Commitment and consistency

What it is

Once we commit to a position, even a small one, we feel pressure to act consistently with it.

Related

• Cognitive dissonance bias
  A public commitment creates dissonance when we act against it.
• Social proof bias
  Both are Cialdini principles of influence that work through other people: what others do and what we have said.
• Sunk-cost fallacy bias
  Having committed, we feel pressure to stay consistent with it.
• Reciprocity bias
  Accepting a favour is a commitment that we then feel bound to match.
• Inconsistency-avoidance tendency bias
  Cialdini's commitment and consistency and Munger's inconsistency avoidance describe the same pull toward staying consistent.

Appears in

• Cialdini's seven principles of influence#2: Commitment and consistency

References

• Wikipedia: Commitment and consistency en.wikipedia.org
• Cialdini's seven principles of influence en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia: List of cognitive biases en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia: Cognitive bias codex en.wikipedia.org

More in “People and groups: social influence”