The Science of Persuasion and Prevention Messages

Persuading others to “try something new” or alter their behavior in a significant way can be a

daunting task; ask anyone who has raised a child, especially an adolescent child. But there is a science to persuading individuals to alter their behavior, their routines and “habits” if you will. Researched by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., emeritus professor of psychology at Arizona State University, he pioneered the “science of persuasion,”[1] identifying six (6) specific principles of persuasion that individually and in concert may be useful in affecting student behavior – consistency, reciprocity, scarcity, authority, liking, and consensus. 

I will address these principles in a series of essays that reflect on how each might be applied by health educators and clinicians working with contemporary collegians, specifically, considering the decisions students make and their personal behavior related to the use of alcohol or other drugs. These essays will reflect on how these principles may inform efforts to persuade abstinence when use is contraindicated and moderation should a decision to use be made. Although collegians will be the focus in these essays, Chialdini’s principles and my thoughts on applying each can be repurposed or modified for work with any population.

Consistency

Humans are creatures of habit. From where we sit in church or a classroom to our morning routines, we stick to established patterns. Perhaps this is simply because we avoid change but more likely it is a function of wanting to “feel comfortable.”

How often does the plot of a thriller involve a character who falls victim to a predator simply because of consistency in following an established routine with which the predator has become familiar? Although most of us, fortunately, avoid being victimized by predators familiar with our routines, such consistency may nonetheless set us up to repeat high-risk and dangerous substance use behaviors, that is to say, our “patterned” substance use decisions regarding when and where and what to use.

Historically, preventionists have attempted to persuade behavior change by educating students about the consequences associated with high-risk and dangerous use. The argument was that intelligent students will make responsible choices if provided with the facts about risky consumption. This approach succeeded in its educational mission but failed with regards to its behavioral objective.

Subsequent efforts have focused on helping students to become personally aware of the cost-benefit ratio associated with personal consumption. Although successful, unfortunately approaches like Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) reach a relatively small percentage of all students and generally only after they have been identified as high-risk users following alcohol or other drug-related incidents. Such students are viewed as belonging to a small “selective” or at-risk population if not an even smaller “indicated” population that already displays signs of a substance use problem.

What is needed is an effective prevention strategy that targets the more “universal” population of college students. This is where Chaldini’s “science of persuasion” may present an opportunity, one principle of which is “consistency.”

Related to the foot-in-the-door technique addressed earlier on this blog, “consistency” builds on the fact that we humans are more likely to commit to embracing a suggestion that follows our having made a small initial commitment. For example, if asked if I believe that efforts to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment are justified and I agree, I am more likely to commit to donating to an effort that furthers that work. When asked if I support “X” and indicate that I do, I am more likely to volunteer my time or sign a petition that furthers that work. The need for consistency between what I say and what I do may well result in my being persuaded to act in a particular way.

This is a strategy employed by fundraisers and marketers alike to encourage contributions, volunteering, purchases, or otherwise responding favorably to their overtures. Eliciting a small personal commitment to an idea or principle and coupling that with our propensity to seek consistency in our lives influences our beliefs, values, and, in the case of marketers, our purchasing decisions. Such strategies are ethical not to mention simple and extremely cost-effective and I doubt any reader has avoided their influence.

So how might a preventionist apply the principle of consistency in the work she or he is doing with collegians? What if…

• …when students present at the health center, for whatever reason, they were asked if they
  
  favored campus efforts to reduce alcohol-related hospital admission…or late-night noise in the residence halls, or sexual assaults? Chances are that all would agree. Once doing so, then asking if them if they would agree to count the number of standard drinks they have on any occasion when they choose to drink.
• …when student-athletes meet with the trainer they were asked to critique a poster intended to deter the use of smokeless tobacco and upon doing so then asked if they would be willing to post one in the residence hall or common area of their apartment complex?
• …what a Greek-letter organization applies to host a party on campus and the social chair is asked by the student life representative reviewing the application if the organization would be interested in receiving “X” cases of soft drinks/water at no charge for distribution at the party. When the social chair agrees, asking if she/he would allow a student life rep to make a 10-min risk-reduction presentation at a general meeting prior to the party. (NOTE: If a campus has an exclusive distribution agreement with a soft drink vendor, e.g., Coke or Pepsi, the proffered free soft drinks can likely be negotiated as part of the agreement, especially if the vendor knows how they will be used).

The impact of consistency as a principle of persuasion is enhanced when one’s commitment is made public. This can be in writing such as in a letter to the editor of the campus newspaper or a picture or statement published electronically on social media; perhaps with a publicly displayed poster endorsed by a campus group/organization or free T-shirts with a prevention message and/or logo. Again, the specifics of “how” the public commitment is made and to what degree is left to the creativity of the preventionist.

What is important to consider here is how might our human need to experience consistency in our lives be employed to increase the likelihood of commitment to a harm-reduction, health-promoting prevention message.

What do you think?

 Dr. Robert

---

[1] When visiting this site, take the time (11:50 min) to watch the included video explaining the 6 scientific principles of persuasion.