Psychology: Motivational Strategies

I represent the local community of Native Americans. They feel disconnected from the community because they are different in color of skin, religion, and language. Moreover, they faced discrimination on numerous occasions. The most recent one is when they were denied a room to perform open lectures about their religion. I will try to convince the Board of the local community center to allow them to use the room for these purposes.

In order to accomplish this goal, I will use the so-called foot-in-the-door strategy. The latter can be summarized as follows: a person will agree to a small favor and will gradually agree to do a bigger favor. So, the idea is that at first something small and almost irrelevant is asked to be done. Then, the level of complexity will be gradually increased. Thus, I will ask the Board to meet some prominent spiritual leaders. As one can easily see, this almost has nothing to do with the ultimate goal. However, gradually, I will make sure that the Board understands that there is nothing to worry about while discussing religious matters with the Native Americans. This strategy will work in case of the Board since they will approve of small changes that they do not see as threatening. So, the idea is to start the conversation so that none parties were afraid to participate in it. I believe that such simple step as meeting together in one room can be helpful.

Suppose, the Board agrees to attend a meeting. The next step would be to make sure they feel cognitive dissonance while considering their treatment of the Native Americans on a concrete example. The need to use this approach lies in the fact that after they feel inconsistency between their proclaimed image and their actions, they will try to resolve it. So, the activity that I will use is very simple: I will present them with the facts that expose their hypocrisy. For example, I will show that all other religious groups have been granted access to the community center and use it if needed. However, the Native Americans were denied of this. Since the Board is required to serve the whole community, it seems that it systematically excludes one particular group. Clearly, this is not something that the Board would like to admit. The reason why the use of cognitive dissonance may be effective lies in the fact that it will present a threat to a self-image that they constructed about their organization. Naturally, they would try to do something about it.

This is exactly where the next step will begin. After exposing their behavior, I will relieve dissonance in the following manner: I will compare the alternatives that they had at the time and show that what they actually did was not the worst alternative. This way they will feel good about themselves and will not feel terrible about former discriminatory practices. This activity will be effective in the case of the Board because it will shift the blame from them to the context. In other words, they will understand that actually made the right decision under the given consequences. So, in the future, they will be able to make a different decision that will allow them to make up to the Native Americans. It is crucial to relieve the dissonance since otherwise it would leave the Board devastated and defensive. The ultimate goal is to show that they can make a difference and encourage them to do so. This can only be accomplished if they do not have any unresolved issued about the past that they will perceive as a burden.


References

Perloff, R. M. (2014). The dynamics of persuasion: Communication and attitudes in the 21st century (5th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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