ادریس میرویسی

قبلا براتون درباره ی گداهایی که این روزها می بینیم نوشته بودم.

امشب یه نوع گدای جدید دیدم، که منو یادِ اون پست انداخت و باعث شد این پست رو بنویسم.

داشتم می رفتم خونه که یه جوون حدود 26 ساله با سرعت آمد به سمتم و

گفت "آقا می شه به یکی زنگ بزنم که به حسابتون ده تومن بریزه و شما ده تومن بهم بدید؟"،

گفتم "آره"، و به سمت خودپردازی که همون نزدیکی ها بود رفتیم،

توی راه گفت که "یه غلطی کردم و با مادر خانمم دعوا کردم و از ماشینشون پیاده شدم، الانم پول ندارم، گوشیمم تو ماشین جا گذاشتم، از چهارراه قبلی تا اینجا پیاده اومدم دارم هلاک می شم، الان شما شماره ی بابام رو بگیر که بهشون بگم براتون ده تومن بریزن که بدیدش به من."

گوشی رو دادم بهش و شماره رو گرفت، یکم با تعجب نگاه کرد به گوشی و دوباره تکرارش کرد، بعد خیلی ناشیانه زد به پیشونیش و گفت "واییی!! خاموشه! بدبخت شدم!!"،

چند ثانیه ای می شد که من حدس هایی زده بودم، گفتم "خونتون کجاست حالا؟"، گفت "کوهسنگی"، گفتم "خب می تونی تاکسی بگیری و بری اونجا پولش رو حساب کنی"، گفت "خب مشکل اینه که الان نیستن، نمی شه"، با لبخندکی گفتم "پس مجبوری زنگ بزنی به مادر خانمت و آشتی کنی" و ازش دور شدم.

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یه مدت قبل این سوال و جواب رو توی کتاب irrationally yours می خوندم:

Dear Dan
I was recently approached by a panhandler who asked for 75 cents. I was late for my train, so I gave him the change I had in my pocket and hurried along. Only later I started wondering why he chose 75 cents. Do you think the 75-cent request could be a “market tested” amount, one that yields a higher overall level of donations than asking outright for a buck or more?a
 —BRAD
I am not sure if the panhandler came up with this strategy after substantial research or just based on intuition (if it was based on research, then he deserves more credit than most Fortune 500 companies), but for sure this strategy is interesting.
One possible reason this approach could work is that by making this unique request, the panhandler could be trying to separate himself from the competition, causing passersby to stop for a few seconds, look at the beggar, think differently about him, and maybe give him some money. Another possibility is that by stating an exact amount, the panhandler was able to change the inferences you were making about him and his situation. The idea here is that the granularity of the way we express ourselves communicates important information. For example, when someone tells us to meet them at 8:03, we come to a different conclusion about how serious they are about meeting at an exact time compared to someone who tells us to meet them at 8 or 8-ish. In the same way, a request for exactly 75 cents may carry with it a set of inferences about how seriously the person needs the money. This very specific request may lead us to think that there is a particular reason for the request—like getting money for bus fare—and we are more likely to help when the need is specific

You could argue that the same principle would apply if he asked for $1.25, but in this case the size of the request might deter some people. Plus, when he is asking for 75 cents, and people don’t have exact change, there is a good chance that they will give him $1 and not wait for change. But if the requested amount is $1.25 giving $2 might be too much
Having said all of this, I should point out that my speculations about the specificity of the request and about the rounding-up effect are just speculations and the right thing to do is to carry out some experiments. So, if you are willing to volunteer and beg for money for a few days, we can see how people react when you ask for different amounts, give people different reasons for the amount requested, and make it easy for them to get change back. By gathering some real data we should be able to truly get to the bottom of this strategy.
Beyond gaining a better understanding of begging strategies, carrying out such experiments might be useful in figuring out how to ask people for help in our everyday life. It might help us figure out how to make people stop and listen, how to influence the inferences that they make about us and our requests, and ultimately it can help us get the exact assistance we need. Now that you see how important this is, let me know when you are ready to start the experiments

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رشته هایی مثل جامعه شناسی رو به این خاطر دوست دارم که به آدم این فرصت رو می ده که به بهانه ی انجام یک پروژه ی دانشگاهی، نقش یک گدا رو بازی کنه، به نظر من تجربه ی دوست داشتنی و جالبی می تونه باشه. البته لازم نیست حتما رشته ات جامعه شناسی باشه که این کارو بکنی، شاید یک روز انجامش دادم.

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درباره ی خوندنِ کتاب های انگلیسی، وقتی اولین کتابِ انگلیسی رو تموم کردم میام براتون یه چیزایی می نویسم، کار خارق العاده ای نیست.