Fixed action patterns

Cialdini refers to ‘tapes’ that get activated, and that usually play out in predictable ways. Click (activation) and Whirr (response). These patterns seem silly in animals, he contends, when for instance a mother turkey will gather a replica of one of its predators under her if it makes the turkey baby ‘cheep-cheep‘ sound. But most of the time they work, he reminds the reader. And . . . humans do this stuff, too. So if I say in class, ‘We will have an unannounced exam now over uncovered material, put away your books’ students may rightly look incredulous. If I provide any reason, though:

1. ‘Because this is material you should be equipped to process
2. ‘Because this doesn’t count toward your grade.’
3. ‘Because I want to give you a test.’

They would all potentially work, even if the third reason isn’t really a reason at all. The ‘trigger’ is ‘because,’ followed by any reason justifying the behavior. Cialdini gives the example of a jewelry shop owner doubling the price of turquoise items that weren’t selling. They used a heuristic (a mental short cut), ‘expensive = good’, and were willing to spend double the jewelry’s value as a result. We tend to learn, he says, that an item’s price reflects its value, so if we’re not gem dealers, we go to rule no. 2 (which in this case, would betray us). Other heuristics:

• If an ‘expert’ (or Jeanine’s guest) says it, must be true. Right??
  • Let’s listen to a few of America’s ‘Premiere Experts‘ on the ‘new economy’ (for full effect, might I recommend watching these on double playback speed):
    • ‘Education‘
    • ‘Income‘
    • ‘Leadership‘ (and filling dead air)
    • ‘Buy‘ (and thanks for finishing my sentences!)
    • ‘Youth‘ (reverse mortgage the farm for plastic surgery!)
    • ‘ROI‘ (don’t listen to theirs! Listen to mine!)
    • ‘Internet‘ (If you go to my website …)
  • ‘Lord’ Monckton, climate science (im)person(ator)
  • Here with John Bolton, foreign policy expert
  • Remember Charles Pierce’s warnings about ‘expertise’
  • Or check out Oregon author and science teacher Greg Craven’s ‘credibility spectrum’:

Note that the ‘skeptics’–those attempting to discredit prevailing climate science consensus around the causes and effects of climate change–are more in the ‘south’ part of the table. But then understand that Americans have a long anti-intellectual streak in them that periodically diminishes the value of scientific consensus (the organizations on the top left).

Some other heuristics:

• Buy the brand name (Many of us do it without thinking, but why?)
• Brightly-colored sale signs
• Vote for the major party candidate (‘don’t know anything about candidate X, but that’s my party!’)
• Iraq and 9/11–if said in the same sentence often enough, proof may become optional (this goes for news organizations, too)
• Newscast openings (at 6 and 10! Note the important music, the graphics, the action):
  • 70s 
  • 80s
  • 90s
  • 80s (public)
  • Fox News Alert
• Okay, enough. But you get the idea–serious music, a crack team of broadcasters, and concerned faces mean serious news.
• Jujitsu–using the right props, it appears as though influence is just happening, not influence at all. For instance, burying a story in the news (it’s been reported on, but other stories were emphasized and placed in front of it).

• Robert Cialdini. 2009. Influence: Science and Practice. Boston: Pearson.
• Greg Craven. 2009. What’s the Worst that could Happen? NY: Perigree.