{"id":1236,"date":"2019-10-11T14:13:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T18:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blissbook.com\/blog\/?p=1236"},"modified":"2021-07-27T18:21:03","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T22:21:03","slug":"to-commit-is-legit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blissbook.com\/blog\/to-commit-is-legit\/","title":{"rendered":"To Commit is Legit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You\u2019re browsing your inbox and see an invite for Mark\u2019s Birthday Cookout Extravaganza and Other Shenanigans<\/em>. You realize it\u2019s the same day as that 5K you registered for, so you\u2019re not sure whether you\u2019ll feel up to it after the early morning run. You\u2019re hesitant to click one of the customized responses \u2013 \u201cHeck yes\u201d or \u201cNo, I\u2019m a loser\u201d \u2013 because you aren\u2019t ready to commit one way or another, and you\u2019ll likely feel tied to whichever option you choose now come Extravaganza<\/em> day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u2022  \u2022  \u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group of college students was asked to attend a meeting in exchange for class credit<\/a>. The meeting outlined an upcoming community initiative for which students were given the opportunity to volunteer. Sixty volunteers were later called, in two separate groups of 30, and asked to pick up their orientation packet over the next three days. One group had an impressive 47% show up, whereas the other group had a measly 17%. What caused the significant discrepancy between the two groups?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022  \u2022  \u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychology professor and persuasion guru Robert Cialdini has closely studied commitments and our desire to make consistent choices. In a world where we\u2019re faced with 35,000 decisions a day<\/a>, our brain is constantly looking for decision-making shortcuts \u2013 or heuristics<\/a>. One such heuristic is that, when we\u2019ve asserted our opinion on something, our subsequent choices usually affirm that stance<\/a>. Need an example? Go look at any political debate on your Facebook feed. In addition to endless links to heavily biased \u201carticles,\u201d you may notice how the debaters almost always stay aligned with their initial viewpoints. Being consistent requires less mental energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by John Moeses Bauan<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When it came to the student volunteer project, the difference in turnout was all in the way the commitment was made. Students were given one of two forms, hence the two groups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n