When I was 19 years old I traveled from Tallahassee, FL to the Military Entrance Processing Command in Jacksonville. I went there to enlist in the Army. Shortly after I arrived, I developed second thoughts and decided to leave. When I walked out of the building, my mother who accompanied me to the station followed me outside and briefly reminded me why I said I wanted to join. I re-entered to finish what I started.
I ended up signing up for a multi-year stint under the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), which meant that I would leave that day and come back months later to report for basic training. After filling out the paperwork they ushered me and my fellow recruits into a room and made us take an oath. I didn't find out until later that the Delayed Entry Program I had signed up for didn't mean I was in the Army. Further, the oath we took wasn't binding.
So why the paperwork and the oath?
Well, there is nothing like the power of a commitment. What I didn't know and the Army did is that people take oaths and promises seriously. We do this even if our promises will place us in danger or cost us a lot of money.
Take for instance Thomas Moriarty, Ph.D.'s classic study of beachgoers and their commitment to strangers. Moriarty used two confederates for this study. In the first trial, one researcher would choose a spot a few feet away from an unsuspecting subject and then act as if she were a regular 'beachgoer.' She would lay down her towel, a radio and other items. After a few minutes, the researcher would walk away leaving all of her possessions. Moments later, another researcher would walk by and steal the radio. Out of 20 people, how many do you think intervened?
Four out of twenty.
In the next trial run, the researchers did the exact same thing except for one small variation. This time the researcher asked the people she sat close to if they would watch her belongings while she was away. When the other researcher came to snatch the radio the outcomes changed significantly.
Drama ensued as nineteen of the twenty unknowing subjects interfered with the theft. Not only did they intervene, some became physical with the robber/researcher. (ABC News conducted a similar non-scientific study and they received a similar outcome.)
What to make of all of this?
In my case, my promise was to join the Army and to serve and defend this country. Once I signed the paperwork and took the oath I would have served even if I found out the DEP didn't ‘really' count. But the beachgoers were willing to risk life and limb over a promise to a stranger. Their commitment to someone they didn't know caused them to override notions of safety and self-preservation and to get involved in a potentially dangerous situation.
Final Spin
We all know the importance of a pledge, but awareness of how much power our promises have on our psyche and behavior can serve us in many constructive ways. Not only can we protect ourselves from people or groups who would take advantage of our willingness to commit, we can also use it as a tool for motivation and to spur us to higher heights.
Bakari Akil II, Ph.D. is the author of Super You: 101 Ways to Maximize your Potential!
