What's in a name? Better manners according to behavioral psychologists

There’s a fascinating effect in social psychology known as deindividuation. Without getting too technical, the idea is that when individuals perceive they are anonymous their behavior becomes less socially acceptable – which is to say they get more aggressive, and lose their ability to empathize with the people around them.

So what does this have to do with meeting planning? Read on.

One of the classic studies on this subject was performed by Philip Zimbardo in 1969. In it participants were told to “shock” an actor posing as another participant each time the actor answered a question incorrectly.

The participant was told the voltage increased with each incorrect answer and the actor showed more and more discomfort as the experiment progressed.

The interesting part of the study for me? Participants who were wearing a nametag were more likely to refuse to shock the actor.

So wearing a nametag holds attendees more accountable to accepted social norms. That means guests are friendlier, more open to being approached. And that means productive networking experience all around.

Sure these are thing all of us have learned anecdotally over the years in the meeting planning business, but it’s nice to have science on your side.

What other strategies do you use to keep attendees friendly and social?

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