A Disrupt-Then-Reframe Technique of Social Influence

Several theories of change imply that disrupting a person's understanding of an event will facilitate a new representation of that event. The authors created a new influence technique involving a small disruption (stating the price of a package of note cards in pennies rather than dollars) and a direct reframing (saying, "It's a bargain"). Four studies showed that a disrupt-then-reframe (DTR) technique was influential in getting household residents to purchase cards supporting a local charity. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the new technique required both the disruption and the new reframing in that sequence. Study 4 showed the effect when sellers learned 1 sales script and were blind to other scripts. These studies establish the DTR technique and demonstrate the subtlety of some social influence.