12 Angry Men

The film 12 Angry Men demonstrated several influential techniques that eventually saved the life of a young man from the electric chair. There were five of the eight influence techniques that particularly stood out for me as they made the jurors think about the case and the evidence that made them switch their minds with their decisions. The first is Coalition Building which seeks alignment with others. This technique was demonstrated when juror #8 after the first vote where he was the only one that voted not guilty proposed a second vote by secret where if the outcome was still the same he would switch his vote to guilty, but if there was at minimum one more no guilty then they would agree to talk about the case. This was an effort that worked to get everyone on the same page. The second influence technique was Consultation where it involves asking and involving others. The first example of this was at the beginning when they went around the room asking their individual verdicts and the reasons behind it. This enabled the group to begin efforts to solve their interpersonal conflicts by knowing every jurors position in the case. The second example is when juror #9 asks juror #4 questions regarding traditional habits of a glasses wearer and the indentations on the nose that easily identifies a person that wears glasses. By asking questions they were able to consult each other and come to a conclusion that the lady that saw the boy more than likely was not wearing her glasses and it would have been difficult for her to positively have seen him kill his father. The third example was during the simulation of the stabbing when juror #5 stood up an explained how the stabbing more than likely was executed. Juror #5 had grown up in the slum with those types of knives as a common weapon, so he had good knowledge of how they were used. The third influence technique was Exchange which involves trading or cutting a deal with others. This technique was played out