Commitment Strategies Backfire: Are You Accidentally Eroding Trust?

Building and maintaining trust is one of the toughest things to do in any relationship, but it is particularly difficult in business relationships. Trust forms the foundation of successful business conversations, influencing everything from negotiations to collaborations. However, unlike interpersonal relationships (where we have greater access to people's values and intentions), our access to who our business stakeholders "really" are is limited. We employ "commitment strategies" to show our commitment to our business relationships and, subsequently, earn trust.

A commitment strategy is something we do to fool ourselves into doing the right thing. We set the alarm clock to 6 a.m. the night before because we have an 11 a.m. call and have a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to prepare. Or you tell everyone at work that you want to be more present during meetings by having your camera on during Zoom meetings so they help you stick to that commitment.

But what if our strategies to demonstrate commitment inadvertently erode trust? Recent research sheds light on this intriguing interplay between commitment strategies, trust, and interpersonal relationships.

Understanding Commitment Strategies

Commitment strategies are mechanisms individuals use to overcome self-control problems. These strategies act as external aids, helping people stick to their goals and commitments. Common examples include setting deadlines, using accountability partners, or implementing specific reward systems. These practices, on their own, are not the challenge.

The Research Findings

Across seven comprehensive studies, researchers delved deep into the effects of commitment strategy choice on interpersonal relationships. Here's a breakdown of their key findings:

Trust Implications: Using an incentivized trust game in Study 1, the researchers found that individuals trust people who rely on willpower to achieve their goals more than those who use commitment strategies. This suggests that willpower is perceived as a positive signal in impression formation.

Domain Consistency: Study 2 revealed that this trust disparity holds true across four different domains, with integrity-based trust being particularly affected.

Choice Over Use: Study 3 clarified that it's not the act of using a commitment strategy but the choice to use it that leads to this trust deficit.

Inference of Past Performance: Studies 4-5b demonstrated that people infer past performance from strategy choice, further influencing trust levels.

Public vs. Private Choices: Study 6 found that individuals are more likely to opt for commitment strategies in private settings than in public, hinting at the anticipation of the negative interpersonal consequences of this choice.

Why Is This Significant for Business Relationships?

Trust influences collaboration, negotiation outcomes, and the longevity of the business relationship partnership. This research highlights the nuanced impact of commitment strategies on trust levels.

While commitment strategies can effectively achieve personal goals, their use may inadvertently signal a lack of trustworthiness to others with adverse effects on business relationships, potentially leading to reduced collaboration, skepticism, and even strained partnerships.

Understanding these dynamics can help businesses and professionals make informed decisions about when and how to employ commitment strategies. It emphasizes the importance of transparency, open communication, and the conscious consideration of how our choices are perceived by others.

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Kristal, A. S., & Zlatev, J. J. (2024). Going beyond the “self” in self-control: Interpersonal consequences of commitment strategies.?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Advance online publication.?https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000385