Dr. Spock of Star Trek is the cultural icon of clear thinking because he feels no emotion.
But, to our surprise, we recently found that emotions are critical to rational decision-making. Without emotions, we would be less rational and we would make poorer decisions.
The foremost expert on the role of emotion in decision-making is Antonio Damasio, head of the department of neurology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City. The research of Damasio and his team has shown that emotions play a critical role in making the right decisions.
People who lose the ability to feel emotion make poorer choices. Certain emotions, rather than clouding rational decision-making, are actually essential to it.
Damasio described his subjects who lost the ability to feel emotion like this: “Their ability to tackle the logic of a problem remains intact. Nonetheless, many of their personal and social decisions are irrational, more often disadvantageous to their selves and to others than not.”1
An experiment, partially described in Chapter 1, illustrated the importance of emotion to decision-making. In that experiment, Damasio and his colleagues demonstrated that our nonconscious, automatic mental system is capable of “Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy.” 2 The experiment involved a simulated gambling task. The scientists asked participants to turn over cards from one of four decks placed before them. Most of the time, turning over a card led to a reward, but occasionally, and unpredictably, a card led to a loss. Two of the decks were more risky than the others, but participants had no way of knowing that. Participants began to avoid the risky decks shortly after the experiment began, even before they consciously knew which decks were risky. Their perspiration revealed that these participants began to feel emotionally uncomfortable whenever they thought about choosing a card from a risky deck even before they consciously knew it was a risky choice. The automatic, nonconscious mental system sensed risk before the reflective system was conscious of it. The automatic system communicated that risk and influenced choice through emotion.
Unmentioned in Chapter 1 was that the study also included a set of participants who were patients with a type of brain damage that made them unable to feel emotion. These participants, who could not feel emotion, never began to avoid the riskier decks even though they went through the same procedure as the normal subjects.
The lizard uses emotions to arrive at its preferences and to guide decisions. That reliance on emotion may make those decisions more, not less “rational.” A focus on feelings need not lead to irrationality.
We usually answer the question of what people want with an attribute. People want lower prices, fewer calories, more lanolin, faster processing, or happy kids. And people do indeed want those things. However, it is often useful to take things up a level, working from an attribute toward the way that attribute makes us feel. The lizard inside responds more to the emotion of how the attribute makes us feel rather than to the attribute itself.
The recommendation that we “show people how to get what they want” can often be rephrased as “show people how to feel the way they would like to feel.”
Working up from attributes to feelings is a process sometimes called laddering. I want faster processing on my electronic device because then I don’t have to wait. When I don’t have to wait, I can accomplish more. When I accomplish more, I feel more in charge. I feel more powerful.
The most ordinary of attributes can ladder to a desirable feeling.
Shasta is a regional soft drink generally a lot less expensive than national brands like Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, or Dr. Pepper. And, unlike national brands, which each come in a predominant single flavor, Shasta comes in a variety of flavors—orange, grape, root beer, cola, lemon/lime, and so on.
We found that variety of flavors is an attribute that can be laddered. Variety is inherently more interesting than monotony. Because of its variety of flavors, Shasta can be more fascinating, and when we choose a variety of flavors we ourselves can feel more fascinating.
The creative team of Emerson and Werme translated the attribute of variety of flavors into feeling more interesting with lyrics that described Coke and Pepsi as the “so-so soda” and the “same old cola” and Shasta as a “rock and rola.” The lyrics were sung with rock and roll accompaniment and colorful visuals.
Shasta management decided before long that Shasta’s real advantage was its low price and Shasta’s price advantage was communicated convincingly at the shelf. After a short run, the advertising was discontinued. However, 30 years after those commercials aired, people still go online to reminisce about the ads and recall the lyrics still bouncing around inside their head.
The Shasta ads are not an example of marketplace success. But the Shasta ads do illustrate how the choice between possibly the world’s leading brand and a minor brand can be laddered up to a choice of feelings—“same old cola” vs. “rock and rola.”
When we take the reward from an attribute up to a feeling, we gain a number of advantages.
When we focus on feeling, we gain impact because we translate a rational reward into an emotional reward.
We shouldn’t leave the translation up to the target because the target may not make it. Gore-Tex means waterproof. Waterproof means more comfort outdoors. More comfort outdoors means more fun camping. The attribute is only a means to an end. The end, what our target really wants, is the feeling. The feeling that we’ll have more fun camping can be experienced even if we never actually go camping. Gore-Tex is a reason to believe that the anticipation of more fun camping will follow from purchase. The feeling of anticipating more fun camping is more motivating than the attribute of waterproof.
Match Light charcoal is another example of gaining impact by laddering up from an attribute to a feeling, from a rational reward to an emotional reward.
Match Light charcoal is “instant light” charcoal. Instant light charcoal already has lighter fluid in it. Nothing need be added. You can just light it with a match and the instant light charcoal will do the rest. Regular charcoal, like Kingsford, requires using lighter fluid or a charcoal chimney.
With regular charcoal, successful lighting is not difficult but not guaranteed. You might not use enough lighter fluid and the charcoal won’t get going. You might use too much lighter fluid and end up with an unanticipated blaze. If you use a charcoal chimney, the charcoal in that chimney might go out before it is sufficiently lit, leaving your guests waiting for those steaks.
Instant light charcoal is more convenient. It saves a step or two and nothing extra is needed.
Associating Match Light with convenience seemed the obvious way to go. But the people working on Match Light wondered if they could get more impact by laddering up from the attribute of convenience to a feeling. They found that people who use instant light charcoal differed from people who use regular charcoal in consistent ways. People who use instant light charcoal are worriers. They tend to worry more about all sorts of things. They worry more about money. They worry more about their job. They worry more about their kids. They worry more about their appearance, and so on. The Match Light team realized their brand could offer these worriers not just convenience, but confidence and freedom from worry. The Match Light team translated the attribute of convenience into a feeling that was both what people who buy instant light charcoal want and what Match Light can provide.
When we focus on feeling, we also have more control. The target might translate an attribute into a feeling other than the one we want to offer as a reward. Choosing a product with the attribute of “low fat” can translate into feeling healthy, feeling sexy, or feeling like a good parent. When we craft our persuasion, we can pick the feeling that is the most powerful reward to associate with that choice. When we do the translation from attribute into feeling, we gain precision.
Ease in finding a job or a higher salary are attributes that might serve as rewards if we are trying to get our teen to stay in school. Our pitch will be more persuasive if we ladder those attributes up to a feeling. Our teen might ladder those attributes up to feeling of recognition or the feeling of pride. But getting a job and a better salary can also ladder to a feeling of independence. If we have learned that this teen really wants to feel independent, we should do the translation. We should focus on the feeling of independence and direct the laddering gaining precision.
When we focus on feeling, we not only translate a rational reward into an emotional reward, we also translate a delayed and uncertain reward into one that is more immediate and certain. This is critical because, as we saw, actions that are good for us often have delayed and uncertain rewards.
According to most economic models, the appeal of a benefit declines exponentially with time. Research on the issue suggests that the actual appeal of a benefit declines hyperbolically with time. That means that the appeal of a reward declines with time even more rapidly than originally thought. Lately, George Loewenstein, the Herbert A. Simon professor of economics and psychology at Yale, has studied what he calls visceral rewards (food for a hungry person, sex for an amorous person, sleep for a sleepy person, and so on) and has discovered that the attraction of these visceral rewards declines more rapidly still.3 When it comes to visceral rewards, our present bias is even more pronounced and the immediate is even more appealing relative to the delayed. Along with delay often comes some loss of certainty. Any salesman knows that a sale delayed is a less certain sale.
A persuasion attempt becomes more powerful when we focus on feeling and transform a reward that is delayed, uncertain, and rational into one which is immediate, certain, and emotional.
Consuming milk contributes to strong bones. But bone strength is a reward that is delayed, uncertain, and rational. Strong bones are a long way off. A glass of milk doesn’t guarantee strong bones. And strong bones, if they do arrive, are a fact not a feeling. Even if strong bones are a long way off and not guaranteed, I can feel healthy right now. We can transform the delayed, uncertain, and rational reward of strong bones into the immediate, certain, and emotional reward of feeling healthy.
Choosing carrots instead of a candy bar can contribute to weight loss. But weight loss is a long way off. Right now, a candy bar will taste better than carrots. But, when I choose the carrots, I can feel virtuous right away even though I won’t become thin for a while if ever. The delayed, uncertain, and rational reward of weight loss can be transformed into the immediate, certain, and emotional reward of feeling virtuous.
Stopping smoking can help me avoid cancer. But cancer is probably a long way off and avoiding cancer is by no means certain. Right now, a cigarette would surely be a lot more enjoyable than no cigarette. Even if the reward of avoiding cancer is delayed and uncertain, I can feel right now like a good father who is doing what he can to be there for his kids. The delayed, uncertain, and rational reward of avoiding cancer can be transformed into the immediate, certain, and emotional reward of feeling like a good father.
When we translate an attribute into a feeling, we turn a delayed, uncertain, often rational reward into a reward that is much more motivating to the lizard, our automatic, nonconscious mental system.
When we focus on feeling, we gain power.
How will it feel to quit smoking? How will it feel to stay on that diet? How will it feel to stay in school and work toward a good job and independence? How will it feel to drive a new hybrid car or to drive a new muscle car?
Tell whomever you are trying to persuade how it will feel when they take your recommended option
• Because feelings are what they really want.
• Because the physical reward may be delayed, but the feeling is immediate.
• Because the physical reward may be uncertain, but the feeling is assured.
• Because a fact or a feature is rational, but a feeling is emotional and speaks to the automatic mind.
When someone donates to help save an endangered species, the result is delayed, uncertain, and rational. If their donation makes the donor feel like a defender of wildlife, the result is immediate, certain, and emotional.
There is another reason to translate an attribute into a feeling. When we focus on feeling, we can tap into an additional class of rewards that doesn’t depend on the physical experience of the action we recommend.
Many feelings do flow from the physical experience of an action. The indulgent feeling of a spoonful of creamy, full-fat ice cream and the feeling of excitement that comes from driving a car that has great acceleration are examples of feelings that depend on the physical experience.
But some feelings don’t come from physical experience. Feeling more masculine when smoking a certain brand of cigarette doesn’t come from the physical experience. Feeling more fit when wearing shoes with a particular logo doesn’t result from the physical experience. Feeling more masculine or feeling more fit comes from image enhancement and image enhancement does not depend on physical experience. It only depends on our perception of people who perform that action—actor image. Actor image is the stereotype of people who perform a particular action and actor image can be a powerful tool in persuasion. The lizard infers the attractiveness of the action we recommend from the people it associates with that action.
We have an image of people who have stopped smoking, drive a Toyota, wear Nike, or reject drugs. The actor image may be sharply defined, like the perception of people who own a Rolls Royce, or vague, like the perception of people who live in the St. Louis metropolitan area. It may be accurate or it may be inaccurate. But, when we perform an action, we, to some degree, identify with that actor image. When we buy fresh produce, we clothe ourselves in the stereotype of people who do likewise. If the actor image is sufficiently attractive to us, we are drawn to perform that action because we are pleased to be seen as one of those people. If the actor image is unattractive, we are embarrassed to perform that action.
Because feelings are invisible, they can be hard to communicate. Actor image can make feelings visible. The people who already act as you would like them to act are, in a sense, a club that your target joins if your target also acts as you recommend. By taking your recommended option, your target gets to feel like a member of that club. If guys who drink the Budweiser seem manly, your target feels manly when they drink it. If women who wear Victoria’s Secret seem sexy, your target feels sexy when they wear it.
Actor image or user image has long been a staple of professional marketing, but actor image works in personal persuasion as well. What can you do to show your teen that those who don’t do drugs are cool and fun? Teens who perceive those who reject drugs as cool, independent, fun, and intelligent are likely to reject drugs themselves. Teens who perceive those who reject drugs as boring, under the thumb of adults, party poopers, and nerds are embarrassed to reject drugs, and we have a problem.
Image enhancement comes in two closely related forms: public image enhancement and self-image enhancement. In public image enhancement, we enjoy feeling that others see us as we would like to be seen. In self-image enhancement, we enjoy feeling we are the sort of person we would like to be.
We societal animals are designed to seek social approval in the form of affection or esteem. We want to feel that others like us or that others think we are fun, smart, sexy, competent, good-looking, fashionable, and on and on.
When we buy fresh produce, we assume that people see us as one of those people who buy fresh produce. We believe the actions we take influence how others see us. The “spotlight effect”4 is a label scientists have given to our exaggerated notion of how much our actions influence others’ perception of us. We tend to think that everybody is noticing us when, in fact, most are ignoring us.
Our action can make us feel that others see us as we would like to be seen or our action can make us uncomfortable, fearing that others see us as we would not like to be seen.
As persuaders, we can associate buying a bag of oranges in the grocery store with the feeling that others will see us as a good parent. With effort, we can help people feel proud to put a bag of oranges on the checkout counter and embarrassed to put a bag Cheetos on the checkout counter.
Sometimes when we take an action, we can enjoy participating in the image of the actor whether or not anyone else is aware of what is happening. It can be a pleasure to clothe our self in the image of one who buys fresh produce, drives a Cadillac, or smokes a Marlboro, and that pleasure doesn’t require the perceptions of others. A person can enjoy feeling masculine by smoking a Marlboro cigarette even if nobody else is around. Parents can feel like good parents when preparing oatmeal for their child even when no one else is aware of what is being served. Self-image enhancement can occur without public image enhancement.
Image enhancement is a reward that has broad implications because actor image is rich in associations.
The lizard, our automatic, nonconscious mind, works through association—any concept calls to mind other concepts which in turn call to mind still other concepts. Some concepts have broader implications. They result in wider association and cause greater inference. Actor image is a concept with broad implications.
As social animals, we naturally think in terms of people, stereotypes, and exemplars. They are critical to our ability to make sense of the world. We have a special skill at anticipating how other people will act based on what we know about them. We even personify inanimate objects like cars and computers in order to help us anticipate or explain their behavior.
Actor image will often tell people more about an action we recommend than anything we say.
If we want voters to vote for our candidate, if we want our spouse to stop smoking, if we want our teen to stay in school, it’s helpful to adjust our target’s stereotype of people who do what we suggest. A positive actor image generalizes and makes our candidate seem far more appealing in more ways than we have time to explain. A positive actor image of a nonsmoker makes it much easier for a smoker to consider quitting. A positive actor image can give our teen more reasons to stay in school than we ourselves can even imagine.
If we are selling cars, actor image can be one of our most powerful tools. Prospective buyers have a hard time comparing the options in any objective way. Who really understands the technology of the modern automobile? Even “experts” disagree on quality and value.
For most people, choosing a car is a leap of faith. How do people decide where to put their faith? The technology is unfathomable. People realize they are not good judges of the physical qualities of a car, but they believe they are good judges of the people who buy that car. People judge the qualities of a car by their perception of the qualities of the people associated with it. Within obvious financial restraints, they will choose the car that matches the person they would like to be. If they would like to see themselves as smart, they’ll choose a car that they perceive smart people drive. If they would like to see themselves as stylish, they’ll choose a car that they think stylish people drive. And so on.
The salesperson’s job is to figure out who the buyer would like to be and help him or her find the car that makes them feel that way. To be most successful, the salesperson should embody the qualities that people considering the car seem to be seeking—smartness, stylishness, assertiveness, or whatever. As we know, the salesperson doesn’t have to actually be smart, stylish, or assertive; he or she just has to act that way. In the eyes of prospective buyers, you are what you do no matter why you do it.
Westin is an example of associating an action (staying at a Westin) with how business travelers want to feel and doing so through actor image.
When choosing a hotel, convenience is critical. But hotels are often clustered, so a variety of hotels are equally convenient for the traveler and something other than convenience must serve as the basis of choice. Is it the expected comfort of the bed, the expected cleanliness of the room, the expected responsiveness of the staff, or the quality of the expected restaurant and bar?
With hotels, we found that the most important factor was the perception of the sort of guests who stay there.
Westin Hotels are much like other hotels in the same price range—Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton. They are clean. Beds are comfortable. Service is prompt. The hotel restaurant and bar are enjoyable.
We surveyed frequent business travelers, asking their perceptions of each hotel chain on a variety of dimensions like cleanliness, comfort, service, amenities, and so on. We also asked their hotel preference, assuming all hotels were equally convenient to their destination. We then looked at the connection between business travelers’ perceptions of hotels in this price range and preference for hotels in this price range. We found that one perception stood out. Perceptions of cleanliness, comfort, service, and so on were of little use in predicting a business traveler’s hotel preference. But when business travelers perceived that one hotel had an advantage on “for sophisticated travelers,” they were four times more likely to make that hotel their first choice. Hotel preference was much more closely connected with “for sophisticated travelers” than with any other perception. As with beer brand choice, social, emotional rewards were more motivating than rational, physical rewards.
Associating the Westin guest with a sophisticated traveler held a lot of promise. We talked to a lot of business travelers, enough to know that they want others to see them as sophisticated and that they want to see themselves in the same way. The idea that Westin guests are sophisticated travelers has broad implications; that is, it is a concept that is rich with meaning. If Westin guests are sophisticated travelers, then Westin must have comfortable beds, responsive service, and a quality restaurant. On the other hand, the idea that Westin has comfortable beds is a narrow concept, one that is not rich with meaning. “Comfortable beds” does not imply that Westin has responsive service and a quality restaurant and does not suggest that Westin guests are sophisticated.
We felt we could increase preference for Westin if we could build an association between staying at Westin and feeling like a sophisticated traveler. That turned out to be right. We showed the frequent traveler how to feel like a sophisticated traveler. All they had to do was choose Westin. A campaign was designed that featured an almost insufferably sophisticated man or almost insufferably sophisticated woman and asked the provocative question, “Who’s he/she sleeping with?” The question, of course, was quickly answered with “Westin.” Immediately after the campaign began airing, reservations through the reservation system started to climb. About a year later, the investment firm that had recently purchased the Westin chain was able to sell it for a billion more than they paid for it.
When we focus on a feeling rather than an attribute, we:
• Gain the power of promising an end rather than a means.
• Gain precision because, without guidance, an attribute can lead to many different feelings.
• Turn a delayed, uncertain, and rational benefit into an immediate, certain, and emotional reward. Tap into an additional class of rewards that doesn’t depend on the physical experience of the action we recommend—actor image rewards.
When we promise the feeling of participating in an attractive actor image, we:
• Offer our target the opportunity to appear to others as the person they would like to be—public image enhancement.
• Offer our target the opportunity to appear to themselves as the person they would like to be—self-image enhancement.
• Imply a variety of positive qualities of the action naturally associated with that actor image. Actor image is a concept that is rich with meaning.