THE EXPONENT: Volume 01, Number 3

"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it." -- John Ruskin

Why are we here?

That's meant in more than the philosophical sense, in this case. Why is Triangle here? Why do we belong to the group? What do we individually and collectively get out of it? That's what the question is intended to make us think about.

The answers to those questions are particularly important as we think about recruitment. The answers can give at least partial clues to why someone else would be attracted to becoming a member in our Fraternity. Some of the answers are right in front of us - low-hanging fruit is the parlance common in business. Members get camaraderie. Sometimes that camaraderie is even life-long in nature. Members also get the opportunity to become better people than they would have been had they not been members. We each continue to develop our own personal beliefs based on the principles of the Ritual and the Code of Ethics. Additionally, we get an opportunity to work on our own skill-sets and abilities in ways that non-Triangles and particularly non-Greeks don't get.

Maybe the real question should be "Are we getting everything out of Triangle that we should?"

Are you?

• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
• Are You Really Thinking?
• Where'd He Go?

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert B Cialdini, Ph.D.

The first weapon of influence is reciprocity. The rule of reciprocity says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person provided us. If someone does us a favor, we are obliged to do one in return. Politicians call this putting favors in the favor bank. Put one in, and when the time comes, you can get one out. And the rule of reciprocity applies in all cultures. There is no human society that does not subscribe to the rule, the author writes. In fact, it is only because our ancestors learned to share food and skills in an honored network of obligation that we are human, says anthropologist Richard Leakey. Studies show that reciprocity overpowers dislike. If someone "owes" you a favor, it makes no difference if he likes you or not; he feels an obligation to repay you, and he does. A business example of reciprocity is free samples. There's a reason you can eat a small meal while walking the aisles of Sam's Warehouse Club. Free samples sell product. Another way to employ reciprocity is somewhat more indirect. You can make a concession. It is then an "obligation" to return the concession. For instance, if you start a negotiation with a high asking price, then reduce that price, you have made a concession. The party with whom you are negotiating will likely respond with a concession. (However, if the first set of demands is too extreme, your next offer will not be viewed as a concession at all but, rather, a ploy to which no concessionary obligation is felt.) The author tells a marvelous story about reciprocal concessions at work. Watergate mastermind G. Gordon Liddy likely got his $250,000 to conduct the "dirty tricks" of Nixon's campaign because he first asked for $1 million. As Jeb Magruder testified, "If he had come to us at the outset and said, 'I have a plan to burglarize and wiretap Larry O'Brien's office,' we might have rejected the idea out of hand. Instead he came to us with his elaborate call-girl/kidnapping/mugging/sabotage/wiretapping scheme... He had asked for the whole loaf when he was quite content to settle for half or even a quarter."

The second weapon of influence is commitment and consistency. We have a "nearly obsessive desire to be (and to appear) consistent with what we have already done." Because of this, we act in ways that justify our earlier decisions. Generally speaking, consistency is a valued trait. But we easily fall into the habit of being automatically consistent, even when it makes no sense. How is the force engaged? Through commitment. "If I can get you to make a commitment (that is, to take a stand, to go on record), I will have set the stage for your automatic and ill-considered consistency with that earlier commitment. Once a stand is taken, there is a natural tendency to behave in ways that are stubbornly consistent with the stand," writes Cialdini. If I can get you to make a small commitment, I am more likely to get you to follow it with a bigger commitment. Cialdini notes, "It appears that commitments are most effective in changing a person's self-image and future behavior when they are active, public and effortful. But even more powerful is a commitment we think we have chosen to make without strong outside pressure -- in other words, when we think we've made our own choice."

Social proof is the third weapon of influence. Canned laughter on TV sitcoms is an example of social proof. The principle is this: one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct. We view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others doing it. This is even more true when we view the people to be similar to ourselves. As with the other weapons of influence, it generally makes sense to do as others do. Usually, when a lot of people are doing something, it is the right thing to do. But we can be fooled by partial or fake evidence. "Advertisers love to inform us when a product is the 'fastest-growing' or 'largest-selling' because they don't have to convince us directly that the product is good, they need only say many others think so, which seems proof enough," writes Cialdini. To illustrate the concept of social proof, Cialdini cites the infamous New York murder of Catherine Genovese in which 38 "respectable, law-abiding citizens" watched the killer stalk and stab her. What happened? Psychologists believe no one took action because "everyone else observing the event is likely to be looking for social evidence, too. And because we all prefer to appear poised and unflustered among others, we are likely to search for that evidence placidly, with brief camouflaged glances at those around us. Therefore, everyone is likely to see everyone else looking unruffled and failing to act. As a result... the event will be roundly interpreted as a non-emergency." (The author's advice if you find yourself in an emergency: Stare, speak and point directly to one person and no one else, and give specific directions.)

The fourth weapon of influence is liking. We prefer to say yes to someone we know and like. And whom do we like? People who are physically attractive, people who are similar to us, people who give us compliments, people who are familiar to us and with whom we cooperate (as in team-building exercises), people with whom the associations are positive (People become fonder of the people and things they experienced while they were eating, for instance.). We have a deep, intuitive understanding of the power of positive associations, and most of us use it to our own benefit. Notice how when the home team wins, the chant is "We won. We're number one." But when the home team loses, the refrain is "They lost." Or, "I don't know what the score was, but Arizona State lost."

The fifth weapon of influence is authority. This is a deep-seated sense of duty to authority within us all. And we are often as vulnerable to the symbols of authority as to the substance. Titles, clothes and trappings are all such symbols.

The final weapon of influence is scarcity. Opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited. Acting on automatic pilot, we know that things that are difficult to possess are typically better than those that are easy to possess. And as opportunities become less available, we lose freedoms, "and we hate to lose freedoms we already have." Newly experienced scarcity is more powerful than a scarcity that has always existed. We want more what we once had. Furthermore, we want most what we are in competition for. If a thing is scarce because others have it, we really want it. The six weapons of influence -- reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity -- explain how and why people agree to things. Think about them the next time you do a business deal.

Are You Really Thinking?

Tim Eiler minn87

Mental Inertia. It's that state in which you find it easier to continue doing what's always been done and doing it the way it's always been done.

So, how does this concept pertain to you - Joe Triangle?

Well, one word often used as an excuse for mental inertia is 'tradition.' When was the last time you and your chapter reviewed any of your traditions to make sure they still make sense?

It also means you need to look at parts of how the chapter operates to find ways of making things work.

I know of one chapter that had a tradition up until they went out of business in the mid-90's in which the new member (formerly "pledge") made a paddle and then the pledge father (aka Big Brother in some chapters) used it to give him one swat. The new member was led to think the swat would be a hard one, but in reality, it was apparently not. I think the intent of this tradition was to show the new member that he could trust his fellow Triangles, that a fellow Triangle would not harm him intentionally. Certainly this tradition wasn't the *only* cause of the demise of this chapter - but it certainly had at least a small role to play. Too bad the chapter didn't realize much earlier how something like this affects morale, which in turn affects commitment to the Fraternity, which then affects input to it, attitude shown in the recruiting process, and thus numbers of new recruits.

I know of another chapter that recruited almost solely by means of a mass mailing to all incoming freshmen. That seemed to work for most of the 80's, but something in student attitudes changed early in the 90's. As member numbers declined, he chapter realized pretty quickly that something was wrong with doing things the "old" way and began to make changes. The next recruiting cycle saw the chapter also mailing to incoming transfer students, tailoring the "message" to major type, etc. More importantly, though, they also started going out and actually doing some one on one, personal recruiting! The results were pretty good overall. Imagine how good the situation might have been had the chapter recognized *in advance* that this problem was coming!

So, you say that chapter traditions are "bigger than you or any one year of people," and shouldn't be changed... Well, that's probably true in a few cases - we don't mess much with the Ritual, for example - but nearly every tradition could at least probably use some updating to today's situation. Even the Ritual occasionally gets wording changes to make it more easily understood.

Maybe in the area of improving chapter operations, you're scared that you don't know what you're doing. As you'll recall, confidence is the requisite of all successful men. The way to gain confidence (and avoid overconfidence) is to learn the subject well and think through the ramifications of a possible change to how you do something.

As former Triangle Executive Director Charlie Barbour used to say, the greatest benefit of being a part of Triangle is that you're a part of a living laboratory. This gives you opportunities to learn about yourself, to learn about how others think and behave, and to try out your own ideas and skills. Of course you probably don't want to make wholesale changes to your chapter just for the fun of trying new things. You may find, though that changes need to be made and so you should take the opportunity to hone your own skills while making the chapter better. Any alum worth his member number will tell you that you're completely wasting a unique, rare opportunity if you don't take advantage of this! As Nike says, "Just Do It."

Where'd He Go?

Tim Eiler minn87

For alumni: Do you keep in regular contact with your old roommates? Have you spoken recently to anyone else from your new member class? When was the last chapter event you attended? Are you planning on going to either your chapter's Founders' Day celebration or one near you?

For actives: What can you do to make sure that "we'll keep in touch" isn't just a platitude after you graduate? One or two of you who are reading this will be a National President after graduation. More have the opportunity to serve Triangle as a National Councilman. How will you prepare yourself for that service? You will at some point 1, 2, 3, or 4 years from now graduate and will attempt to find a place to start your career - what can you learn or polish while an active in Triangle that will help you compete for the spot you want?

Hope you enjoyed this issue!!! If you have questions, feel free to email the editor ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Tim Eiler
Exponent Editor

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