Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 3 · id influence-c3-07-writing-things-down-creates-a-

“Writing things down creates a stronger commitment than verbal agreement alone -- written commitments change self-image and behavior more powerfully because they require more effort and create tangible evidence.”

holdsconfidence: high⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending

Receipts

Cioffi & Garner (1996), The Effect of Response Mode, JPSPFLAGGED: DOI not in registry

Active commitments (writing) produced stronger behavioral follow-through than passive commitments, consistent with the effort-commitment link.

Deutsch & Gerard (1955), A Study of Normative and Informational Social Influences Upon Individual Judgment, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 51(3)DOI registry: valid

Participants who wrote down their estimates before group discussion were significantly more resistant to changing their judgments than those who had only made mental commitments.

This claim is a stable, citable object. If you can falsify a verdict, tell us — corrections are loud here.