Self-Labeling Hypocrisy
In Robert Cialdini’s book “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive,” I first learned about the concept of the labeling technique. This strategy involves assigning a trait, attitude, belief, or other labels for person, and making a request of that person consistent with that label. In a nutshell, it’s an easy way of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Recently, I saw some Green Peace workers on the street. One person’s technique was to call out to people “hey, you look like an environmentally-friendly person.” Of course, she was using the labeling technique in order to then ask for support for Green Peace. I liked her strategy, but unfortunately it didn’t work for her from what I saw.
After Seth Godin’s event yesterday, I got to thinking about this concept. I have worked in environments, where people subscribed to the belief that they are anti-lizard brain, to use a Seth Godin’s term. Basically, the lizard brain is our innate sense of resistance for self-preservation. What’s humorous to me, is that I have noticed a lot of people who label themselves are actually the opposite. In one work environment, where people were actively reading Seth Godin’s blog, I received the most resistance to small risk-taking and creativity; because they really wanted another cog in the factory to do as they were told.
Another area where I’ve seen self labeling hypocrisy is in the DC social scene. I was recently out with people who were self-described as “genuine.” The opposite was the case. These people were the first to question another person’s “worth” before continuing a conversation. This got me thinking, are people’s self-awareness completely off or do some people strive to be something they will never be?