CHAPTER 3 – COMMITMENT AND
CONSISTENCY
Ian Dalton
CONSISTENT
We are obsessive about appearing consistent with our previous
actions, and will respond in ways to justify our previous actions
when challenged.
• In modern cultural situations and in society as a whole, we tend to be obsessive about
appearing consistent with our previous actions, and this is often indicated by our response and
justification of previous actions when challenged. We become defensive when looking at past
acts and find ways to justify and morally navigate them in order to appear consistent. This is
important because in these situations, one can find themselves defending actions that in some
situations might seem morally murky or wrong: but we value consistency more than
reparations or correction of those past behaviors.
Personal consistency is highly valued in our culture, and
automatic consistency offers us a shortcut through most
of life. It also allows us to ignore new realizations that
cast our previous actions in a poor light.
If you can get someone to commit to a small initial
action, it will be much easier to get them to commit to a
larger action.
Ex: on the phone, asking how someone is produces the
first action - a response - and even better if you are
doing well. It is then easier to get them chatting, and to
produce action for those who aren’t doing well.
FOOT IN THE DOOR
TECHNIQUE
• The foot in the door technique is a compliance
tactic that assumes agreeing to a small request
increases the likelihood of agreeing to a second, larger
request. So, initially you make a small request and
once the person agrees to this they find it more
difficult to refuse a bigger one
THREE
COMPONENTS OF
AN EFFECTIVE
COMMITMENT
active,
public
effortful.
•
There is a fourth component: when the person
believes they have chosen to perform that
action in absence of outside pressures.
• Implies we should never heavily bribe or threaten children
to do the things we want them to truly believe in.
• Ie. the reason given for an action needs to be subtle,
allowing the child to take personal responsibility for the
behavior.
FOURTH COMPONENT
This can be used insidiously when lowballing: a
salesperson offers an advantage so that the
person makes a purchase decision, then the
purchase advantage is removed, but the person
has made the decision and wants to remain
consistent.
HOW TO SAY NO:
The only way out is to know when such
consistency is likely to lead to a bad choice:
Hint 1: a queasy feeling inside us that we’re doing
something we don’t want to do.
Action: explain to the person what they are
doing. They will either stop, or leave you alone in
confusion.