Suspicious Heuristics: "Hey, can you watch my stuff?"
"Hey, can you watch my stuff?"
In preparation for job interviews, I've been brushing up a bit on communication theory. The classic Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini is my current leisure reading.
Cialdini reports on a study done in the '70s which I think is easily worth blogging about.
I have to wonder how this study would fare with the modern Institutional Review Board, but that aside, it's a pretty strong result, which also happens to coincide with personal experience -- I have both asked and been asked by others to watch their things, and always felt pretty safe in doing so.
The psychologists theorize this is a result of desire for consistency -- if I said I'd watch, my behavior becomes consistent with that of a guardian.
I'd suggest a rational choice explanation that is just as, or perhaps more persuasive.
If I ask someone to watch my things and then they get stolen, the person assigned to watch is either a witness to the theft or is themselves the thief/accomplice. Knowing that I know this, the watcher has an incentive to be vigilant to avoid being blamed if the item goes missing.
So which is correct, psychology or game theory? Probably a little of both. I'd like to see a follow-up on this study performed in different countries with varying levels of trust for strangers. Presumably in a low trust institutional setting, the "watch my stuff" request would be less likely to work -- unless the incentives provided by game theory are sufficiently strong.
In any case, it's nice to read a study that basically affirms the trustworthiness of perfect strangers!
What about the possibility that I watch more carefully when I've been asked to do so?
Also removes chance of misunderstanding - if someone comes to pick up an unattended laptop, maybe an unsuspicious person just thinks it's a friend picking up the person's stuff for them.