Psychologists have found that privately made confidential resolutions are rarely
followed, whereas a public commitment to achieve some goal, such as losing weight or
giving up smoking, is likely to be much more effective. This is because the approval of
others for doing something desirable is valued. In contrast, disapproval for failure can
lead to feelings of shame.
Advertising agencies have designed studies bearing out the truth of this observation.
In this research, a group of strangers was bombarded with information about the
qualities of a particular product. They were then asked to either announce out loud or
write down privately whether they intended to buy the product. It was later discovered
that those who publicly declared their intention to buy were considerably more likely to
do so than those who affirmed their intentions in private.
In another study, an experimenter claiming to represent a local utility company
interviewed house owners telling them he was investigating ways in which energy
consumption could be reduced. Half the subjects, randomly selected, were told that if
they agreed to conserve energy their names would be mentioned in an article published
in the local newspaper; the remaining half were told their names would not be used.
All those interviewed agreed to cooperate and signed a form either giving consent for
their names to be used or stating that their names would not be used. Later in the year,
the amount of gas consumed in each house was recorded. The owners who had agreed
to their names being published had used significantly less gas than those who remained
anonymous.