Vanessa Bohns

Who they are

The work of Vanessa Bohns reaches this site through the papers listed below. On this site the name is tied to Underestimation of Compliance.

Key papers

Flynn, F. J., & Lake, V. K. B. (2008). If you need help, just ask: Underestimating compliance with direct requests for help. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 128-143. What it reports: Across studies in the laboratory and the field, people asking for help underestimated by up to half how likely others were to agree to a direct request, and help seekers undervalued how awkward it is for others to refuse.

Roghanizad, M. M., & Bohns, V. K. (2017). Ask in person: You're less persuasive than you think over email. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 69, 223-226. What it reports: Two experiments in which students asked strangers for a small favour in person or by email. Requesters expected about the same response either way, while strangers agreed far more often in person, a gap the authors tie to trust and empathy.

Key ideas

Underestimation of Compliance: The tendency of people who ask for help to expect fewer yeses than they get, because they undervalue the social cost of refusing.

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