In my last 'official' post, I wanted to just take a stab at the media.
The last week has seen quite a bit of 'psychology' in the papers; probably more exceptional than usual. There was a lil' forensic drama lately.
In a love-triangled compliance murder story, Aniza Essa convinced a 16-year old school drop out to kill her husband. She told him, apparently, that if he did not, she would not love him. If he did, however, she had pledged her dedicated love for him.
The case, of course, drew comparisons to another murder trial; that of the famous Antony Ler, who gave coaxed a 15-year old boy into killing his wife.
The question now is whether the Essa who influenced somewhat by the story of Mr. Ler. Perhaps, the media portrayal of Ler hinted at the possibilities of getting away with murder - getting someone else to kill your husband? Of course, this is a little far-fetched.
But, my question isn't that of conformity or compliance. No, I know of the number of psychological theories that may come into play explaining the influence Ler's case had on Essa. But, in either case, explanation or otherwise, I think I would eventually conclude that the persuasion method on each of the boys may be more complicated than one would ordinarily think.
Instead, I want to digress into the difference between the Anthony Ler and Anita Essa case. The persuasion tool; Love.
In interpersonal attraction, theory asserts that attraction or the probability of attraction is determined by familiarity (propinquity), functional distance, similarity, and physical attractiveness. Sure. I suppose Essa and the young man probably saw each other almost every other day and partook in common activities. I do not think that Essa was particularly attractive (as defined by the media, dammit!) but I can assert that it may be because the man preferred older ladies. Who knows. I'm now (even as you read this!) considering the role of attraction on persuasion. I mean - it may hold that one's persuasion may be actually dependant on how attractive the person requesting compliance is. I'll go into theory in a bit. But wait!
Sociability increases with attractiveness, yes? In fact, this positive evaluation would comply with the Halo Effect. If one trait is positive(good looks), we would assume that all other traits of the person should be positive (decision to kill someone?). The "beauty is good" stereotype would fit this theory as well. These effects should elicit an increase in compliance, yes? But that's a not specific enough. Too simple.
Let's talk about the type of love. I was thinking of applying this 'persuasive attraction theory' with the triangular theory of love. In Essa's case, one would suppose that there was no intimacy. This would, accordingly, define the relationship as factitious love, obvious having closeness and assigning commitment in the union of the two lovers. I would ask then if the type of love can elicit different degrees of compliance. I wonder, then, if a love without intimacy would predict high levels of compliance.
Just something to consider.
