The “foot in mouth” approach or how you can manipulate others | EUROtoday
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“Bhowdy, do you’ve gotten two minutes? » This is already the fifth time as we speak that an enthusiastic volunteer has known as out to you on the street. You dodged the primary 4 with out hesitation – time is working out. But just a few steps out of your vacation spot, one other volunteer kindly blocks your path, decided. Three minutes later, you’re a signatory of a petition for the protection of swallows and a proud contributor of 10 euros per thirty days for this noble trigger. What might have occurred? Of course, you want swallows, however to develop into a patron of them…
You have most likely been the sufferer of a gross sales manipulation approach, maybe the “foot in mouth” approach. Knowing the manipulation instruments may be helpful if you wish to obtain your targets. And when you hate this type of methodology, understanding extra about its mechanisms can also be a strategy to cease being fooled.
A well known manipulation approach
Let’s choose up the thread of your dialogue with this volunteer. All smiles, the good man began the dialogue by asking you: “How are you today?” » Banal well mannered phrase? Nay! It is a manipulation approach well-known to researchers in social psychology. In 1990, Daniel Howard, a social psychology researcher and promoter, needed to check the impression of this method to encourage folks to purchase cookies for the good thing about Restaurants du coeur.
On the telephone, earlier than asking for his or her generosity, he would say each different time: “How are you as we speak? […] I’m very completely satisfied that you’re nicely. ” Result ? The acceptance percentage increases from 10 to 25%. It’s not just a question of politeness. “Whatever his actual mood, the interlocutor can hardly say anything other than “I’m fine”. The interrogative form used gives the illusion of being able to choose one’s answer when this is not the case,” explains Robert-Vincent Joule, author of Small Treatise on Manipulation for the Use of Honest People (PUG, 2024).
Social rules almost impose it on us: it’s difficult to say “no, that’s not okay” to a stranger. “However, the response “I’m fine” is not, from a psychological point of view, neutral. According to Howard, it makes it more difficult to refuse to do, immediately afterwards, a small gesture for those who are not well, especially the needy. Being well and doing nothing for those who are not is a psychologically uncomfortable position,” adds Robert-Vincent Joule.
A link between mood and generosity
In other experiments, Howard noticed that the technique only works on people who say they are fine. Those who say they are “doing badly” (12 people out of the 120 asked for in an experiment) are less generous than the people in a control group. Of the 12, only one agreed to buy cookies.
On the other hand, people with peach are much more generous. Among those who responded enthusiastically (“It’s perfectly fine”), 46% agreed to buy cookies, or almost half! As for those who gave a simple “it’s okay”, their acceptance rate reached 30%, a rate much higher than in the control group. For Robert-Vincent Joule, these results confirm Howard’s theory: there is indeed a link between people’s displayed mood and their willingness to show generosity.
ALSO READ Why do horoscopes work on us? So, is it enough to ask how the person you’re talking to is doing to get them a donation? Obviously no, the technique does not work every time, but its use significantly increases your chances of obtaining it. The foot in mouth technique is one of dozens of manipulation techniques listed by Robert-Vincent Joule in his Small treatise on manipulation for the use of honest people*.
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
For instance, when this volunteer known as out to you, with a fragile gesture, he most likely touched your forearm. However, bodily contact has a way more vital function than it appears. This is the “touch technique”, the effectiveness of which has been demonstrated by quite a few researchers. At the start of the 2000s, Nicolas Guéguen, a psychology researcher, for instance, requested a number of passers-by: “Do you have one or two small coins to help me out?” » Acceptance price: 28%. But as quickly because the request was accompanied by a short contact of the arm, the acceptance price elevated to 47%. So listed here are methods that everybody can use… or unmask the following time a persuasive activist, or somebody, comes alongside in your journey!
*To be taught extra in regards to the totally different dealing with methods: Small Treatise on Manipulation for the Use of Honest People of Joule and Beauvois (PUG, 2024).
https://www.lepoint.fr/eureka/la-technique-du-pied-dans-la-bouche-ou-comment-manipuler-les-autres-02-11-2024-2574262_4706.php