[MUSIC] We're talking about social factors that persuaders may need to deal with. Factors connected with people's perceptions of what other people think or do. In the last segment, we talked specifically about one such social factor, namely descriptive norms. People's perception of what other people are doing. And about the opportunities for influencing people's behavior by influencing their descriptive norm perceptions. In this segment and the next one, we talk about another social factor, people's perceptions of what other people think they should do. What my friends think I should do. What my coworkers think I should do. What my spouse or my doctor or whoever thinks I should do. A useful label for these perceptions is the prescriptive norm. The prescriptive norm is the person's perception of what other people think the person should do, what other people are prescribing for the person. My doctor thinks I should get more exercise, my friends think I should quit my job and start my own company, my family thinks I should move across the country to be closer to them. These are perceptions of what some other people are prescribing for me, hence prescriptive norms. And people's behavior can be influenced by these prescriptive norm perceptions. Even if I think something's a good idea, and so have positive attitudes. If all these people around me seem to be saying don't do it, it's a bad idea, that is if I have a negative prescriptive norm, well then I might not go ahead with what I'd planned. I can be influenced by what I think other people think I should be doing. So image a circumstance in which that's the challenge you're facing as a persuader. The person you're trying to influence seems to be leaning towards your point of view, but they also think that other people around them are opposed to their doing it. The person has the positive attitude you want, but their prescriptive norm perceptions are getting in the way. They're thinking these other people don't think they should do it. And they're giving a lot of weight to that in their decision making. So, what can you do as a persuader? If that's the challenge you're facing, how could you approach that problem? Let me acknowledge right off that this can be an especially difficult circumstance for persuaders. It can be really hard to change people's prescriptive norm perceptions. However, there are two general strategies that persuaders might consider in such situations, and here's the first one. You might try to get the person to de-emphasize the prescriptive norm as an influence on their decision. Get them to put less weight on it. Remember the situation we're discussing is one in which people already have the desired positive attitudes, but it's their prescriptive norm perceptions, their sense of what other people think they should do that's preventing them from going forward. Well, one possible way of encouraging them to follow their inclinations, to follow their attitudes, is to suggest that in making their decision, they should place more weight on their own attitudes than on what other people think. This should be your decision, this is something that affects you much more than anybody else. So you should do what you think is right. This is the kind of choice that other people really can't make for you. You have to make it yourself. And if you happen to know the particular other person whose views are being influential, you can think about whether you might have some basis for urging the persuadee to discount that person's view specifically. Don't pay attention to what Steven says. He doesn't have a good track record when it comes to these sorts of things. Or, don't listen to Allie, she's biased on this particular subject. Or whatever the truth might be about why the other person's opinions ought to be put aside. So the first possible strategy here, where people have positive attitudes, but they're being influenced by what other people think they should do, the first possible strategy, try to get the person to put less weight on their prescriptive norm perceptions, and place more weight on their attitudes. But there's also a second possible strategy you might consider, and that's the subject of the next segment. [MUSIC]
