luckily for them, there are more expensive models available, so they go home having spent $300 more on a television than was actually planned.
Bait and Switch at Car Dealerships
When people are about to sign a contract for the purchase of a new car, the price is usually about $200 more than expected because someone conveniently forgot to tell them about the advanced suspension or some other feature involved with the purchase of the car. They pay the extra $200 anyway because they are already mentally committed to the car and they don't want to go through the whole hassle and headache of trying to renegotiate the deal. Often car dealerships promise incredible prices to help customers to commit to buying a car from them and to bring them to their dealership. Next, lengthy forms are filled out, great lengths are taken to set up specific financing terms, the customer is encouraged to take the car home and drive it to work, to run errands and to cruise the neighborhood. The dealer knows that while the customer is out joy riding, they are thinking of all of the reasons why their purchase is justified.
Bait and Switch at Colleges and Universities
Just like car dealers, colleges and universities often give people a low estimate on their costs of attending at their school, and it's not until after the student has signed up and registered that they discover the actual costs of attending that school.
Brand Loyalty
Companies sometimes give away things that have their company logo on them, such as coffee mugs, T-shirts, pens and mouse pads. These items will tend to create loyalty towards their brand, simply because the person who received them now owns them and will justify that ownership of that item to eliminate any dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance and Public Commitment
Public commitments and dissonance go hand in hand.
Even if someone doesn't feel that an action is right, they will still go through with it if they have publicly committed to such a course of action.
Example:
Proposing Marriage
1st - Someone asks someone else to marry them and they say yes
2nd - They announce the engagement
3rd - They tell their friends, buy a ring, tell the parents, decide on a date, take the pictures, send announcements, pay the deposit for the reception location etc.
Each step closer to "I do" results in a greater level of commitment. Therefore, it is often easier as it gets closer to "I do" to go through with a marriage than to call the whole thing off.
The more public someones stand is, the more reluctant they are to change.
Examples of Public Commitment:
- Fraternity initiations
- Military boot camps
- Political rallies
- Protest marches
- Demonstrations
- Weight loss centers commonly encouraging clients to share their goals with as many friends, relatives and neighbors as they can.
When people make their vows, beliefs, statements or endeavors public, they feel bound to them. There is a psychological and emotional price to pay in order to back out of any commitments and/or claims that someone has made publicly.
"Persons who go through a great deal of trouble or pain in order to attain something tend to value it more highly than persons who attain the same thing with a minimum of effort." -Elliot Aronson and Judson Mills
A study of 54 tribal cultures found that those with the most dramatic initiation rituals also have the most group unity, loyalty, solidarity and commitment.
Getting Your Foot in the Door
Small Commitments
Small commitments often lead to large commitments. Some salespeople secure and initial order, even if it is a small one. This makes the customer more likely to commit to buying from them again in the future.
Written Commitments
Written commitments are usually more powerful than verbal commitments. Written contracts increase commitment tenfold.
Public Commitments
Public commitments are stronger than private commitments. People who cop out of a public commitment risk being seen as inconsistent, weak or dishonest.
Get them to initially accept a small request.
Examples:
Start with a small request:
"Can I have just thirty seconds of your time?"
Move to a second, slightly larger request:
"Can I try this on the stain on your carpet?
The "Drive Carefully" Billboard Request Study
A researcher posing as a volunteer canvassed a California neighborhood asking residents if they would allow a large billboard reading "Drive Carefully" to be displayed on their front lawns. So that the resident had an idea of what it would look like, the volunteer showed his recruits a picture of the large sign obstructing the view of a beautiful house. Naturally, most people refused, but in one particular group, an incredible 76% actually consented. The reason for their compliance was this: Two weeks prior, these residents had been asked by another volunteer to make a small commitment to display a three-inch-square sign that read "Be a Safe Driver" in their windows. Since it was such a small and simple request, nearly all of them agreed. The astounding result was that the initial small commitment profoundly influenced their willingness to comply with the much larger request two weeks later. These same researchers also presented California homeowners with petitions to keep California beautiful. Nearly all of the homeowners signed the petitions. Two weeks later, another volunteer asked those same homeowners if they would allow the "Drive Carefully" billboard to be displayed in their yards. Nearly half of them consented.
The 7 A.M. College Student Appointment Study
In one study, two groups of college students were asked to participate in a 7 A.M. thinking session. In one group, college students were called and asked if they would participate in the session, and they were first told that the session would begin at 7 A.M. Only 24% of this group agreed to participate. The second group was told about the study and was asked for a commitment before they were told that the session was at 7 A.M. Of this group, 56% of them agreed to show up. They were then presented with an opportunity to change their minds which none of them took advantage of. 95% of them showed up at the 7 A.M. session.
Using FITD (Foot in the Door) Effectively
The First Request
Present the largest possible request that will still be accepted.
Your Prospect's Viewpoint
They must believe you are acting for their (or societies) best interests and not just your own.
External Incentives
Don't offer them external incentives for agreeing to your first request, otherwise they won't make an internal commitment to your request.
The Source of the Request
Having different people employ the initial and subsequent requests can be an effective strategy so that the prospect won't feel like their being taken advantage of.
Three Steps to Using the Law of Dissonance
Step One: Get a Commitment
Public
Make it so that their commitment is as public as possible. Get a written commitment and make that written commitment public. Involve family and friends in their commitment. Engage them with a public handshake. Seal the deal publicly.
Affirmative
Get as many "yes" answers from them as possible because yes answers will develop consistency within the person. This will reduce dissonance when they say yes to your main request.
Voluntary
Voluntary
Make sure that they feel that they are committing out of their own free will. Let them volunteer to commit, otherwise they won't be as internally committed to your requests.
Effortful
The more effortful their commitment is, the more likely they are to commit more to you down the line. Get them to invest as much as possible in their progressive commitments to you.
Step 2: Create Dissonance
Show them that they haven't kept, or that they are keeping their commitments to you. This will create uncomfortable dissonance in them that they will have to resolve.
Step 3: Offer a Solution
Show, prove or explain to them how them doing what you want them to do will reduce their dissonance. Show them how they will feel great about doing what you want them to you. This is your call for them to act.
All in all this was a great chapter and I suggest that you go out and try to use it today. Just remember as a simple way to use this law; whenever you want to ask someone to do something for you, first ask them to do something that is much smaller and easier and that they will almost certainly say yes to. This will get them to think of themselves as someone who likes to help you out when they can. Do this weeks or even months in advanced and see how much it helps!
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1 Comments:
Nice job Broderick. Very thorough. I appreciate the review.
Kurt
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