The Startling Impact of Peer Pressure & Why Shyness Can Be a Plus
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How can you handle long wait times at the doctor's office?
Hi, hey, here we go with another episode of Something You Should Know. And we're going to start today with one of my pet peeves. And that's when a doctor or a dentist consistently makes you wait well past your appointment time before they see you. Now, I understand things come up and occasionally it happens, but it's when it happens all the time. I don't know. I guess it's because if I made appointments with people and showed up 40 minutes late all the time, that would be a problem. And apparently I'm not the only one who is bugged by this. According to a survey, one in five patients say they have switched doctors because of long wait times. I would be part of that one in five. 30% of patients have left a doctor's appointment because of a long wait.
Now, the average wait time is about 20 minutes, and Stephen Reimer of the Yale Medical School has studied this problem and says nobody should have to wait more than 20 minutes without a good explanation. And that's the other thing. Anticipated wait is a lot easier to take than not knowing how long you're going to wait. So if it's going to be longer than 20 minutes, someone should tell you. If they don't, you should go to the desk and ask why you have to wait so long. Dr. Reimer says you should also tell the doctor, not just the staff, that this bothers you. People are timid when it comes to criticizing their doctor, but it's the doctor who sets the appointment policy. The doctor is responsible for your wait. No other business would survive if customers were kept waiting so long.
And doctors need to understand that your time is valuable. And that is something you should know. We've all heard the term peer pressure. I'm sure you know what it means. Yet I've come to learn from my guest who you're about to meet that that term is a bit of a misnomer, at least the pressure part. It's not so much pressure when you think of pressuring someone or coercing someone. It's more about modeling behavior. Your behavior that you model influences other people's behavior. And your behavior is influenced by other people's behavior. Probably more than you imagine. So how does this all work exactly? What makes it so powerful? And how can we best use peer pressure to get people to change? Well, joining me is Robert Frank.
What is peer pressure and how can it be used effectively?
He is a professor of management and economics at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. He has been a columnist for The New York Times for more than a decade, and he is author of the book Under the Influence, Putting Peer Pressure to Work. Hi, Robert. Welcome. Nice to be with you, Mike. So everyone's heard of peer pressure.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
How can you handle long wait times at the doctor's office?
1:45–4:20
2
What is peer pressure and how can it be used effectively?
4:20–8:30
3
Are we influenced by our social network's habits?
8:30–15:19
4
How does peer pressure manifest in different scenarios?
15:19–28:27
5
What are the effects of peer pressure on personal behavior?
28:27–31:51
6
Is peer pressure consistent across cultures?
31:51–38:36
7
How can recognizing peer pressure change our actions?
38:36–50:21
Speakers
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