110 Reciprocity

The tendency for people to give back to those who have given to them.

• Reciprocity is a tendency to respond to kindness with kindness. Anything that is perceived as a gift or concession creates the effect.

• The acts that create reciprocity most effectively are meaningful, personalized, and unexpected. Reciprocity only works if the initiating act is perceived as sincere.

• For example, a nonprofit organization sending mail-outs that contain useful, personalized gifts—such as mailing labels—will receive significantly more donations in greater amounts than sending just a solicitation letter.

• Use reciprocity to promote goodwill, garner attention and consideration, and move people to action. Apply the principle sincerely and sparingly, else it will be perceived as manipulative.

See Also Framing • IKEA Effect • Nudge • Scarcity • Shaping

After a decade of mailing out free-trial CDs, AOL increased its subscribership 12,000 percent. The campaign used reciprocity effectively in the early stages, but they didn’t know when to stop. As people began receiving multiple CDs, the once novel gesture looked increasingly like a wasteful manipulation.