12 Angry Men

In 12 Angry Men the movie it can be observed the different methods of influence that a person uses to impact the behaviors of others. This is a case in which a decision was apparent to be reached easily, all the jurors would presume the defendant guilty of murdering his father, but only one takes an exception and votes as not guilty. It is necessary that all jurors vote unanimously for a verdict to be reached, and when juror #8 votes non-guilty, he forces all jurors to discuss the case. All jurors are against reviewing the case, but in the end sit down to discuss. Each juror is to explain why they believe the person is guilty, trying to convince juror#8 to vote “guilty.” In the end all that juror #8 wishes is that the decision is not reached hastily, as it is a man’s life that they hold in their hands

The first influence methods that can be found in the movie is Consultation - asking and otherwise involving others. This method can be observed when juror #1 states: “you fellas can handle this thing any way you want to, I am not making any rules, well we can discuss it first and then vote on it or well vote right now.” Juror #1 takes the initiative of taking leadership of the group, and asks, and involves others in the best way to reach a decision for this case in a fair and organized manner.

A second method found in the movie is Ingratiating - Praising before requesting - it can be seen when Juror #4 discusses the facts of why the kid is a murderer using the evidence shown in the court, to which he asks Juror #8: “ Am I right so far?” Juror #3 intervenes without being questioned and responds: “you bet he is.” Juror #3 praises Juror #8 without being requested.

Thirdly we found Pressure - threatening, intimidating. This method of influence is observed when Juror #3 tries to intimidate Juror #5, raising his voice and states: “Just because a golden voice poured his heart out about an unprivileged kid […] and you change your mind, this is the most sick […]”

Another method that can be found in the movie is Reason - Appeal to logic and rational thinking. This method can be observed when Juror #3 has to explain why he thinks the kid is guilty, he takes out a notepad and states: “I just want to talk about the facts.” He describes all the events in the scene of the crime and what the witness had stated, in order to appeal to logic and convince Juror #8.

The fifth method found in the movie is Coalition Building - Seeking alignment with others. This method is observed when Juror #7 tells Juror #10: “what about the business with the knife, I mean you can draw that kind of people to believe that kinda jazzing [...]] and not body is going to believe that.” Juror #7 was trying to align with Juror #10 trying to seek common grounds.

Juror #8 is the most influential of all the people in the room, as he is able to use all eight methods, as described in the course material. It can be deducted