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A nod to persuasion

August 10, 2009 by Yingyos Vuttisant

I was recently trying to figure out the best approach when it comes to persuading consumers when I remembered a great insight I read about a while ago in the 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell; that the act of simply nodding one's head repeatedly can be a powerful persuasion tool.

Gladwell talks about a piece of research on persuasion where students were told that researchers worked for a headphone company. The subjects were given headsets and asked to perform specific motions while listening to music and a piece of editorial about a rise in tuition fees. A third was told to nod, a third to shake their heads, and a third (the control group) to remain still.

Afterwards, they were asked some questions to gauge how persuasive the article was to them. Those in the control group were unmoved by the editorial. Those who shook their heads while listening were strongly opposed to the editorial. Those who nodded their heads found the editorial to be very persuasive. The simple act of nodding while listening to the editorial was enough to get them to agree to policy that they would otherwise most likely be opposed to.

The authors of the study concluded that "television advertisements would be most effective if the visual display created repetitive vertical movements of the television viewers' heads”.

Could there really be a link between the ability to persuade with the repetitive movement of one's head? If so, then can this insight into persuasion be used in other forms of media and contexts? Would consumers, for example, be more compelled to click on a banner ad which features repetitive vertical movements? This would be an interesting idea to test for in further studies or during concept tests.

Discussion:  By looking at this Sony Bouncy Ball ad, do you feel like you’d be more willing to buy a Sony Bravia? And, is it possible that the commercial success and market leadership of the Sony Bravia is due to this little insight?

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3 comments on this post.

Cody Griggers - Editorial Director

Wow..this is a bizarre tangent, but since you started it...the first thing that popped into my head after reading this was those "beckoning cats" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki_Neko) you often see outside of shops in Asia, supposedly to bring luck and prosperity--the ones with the constantly waving paws (up, down..up, down..). Coincidence? Or subliminal advertising? Hmmm..

Oratip Nimkannon - Concept Developer

Thailand has its own version of this nodding cat/lucky charm. It's a woman character dressed in traditional Thai "sabai" and "paa-sin" costume called "Nang Kuak". She also has one arm up in a beckoning gesture, but it's not moving up and down. Maybe Nang Kuak is not as effective as the Maneki Neko in the art of persuasion?

Interested in researching this topic, anyone?

Tex

That's not really what the study discovered -- when you nod you head, you are more confidant of you own opinion about what's being said, regardless of whether you agree or disagree. -- http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2003/G/20034838.html

Thank you.

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