Randy Garner was about to toss a Red Cross form letter when he noticed it was signed by a "Randall," one whose last name began with a "G." He thought, "'Hmm. Maybe I'll take a look at this.'"
Garner, a professor at Sam Houston State University in Texas, was aware of people's preference for their own initials—"the name-letter effect," discovered 20 years ago. He wondered if his response to the charity's appeal, which bore not only his initials but a similar moniker, meant that we ascribe positive qualities to namesakes. He found it to be true: Students who read stories featuring similarly named protagonists thought better of the characters than control subjects did.
What's more is that the name effect influences behavior: When Garner sent fake surveys to his colleagues, 56 percent of those who received a cover letter signed with a name like theirs (Cynthia Johnston got one from Cindy Johanson, for example) returned it, whereas just 30 percent of those who received the control letter—signed with a common but unfamiliar name—did so. A related name probably grabbed their attention and made them feel warmly toward the stranger behind the survey, Garner says. "But no one identified 'name similarity' as a reason for their compliance."
