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Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

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Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#41

Post by phkahler »

savanaly wrote: post #16
sethbannon wrote: post #7

Makes me think airlines will soon start strategically placing "purchasers" throughout the plane in order to maximize the effect of this social pressure.

As another commenter noted, it would not be cost effective to lose a whole seat just to sell a few more drinks, overpriced though they be. But it seems like they could increase sales in sort of the same way by distributing free or discounted drink vouchers to a select few passengers, and effectively turn those real passengers into "purchasers".

They could track frequent flyers who usually buy stuff and make sure they are disbursed throughout the plane.

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#42

Post by bimr »

tiglionabbit wrote: post #30
Udik wrote: post #22

It gets worse. You are x% more likely to buy food if you just see or smell it, without even a "peer" enjoying it. Isn't that horrifying? That must be called something like food-pressure.

Perhaps it's just priming?

Not sure why this was downvoted. This is priming. The term should be famous now thanks to the books "Thinking Fast and Slow" and "Nudge" http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/psyching-us-...

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#44

Post by 7402 »

Regarding buying food on an airplane, what about the effect of simple politeness?

I'm not sure I would call it "peer pressure," when I feel uncomfortable about eating food next to someone who doesn't have any. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I would rather wait to eat until the person next to me also has food.

Once I was on a train, and the woman next to me offered to share some of the sandwich she brought with her. I said, "no thanks, I was about to go get some food from the dining car." I got my own sandwich and brought it back. I understood completely what was behind her offer, and I am sure we both felt more comfortable eating together, even though we didn't know each other and would never see the other person again.

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#45

Post by alanwatts »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #28
MustardTiger wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Oh but we do have communities, and we do talk to actual people (also about politics!) No, we don't. Communities have bonds. Seeing facebook spam is not the same as talking to a person, and joining a group of people who post likeminded facebook spam is not a community. It just scratches the same instinctual itch as a community. >Blame the invention Blame has nothing to do with it. Understanding how and why people con…

> No, we don't. Communities have bonds. Seeing facebook spam is not the same as talking to a person, and joining a group of people who post likeminded facebook spam is not a community. It just scratches the same instinctual itch as a community. You and I may be using Facebook differently. I'm not thinking about random Facebook groups and news feeds of people you don't even remember. But e.g. for me, there are people…

>This actually is democracy working as designed - people being free to bullshit one another

They aren't free to bullshit one another. Facebook, Google, and co. regularly censor their users.

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#46

Post by user5994461 »

Udik wrote: post #22

It gets worse. You are x% more likely to buy food if you just see or smell it, without even a "peer" enjoying it. Isn't that horrifying? That must be called something like food-pressure.

A useful reminder for these situations: The best way to resist temptation is to give in to it.

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#47

Post by auggierose »

7402 wrote: post #44

Regarding buying food on an airplane, what about the effect of simple politeness? I'm not sure I would call it "peer pressure," when I feel uncomfortable about eating food next to someone who doesn't have any. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I would rather wait to eat until the person next to me also has food. Once I was on a train, and the woman next to me offered to share some of the sandwich she brought with her.…

There's politeness, and then there is that.

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#48

Post by wutbrodo »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #28
MustardTiger wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Oh but we do have communities, and we do talk to actual people (also about politics!) No, we don't. Communities have bonds. Seeing facebook spam is not the same as talking to a person, and joining a group of people who post likeminded facebook spam is not a community. It just scratches the same instinctual itch as a community. >Blame the invention Blame has nothing to do with it. Understanding how and why people con…

> No, we don't. Communities have bonds. Seeing facebook spam is not the same as talking to a person, and joining a group of people who post likeminded facebook spam is not a community. It just scratches the same instinctual itch as a community. You and I may be using Facebook differently. I'm not thinking about random Facebook groups and news feeds of people you don't even remember. But e.g. for me, there are people…

> You and I may be using Facebook differently.

This is almost certainly the case. I feel like much of the time when people confidently generalize (on HN and elsewhere) about "how everybody uses Facebook", they end up talking past each other because there are just vastly different patterns of usage that you never have occasion to get exposed to (given that your friend group is more likely to have usage patterns similar to your own). I once got downvoted pretty heavily on HN for responding to someone talking about removing their Facebook friends that they don't know by asking "Is this something that people do? Friend people that they've never met or spoken to?". Apparently that's totally a thing, but I never would've known

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#49

Post by wutbrodo »

oldmanjay wrote: post #3

Headline says control, numbers and article conclusion say influence. My skepticism says when someone attempts to reproduce this, it may just vanish. My cynicism says the post is preparing this as an excuse for trump winning.

There are connotations of "control" that make it a flashier, more imprecise, more clickbaity way to say influence. Specifically, having some degree of control less than total control over one's behavior means roughly the same thing as having influence.

Re: Peer pressure’s effects are perhaps more powerful than we thought (2014)

#50

Post by Namrog84 »

maneesh wrote: post #19
sethbannon wrote: post #7

Makes me think airlines will soon start strategically placing "purchasers" throughout the plane in order to maximize the effect of this social pressure.

Giving up several hundreds in ticket revenue to make 1-2 people 30% more likely to buy a drink...

I don't understand why or how you'd lose ticket revenue?

If you identified 20 passengers who've often bought tickets who are known drink buyers. Place them not together with random seat assignments. So they are by people unknown buyers and/or less frequent buyers

No ticket sales should be effected. Only the placement of individuals. This obviously doesn't effect those who choose there seat. Buy late. Or buy for groups adjacent seats.

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