Want better behaviour? Start with a better label

Decision-Making

Cialdini interviewed two groups of adults in the run up to the election. Half told they were classed as “above average citizens likely to participate in political events”. The other half were told they were about average in terms of their likelihood to vote. In reality, these two labels were assigned at random. But the effects were huge. The respondents labelled as above-average citizens ultimately proved 15 per cent more likely to vote in the election, They had been told they were something; and so they became it.

A flattering label can attach a desired identity to a requested behaviour.

Adults randomly described as “above-average citizens likely to participate in political events” later voted more often than people given an average label. No policy argument was made. No transport was provided. The phrase offered a desirable identity and attached a behaviour to it: citizens like you vote.

The pressure arrives as praise. “Responsible borrowers pay on time.” “Committed players keep playing.” “Serious parents choose the premium option.” Accept the compliment and the requested act begins to feel like evidence that it was true. Decline the act and the flattering description no longer appears to apply.

Children receive the same pattern without formal wording. Call one child difficult and the next noisy moment confirms the category. Call another a reader and an unfinished book becomes a temporary wobble in an established identity. The label changes which details adults notice and how the child interprets effort.

The source of the description decides how grubby this becomes. “You voted last time” reports something the person did. “People like you always vote” invents a social rule. A gambling message congratulating a “committed player” makes reduced spending feel inconsistent with the praised identity. The person reducing their spending is invited to feel timid or excluded from the group.

Read any corporate compliment for its attached verb. Valued customers renew. Smart investors act now. Good parents upgrade. Each sentence links approval to a transaction that benefits the sender.