the door in the face in the foot in the door technique
So the Enjo party went off pretty much as expected. Despite my melodrama, it’s really just a tupperware party except with cleaning cloths. It was a bit funny, because there were a lot of social psychologists there, such that many of us could have named each influence technique as she used it. I don’t want to sound too smug – they were still largely effective, but we could name them and that makes us feel big and safe.
One of the biggest tactics, of course, is having the sales pitch in your own home. Ultimately, this why things advertisers still pay big money to shill on t.v. I feel like a lot of people believe that advertising doesn’t affect them, but television ads catch you when you have your guard down. You’re in your home environment, watching something you’ve chosen to watch, and perhaps have as a part of your identity. I’ve seen it suggested that one of the reasons t.v. programs are so inane is because the programming is geared to put people in a “buying” mood. That is, the programs are designed so you don’t have to think too much – comedies, game shows, sports, and the latest wave of crime dramas. You could argue that crime dramas do cause you to think critically because there’s a sort of puzzle to solve, but I’d argue that people who watch don’t put a lot of thought into who dunnit, and just sail along for the ride. Anyway, people are hit with the ads while they’re processing information in a very receptive way.
I was struck by this “buying mood,” idea when listening to a commercial radio station recently. I tuned in to something that I thought was one of the songs on the playlist, but it turned out to be an ad. Still, when they started playing songs they were indistinguishable from the music in the ads. It occurred to me how functional this is, for the music and the ads to be so blurred that your level of thinking doesn’t change between them. You may not even notice the switch. It kind of has grave implications for culture, though, and the kinds of programming that are acceptable in the commercial media.
Another technique used at the Enjo party was the “door-in-the-face,” technique. This is when a sales person (or anyone trying to influence someone) starts with a request so large it’s almost certain to be rejected. I know this sounds like a funny way to influence, but the goal is to start with a large opening request that can then be used as a contrast for the real sales pitch. So, the first package of cleaning products she offered cost about $800 (I actually think she made a bit of a mistake here, because she noted right away that she had almost never sold any of these packages, but this doesn’t totally undermine the effect). She then went on to describe the packages she really intended to sell, which were in the $100 - $300 dollar range. Maybe now you see the beauty of the door-in-the-face technique – if asked to spend $300 right away it might seem excessive, but you can rationalize it when you have the $800 figure to compare it to. It’s kind of why unions and management never start with their real demands. And for good reason, this kind of stuff has been shown to work well.
If you’re interested in influence techniques like this, I highly recommend a book by Robert Cialdini called, “Influence: Science and Practice.” He did cool stuff like get hired by a sales company so he could learn their trade from the inside. He talks about other things like the foot-in-the-door technique (social influence researchers have a thing for doors, it would seem). It turns out that if you get someone to agree to something small, they’re more likely to agree to larger requests. So, people who agree to sign a petition for a cause are more likely to agree to do volunteer work for them than those who are not asked to sign (because it would be inconsistent to do one thing, but not another). Sort of the large point here is that we often think of ourselves as islands free from social influence – that other people may fall for advertising but not me. Of course it’s not true, as the Enjo party proved, because even people who knew what was going on and why it was happening were shelling out for what we had rationalized we needed.
One of the biggest tactics, of course, is having the sales pitch in your own home. Ultimately, this why things advertisers still pay big money to shill on t.v. I feel like a lot of people believe that advertising doesn’t affect them, but television ads catch you when you have your guard down. You’re in your home environment, watching something you’ve chosen to watch, and perhaps have as a part of your identity. I’ve seen it suggested that one of the reasons t.v. programs are so inane is because the programming is geared to put people in a “buying” mood. That is, the programs are designed so you don’t have to think too much – comedies, game shows, sports, and the latest wave of crime dramas. You could argue that crime dramas do cause you to think critically because there’s a sort of puzzle to solve, but I’d argue that people who watch don’t put a lot of thought into who dunnit, and just sail along for the ride. Anyway, people are hit with the ads while they’re processing information in a very receptive way.
I was struck by this “buying mood,” idea when listening to a commercial radio station recently. I tuned in to something that I thought was one of the songs on the playlist, but it turned out to be an ad. Still, when they started playing songs they were indistinguishable from the music in the ads. It occurred to me how functional this is, for the music and the ads to be so blurred that your level of thinking doesn’t change between them. You may not even notice the switch. It kind of has grave implications for culture, though, and the kinds of programming that are acceptable in the commercial media.
Another technique used at the Enjo party was the “door-in-the-face,” technique. This is when a sales person (or anyone trying to influence someone) starts with a request so large it’s almost certain to be rejected. I know this sounds like a funny way to influence, but the goal is to start with a large opening request that can then be used as a contrast for the real sales pitch. So, the first package of cleaning products she offered cost about $800 (I actually think she made a bit of a mistake here, because she noted right away that she had almost never sold any of these packages, but this doesn’t totally undermine the effect). She then went on to describe the packages she really intended to sell, which were in the $100 - $300 dollar range. Maybe now you see the beauty of the door-in-the-face technique – if asked to spend $300 right away it might seem excessive, but you can rationalize it when you have the $800 figure to compare it to. It’s kind of why unions and management never start with their real demands. And for good reason, this kind of stuff has been shown to work well.
If you’re interested in influence techniques like this, I highly recommend a book by Robert Cialdini called, “Influence: Science and Practice.” He did cool stuff like get hired by a sales company so he could learn their trade from the inside. He talks about other things like the foot-in-the-door technique (social influence researchers have a thing for doors, it would seem). It turns out that if you get someone to agree to something small, they’re more likely to agree to larger requests. So, people who agree to sign a petition for a cause are more likely to agree to do volunteer work for them than those who are not asked to sign (because it would be inconsistent to do one thing, but not another). Sort of the large point here is that we often think of ourselves as islands free from social influence – that other people may fall for advertising but not me. Of course it’s not true, as the Enjo party proved, because even people who knew what was going on and why it was happening were shelling out for what we had rationalized we needed.
posted by H. Now at 4:52 p.m.
2 Comments:
I'll say something more useful tomorrow. All I can think right now is 'we had a 2 meter carpet python in our living room' - that's the only thought my brain can hold!
Wow, a 2 meter python! Amazing! :)
Re Enyo party, I thought it was less horrible than I thought it would be but I still feel weird about it about spending $100s on brightly coloured cleaning products. Not that I don't like neon orange, but i have a feeling there is a lot of margin in these babies. I'd rather pay less for beige... :P Still if you can't splash out on hip, vaguely pro-environment consumerism, what's the fun of being a yuppie?
Post a Comment
<< Home