Invisible Influence: The Power to Persuade Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere

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Generate This Specific Sequence of Emotions

The three examples that follow illustrate the combinations of emotions most likely to succeed at generating compliance.

Imagine you’re crossing a street but not in the crosswalk at the intersection.

All of a sudden a whistle blows! It must be a policeman. Your heart pounds as you wonder if it’s about you and how much trouble you are in for jaywalking. This kind of experience immediately changes your state from goal-oriented behavior (crossing the street) to one of a state of fear and guilt.

You look around and, seeing no police, you continue across the street. You are immediately stopped by someone. You again think you could be in trouble. More fear pulsates through your body.

He says, “Excuse me. I need 10 minutes of your time to answer a few questions for me. It’s the Self Description Inventory.…”

In this first study, a bunch of people were randomly stopped, after hearing the whistle on this cold day in Poland, by Dariusz Dolinski’s group of researchers. Another bunch of people were stopped as well, but they crossed without hearing the whistle.1

Finally, a third group of people were stopped as well as they walked along the sidewalk. No jaywalking and no whistle. They were just walking along.

What happened?

• 59 percent of the people who heard the whistle while jaywalking agreed to fill out the survey.
• 46 percent of the jaywalkers who heard no whistle agreed as well.
• 41 percent of those on an evening stroll on the cold day agreed ...