Rola słowa w procesach wpływu społecznego
The Role of the Word in Social Influence Processes

Summary/Abstract: Words play a significant role in social influence processes. This article provides an analysis of social influence techniques based on language mechanisms. One of such techniques exploiting the power of the word is “even a penny will help.” We often refuse various requests to support charity, justifying the decision by saying that we are not rich enough to support every worthy initiative. However, if the phrase “even a penny will help” appears following a standard request for donation, this mode of thinking is blocked. Another technique discussed in this article is based on the assumption that when people are directly asked to explain why they have refused to help out, their desire to avoid becoming ensnared in embarrassing justifications boosts the chances that they act on the request. Labelling is further technique of social influence: defining people using dispositional traits often leads to their behaving in a manner consistent with the content of those label.

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