Skip to content
Product cover

Understanding 'Honest Signals' in Business

October 1, 2008 | Alex Sandy Pentland, Tracy Heibeck | Marketing

New technology tools are offering insights into the power of ancient forms of human communication that Pentland calls honest signals. In this excerpt from his new book Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World (MIT Press, October 2008), Pentland describes how he and other researchers have been using a device called a sociometer to gain a new perspective on human behavior. (The sociometer is a wearable badgelike device equipped with sensors; it measures factors such as body movement and the amount of time people spend talking face-to-face.) Studies using data from sociometers show that certain types of subtle social signals affect outcomes significantly in a variety of settings, from business plan presentations to salary negotiations.

Pentland focuses on four types of honest signals: influence, mimicry, activity and consistency. Influence, in this context, refers to the degree to which one person’s speech patterns in a conversation influence the other party’s. Mimicry is the extent to which one person copies another’s gestures and movements — such as head nodding or smiles — during an interaction. The activity variable reflects humans’ tendency to show increased activity levels when interested, and consistency in speech or movement may be a sign of focus, as well as of less openness to others’ influence.

Such social signals are surprisingly powerful. For example, Pentland describes a study conducted by researchers Jeremy Bailenson and Nick Yee at Stanford University, in which students were shown a three-minute video encouraging them to carry their student identification card. Some students were shown a standard animated video, whereas others saw a video in which the animated figure mimicked their gestures four seconds later. Simply adding the mimicry feature caused the sales pitch for the ID card to be 20% more effective.

Understanding the power of these nonverbal forms of communication can enable us to better design organizations, Pentland concludes. However, it is an open question whether we will use the new insights this type of research provides for good or for ill.

Article 50118. The MIT SMR article was excerpted and adapted from Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World by Alex (Sandy) Pentland, published October 2008 by The MIT Press. Copyright in the name of The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

Purchase Options

Educator and Student Discounts Available. Learn more »

  BENCHMARKS  
Loading Time: Base Classes  0.0005
My Controller Construct  0.0003
Build Nav  0.0009
Controller Execution Time ( Products / Route )  0.0827
Total Execution Time  0.0832
  GET DATA  
No GET data exists
  MEMORY USAGE  
1.5610 MB
  POST DATA  
No POST data exists
  URI STRING  
store/understanding-honest-signals-in-business
  CLASS/METHOD  
products/route
  DATABASE:  MITSLOAN_DEV   QUERIES: 65  (Hide)
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`carts`)
WHERE `cart_id` =  'c5d83655aa9702d40d2917cbd79da29b'
ORDER BY `created_at` DESC 
0.0002  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS cat_id
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `url_friendly` =  'understanding-honest-signals-in-business'
AND `parent_id` =  1 
0.0038  

SELECT c.parent_id, c.format_id
                    FROM products AS p, products AS c
                    WHERE p.prod_id = c.parent_id AND
                        c.avail_id IN ('A','B','D') AND
                        c.type_id = 'V' AND
                        (
                            c.sku = 'understanding-honest-signals-in-business' OR
                            if(c.format_id = 'Certificate', '', p.url_friendly) = 'understanding-honest-signals-in-business'
                        )
                    LIMIT 1 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  985 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '985' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '985'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '985' 
0.0001  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_flags__products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '985' 
0.0001  

SELECT `sku`
FROM (`products__xsell`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '985'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0289  

SELECT `products`.`parent_id`
FROM (`transaction_lines`)
JOIN `products` ON `products`.`sku` = `transaction_lines`.`sku`
JOIN `product_categories__products` ON `products`.`parent_id` = `product_categories__products`.`prod_id`
WHERE `products`.`avail_id` =  'A'
AND TO_DAYS(transaction_lines.updated_at) < (TO_DAYS(NOW()) - 90)
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` IN ('247') 
GROUP BY `products`.`parent_id`
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC
LIMIT 6 
0.0004  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '1211' 
0.0005  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '1211' 
0.0025  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '1211'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0004  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '305' 
0.0096  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '305' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '305'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '1325' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '1325' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '1325'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0002  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '523' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '523' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '523'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '3987' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '3987' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '3987'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0001  

SELECT `parent_id`
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `prod_id` =  '339' 
0.0002  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `products`.`prod_id` =  '339' 
0.0003  

SELECT *
FROM (`authors`)
JOIN `products__authors` ON `authors`.`author_id` = `products__authors`.`author_id`
WHERE `products__authors`.`prod_id` =  '339'
ORDER BY `sort` ASC 
0.0038  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '985'
AND `kind` =  'image_600x600'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0022  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '985'
AND `kind` =  'gallery_image'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0004  

SELECT *
FROM (`products`)
WHERE `avail_id` IN ('A', 'B', 'C', 'H') 
AND `parent_id` =  '985'
AND `type_id` =  'V'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `title` 
0.0003  

SELECT `c`.`format_id`, `c`.`price`, `c`.`sale_price`
FROM (`products` AS c)
WHERE `c`.`prod_id` =  '986'
LIMIT 1 
0.0003  

SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS media_id, position
FROM (`media`)
WHERE `foreign_key_table` =  'products'
AND `foreign_key_column` =  'prod_id'
AND `foreign_key_value` =  '986'
AND `kind` =  'thumbnail'
ORDER BY IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position` 
0.0003  

SELECT `product_categories__products`.`cat_id`
FROM (`product_categories__products`)
JOIN `product_categories` ON `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` = `product_categories`.`cat_id`
WHERE `product_categories__products`.`prod_id` =  '985'
AND `product_categories`.`parent_id` =  1
AND `product_categories__products`.`cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261)  
0.0018  

SELECT `cat_id` AS id, `parent_id` AS parent, `status_id`, `name`, `description`, `url_friendly`, `page_title`, `meta_keywords`, `meta_description`, `position`, `updated_at`
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `cat_id` != 1
ORDER BY `parent_id`, IF(position = 0, 1, 0) ASC , `position`, `name` 
0.0006  

SELECT *
FROM (`product_categories`)
WHERE `status_id` =  'A'
AND `parent_id` =  1
AND `cat_id` NOT IN (1, 261) 
ORDER BY `name` 
0.0021  

SELECT *
FROM (`site_settings`)
WHERE `option_key` =  'announcement' 
  HTTP HEADERS  (Show)
  SESSION DATA  (Show)
  CONFIG VARIABLES  (Show)