The Power of “Because …”

I often opine and whine, but empirical studies support my arguments in this article.

My Adventures with Prostate Cancer

A world-class surgeon at UTSW diagnosed me with prostate cancer in 2013.

He told me that within me a tumor grew in a place very dear to a man.

“Not to worry. No big deal. Most men die with it, not from it. We’ll monitor it. Come back in 6 months.”

Almost by accident, I decided to seek a second opinion from another world-class surgeon at Hopkins, a hospital located in the urban ghettos of Baltimore but worth the risk to life and limb because of their reputation for treating prostate cancer.

He said, “Huge deal! You need treatment immediately.”

Down the rabbit hole, I fell.

That groin kick reverberated for about 18 months until I found another world-class surgeon at USC who agreed with Hopkins.

After having the pesky interloper surgically removed, I remained in remission for nine years.

About a year ago, my PSA ticked up.

As John Fogerty would say, “There’s a bad moon on the rise.”

Recently, I went to the “Cancer Center” for a cancer scan designed to determine if these unfriendly little cancer cells metastasized. 

That turned out well, although I doubt that I am completely “out of the woods” (to echo the Taylor Swift song).

Coincidentally, I changed my PCP [1] recently.

When I received the Cancer Center’s report, I uploaded it to his portal (my anecdotal research tells me that doctors don’t read these things until you call them and tell them you are on your way to the hospital).

His PA called me and told me my new PCP had ordered X-rays and wanted to know if I scheduled them.

“Why would I take the time to truck down to your hospital for X-rays when I had just completed a full body scan for cancer?”

I have a long history of questioning authority – gets me in trouble a lot!

“I’m sorry. You will have to ask the doctor.”

This poor water boy did not understand the power of “because …” [2]

The Copier Study 

Everyone should read and re-read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.

Chock full of practical wisdom, it describes a famous study by social psychologist Ellen Langer, proving that “a well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor, we will be more successful if we provide a reason. [3]”

Here is how the study went:

A bunch of people were lined up at a copy machine.

A confederate of the experimenter approached the head of the line and said, “May I use the Xerox machine? [4]”

Later, another confederate did the same thing, but he said, “May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?”

60% complied with the first confederate.

94% complied with the second confederate.

That, my friends, is the power of “because …”

Additional studies showed that it did not matter if the second confederate said, “Because I am in a rush,” or something else, like “Because my husband was just changing the oil on his car, and the jack fell.”

It seems it was not the whole series of words but the first one, because, that made the difference.[5]

Back to the X-ray machine, Buck Rogers![6] 

I saw no point in taking time out of my day for unnecessary diagnostics.

Had the PA understood the power of “because …” I might have complied.

His protocol dictated that he had to then schedule a phone conference between me and his boss.

He asked me when I was available.

I told him between 11:00 and 1:00 on specific dates in a week or so.

He ignored that.

Admittedly, I failed to use the “because …” rule because I was reluctant to confess that I take a nap religiously around 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. every day – an old man’s hard-earned prerogative, the value of which some do not appreciate.

He told me that the doctor would call me sometime after 5:00 p.m. on a date certain about three weeks later and that I was to keep my phone on me from 5:00 p.m. until whenever and refuse all other calls.

I thought, “Hell, even AT&T gives you a four-hour window.”

He did not say, “because …” but, having been worn down by the oppression of modern medicine and the communication process through portals, I did as I was told.

My PCP, a nice guy, called about 6:30 p.m. on the date selected.

Now that I had his attention, he read his file, took note of the test results from my cancer scan (for the first time), understood my “because …” and agreed that X-rays would be overkill (poor choice of words in this context).

Application to Voice Mails 

How many times a week does someone leave a voice mail like, “Hey, Tom. This is Jim. Call me back.”

Over time, one friend of mine telegraphed his punches.

I discovered he was in his car every time he did that, commuting and killing time by playing “dial and drive.”

To hell with what I was doing.

He wanted to talk to someone and failed to engage with Audible or NPR.

If you leave someone a voice mail and want them to call you back, say something like, “Because… I want to pay you that money I owe you.”

Other Variations 

“Are you busy Thursday morning?” [7]

“Can I use the car Friday night, Dad?”

“Can I borrow your credit card?”

*************

“Dr. E would like for you to go in for X-rays because …” would have allowed me to tell him why I thought that was unnecessary.

Wouldn’t that have saved everyone a lot of time and frustration?

Why is that important?

Just because

[1] primary care physician.

[2] Or he had less than optimal instructions.

[3] My emphasis.

[4] Yes, children, that’s what we used to call them.

[5] Page 5.

[6] I know you all remember Buck Rogers!

[7] This is a tricky variation and a conversational trap. The correct response is, “I’m not sure. Why do you ask?” This solicits the because and buys time.