Page 152 - The Power to Change Anything

Harness Peer Pressure 141

If at any time the subject called for a halt, he was told by
the scientist in the white lab jacket that the experiment required
him to continue—up to four times. If the subject requested to
stop a fifth time, the experiment stopped. Otherwise the exper-
iment came to an end only after the subject had given the max-
imum 450 volts—to a learner who was no longer protesting, but
who had gone completely silent—giving the teacher the dis-
tinct impression that the learner had either passed out or died.
Clearly the subjects who continued to send more and
more volts to their protesting, screaming, and begging cohort
took no pleasure in what they were doing. It’s unnerving to
watch clips as anguished subjects suggest that they should stop
the torture. After offering their suggestion, they are immediately
told that the experiment calls for them to continue.
Researchers watched and recorded the subjects, taking
comfort in knowing that only a few subjects would administer
much of a shock. As it turned out, “only” 65 percent of sub-
jects would.
That’s the finding that got Milgram in trouble. He hadn’t
discovered a tiny handful of Connecticut zealots and sociopaths
who would gladly give their souls over to the totalitarian cause.
He had found the vulnerable target within all of us. He had
looked for the freak and found himself—and you and me. And
nobody liked it.
What was going on? Why do human beings place such a
high premium on the approval of others—often strangers?
Certainly that’s what you’d ask if you were a social scientist. If
you were a student of influence, you’d ask how this amazing
social force might work either for or against you as you do your
best to orchestrate change. You’d want to co-opt the awesome
power of social pressure for your own purposes.
Savvy people know how to tap into this enormous source
of influence in hundreds of different ways. They do so by fol-
lowing one simple principle. They ensure that people feel
praised, emotionally supported, and encouraged by those