A few years ago, I received a phone call that perfectly illustrated a "sneak attack" argument that attempts to combat psychological resistance. This theory is the idea that, when people are forewarned about a speaker trying to persuade them or change their minds, they tend to react against such threats to their freedom of choice by asserting themselves (Brehm, 1981). We often take this theory to the extreme, moving our attitudes in the opposite direction than those of the speaker, even if the speaker's arguments are in line with our own! "Sneak attacks" are utilized in some advertisements. That is, if we know at the beginning of an ad what product is being sold and how the advertisers are trying to persuade us to buy the product, we often make up our minds about it and tune it out immediately. Therefore, many companies utilize a strategy that prevents the audience from knowing that they are seeing an advertisement so that they actually listen to arguments, and then they spring the actual product on them unexpectedly.
As anybody who has ever received an obnoxious telemarketing call knows, we often try to get off the phone with the salesperson as soon as possible, even if that requires hanging up on them (if it is a machine). I got a telemarketing call a couple of years ago that was specifically recorded to avoid this customer rejection and psychological resistance that goes along with it. When I picked up the phone, I heard a man's voice on the other end of the line. He started playing on my sympathies, talking about how he had lost his job and how he started a new company and how I should really try it to help support his new life. Of course, I couldn't interrupt the man during his sob story--the least I could do was listen to what he had to say after all he had been through. He had a lot to say...it was a full ten minutes before "he" said something to reveal he was actually a recording and that they were really trying to sell me a product!
Of course, I was so mad that I had wasted ten minutes of my life that I immediately hung up the phone, after which I realized that the company's scheme was, although deceptive, very clever. They pulled a great "sneak attack", avoiding the pitfalls of psychological resistance by not revealing their true purpose until they had already made persuasion attempts to get the listener to buy the product.
Brehm, S. S., & Brehm, J. W. (1981). Psychological Reactance: A Theory of Freedom and Control. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Dr. G's lecture, March 8, 2010
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