MKT 400 Chapter 3: Psychology of persuasion - Chapter 3 notes.docx

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Marketing
• Course: MKT 400
• Professor: Marla Spergel

Document Summary

Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment: bettors in racetrack example. Desire for consistency is a central motivator of our behaviour. The drive to be (and look) consistent constitutes a highly potent weapon of social influence, often causing us to act in ways that are clearly contrary to our own best interests. The person whose beliefs, words, and deeds don"t match may be seen as indecisive, confused, two-faced, or even mentally ill. A high degree of consistency is normally associated with personal and intellectual strength. Blind consistency, like other forms of automatic responding, offers a shortcut through the density of modern life. Sometimes it is not the effort of hard, cognitive work that makes us shirk thoughtful activity, but the harsh consequence of that activity there are certain disturbing things we simply would rather not realize.