Tricking Everyone
Spies and special agents are just as much about the human mind as they are about gadgets and disguises. From creating instant rapport to influencing decisions with small contextual cues, real-life operatives employ tested psychological techniques to collect intelligence and sway results. With that in mind, here are 20 psychology tricks you can learn from these spies.
1. Social Proof
People turn to others to determine what's correct. They look at what most people are doing and assume that it's the correct choice. Testimonials, user numbers, and "most popular" badges leverage this tendency to influence indecisive people to a behavior. Social proof is most effective when the "others" are relatable to the target audience.
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2. Reciprocate
We have a strong social desire to repay favors: if someone gives you something, you are more likely to agree to do something for them in return. Marketers know this, so they give away free samples or useful information, making consumers feel beholden and more likely to make a purchase. The more spontaneous the gift seems and the smaller it is, the less likely the second ask will seem manipulative.
3. Being Scarce
Items or opportunities seem more attractive when they are rare or scarce. Phrases like "only 2 left" or "expires tonight" invoke a fear of missing out. Scarcity then causes people to take less time deliberating and increases impulsive compliance with the request.
4. Showing Authority
People tend to comply more with suggestions from those who are believed to be an expert or an authority. The use of credentials, endorsements, uniforms, or titles that convey authority tends to make people more compliant with recommendations. This is because it is less cognitively demanding to take the shortcut of relying on these authorities to assess the claim, instead of investigating the claims ourselves.
5. Commitment
People who have made a public commitment to something modest want to act in a way consistent with that commitment and so are more likely to agree to large requests in the future. The foot-in-the-door technique uses a first small yes to open up the opportunity for larger requests in the future.
6. Saying Yes
We are more likely to agree to requests from people we like. Many things increase liking: similarity, compliments, cooperative actions, shared goals. Salespeople and negotiators know this. To increase affinity before making a request, they establish rapport, emphasize common ground, and offer sincere praise.
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7. On the Inside
Start with a small request that is very easy to agree with. Later, when you make the target request, it is much more likely to be successful. When we say 'yes' to even an insignificant request, it's as if an accelerator gets pushed. We also start to build a self-image of being a helpful, cooperative person. It is then very hard to say 'no' later on to a bigger request.
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8. Framing
The manner in which information is presented can have dramatic effects on decision-making. For example, people are risk-averse when faced with a choice that is framed in terms of gains, but risk-seeking when the same choice is framed in terms of losses. Framing does not alter objective facts, but only subjective perceptions, and can be a powerful tool, although ethically problematic, for influencing decisions by downplaying harmful effects.
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9. Anchoring
Numbers or options presented first create an implicit standard or reference point from which people make further judgments and decisions. A high displayed "compare at" price makes a sales price look like a better deal. The first offer in a negotiation draws the eventual settlement amount toward itself.
10. Start Big
Ask for something big and then ask for a smaller, more reasonable thing; the second request will seem like a concession and is more likely to be granted. The technique takes advantage of the principle of reciprocity: people feel an obligation to reciprocate the compromise by agreeing to the second request.
11. Priming
Priming operates by first exposing an individual to a stimulus that unconsciously influences their subsequent perception or behavior. For instance, if participants are subliminally presented with words associated with “cleanliness,” they will subsequently be more inclined to make moral decisions or refrain from impure behaviors without understanding why.
12. Using Decoys
Offering a third, clearly inferior option alongside two others can make one of the original two options look, by comparison, clearly superior, leading to a predictable shift in preferences. Retailers will set a decoy price or package so that customers choose the middle option that they would otherwise have ignored. It can be a powerful tool to steer choices, but it should be used to help people choose options that are really better fits for them.
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13. Loss Aversion
People work harder to avoid losses than to get equivalent gains. So loss framing often spurs more action than a gain frame. Health campaigns sometimes point out what people will lose by not exercising to encourage change.
14. Pathos
Making someone mad, empathetic, afraid, or happy can move them to act more quickly and with greater urgency than reason alone. Nonprofits include sad stories or images to make you feel compassion and give a donation, and advertisers create happy or nostalgic content to create positive attachment to a brand. So the lesson here is to use emotions.
15. Mirroring
Mirroring a person's posture, speed of speech, or tone of voice is a subtle way to make them feel more listened to and understood, and so be liked and compliant. For this reason, salespeople and negotiators will commonly engage in some light mirroring, to create a feeling of unconscious affinity in their counterpart before making a request. Mirroring is a strong empathy tool, so use it to genuinely connect with people, not to fake intimacy for the sake of manipulation.
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16. Leading
The term "pacing" refers to making statements the listener agrees with. After some alignment has been established, the clinician can then begin to "lead" and get the person to consider doing something different. This technique is most easily accomplished after rapport has been established between the clinician and client.
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17. Setting the Stage
Pre-suasion is a term introduced by Robert Cialdini that refers to priming the target or context of a request in such a way that they are more receptive to it. For instance, by highlighting the importance of generosity immediately before asking someone for a donation. Contextual nudges can prime priorities and lead to the subsequent ask feeling more natural and appropriate.
18. Opt-out Framing
People go with the default. Making the “best” choice the default greatly increases uptake. Making healthy or ethical choices the default can increase the welfare of the public while not taking away any freedom. But always keep opting out simple and transparent to respect people's autonomy.
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19. Repetition
The more a message, brand, or idea is repeated, the more people like and trust it: simply put, familiarity increases preference. Repetition signals safety and familiarity for slogans or products; this is the basis of advertising repetition of key hooks. Repeat useful information to reinforce knowledge and get what you want.
20. Choice Architecture
Humans avoid effortful decisions, so simplifying choices, such as limiting options, using clear labels, and chunking information, makes people more likely to decide and comply. Good choice architecture helps users pick beneficial options and reduces decision paralysis. Ethically, design should empower better decisions, not hide costs or trap people in poor choices.
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