Work Matters

Salt Passage Research: The State of the Art

Written by

supermoxie

in

I am preparing for my class tomorrow where my students and I discuss the what
motivates human behavior — a pretty hot topic these days given all the focus
on whether it really is necessary to  pay top talent gobs of money to
motivate them and keep them from running out the door (as we saw in the strong
emotional responses to this recent post).  As I was digging through old
articles, I ran into an old parody published in Change in 1978 by
Michael Pacanowsky called "Salt Passage: The State of the Art," which
does a remarkably adept job of showing that — when you review major behavioral
science theories — ranging from work on  cognitive dissonance, to
communication, to rewards, to the effects of threats — that researchers have
not yet generated clear evidence to explain why the request "Please pass
the salt" is efficacious in causing salt to move from one end of a table
to the source of the utterances.”

The
research in the article is fake, but the theories are remarkably
well-explained, and, alas, some 32 years later, I would assert that behavioral
scientists are — if anything — even more at odds then ever about what fuels
human action.  It is an easy way to learn a lot of social psychological
theory in a short space, and if it was revised for modern times, another dozen
reasons would need to be added to explain why people pass the salt when
asked.  Here is the pdf: Download Saltpassage-2  It holds up pretty
well.  And it makes me squirm because I realize I don't really know why
people pass the salt when asked...

Comments

40 responses to “Salt Passage Research: The State of the Art”

  1. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  2. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  3. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  4. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  5. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  6. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  7. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  8. Dragan Bosnjak Avatar
    Dragan Bosnjak

    One very nice book that explains human behaviour is Drive by Daniel Pink…
    Give it a look.

    Reply
  9. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  10. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  11. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  12. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  13. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  14. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  15. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  16. Kevin J Porter Avatar
    Kevin J Porter

    Bob, interesting post. Question, are people motivated by fear? Obviously motivating people through fear has no place in an organization, unfortunately many companies don’t understand that concept, yet does fear actually motivate?
    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  17. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  18. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  19. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  20. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  21. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  22. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  23. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  24. working girl Avatar
    working girl

    I think most people raised by parents who drilled their Ps and Qs into them respond to polite requests that don’t involve too much effort and are made in a public setting because they don’t want to look like an asocial pratt.

    Reply
  25. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  26. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  27. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  28. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  29. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  30. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  31. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  32. J. E. Smith Avatar
    J. E. Smith

    Ever hear of an employee suggestion program that generated any material impact on earnings. Where human nature is concerned, perception is reality, every company has it’s share of Assholes, and employees rarely see evidence that they will take action on a suggestion that is inconvenient to them, even if it’s good for the enterprise.
    Here’s an example of what happens when you suspend culture and politics and allow business case justified employee suggestions to reach the CEO even over executive objections.
    A $13 billion utility company with 24K employees took the above approach. At the end of three weeks there were 800 suggestions. As a result of several employee suggestions the CEO took bold action and shot an executive cherished sacred cow. In six business days the suggestions jumped from 800 to 7400, 3900 were acted upon resulting in a sustainable $300 million SG&A reduction and within six months a 50% increase in stock price.
    This level of employee involvement has been consistent for fifteen years with every engagement and there’s absolutely no financial incentive involved. We just neuter the asshole impact and the employees do the rest. In fact, the employee input continues beyond the end of the project, but alas, the AH’s are no longer quarantined and without an outsider carrying the message results taper off.
    So, assuming your doctor isn’t at the table, asking for the salt is a fairly low risk request. Asking your boss to kill his sacred cow is like asking your doctor to pass the salt. Remove the risk, whether real or perceived and employees become motivated. One employee offered that seeing his suggestion implemented and knowing how much his boss hated it was the “reward of a life time”. As ugly as that sounds, I think this individual is a member of a very large club.

    Reply
  33. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply
  34. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply
  35. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply
  36. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply
  37. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply
  38. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply
  39. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply
  40. Geoff Roberts Avatar
    Geoff Roberts

    Whether or not fear is a sustainable motivational tool is a different and much more interesting question IMHO and thi slinks to the long-term adverse effects of excessive amounts of stress/cortisol in the bloodstream. Many would argue that the latter is undesirable and unsustainable and so fear is not a sustainable long-term motivator.

    Reply

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