Framework · Influence · Influence
Commitment Quality Score
A synthesis scorecard [S] for any commitment a product asks for: active 0-2, public 0-2, effortful 0-2 and inner choice 0, 3 or 6, for a maximum of 12. Inner choice is weighted to equal the other three together. A score of 4 or less on the first core action marks a weak commitment ladder.
Plain label: how strong a commitment ask isAlso known as: CQS, commitment score, commitment rubric
Scoring [S] INF-M-83 (Influence Ch.3, p.57)
| Property | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | A passive default | A click | Typed or built by the user | ||
| Public | Private | A chosen person or team | An opt-in community | ||
| Effortful | None | Small but meaningful | Substantial and productive | ||
| Inner choice | Coerced or heavily paid | A mild incentive | Freely chosen, with autonomy framing |
Why this weighting. The book says inner choice outweighs active, public and effortful combined (Ch.3, pp.70-74) INF-M-20 (Influence Ch.3, p.57). Our score weights it equal to them, a deliberate simplification [S].
Integrity check [S]. A commitment that later loses a promised benefit, hides its endpoint or is used to block cancellation does not count, whatever its score, because it converts now and comes back as refunds.
Use. Score the first core action and each rung of the ladder (in-t-cc-05). A score of 4 or less on the first core action triggers the weak-commitment-ladder gap; that threshold is our heuristic, not a measured cut-off.
Limits
What we don’t claim
- The threshold is a heuristic, not a measured cut-off.
Sources
Influence · Robert Cialdini
Ch.3, p.57 · Ch.3, p.70
Source IDs: INF-M-83INF-M-20
Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.
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