Chapter 9 Topics for Discussion

Think about the ways household products are named (Tide, Mr. Clean, Fab, Biz, Lestoil, and so on). Analyze the kinds of associations the manufacturers hope you will make. Think also about packaging and presentation. Discuss the effectiveness of this influence ploy.
If you are a parent, what kinds of reinforcers work with your children? If you are not, think back to the ways your parents used reinforcement principles to control you. What techniques were used, and how effective were they?
You may have gone to a school that used a token economy as an incentive to learning. If so, share your experiences. If you did not, do you think it is a good way of influencing children? (In a token economy, kids are paid tokens for good behavior; these tokens can be redeemed for treats or privileges.) What do you think of token economies as incentives to motivate children?
What do you think of the economic model used in social exchange theory? Do you think it is a good way to describe relationships? If not, why not? If so, can you extend the metaphor?
Modeling theory states that we pick things up by watching others. Have you been influenced by models since you came to college? If so, who were your models, what did you learn from them, and why were they successful?
When you were very young, what media figures (TV or radio or books) served as models for you? What effect did they have on you?
Think about the last fairly important decision you made. Did you do anything to avoid dissonance, such as rationalizing your decision or exposing yourself only to information that told you that you were right? Describe what you did to protect yourself from dissonance.
Think of the person you most trust. What personal characteristics give that person credibility? What suggestions would you give the average person who wanted to increase his or her credibility? Think about the last fairly important decision you made. Did you do anything to avoid dissonance?
Refer to Box 9.1 on weapons of influence. Have you ever been the victim of reciprocation, commitment, social proof, liking, authority, or scarcity?
Refer to the situations that open the section on compliance seeking. What techniques would you use in each situation? Then consider the strategies you usually use when you want others to comply with your requests. Which of the strategies described in Table 9.2 do you use and with whom do you use them? Do you ever use negative strategies like deception, manipulation, distributive communication, or aversive stimulation? What is the result? How do you feel when others use these strategies on you?