An accidental Vegas experiment
You can’t give things away. I am not talking about the internet; the internet is free for all. The context does matter when wanting to give.
Recently I travelled to Las Vegas, Nevada, if you have been there then you will know what I am talking about and if you haven’t then you will understand by the end of this post.
Vegas is historically known for its implicit 24/7 action. However, what is usually left out are the number of immigrants that are panhandling, performing, and soliciting certain merchandise on the numerous tourists that enter the city daily in swarms.
My friend’s and I were staying at Caesars Palace. Famously known for its shopping experience. The 24 hours that we were there we decided to stroll down the boulevard, passing various casinos that stretch a mile long.
On this especially hot day for someone who comes from a colder climate actually turns out to be an average day of 35 Celsius as told by the locals. The tourist mentality provoked my friend to become disillusioned and interested in possession that he wouldn’t purchase locally.
“Wonder presents too many meanings for the mind to process all at once. You can’t grasp it. It’s unthinkable.” Kirby Farrel Ph.D.
A man in his early thirties, possibly could have produced the merchandise, approached our group, singled out probably the only person that would have succumbed to buying what he was selling, and commenced with the ask; “Got my hottest new release out, you can have a copy for 10$.”
My friend didn’t bargain, as a rule of thumb to the negotiator the price is never set in stone and it is always a matter of supply vs. demand. After the sale was made my friend came caught up with the group and told us his story.
I looked with amazement and curiosity. Putting all judgement aside I decided to conduct an experiment of my own. This was a spur of the moment decision based on my interest in human behaviour.
I asked if I could use the merchandise, which was a CD, to see how many people would buy it from me. I am of similar age as was the man who sold this merchandise to my friend but different ethnicity.
Leaving my biases, I approached different individuals and groups of people in hopes of seeing if someone would buy this CD. I was ignored and ridiculed so I decided to change my tactic and see if anyone would take this CD for free.
Did anyone take this CD from me? No.
What was the challenge of giving the CD away? Well, the final person I approached had told me that no one listens to CDs anymore. While this is true, there are people who listen to CD’s apparently, my friend being one of them.
Was it the fact that I look suspicious? My intentions weren’t very clear, and the fact I was with a group of friends made it seem more hostile.
Or is it based on the notion that we become defensive, given the circumstances, not to accept anything because we feel like we are obligated to give something in return?
We understand the act of persuasion at work here and becoming indebted to someone else makes us put our guard up, this is why the average person is self-serving.
Maybe I didn’t try enough people, or the people that I did try might have noticed me soliciting to others so it made them follow the social norm and that was to do what the others were doing, denying my offer.
I would imagine in a given circumstance that other people were interested in buying my product or taking it for free it would attract others as well. In fact, when we see a busy restaurant we think it’s good food, otherwise, why would many people want to eat there.
Same is true when we see a cookie jar with one cookie left next to a cookie jar with many cookies, we want the jar with the one cookie because we believe everyone else has been eating them so they must be desirable.
“We quickly judge people based on their preference.” Contagious By Jonah Berger
The decisions we make in life are actually predestined by our moral compass and our values. We do things in accordance to how we want other’s to perceive us.
It was revealing how much hard work and the many rejections’s the immigrants receive who solicit their merchandise on the boulevard in Las Vegas, and I am sure in other places as well. Does this make me want to buy merchandise because I feel bad for how much trouble they go through? Not exactly.
So what is the message here?
Don’t try to give things away because it’s not going to work? No exactly. Understand human behavior, the context in which you are in. Pay attention to the details, and when you’re curious don’t hesitate to experiment. You will never know what you will reveal.
Thank you for reading this story, share if you found this useful, otherwise why would you share it right?
To be continued….
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Originally published at karasingroup.com on September 26, 2016.
