Hisgirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2011
- Messages
- 2,242
In light of the recent thread about folks acting rude at the parks, I wanted to share a thought that came to me this morning. If this is belongs in a different area, I totally understand.
When I was in grad school, one of our books we read in The Psychology of Money class was by a guy who writes a column for the WSJ and teaches (or taught) at Duke. It was a book about human behavior and how our social and business norms affect our decisions.
It was so valuable and has saved me thousands on mortgage and auto deals, because I can now spot when a sales person is trying to switch me from business norms to social norms.
This is what I think (In my opinion) is happening at WDW and why people don't seem to act, in the theme parks, as caring as they might act at a neighborhood park.
Here's how it works: (specific details may be paraphrased here and this is only one of many experiments which demonstrated this principle)
The author did an experiment at a college where they offered a tray of candy. For free.
People were thrilled and took one, maybe two...this was not a money transaction. So it did not tap into our business values and norms. It was a social transaction and tapped into SOCIAL NORMS.
Folks took one and left the rest for the fellow students. Because Social Norms cause us to keep our fellow man in mind. We are tapping into our love for our fellow man, our caring selves, showing our good side. We are less likely to be selfish. We smile, we take one, and we thank the person giving us this candy, we don't want to be greedy because others are coming by and they may want one.
But...when they changed the sign from 'free candy' to 'CANDY for 2 cents!", suddenly the social norm changed to BUSINESS NORMS.
Now that money was involved, this transaction no longer tapped in the social norms but was strictly a business transaction. Money for goods.
The emotion driving the action no longer tapped into the same area as the social norm. It was all about the financial deal. The students pulled out money and wiped the platter clean. They would buy ALL the candy and leave NONE for the fellow students. The caring for the fellow man disappeared. This business transaction involved sacrificing hard earned money for goods, and tapped into a completely different area of emotion. This was a business deal. they could buy as much as they wanted and if the next guy walking by wanted some, he should have gotten there sooner.
This principle is why we tend to see a good salesperson try to get personal. If they can get us to transfer over from our business norms to social norms, then we begin to care about the salesman as a person. We don't want to 'hurt his feelings' if we don't close the deal and we feel guilty for going to a different car dealership to chase the better deal because, well...this sales man and I are now kinda friends and I don't want to hurt his feelings.. This is a widely used trick and I've seen it played out many times.
When people come to Disney Parks, they are handing over THOUSANDS of their very hard earned dollars. This is a very serious business transaction and they are tapping into business norms when they make the exchange.
I am guessing, that for many, the business norm follows them into the park and they act out in a way that says, "This is for me, I am protecting my transaction" and they display behavior that is not tapping into the social, more caring side of their emotions.
I know many, MANY are kind and don't do this. I have seen many be incredibly kind. I realize there is most likely much more kindness displayed than rudeness. I am not painting a broad brush. But I do wonder....if the ones we DO see acting out, in what seems to be, a very selfish manner, if they are following this principle.
I would wonder if these same people pushing and shoving would surprise us by acting kind and mannerly at the free park down the road. Business norms and Social Norms. It's a fascinating observation.
When I was in grad school, one of our books we read in The Psychology of Money class was by a guy who writes a column for the WSJ and teaches (or taught) at Duke. It was a book about human behavior and how our social and business norms affect our decisions.
It was so valuable and has saved me thousands on mortgage and auto deals, because I can now spot when a sales person is trying to switch me from business norms to social norms.
This is what I think (In my opinion) is happening at WDW and why people don't seem to act, in the theme parks, as caring as they might act at a neighborhood park.
Here's how it works: (specific details may be paraphrased here and this is only one of many experiments which demonstrated this principle)
The author did an experiment at a college where they offered a tray of candy. For free.
People were thrilled and took one, maybe two...this was not a money transaction. So it did not tap into our business values and norms. It was a social transaction and tapped into SOCIAL NORMS.
Folks took one and left the rest for the fellow students. Because Social Norms cause us to keep our fellow man in mind. We are tapping into our love for our fellow man, our caring selves, showing our good side. We are less likely to be selfish. We smile, we take one, and we thank the person giving us this candy, we don't want to be greedy because others are coming by and they may want one.
But...when they changed the sign from 'free candy' to 'CANDY for 2 cents!", suddenly the social norm changed to BUSINESS NORMS.
Now that money was involved, this transaction no longer tapped in the social norms but was strictly a business transaction. Money for goods.
The emotion driving the action no longer tapped into the same area as the social norm. It was all about the financial deal. The students pulled out money and wiped the platter clean. They would buy ALL the candy and leave NONE for the fellow students. The caring for the fellow man disappeared. This business transaction involved sacrificing hard earned money for goods, and tapped into a completely different area of emotion. This was a business deal. they could buy as much as they wanted and if the next guy walking by wanted some, he should have gotten there sooner.
This principle is why we tend to see a good salesperson try to get personal. If they can get us to transfer over from our business norms to social norms, then we begin to care about the salesman as a person. We don't want to 'hurt his feelings' if we don't close the deal and we feel guilty for going to a different car dealership to chase the better deal because, well...this sales man and I are now kinda friends and I don't want to hurt his feelings.. This is a widely used trick and I've seen it played out many times.
When people come to Disney Parks, they are handing over THOUSANDS of their very hard earned dollars. This is a very serious business transaction and they are tapping into business norms when they make the exchange.
I am guessing, that for many, the business norm follows them into the park and they act out in a way that says, "This is for me, I am protecting my transaction" and they display behavior that is not tapping into the social, more caring side of their emotions.
I know many, MANY are kind and don't do this. I have seen many be incredibly kind. I realize there is most likely much more kindness displayed than rudeness. I am not painting a broad brush. But I do wonder....if the ones we DO see acting out, in what seems to be, a very selfish manner, if they are following this principle.
I would wonder if these same people pushing and shoving would surprise us by acting kind and mannerly at the free park down the road. Business norms and Social Norms. It's a fascinating observation.
