New research just out reveals some pretty fascinating data about which emotions are most effective in persuading in difficult cases…and the direction consumers are likely to go when experiencing still other emotions. How do you think emotions affect your choices during challenging decisions, such as compromising on vehicle safety to get better gas mileage on a car? In their June article in the Journal of Consumer Research, Nitika Garg, Jeffrey Inman and Vikas Mittal find that angry consumers react very differently from sad consumers when making emotionally difficult trade-offs.
According to the study, angry consumers were 37% more likely to choose a default option than sad individuals. In contrast, sad individuals were not different from neutral mood individuals when it came to consumer decision making.
This study shows that all negative emotions are not the same. For instance, if you are choosing different retirement options, you are more likely to stick with the default retirement option (often company stock) if you are angry compared to sad. Sad people tend to examine all the options more carefully and choose the best available option. The moral: Don’t make important decisions when you are angry.
Legend Point: Sad people look at all options and do so carefully…choosing the best option. Angry people tend to stick with the status quo.
“Smoking pot may not kill you, but it will kill your mother,” says an ad from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. In the first empirical work to examine both stated intentions and actual behavior, researchers argue that this sort of negative message — evoking both fear and guilt — is a far more effective deterrent to potentially harmful behavior than positive hopeful or feel-good messages.
“Making people feel good is less important than making people feel accountable when it comes to making wise decisions about self-protection,” explain Kirsten A. Passyn (Salisbury University) and Mita Sujan (Tulane University) the Journal of Consumer Research. “Our work separates intentions from implementation and clarifies the role of emotions in this process.”
Legend Point: Good intentions and positive emotions can elicit further good intentions but they don’t necessarily cause people to actually DO something.
Whether it involves persuading people to use sunscreen or eat high fiber foods, good intentions can be elicited by a variety of appeals. However, getting people to actually follow through on these intentions and change their behavior requires appeals combining fear and an emotion high in self-accountability, such as regret, guilt or challenge.
KEY POINT: Fear, regret, guilt and challenge cause people to FOLLOW THROUGH.
“[This research] suggests a new emotion-based approach to encouraging a wide range of health protection behaviors,” say Passyn and Sujan. “We illustrate the critical role of emotions in persuasion, especially for translating tendencies into action.”
Kirsten A. Passyn and Mita Sujan. “Self-Accountability Emotions and Fear Appeals: Motivating Behavior” Journal of Consumer Research.
The Three Disciplines
by Kevin Hogan, Psy.D.
- Personal Mastery: Programming Your Mind for The Distinction of Achievement and Success (2 CDs)
- Charisma: Increasing your Personal Magnetism and Leadership Abilities (2 CDs)
- Self-Discipline: Wiring the Core Skill of Achievement Permanently into Your Mind with Self Hypnosis.(2CDs)
Discipline: “training, activity or regimen that develops or improves a skill”.
There are many levels of excellence in life. Personal Mastery is a discipline that is developed over time and with experience; and with the help of the skill of Self-Discipline. The two work together to bring you to a level of excellence. Charisma and personal magnetism allow you to interact with others at a level of excellence and influential elegance that makes you the “go-to” person, the expert, the one in demand. For the first time, the Three Disciplines are offered as a package. 2 high quality digital audio CDs are dedicated to each area, for a total of 6 CDs plus a complete manual to accompany you on your journey:
Personal Mastery: It’s the single trait they all look for. It’s the characteristic women say they most want in a man. It’s the difference between being the best and being everyone else. It’s the trait corporate head hunter’s look for first and most.
Personal Mastery is what differentiates the individual who is truly focused and in charge of their life vs. the person who is pulled and pushed by life’s tides.
Everyone gravitates to the person with self-mastery because they exude certainty and success. They have a plan, a next step and they seamlessly execute their plan. They have the flexibility to change anything in life at any moment. They are the envy of everyone else. They are the go-to person. The person with self-mastery is the person who encompasses the phrase, “personal initiative.” Most importantly, they get results because they make things happen day in and day out.
You feel secure and safe around the person with self-mastery…and now that person can consistently be you or the person you are coaching.
The ability to recognize your strengths and weaknesses is a key characteristic of someone who possesses Personal Mastery. I have identified two broad categories, and 12 key components to Personal Mastery. These will be revealed in this program.
The Three Disciplines: Charisma, Self-Discipline, Personal Mastery
