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Authors: Nick Kolenda
Tags: Psychology, Self-Help, Human Behavior, marketing, Influence, consumer behavior, advertising, persuasion
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how you can incorporate other persuasion tactics to garner his compliance.
STEP 2
Elicit Congruent Attitudes
OVERVIEW: ELICIT CONGRUENT ATTITUDES
I mentioned in the introduction to this book that part of my goal was to make this book the most highlighted book in your collection. Though a seemingly innocent statement, it contained a few powerful psychological principles:
First, that statement primed the idea of highlighting, which made you more likely to engage in that behavior (Chapter 1: Prime Their Mindset).
The fact that I mentioned this book should be the most highlighted book in your collection conveyed high expectations (Chapter 3: Convey High Expectations). With your heightened expectations, you were likely to engage in a self-fulfilling prophecy by highlighting more than you typically would. Though that statement wouldn’t have worked if you never highlight at all, I’m sure that there are many people reading this book that are highlighting more than they typically would.
But there’s another very important benefit from mentioning that statement about highlighting, and this benefit is the main focus of the second step in METHODS:
If you see yourself highlighting more than you typically would highlight, you’re likely to develop a congruent attitude that this book is very helpful and informative.
The term “congruent” essentially means “consistent.” If your target is engaging in a certain behavior (e.g., highlighting), he will feel greater pressure to develop an attitude that is “congruent” with his behavior. For example, if he’s highlighting more than he would typically highlight, then he will infer that he must really like this book.
That notion is the main principle of Step 2 in METHODS. Because people experience a natural urge to hold attitudes that are consistent with their behavior, you can elicit an attitude that would be favorable for your situation by altering someone’s body language or behavior to reflect that attitude. The next two chapters will explain why this principle is so powerful and how you can start applying it.
CHAPTER 4
Control Body Language
While you read this opening description of the chapter, place a pen in your mouth, and bite it with your teeth. Keep holding it with your teeth until you reach the next section . . . I’ll explain why in a few paragraphs.
Body language is a booming topic. Walk into any bookstore and you’re bound to find a large assortment of books about how you can use body language to instantly decode someone’s inner thoughts. Unfortunately, many of those books are inaccurate and misleading because they make claims that are only based on intuition, rather than credible research. Does that mean the field of body language is doomed? Nope. Luckily, although some aspects make the field of body language seem like a pseudoscience, there has been some credible evidence to support some surprising claims. Accordingly, all of the principles in this chapter are grounded in that credible research.
Specifically, this chapter focuses on one fascinating topic that’s been attracting a lot of attention from researchers over the past decade: embodied cognition . Embodied cognition can explain why:
A job applicant has a better chance of getting the job if his résumé is attached to a heavy clipboard compared to a lighter clipboard (Jostmann, Lakens, & Schubert, 2009).
Writing down negative thoughts about yourself can lower your self-esteem, but only when you write those thoughts with your dominant hand (Briñol & Petty, 2008).
People who press their arm upward against a table eat significantly more cookies than people who press their arm downward on a table (Förster, 2003).
Embodied cognition asserts that the mind and body are intertwined. We typically assume that the mind influences the body, but the relationship also works in the reverse direction. That is, your body and behavioral actions can influence your thoughts, perception,
STEP 2
Elicit Congruent Attitudes
OVERVIEW: ELICIT CONGRUENT ATTITUDES
I mentioned in the introduction to this book that part of my goal was to make this book the most highlighted book in your collection. Though a seemingly innocent statement, it contained a few powerful psychological principles:
First, that statement primed the idea of highlighting, which made you more likely to engage in that behavior (Chapter 1: Prime Their Mindset).
The fact that I mentioned this book should be the most highlighted book in your collection conveyed high expectations (Chapter 3: Convey High Expectations). With your heightened expectations, you were likely to engage in a self-fulfilling prophecy by highlighting more than you typically would. Though that statement wouldn’t have worked if you never highlight at all, I’m sure that there are many people reading this book that are highlighting more than they typically would.
But there’s another very important benefit from mentioning that statement about highlighting, and this benefit is the main focus of the second step in METHODS:
If you see yourself highlighting more than you typically would highlight, you’re likely to develop a congruent attitude that this book is very helpful and informative.
The term “congruent” essentially means “consistent.” If your target is engaging in a certain behavior (e.g., highlighting), he will feel greater pressure to develop an attitude that is “congruent” with his behavior. For example, if he’s highlighting more than he would typically highlight, then he will infer that he must really like this book.
That notion is the main principle of Step 2 in METHODS. Because people experience a natural urge to hold attitudes that are consistent with their behavior, you can elicit an attitude that would be favorable for your situation by altering someone’s body language or behavior to reflect that attitude. The next two chapters will explain why this principle is so powerful and how you can start applying it.
CHAPTER 4
Control Body Language
While you read this opening description of the chapter, place a pen in your mouth, and bite it with your teeth. Keep holding it with your teeth until you reach the next section . . . I’ll explain why in a few paragraphs.
Body language is a booming topic. Walk into any bookstore and you’re bound to find a large assortment of books about how you can use body language to instantly decode someone’s inner thoughts. Unfortunately, many of those books are inaccurate and misleading because they make claims that are only based on intuition, rather than credible research. Does that mean the field of body language is doomed? Nope. Luckily, although some aspects make the field of body language seem like a pseudoscience, there has been some credible evidence to support some surprising claims. Accordingly, all of the principles in this chapter are grounded in that credible research.
Specifically, this chapter focuses on one fascinating topic that’s been attracting a lot of attention from researchers over the past decade: embodied cognition . Embodied cognition can explain why:
A job applicant has a better chance of getting the job if his résumé is attached to a heavy clipboard compared to a lighter clipboard (Jostmann, Lakens, & Schubert, 2009).
Writing down negative thoughts about yourself can lower your self-esteem, but only when you write those thoughts with your dominant hand (Briñol & Petty, 2008).
People who press their arm upward against a table eat significantly more cookies than people who press their arm downward on a table (Förster, 2003).
Embodied cognition asserts that the mind and body are intertwined. We typically assume that the mind influences the body, but the relationship also works in the reverse direction. That is, your body and behavioral actions can influence your thoughts, perception,
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