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Signing a petition is a symbolic act that causes you to commit to yourself the idea "I am the sort of person who cares about this issue". Or let you believe yo

• mistercow 15y ago
  >Is there any evidence to show that signing a petition makes a person more inclined to take additional practical action? Yes, there is some evidence. In Chapter 3 of Influence: Science and Practice, Robert Cialdini discusses this kind of self-image effect, citing several studies including one in particular about petitions[1]. These kinds of "commitments" (even though they are not actually binding) really do affect our behavior, although the end results are not necessarily particularly issue-focused or predictable. One thing we can say though with some certainty: if you convince someone to sign their name to a petition that says "stop X", it will take significant mental effort for them to later decide that they actually support X. [1] http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/4/2/195/ http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/4/2/195/
  • jamesbritt 15y ago
    Thank you, quite interesting. There's a caveat, though (from http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/soc_psych/freed_fras_foot.html http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/soc_psych/freed_f...): Remember, these were innocuous requests from a non-profit group with relatively non-controversial goals. This technique may not produce the same results for more political or more controversial requests.