Arizona National Park is a protected forest area in the United States. Some visitors to Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park were picking wood from the protected area, disrupting the natural state of the forest. Cialdini and their colleges decided to investigate the messages that could change this behavior, so visitors were exposed to messages that admonished against the theft of petrified wood. In the first stage, participants were informed that ‘‘Many past visitors have removed the petrified wood from the park, changing the state of the Petrified Forest’’. This wording was accompanied by pictures of three visitors taking wood. In the second stage, the plea was phrased: ‘‘Please don’t remove the petrified wood from the park’’. This wording was accompanied by a picture of a visitor stealing a piece of wood, with a red circle-and-bar symbol superimposed over his hand. After installing the signs, the researchers placed 20 pieces of petrified wood in designated locations along each of the paths.
Results showed that, when there were no signs, visitors took 92.2% of the pieces. When the first sign was installed, which showed several visitors stealing wood and it`s description was “Many past visitors have removed the petrified wood from the park, Visitors took 92.7% of the wood. In other words, triple increased probability of stealing! On the other hand, when the second sign was installed, which showed a picture of a visitor stealing a piece of wood, visitors took only 67.1% of the wood, which means 40% reduction of stealing.
The researcher concluded that if people think that most people do the wrong thing, they are more likely to do the same! That is, even when we are convinced it is wrong! “Conformity” enforces us to do that behavior. Thus, constant warnings about rising crime and irresponsibility and lawlessness may lead to the increase of these behaviors, especially in a culture where it is recommended: “go along to get along!”
#Hans_Christine_Anderson The Danish novelist in the sweet story “The Emperor’s New Clothes” tells the story of a people who, although they saw the emperor naked!, in order to not endanger theirs security or belonging, they applauded for the emperor’s brilliant new dress and conformed with others. What Hans Christian Anderson mentions in the form of a story: has been proven by prominent American psychologists “Philip Zimbardo and Solomon Eliot Asch” through extensive research.
Dr. Mohammad Reza Sargolzaei Psychiatrist
Translated by: Maryam Asadi
References:
Baron, R. A., & Byrne, D. (1987). Social psychology: Understanding human interaction. Allyn & Bacon.
Cialdini, R. B., Demaine, L. J., Sagarin, B. J., Barrett, D. W., Rhoads, K., & Winter, P. L. (2006). Managing social norms for persuasive impact. Social influence, 1(1), 3-15.
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Second Translation:
The Same colour as other people (conformity)
Arizona National Park is a protected forest area in the United States. Some visitors in the national park were picking wood from the protected area, disrupting the natural state of the forest. One researcher decided to investigate the messages that could change this behaviour.
For the first time, a sign was put in the visitors’ driveway that read: “Many previous visitors have removed the wood from this protected forest. “This has changed the natural state of the forest park.” The sign had a picture of several people removing wood.
A second time, a sign was put along the route that read, “Please do not remove the wood from this protected forest to preserve the condition of the forest.” The sign contained an image showing only one person removing a stick.
After installing the signs, the researchers placed a number of portable sticks in the visitors’ path. When there were no signs, visitors removed 92.2% of the wood. When the first sign was put, showing several people removing wood and reading “Many” previous visitors had removed the wood, visitors removed 92.7% of the wood. Tripled!
On the other hand, when the second sign was installed, which showed only one person removing wood, visitors removed only 67.1% of the wood, which means that wood theft was reduced by about 40%.
The researcher concluded that if people think that most people do something wrong, they are more likely to do the same thing! That is, “being of the same colour as other people” causes us to do that behaviour even when we are convinced it is wrong!
Thus, constant warnings about rising crime, irresponsibility, and lawlessness may lead to the growth of these behaviours, especially in a culture where it is recommended: ” If you do not want to be disgraced, be in the same colour with the crowd!”
The Danish novelist Hans Christian Anderson, in his sweet tale ” The Emperor’s New Clothes,” tells the story of people who, apparently seeing the king naked, applauded for fear of being pointed fingers and left alone for the king’s shining robe.
What Hans Christian Anderson mentions in the form of a story: “Philip Zimbardo and Solomon Asch”(American Psychologists) have been proven by extensive research.
PS:
1- I have quoted Robert Kialdini’s research in Arizona National Park from the following book:
“Enchantment: The Art of Influencing Minds, Hearts and Behaviors” – Guy Kawasaki – Translator: “Amir Ghaderi” – Sita Publishing
Read the research of “Philip Zimbardo and Solomon Asch” in the following book:
“Social Psychology”: “Robert Baron” – Translated by “Dr. Yousef Karimi” – Ravan Publications
Dr. Mohammad Reza Sargolzaei – Psychiatrist
Translated By: Negar Kolkar
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