Harnessing the Science of Persuasion

The article “Harnessing the Science of Persuasion” presents six different methods to improve persuasion: Liking, Reciprocity, Social Proof, Consistency, Authority, and Scarcity. I am going to discuss two that I feel are most applicable when influencing classmates: Liking and Social Proof. Liking is built around the idea that people are more likely to do things for others that they like. A great example of this happened to me recently. I classmate that I had never met posted on Facebook that he needed someone to watch his dog for a period while he was in class. This wasn’t much work. It was sitting in the courtyard with a dog for ninety minutes. I offered to watch his dog, because I like dogs. Now, this classmate that I didn’t know a few weeks ago is a friend. I talk to him when I see him, and I’m sure that if I asked for his help he would give it, but that could be reciprocity. The interesting thing, and the one that I feel is more important, is that I feel like I am more likely to help him out now too, just because I like him more now than I used to. So if I really want people to help me when I need it, I feel like establishing friendly relationships with them beforehand will be most effective. Of course this can backfire. Even if a friendly relationship exists, if the person feels like they are being used, they not only won’t want to help, they will likely like me less, which makes them less likely to help me in the future.

The second method of persuasion that I will discuss is Social Proof. That is basically the idea that people follow the example of others. I would like to use this to influence my classmates in a very specific way. I want my classmates to stop complaining. If they get a bad grade, they complain. If a professor gives pop quizzes, they complain. If they get cold called, they complain. They complain about everything. I go out of my way not to complain. I know a few other people do the same. Some