Ingratiating is a psychological technique in which an individual attempts to influence another person by becoming more likeable to their target.
"[6] While these terms may seem similar, it is important to note that impression management represents a larger construct of which ingratiation is a component.
In citing his reasons for studying ingratiation, Jones reasoned that ingratiation was an important phenomenon to study because it elucidated some of the central mysteries of social interaction and was also the stepping stone towards understanding other common social phenomena such as group cohesiveness.
According to Jones, this form of ingratiation is effective based on the Gestaltian axiom that it is hard for a person to dislike someone that thinks highly of them.
Conformity in Opinion, Judgment, and Behavior is based on the tenet that people like those whose values and beliefs are similar to their own.
[1] Self-Presentation or Self-Promotion is the "explicit presentation or description of one's own attributes to increase the likelihood of being judged attractively".
[3] The expression of humor is best implicated when the ingratiator is of higher status than the target individual, such as from supervisor to employee.
Similar to modesty, instrumental dependency works by creating a sense of pity for the ingratiator.
Typically, name-dropping is done strategically in a manner that the reference(s) in question will be known and respected by the target individual.
[4] Seiter[8] conducted a study that looked into the effect of ingratiation tactics on tipping behavior in the restaurant business.
Customers who received compliments left larger tips (M = 18.94) than those who were not the recipients of ingratiation tactics (M = 16.41).
Treadway, Ferris, Duke, Adams, and Thatcher[9] wanted to explore how the role of subordinate ingratiation and political skill on supervisors’ impressions and ratings of interpersonal facilitation.
Specifically, the researchers wanted to see if political skill and ingratiation interact in the business setting.
"Political skill refer to the ability to exercise influence through the use of persuasion, manipulation, and negotiation"[9] They hypothesized that employees who used high rates of ingratiation, and had low levels of political skill would have motivations more easily detectable by their supervisors.
The presenter was asked to fill out a two-question survey that rated the likability and the competency of the other subject on a scale from 1 to 10.
[12] “Specifically, when high self-monitors used these tactics, they were more likely to be seen as likeable, competent, and dedicated by the other members of their work groups.
More research shows how ingratiation is applicable in the online dating community and job interviews.
[13] The study showed that cases in which the woman had felt “close” to a potential dating partner from the mutual sharing of information and was rejected, she was more likely than men to engage in ingratiation.
Both cases show that while men and women have different social and emotional investments, they are equally likely to ingratiate in a situation which is self-defining to them.
In another study in the context of an interview, research showed that a combination of ingratiation and self-promotion tactics was more effective than using either one by itself or neither when trying to get hired by a potential employer.
However, when compared by themselves, self-promotion was more effective in producing such an outcome than ingratiation; this may be due to how the nature of an interview requires the individual being considered for the job to talk about their positive qualities and what they would add to the company.