The Jiminy Cricket Effect: Cognitive Dissonance and the Urge for Consistency
Conscience is an inner voice that tells us what is right and what is wrong. When we are about to do something that is inconsistent with our conscience, we feel uneasy about. That feeling of unease is what psychologists call “cognitive dissonance”. I call it the Jiminy Cricket effect. It gives us an urge to act with consistency.
Watching this video is worth 2 Management Courses CPD Points*.
🔎 See below for details
Influencing and Persuading
This video is part of course module number 2.6.3
Program 2: Manager as Communicator
Course 6: Influencing and Persuading
Section 3: The Psychology of Influence and Persuasion
Other videos in this section include:
🎬 WIIFM? How to Use Self-interest to Influence and Persuade https://youtu.be/sVf70Hj5pOs
🎬 Power of the Word ‘Because’ in Influence and Persuasion https://youtu.be/ycoBykhpkes
🎬 Peer Pressure: The Awesome Power of Social Proof https://youtu.be/1HWkoIAgOuc
🎬 Use the Power of Scarcity with Integrity https://youtu.be/jAh–JIlxaU
🎬 Getting Agreement by Slicing up the Pie https://youtu.be/i9SNyDM4eFw
🎬 Momentum: How to Make it Easy for them to Say ‘Yes’ https://youtu.be/uQwP5EEbcY0
🎬 Paradox of Choice: Influencing through Selection https://youtu.be/Iuf7s_rb_hE
= = LESSON NOTES = =
A strong influencing technique is to engage the potential for cognitive dissonance. Use the powerful self-image that most of us have of honesty and integrity to improve the likelihood that someone will comply with a request.
Rather than simply asking me to do something, look me in the eye and ask me to confirm that I will do that thing.
Critically… Make sure you wait until I give you an answer. It is that pause that will wake up my own internal Jiminy Cricket organ.
Once I have said “yes”, my Jiminy Cricket circuit has been primed. To not do that thing will set up cognitive dissonance – a feeling of unease because there is conflict between two things:
1. My self-image as reliable and honourable
2. My knowledge that I have made a commitment
Two factors will enhance the power of my commitment:
1. The more public that commitment is then the stronger its effect will be
2. The more permanent that commitment is then the stronger its effect will be
= = RECOMMENDED EXERCISE = =
1. How strong is the Jiminy Cricket effect in you? Think about times you have felt the urge to do something because you have made a commitment. (2 MC CPD Points)
2. Look for opportunities to apply the Jiminy Cricket effect to influence consistent behavior. Notice how effective it is. (2 MC CPD Points)
= = DOWNLOADS = =
Free Resources
🧰 CPD Tools – https://gum.co/MC-CPD
Paid resources
🧳 Management Courses Onboarding Kit – https://gum.co/MC-ObK ($3)
= = RECOMMENDED READING = =
📖 My own book on Influence (introductory level)
– How to Influence in Any Situation (Brilliant Influence 2nd Ed) https://geni.us/dAS7
📖 Excellent books at a more advanced level
– Influence: Science and Practice (a classic) https://geni.us/DIX0kFL
– Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change https://geni.us/3nBJM
– The Influence Agenda (for Stakeholder Engagement) https://geni.us/InfAg
– Methods of Persuasion https://geni.us/EVYP
– Presuasion https://geni.us/aBZo0XO
– 5 Paths to Persuasion https://geni.us/Vg2vB
⭕️ Links to our book recommendations are affiliated through Amazon
Managers Need a Basic set of kit to do your job well. Here are my top recommendations: https://kit.co/MikeClayton/manager-s-work-kit (the links are affiliated)
= = MANAGEMENT COURSES CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) POINTS = =
You can record your Management Courses CPD points on our free, downloadable CPD record log.
📓 Download it at: https://gum.co/MC-CPD
Each video has two levels of MC CPD points. For this video:
– If you simply watched the video, record 2 MC CPD points
– If you also carried out all of the recommended exercises, score a total of 6 MC CPD points
00:00 – Walt Disney’s Pinnochio
00:47 – The potential for cognitive dissonance
01:12 – Using Cognitive Dissonance
02:24 – Where cognitive dissonance comes from
03:10 – Reminding Jiminy Cricket
03:21 – Responses to Cognitive Dissonance
04:06 – When cognitive dissonance does not work
04:34 – How to amplify the Jiminy Cricket effect
#JiminyCricketEffect #ManagementCourses #Consistency
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