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Prepared by Philip Zimbardo and Cindy X. Wang
Cialdini’s Principles of Social Influence
Reciprocity [Context: Obligation]
The Basics
- The rule of reciprocity requires that one person try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided
- Supports the giving of favors since repayment is expected from the recipient
- Sense of future obligation makes it possible to develop continuing relationships, transactions, and exchanges in society
- Members of society are trained from childhood to abide by the reciprocity rule or suffer social disapproval
How It’s Exploited
- Rule can apply to uninvited exchanges – when exploited, others can reduce our ability to freely decide, and thus, lead us to react automatically
- Rule can spur unequal exchanges – individuals may agree to perform a substantially larger favor in return for an initial, small one
- Principle also applies to making concessions – you may reciprocate a concession if the other party seems to make one
- Ex. "Door-in-the-face" – relies on persuader making an outrageous, extreme request first, then conceding to a comparatively small request (one desired all along) that will likely be accepted because it appears to make a concession
- Also increases the likelihood person will agree to future requests
Best Defense
Reject initial offers, favors, concessions; redefine them as tricks and no longer feel obligated to respond reciprocally, unless you know the other person and can trust that the initial favor is given meaningfully.
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