Manipulation in communication is a quite common phenomenon and is constantly encountered in society when people interact with each other.
This impact can occur unnoticed, it can be traced during work, when communicating with friends and neighbors. Manipulations in family life, in relationships between lovers, and often in the communication of even unfamiliar people are quite familiar and customary.
With the help of manipulation, people try to control others, pursuing their personal goals, they strive to control and direct the actions and feelings of someone, regardless of his desires and interests. The process can involve either two people or a group of people.
Benefits of manipulation
Manipulation can be relatively safe, and even be of a creative, constructive nature, that is, for the benefit and development of the individual they are trying to influence. For example, when parents try in different ways to force their child to study better. Or, on the contrary, the impact on the individual can be overwhelming and destructive, to the detriment of it.
Manipulation is based on the position of the manipulator using the weaknesses of another. The manipulator can act quite subtly, and the controlled object does not notice that it is being simply and specifically used. Techniques of manipulation in communication are the actual way to control the consciousness of other people, their will.
What is people manipulation
By manipulating people we need to understand a whole range of techniques for influencing the consciousness of other people. In fact, this is a whole art that assumes that the manipulating person (manipulator), understanding the intricacies of the human psyche, finds an individual approach to any person. At the same time, he constantly forms a new image of himself in order to achieve his goals. Many people, unfortunately, do not even think that there are a huge number of manipulation techniques and techniques, and that with their help they are “managed” almost every day. This happens because manipulations, as a rule, are characterized by secrecy. Few people are able to master all the methods, but even a few are enough to direct the actions of a particular person in the right direction.
The manipulator must have an understanding of personality types and be sensitive to the mood and emotional state of people. And any of us can fall under the influence of such a person. But the difference in suggestibility (we are more or less influenced) depends on individual characteristics. There are even those who simply cannot be manipulated. Most often, these are very strong and insightful natures with specific mental properties. And manipulators try not to get involved with them, because all their hidden intentions immediately become clear.
Any manipulator is to a certain extent a psychologist, because he determines the “potential” of the victim, his weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages of character and temperament. And as soon as the weak point is found, he begins to influence it. Such a point can be an emotional state, a state of love, affection, resentment, interest or belief. The main task of the manipulator is to determine what exactly is a point. The media (mass manipulation), public figures, politicians and other high-ranking officials acting out of selfish interests are guided in their activities by similar principles.
By the way, in a very accessible form, Tatyana Vasilyeva, a trainer, talks about what manipulation is. Watch the video, after which we will talk about what psychology tells us about the manipulation of people.
Types of manipulations in communication
- Linguistic, the more commonly used expression now is communication. When psychological influence is carried out during conversational communication, using speech;
- Behavioral, when influence occurs when certain actions are performed. An example of behavioral manipulation in personal relationships: a wife demonstratively packs her things to go to her mother, thus obtaining a certain behavior from her husband for her goal.
Various methods of manipulation literally permeate our entire existence. People learn this from early childhood. First at the level of intuition, and later, perhaps consciously. A simple example: a baby, with his loud crying, demands to be held in his arms, thus wanting to receive a portion of love and attention.
Often people are specially trained in various “schools” in ways of masterly influence and influence on others, making this their permanent way of communication. But they themselves still remain vulnerable in some way. And sooner or later they will inevitably encounter someone who turns out to be stronger in terms of their ability to psychologically manipulate.
One way or another, the goal and task of the manipulator is to obtain benefit from the victim used for himself, material, emotional, energetic, or some other way.
Attention, manipulator!
Everyone is familiar with the situation when someone makes a scandal without any particular reason. This energy “vampire” wants to get the portion of energy he is missing, to “feed”. Or, on the contrary, the manipulator suppresses the victim, who is dependent on his mood, with his dissatisfied silence, punishing him with demonstrative “ignoring”.
The victim is forced to justify himself and make concessions, losing a certain portion of his energy, suppressing his desires, and ultimately spoiling his mood and health.
A woman, and sometimes a man, may seek to obtain material benefit from her intimate partner, manipulating, speculating on herself and her attention in order to receive an expensive gift.
Sometimes what is important for a manipulator is not profit, but the assertion of his power over others. In this way he increases his self-esteem and importance. A similar manifestation is often observed in the work team. A striking example of manipulative contact, when a woman dissatisfied in her personal life suppresses and often belittles subordinates who depend on her, bringing them to tears, and sometimes to a nervous breakdown.
Manipulation through love.
But there is a completely different, higher level of manipulative communication. When the influence comes through the so-called “love”. That is, the object of manipulation is subtly instilled with the idea of his exclusivity, his significance and value in a given situation.
A person who lacks love, attention and acceptance in society becomes dependent on this assessment. Because it is important for him to be an object of admiration and approval. He is ready to make many sacrifices to be worthy of such high praise. People are ready to sacrifice their time, their property, themselves. Everything else, except the manipulator, becomes unimportant and insignificant for him.
This is how people are recruited into various sects and informal organizations. In such organizations, the leader, organizer, having a naturally high energy level and strong personal charisma, easily subjugates the will of many of his “followers,” ruining their lives and destinies.
Of course, weak, somewhat flawed people more often become objects of manipulation.
But strong personalities with an “iron” will also have their own, often carefully hidden, weaknesses. And an experienced master of manipulation will certainly find the opportunity to influence by playing on the thinnest strings of the soul.
Harm from manipulation.
If communication using manipulation is within the acceptable “norm”, this may not be given much importance. It’s a completely different story if the manipulations are carried out by a skilled puppeteer. Here the situation can be dangerous, traumatic, and cause serious harm to property or personal health.
One way or another, it’s good to be knowledgeable enough to be able to counter manipulators with dignity and without harming yourself.
To classify a manipulator’s actions as malicious, the following factors must be observed:
Damage to the victim.
Contact with a manipulator causes damage to the victim, his property, mental or physical health, and takes away personal time and energy. In this case, the manipulator has a benefit for himself in any case, without losing anything or sacrificing anything. The main sign that dangerous manipulation is taking place is a contrasting change in the victim’s mood in the presence of the manipulator: this can be either a decline in mood or enthusiastic euphoria.
The manipulator, who in this case is an energy vampire, wants to receive the emotions of the victim.
It is easier to achieve the release of negative emotions, fear, anger, hysteria. With particularly large energy losses, the victim’s hands begin to shake, the heartbeat quickens, blood pressure may increase, and the temperature may even rise sharply. The exchange took place. The manipulator is filled with strength, cheerful and satisfied, he goes on to do his “dirty” deeds. His victim, feeling completely devastated, tries to recover.
Is manipulation good or bad?
Somehow it happened that the word “use” evokes mainly negative emotions and attitudes. And you probably want to ask: “Is it good to manipulate?” I will answer with a counter question: “Is it good to communicate?” Confused? So, know that you apply manipulations every day.
When making appointments, conducting business negotiations, talking with a friend over a cup of coffee, in a cozy cafe, or simply living in society, in each case you try to give the interlocutor a message, on a subconscious level, and wait for feedback, his reaction, actions. All this is nothing more than an attempt to control – to manipulate.
The most dangerous manipulators.
The most dangerous manipulators are those people who do it consciously, acting prudently, in pursuit of a specific goal. We are not talking about emotions here. The manipulator in this case has the task of material gain in one form or another. Thus, careerists weave secret intrigues, pitting people against each other, remaining on the sidelines as observers. They know psychology well, have excellent control over themselves and the situation, have strong nerves and a cynical, calculating mind.
Manipulation through positive emotions.
Manipulation through positive emotions can cause significant harm. A manipulator, pretending to be in love, interested, or a close friend, can quietly “get into” the victim’s soul, wallet, or living space. A kind, generous, trusting victim is ready to share everything she has, if only she is loved, made friends and communicated. The only bad thing is that having received what he wants, the manipulator can move on, pursuing other goals. And the victim will be left with a broken heart, disappointment and other losses.
The manipulator is always confident in his rightness, in his exclusivity. Thus, in various network companies they teach how to build communication in communication in order to gain the trust of the victim and impose their goods, products on him, supposedly acting exclusively in the interests of the victim, her health and other things. The victim, falling under the charming influence of a talented master, cannot offend him by refusing.
An example of manipulative influence.
One of them is classic. The husband makes a career, the wife stays at home, at his insistence, refusing self-realization, creates comfort for him, raises children, and takes care of everyday life. This is her whole life, she has no other interests. The husband, having achieved success, loses interest in a boring and monotonous woman. He can easily get carried away by another, spend his money and his emotions on her. The wife is left with nothing, having forgotten that she once simply succumbed to pressure, choosing the least resistance.
It is necessary to resist.
One way or another, the manipulator strives to satisfy his needs at the expense of others, often severely ignoring the interests of the victim. You need to be able to recognize and resist a manipulator before he begins his destructive work.
If you are unsure about a relationship, always try to keep your distance. You should not let the “sweet” storyteller too close into your life, into your space, until his goals are sufficiently transparent.
The manipulator can be good at nonverbal influence. Hypnotic to look into the eyes, pleasant to touch. Take a break to free yourself from this enveloping influence. Shift your attention to something else to break contact.
In some cases, it is better to show external agreement in order to be able to correctly assess the situation. Having an open argument with a professional manipulator may be ineffective.
At the end of the day.
One way or another, you can always find a way to resist any manipulator. It is very important and necessary to develop self-confidence, gain new knowledge, learn to communicate, without becoming dependent on others. Thus, self-esteem increases. Sometimes you can disarm a manipulator simply with a smile and your positive outlook on life. You need to believe in yourself, have your own goals and aspirations, and be trusting in moderation.
Igor Fomichev, clinical psychologist,
expert at the Center for Special Research and Expertise.
N. Gegen. Psychology of manipulation and submission. Book digest
In the Oxford English Dictionary, manipulation in
its most general sense is defined as
the handling of objects with a special intention, a special purpose
, as manual control, as movements made by the hands, manual actions.
N. Guegen in his book “Psychology of Manipulation and Submission” writes: “How far submission can take a person when carrying out a criminal order. In most cases, it turns out that their aggression was not retaliatory. Even the purely symbolic power of the experimenter (in 71% of subjects) is quite enough to break the will of a resisting individual. Sometimes actions that physically or mentally harm other people are committed by ordinary people, exemplary family men and good workers, we must admit that in our activities there may be moments that cause others to commit socially disapproved actions. Ch. 1 Submission to Authority
Milgram's Paradigm In 1963, Stanley Milgram's experiments showed that many aspects of human behavior can be easily controlled and initiated from the outside.
Is submission a universal phenomenon?
Submission has no age or gender restrictions—neither age nor gender make any significant difference.
Children very early (as early as four years old) are able to recognize among adults who has legitimate authority and who to turn to for help; recognize the source of legitimate authority and, therefore, obey its instructions. Demographic and sociological variables: are they all the same?
As a result of the research, it was revealed that gender, skin color, professional status and level of education do not have a significant impact on submission to authority.
Why do they obey?
Analysis of facts promoting obedience The influence of the situation on the subordination of authority
The “agent state” hypothesis
The situation gives rise to obedience because it causes a state of irresponsibility in the individual acting on orders.
Migram called this state the “agent state.” The agentic state is characterized by the fact that the individual ceases to view himself as acting independently and begins to view himself simply as an agent of power. He shifts responsibility to the authorities, and therefore, moral considerations no longer serve as the basis for his behavior, unlike situations in which he himself would be responsible for behavior. Agentic state: a heuristic model for analyzing genocide When an individual believes that a person with a higher status bears full responsibility in a certain situation, he is in an agentic state. In this case, he sees himself as a simple instrument intended to fulfill the desires of another. Moral considerations give way to authoritarian orders largely due to the fact that there was an illusion of the insignificance of the action being performed for the overall result, and, consequently, the illusion of a lack of responsibility. How to make executioners out of ordinary people?
There are two aspects to getting people to behave as expected of them.
The first aspect
concerns
the selection process
.
They select those who are willing to obey illogical and humiliating orders. The second aspect
includes all
coercive factors of power
.
For example, the idea is affirmed that leaders are not as “simple” as everyone else. In addition, physical deprivation is practiced (deprivation of water, food, etc.), as well as coercion on the part of leaders and the establishment of obligations by them. Metaphors are used to describe particularly violent acts. Proximity to the victim Physical proximity to the victim. The degree of subordination of an individual is significantly influenced by how obvious the consequences of his actions are to him. The presence of the victim and the observation of her suffering certainly contributes to opposition to authority and, therefore, insubordination. The auditory expression of the victim's suffering and proximity to her causes insubordination. In conditions of bright lighting and being in the same room, the agent of power demonstrates a low degree of subordination. In conditions of darkness, the agent of power demonstrates greater subordination. This means that less opportunity to observe the consequences of one's actions leads to greater compliance. Social proximity Preliminary contact with the future victim has a positive effect on the power agent. The reason is sympathy or the victim knows something about the agent of power. Group of belonging and identification with the victim. Social distance between the agent of power and the victim
The agent of power is more cruel to the subordinate if he has a low social status (he is dirty, smells bad, is poorly dressed, speaks slowly and with a characteristic accent, shows himself to be not very smart).
Proximity of power The representative of power puts more pressure on the agent of power; he stands a few steps away from him. Legitimacy of power In addition to the physical presence of power, it also has legitimacy through obedience. The prestige of power has a great influence on the agent of power. Inconsistency of power An important factor ensuring trust in power and the degree of obedience of the agent of power is the cohesion of power. If two representatives of power begin to confront each other, then the degree of obedience decreases and even turns out to be zero. Context: a powerful influencer. Context - involves the agent of power to obey orders. Factors contributing to submission Personality and submission: resistance and submission are inherent in nature
When studying the personality of obedient and disobedient people, differences were identified.
Milgram found that the disobedient ones had a stronger personality trait, such as dominance. They were also more socially responsible. The Role of Beliefs in Submission “Externalists” are individuals who explain what happened to them by external reasons: “I passed the exams successfully because this year the topic was easy,” “I failed the exams because the committee members were old.” “Externals are more likely to obey orders from a high-status authority than from a low-status authority. However, such a pattern is not found among “internals” (persons who explain what happened to them by internal reasons: “I successfully passed the exam because for the past year I devoted ten hours a week to this every week,” “I failed because I was idle all the time.” year"). “Internals” are less obedient to orders coming from high-status authorities than from low-status authorities. But later this was not proven. A number of studies have taken into account the attitude of government agents towards religion. It has not been proven that believing agents who regularly attend church obey more than non-believers. Hypothesis about a subject who is not aware of his actions Under different conditions, unawareness should lead to the same degree of compliance. Understanding Submission through Disobedience The interaction between an agent and authority significantly influences the nature of his subordination. Increasing tension and stress during the execution of instructions leads to growing distrust of authority; one can expect that the sooner this procedure begins, the more likely it is that the agent will disobey authority. Submission to authority: an act of conformity? Asch (1951,1956) showed the relationship between the social environment of the agent of power and his statements. Often this leads to the individual’s conformism: the individual gives the same answer as the majority, realizing that it is wrong. However, it is necessary to distinguish between signal conformity and action conformity. If an agent of power has an intention (conformism-signal), but he is not able to transform this intention into action (conformism-action). The Group as a Model We know that the behavior of the group serves as a guide for everyone in adapting their own behavior. This guide to the behavior of others has a significant influence on the behavior we implement in situations where we do not know how to react. A group has real influence only when it opposes itself to power. Those who are not able to overcome this conflict on their own, which makes them want to stop and submit to the authorities, draw from this behavior the necessary resources to resolve their personal conflict and confront the authorities. Daily submission to power and the impact of symbols of power on behavior
Any individual can commit a very dubious act that is contrary to his moral principles only because legitimate power verbally encourages him to commit such an act.
Submission to authority is a timeless phenomenon and it manifests itself in everyday, everyday situations. Instead of waiting for this phenomenon to disappear. Efforts should be made to eliminate the conditions that make its spread possible and thereby avoid it. Submission to authority in a real situation: “Hello, doctor!” Clear subordination contributes to the implementation of behavior that is controversial from a professional point of view. Administrative power
A psychological-administrative type of violence, when agents of power in 100% of cases agree to act as witnesses and say a few words about a theft that they knew nothing about, only because the legitimate government asked them to do so.
Symbols of power and their influence on behavior?: “Not every monk is wearing a hood!”
Submission to authority is rooted in our parenting patterns.
Moreover, submission to authority underlies human socialization. In fact, this should lead to an automatic response in less problematic, mundane and even inappropriate situations. Authorities can automatically and subtly provoke us into one behavior or another. The influence of the uniform
The uniform, as an attribute of power, promotes an automatic reaction of submission even in cases where it is obvious that what is being demanded is illegal, ridiculous and an abuse of power.
Regardless of the tactlessness of the request of those in power, we are accustomed to automatically obey. Often those in power, with their impressive appearance, due to fear of power, force people to automatically obey and explain their behavior by the power given to them, and not by altruism. Influence of status
People are very willing to respond to the request of a stranger with high status, whom they know about by his appearance or from previously received information about him.
The influence of status is strong enough to suppress some reactions. The influence that people in positions of power have on our behavior when power insists suggests that there is a spectrum of automatic, spontaneous behavior. According to F. Zimbardo, the situation and symbols are combined with each other, therefore submission is not just an act of situational conformity, but also the result of a long process during which the rationality of force, domination and power takes root in the consciousness of the individual. We are controlled by symbols and rules and never stop adapting our children, for example, like a school, where there is no end to the need to respect authority, obey rules, etc. If spontaneous submission exists, it is because we ourselves participate in the creation of mythical symbols of power, we live with the illusion of personal control, not allowing the thought that we are forced by behavioral norms, social, organizational systems in accordance with our conscience. Chapter 2 Voluntary submission
Sometimes, without reason, we can act as any person wants, if we fall under the influence of someone who is interested in this action of ours, and without the use of physical, moral, or economic violence on his part for the purpose of getting our reaction.
All this is created by manipulation techniques that can provoke us to take an action that no one asked us to do. Foot in the Door: Finger in the Gear
Freedmanet Fraser (1966) found that our agreement to comply with a completely innocuous request predicts our subsequent tendency to comply with serious requests.
This technique is prosocial in nature, that is, when the goal is to help people, a charitable organization with the goal of performing a good deed, helping a person in need. When this technique is used for commercial purposes or for personal gain, it becomes less effective. Helping an individual or a group
A range of requests that people agree to fulfill more willingly if a number of preparatory actions are carried out in advance.
This could be three preliminary questions, and then filling out a long questionnaire, raising money for the benefit of people with disabilities, helping a specific person, when a person is informed of a loss, providing spontaneous assistance. This can be called “spontaneous” altruism. Even honesty towards your neighbor is regulated by the “foot-in-the-door” technique. The foot-in-the-door technique works when you need to encourage people to engage in low-effort activities or to provide spontaneous help, even when the request is not easy to comply with. Helping a private person
The “foot-in-the-door” technique can force a person to serve other people’s personal and financial interests.
A reminder that a person once fulfilled an identical request leads to his consent to provide financial assistance. For example, this request is preceded by a question about time or travel. Helping yourself
And so, the “foot-in-the-door” technique is used to encourage a person to fulfill a request that was obviously inconvenient for him and associated with the loss of time, money or leakage of personal information.
At the same time, all the benefits from fulfilling the request go to the petitioners. But the “foot-in-the-door” technique can be used to encourage individuals to take actions necessary for their own well-being: health, energy conservation, etc. Effective action on the Internet: electronic “foot-in-the-door”.
Communication between people can be remote, and then the “foot-in-the-door” technique can be used in electronic mail correspondence and in modern means of communication.
The effectiveness of the foot-in-the-door technique is based not on the nature of the relationship between the requester and the helping individual, but on the use of a sequence of requests. The condition for influencing the provision of assistance is the response to the first request. Obviously, it is quite difficult to avoid gratitude in this case; it is even more difficult to avoid it under the condition of “foot-in-the-door” in a situation of synchronous communication (in a telephone, electronic or personal meeting) and a sequence of requests. “Foot in the door” and unwanted requests.
With unwanted requests, the “foot-in-the-door” technique does not always work.
Prosocial nature of the request
The principle of “slow request” and the “foot-in-the-door” technique.
The foot-in-the-door technique is more effective when requests are separated by two or more weeks, so it is best to refrain from approaching the benefactor too quickly. The cost of asking
The “foot-in-the-door” technique does not work in the case of an exorbitant advance request.
However, the door-to-nose technique only works after three days between two requests. Therefore, it is necessary to know the cost of the first request. The price of the request should be moderate, high-quality, effective and not too significant in relation to the final one. Therefore, there is a variation called "double foot - in - the door", where instead of the traditional preliminary request, there are two preliminary requests. Two preliminary requests instead of one: the “double “foot-in-the-door” paradigm
In the case of technology, a double “foot-in-the-door”, a consistent increase in the “price” of the request contributes to the fulfillment of the final request, that is, two preliminary requests contribute to the fulfillment with great efficiency final request than one.
Theoretical explanations of the “feet-in-the-door” effect
The preliminary request, coupled with the final request, activates certain processes in the mind of the well-wisher, which influence his behavior.
Self-education theory
An individual relates himself to something based on his behavior.
Thus, in relation to “foot in the door”, the helping individual, fulfilling the request, comes to the conclusion that he relates to people. Which help others, therefore, when the individual is approached with a second request, he wants to correspond to the initial self-perception and more willingly agrees to its fulfillment, thereby increasing the degree of submission to the final request. However, for self-perception to begin to take effect, the request must have a certain character, namely, such that the subject wants to evaluate himself as a person capable of helping or interested in solving a certain problem, and begins to act accordingly. But an insignificant request does not allow you to get a positive effect from the use of “foot - in - the door”. In order for an individual to feel that he is doing “great” things, the request must make an appropriate impression and be prosocial. Refusal to comply with the first request should logically lead the individual to the conclusion that he is not the right person. Which helps other people that he is not sensitive to the problems that the petitioner is concerned ... that as a result should affect the final request. Another way to activate self -perception can be glued a positive label (you are responsive, you are generous, you are my dear) that characterizes the subject’s behavior after the first request. The word thanks and a small monetary reward leads to a decrease in the effect of “leg - in - doors” - since the word thanks and money are only external stimuli, and not self -perception. The “leg - in - doors” technique does not work, because the monetary reward and the word thank you leads to compensation for the first request and the individual does not feel completely responsible for his first preparatory act. The theory of involvement
from this point of view, the more the individual is involved in actions, the higher the probability of the commission of subsequent relevant acts.
In this case, freedom of action is a factor predisposing to involvement. It should be noted that the involvement has a more long -term effect than the effect of constancy of self -perception. But here there are limits. For example, Dejong (Dejong, 1981) notes that the “leg - in - doors” technique does not function when the individual believes that he is the only one who agreed to fulfill the request, unlike the situation when he thinks that Many other people agreed. The theory of contrast
of the stimulus depends on the assessment of other stimuli, if there is a previous contrast of these incentives.
It is known that after watching a film in which very attractive women play, you will regard the familiar women as less beautiful after watching, which does not happen after watching the film, where actresses with a regular appearance play. When making judgments about something, any incentive cannot be evaluated regardless of the previous stimulus. The theory of social learning and efforts,
the action committed once, will be repeated.
So, the subject, experiencing satisfaction from the fact that, when fulfilling the first request, he impressed the helpful person, will strive to be helpful in the future. Changes in self -perception, in fact, are provoked by social efforts, but only for the situation where both requests are expressed by the same person, moreover, the efforts and gratitude made by them are enough for this. The theory of self-presentation
according to some researchers, all people want to make the best impression on others, counting on someone’s location, love, etc. This is reflected in all social interactions. So, according to these authors, that in the event of the “leg - door” technique, the subject fulfills the second request to confirm a positive impression and create a more flattering impression of himself, which has developed in another person after fulfilling the first request. Creating a positive image of oneself implies the presence of a person nearby or at least a telephone conversation with him. There is a hypothesis of the norm of responsibility put forward by Harris (Harris, 1972). According to this hypothesis, the readiness to fulfill the first request encourages the subject to create the norm of responsibility, implying assistance to those in need. There is a hypothesis of constancy of behavior, which is based on a simple idea: the subject fulfills the second request to remain a faithful chosen line of behavior.
“The door hits you in the face”: those who can’t do more can do less
The door-to-nose technique is based on the initial failure.
Nevertheless, this refusal, as we will see later, induces the subject to agree to do what he is asked to do later. Most commercial transactions are based on the principle of “from inflated price to desired price.” The “door-to-nose” technique functions not due to a comparative assessment of the “cost” of the first and second requests, but due to the correctly constructed sequence of these requests. This technique allows for real benefits from complying with prosocial requests in the context of environmental issues. Electronic “door-on-the-nose”
The “door-on-the-nose” technique is no less effective during a telephone conversation and during electronic communication, when the subject clicks on a “Help me” link (website or email).
Telephone conversation and direct communication is synchronous, direct communication, that is, two-way communication at one moment (unlike walkie-talkie and electronic communication, when only one subject can communicate at one time). But the door-to-nose technique works not only with direct communication, but also with asynchronous communication via a computer. Factors influencing the effectiveness of
the “door-on-the-nose” technique The prosocial nature of the request in the “door-on-the-nose” technique is of great importance.
“Cost” of a preparatory request
To optimize the “door-to-nose” technique, it is possible to use subsequent “weakening” of requests.
One door is good, but two doors are better: the “double
door-on-the-nose” paradigm When the “door-on-the-nose” technique is used with three consecutive requests, it is called a “double-door-on-the-nose”, when the person is asked to choose your asking price.
Psychological mechanisms of the door-to-nose Hypothesis of mutual concessions
In all societies there is a norm of reciprocity - “you will benefit someone who agrees to benefit you.”
We give in to someone who gives in to us - a typical expression of a compromise agreement. The number of concessions that an individual will make when concluding a contract depends on the number of concessions that the opposite party will make. Since the petitioner reduces his demands after refusing the first request, the individual also makes a concession and agrees to fulfill the subsequent request. People make numerous concessions subject to mutual obligations. Insisting on a concession and applying pressure when making requests is fruitless. The theory of perceptual contrasts
In the door-to-nose technique, the subject receives a first, preparatory request with an incredibly high cost, and this has a positive effect on the low real cost of the final request.
In this case, there is a strong contrast between the two requests. It gives the illusion that the final request is less costly than it actually is. The stronger the contrast, the greater the subordination. Guilt Theory
According to this theory, refusing to comply with a first request causes a feeling of guilt in the subject, which in turn prompts him to comply with a second request in order to reduce this feeling.
When the door-to-nose effect is not observed, this may be explained by the fact that the initial refusal did not sufficiently activate the feeling of guilt. Consequently, an increase in feelings of guilt should lead to an increase in the effectiveness of the “door-on-nose” technique. At the same time, guilt can also be activated by the observed feeling of despair of the petitioner (his gestures and hopelessness). It must be taken into account that the effectiveness of the “door-on-the-nose” technique is greatest when requests are made by the same person, since the subject has the opportunity to reduce his guilt by satisfying the request of the person whom he offended immediately, since the feeling of guilt dissipates as time passes. “Door-on-the-nose” and “foot-in-the-door”: a comparative analysis
Which of these techniques is more effective? So, if you need a time interval between two requests, if you need to use different petitioners, then it is better to use the “foot-in-the-door” technique. If you want to immediately proceed to the target request after presenting the preparatory one, then it is better to use the “door-to-nose” technique. You can combine both techniques. Under one condition, first make an exorbitant request to the subject in accordance with the “door-in-the-nose” technique, then with a minor request in accordance with the “foot-in-the-door” technique, and finally with a final request. The combination of the two techniques has an additional effect on submission.
