Reciprocity – People tend to return favors. If you help people, they’ll help you. If you behave in a certain way, they’ll respond in kind.
The rule of reciprocity is a basic law of social psychology that says we must pay back for what we receive. While some are straightforward, like the survey that pays you a dollar for answering questions or the free research article offer which then asks you to fill out a form for the download of the full report, there are others that are subtle and you are not even aware of what they have done to you.
One day Krishna and Arjuna were taking their usual walk, when they came across an old Brahmin begging, Taking pity on his condition, Arjuna gave him a bag of gold coins. The man was overjoyed and went home. On his way, he was robbed by a thief in the forest. He cursed his fate and the next day set off to beg again.
Arjuna and Krishna saw again and when Arjuna got to know of his story, once again took pity and gave him a large diamond. The man took it home and kept it in an old pot which had been unused for many years in order to keep it safe and went to sleep. The next morning before he could wake up, his wife went to fetch water from the river, and on her way back, she slipped and her pot broke. She immediately remembered the pot at home which lay unused and brought it to fill it with water. Just as she dipped the pot into the river the diamond escaped the pot and went into the river. When she returned home the Brahmin was desperately searching the house for the pot and when he saw it in his wife’s hands, he got to know what had happened. Dejected with what had happened, he once again left home to go begging.
Once again Arjuna and Krishna saw him and when Arjuna heard of the unfortunate incident that had happened, he told Krishna,” I don’t think this man is destined to be blessed at all, I don’t think I can help him anymore”. Krishna then gave the man two pennies and the man took them and walked away. Arjuna then asked Krishna,” My Lord, if gold coins and diamonds could not change his condition, what good can two pennies do to him?”. Krishna smiled and replied, “Let us see”.
As the man walked home he was cursing his fate when he saw a fish that had just been caught by a fisherman and was struggling for its life, he took pity on it and thought to himself,” These two pennies cannot fetch me food anyway, let me at least save the life of this creature” and he purchased the fish and was about to throw it in the river when he saw that the breathlessness of the fish was caused due to some large obstruction in its mouth and when removed it, it was the very diamond he had lost in the river. He was overjoyed and started shouting “Look what I found! Look what I found”. At this very time the thief that had robbed him in the forest was passing by and heard the Brahmin’s shouts, he recognized the Brahmin and thought that the Brahmin too recognized him and was thus shouting. Fearing that the Brahmin may take him to be executed, he rushed to him begged for his forgiveness, and returned all the gold coins he had stolen from him. The Brahmin was happy and walked away joyfully with all his wealth. He went straight to Arjuna to narrate the turn of events thanked him for all his help and went away.
Arjuna then asked Krishna, “My Lord, how is it that my gold and diamond could not help him but your meager two pennies did? Krishna replied,” When he had the gold and diamonds he was only thinking of himself and his needs, but when he had the two pennies he put the needs of another creature before his and so I took care of his needs. The truth is O Arjuna when you think of the pain and needs of others and work to help them, you are doing God’s work and hence God Himself takes care of you”.
Marketing has always deployed this to persuade the audience to do something. A good example is perhaps that practiced by Hare Krishna folks in the US. Dr Robert Cialdini in his book Influence talks about this.
The Hare Krishna folks would walk down a street or in airports and surprise strangers by giving them a rose or a book. A few meters away, another Hare Krishna follower would seek a donation and the person would donate, generously. Later many wondered how they had donated so much to a stranger. Taking the flower obligated one to donate, without realizing why. This was just tapping into the fundamental principle of human psychology – give back when you receive something unsolicited.
People from all cultures feel a compelling need to repay acts of kindness, appreciation, gifts or favours received or invitations to parties. From an evolution point of view, reciprocal behaviour helped groups stay together through acts of give and take. This human tendency has survived because the earliest communities encouraged and honoured this obligation within the clan. The interdependencies in the community meant this rule had to be followed.
Reciprocity is a powerful tool to influence people. The cabbie who opens the door for you, the waiter who serves you with a smile, and the holiday company that gives you free tickets to a show are all using this technique.
Amway also used this strategy. They gave the product as a sample for free. People using the free sample felt the obligation to buy the product.
Ola recently offered a ₹2,500 credit for two weeks. On the surface, a good move to hook me to continue riding Ola. But when you dig deeper, you can’t but applaud the way they have hooked me. In real life, when someone helps you, you “owe” the person and become indebted to them for the favour. This was no different. When we don’t have to pay for two weeks after using the service, it evokes reciprocal behaviour – it builds loyalty for Ola. Uber too does something here. If you have chosen a card for payment, it does not ask for the payment until your next ride.
Google ad also offers 2500 credit for first-time users. How sweet! By doing good to you, they simply evoke a reciprocal feeling of gratitude. These hooks work on you without you being very aware of the same. That’s why it’s powerful.
When a business makes you indebted to them, they could always encash it at an appropriate time. Reciprocity is a social norm that is used to influence our purchase decisions.
You may find the ladies in railway stations or metros or in bus Addas, an Indian flag sticking on your shirt then demanding Rs 10 to Rs 100. And you do not have an option than to pay them.
Similarly, in traffic lights, you will find children cleaning your car’s Front Windshield Glass and you are obliged to pay them.
Credit card companies offer you a card lifetime free, then they suggest you just have the card and not use it. I personally did not use the card for 2.5 years but now started using it.
This principle of reciprocity is very commonly used by marketers to attract their customers.
Do you know of any other powerful habit-forming techniques used by other companies? I would love to hear from them please do write in a comment.