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- In the last video we talk about how the government
has used psychological research as a better way
to arm ourselves against our enemies.
This didn't really work out for them
and a lot of innocent people were hurt along the way.
But today I wanna switch gears a bit
and get into how businesses utilize psychology
in order to get us to stay longer in their stores
and buy more of their products.
Overall we know that business are there to make money
and there's nothing really wrong with that,
but in order to maximize profits certain businesses
utilize tactics that are based on
psychological principles and research.
Now the first and the silliest example of this,
or at least it is to me,
is labeling things as exclusive or limited edition.
It's a highly effective tool,
because scarcity of any item immediately increases demand
and perceived value of said item.
This is why companies like Chanel and Hermes
make people wait months for their $1,000 bags.
And airlines and hotels do this too.
Have you ever been on the computer booking a flight or hotel
and it says, only one seat
or only one room left at this price?
But when I use my incognito browser,
which I really encourage you all to try using,
and do the same exact search, it suddenly shows
only four left at this price or there's no limit at all.
By telling us there's a limited supply
that is running out it makes us think
that if we wait, we won't be able to get on that flight
or stay at that hotel.
This fear of missing out pressures us to be impulsive
and decide to buy before we're ready.
Try doing a simple Google search about scarcity
or limited edition items.
You will find that almost all companies work this
into their marketing plan in one way or another.
Now let's talk about amusement parks
and how they manage to keep us there,
make us eat their food, and buy their merch.
Aside from the obvious that they often don't let you
bring in your own food therefore you're forced to buy
overpriced not so yummy food while you're inside the park,
amusement parks also do strange things to get us to think
about eating even when we might not be that hungry.
For example, Disneyland pumps in specific smells
throughout their park and some of these scents
are designed to get us primed for our next food purchase.
This works because when we're getting kind of hungry
our body intensifies it's sense of smell
by activating our CB1 receptors in our brain.
And it does this to make it easier for us to find food,
which if you think about it makes sense
if we were still living in caves
and had to hunt or gather all our food.
Simply put, our sense of smell helps us find the food
that our body needs more quickly.
Disneyland however uses this knowledge to their advantage
and will pump in a scent of let's say,
waffle cones being made
or maybe the smell of a corn dog being fried
to give us the time to think about the food that we want
and decide we're going to eat
as we in just the right amount of time
find our way to the next food stand.
They also even spray scents around rides
to give it an authentic feel like a damp wood smell
that they pump into Splash Mountain
that makes you think you're really
floating along in a hollowed out log.
But amusement parks don't stop there.
Did you know that some intentionally
don't have shaded spots for us to sit and rest?
Unless of course we make our way
into one of their shops or food courts.
And the black asphalt that they lay throughout these parks
get so hot in the summer, it's no wonder people
wander right into much needed air conditioning
and hopefully buy something.
At least that's the amusement park's plan.
I even read an article that said Disneyland
has the AC cranked up so high in one of their shops
and it's the only shop that sells sweatshirts,
because without the psychological manipulation
who thinks about buying a sweatshirt
when it's 85 and sunny out?
This is all just so crazy.
The next way that businesses use psychology
to their benefit is called the foot-in-door technique.
And this was created after a study by Freedman and Fraser
in 1966 showed that if we say yes to something small
like hey, can I borrow a couple of bucks?
We're more likely then to say yes to something larger
like hey, can I borrow 20 bucks?
Their study proved that as long as asks are similar
in nature, like you can't ask to borrow a couple bucks
and then ask to copy all their homework,
we can struggle to say no to the larger ask.
And I honestly believe that this technique works
because of cognitive dissonance,
which is when we feel uncomfortable
because who we believe we are is in some way
contradictory to what we are doing.
It's like we have new evidence that clashes
with the way we believed ourselves to be.
Do you think that relates here or is it just me?
The foot-in-door technique also works in the reverse,
meaning that if we say no to a big ask at first
we are more likely to say yes to a much smaller ask.
Like if a sales person asks us to buy
an entire line of beauty products
and then after we've said no asks us
if we just wanna buy this $10 lip gloss.
We are much more inclined to say yes
to the second smaller ask.
This is called the door-in-face technique
and it was researched in 1975 by Dr Robert Cialdini.
He claimed this worked
because of the principle of reciprocity,
meaning that if we say no to a much larger ask first,
we may in some ways feel that we owe them something
and therefore will say yes to the smaller ask.
And finally, let's talk about subliminal messaging.
Now these are messages that are designed
to go undetected by our conscious mind
and to be understood by our unconscious mind.
And yes, that sounds sneaky and terrible
because it is just that.
So many companies have been caught
doing this over the years.
Everything from soda companies showing sexy ladies
on the sides of the bottles without us recognizing it,
making us think that if we drink that
it's gonna make us sexy or we're gonna be
in a healthier, happier, sexual relationship with someone.
They've used a lot of sexual references,
whether it be phallic symbols or the way that the bubbles
arise through soda when someone's drinking it,
all of these things to try and get us
to think about sex because sex sells.
There's also been different accounts of the music
behind a commercial having words like you're hungry,
hungry, or buy, buy, and without recognizing
that those words are what we're hearing,
like I said it passes our conscious mind
and is heard by our unconscious mind.
We can be influenced and that's why it's so important
that we stay mindful of who we follow and why.
If following someone only makes us feel
like we need to buy more things,
maybe it's time to unfollow or mute them.
Because after reading all about how businesses
get us to spend more money on their products
I've realized that I can't underestimate
the power of marketing and psychological research
because they're utilizing all the tools
in order to get me to make a purchase.
And because I feel like we're being marketed to
all the time, TV, social media, everything.
There's advertisements everywhere.
I'm personally just going to try be
a little bit more cognizant of what I buy and why.
Is it because I felt influenced by what someone else
said or did or is it because I actually need this item
or it's something I've been saving up
and I wanna treat myself?
So there's just certain things
I think we should put in place
so that we're all more mindful of what we buy and why.
Were you as shocked as I was to learn all about this?
I mean I know that marketing plays a role
in what I decide to buy, but I didn't know
there was so much research to back it up
and that most companies utilize
some physiological research in their own ad campaigns.
As always, do you think I left something out?
Are there other ways companies
use psychology to manipulate us?
What did you find to be
the most interesting or shocking?
Lemme know in those comments down below
and I will see you next time
for the final episode of The Dark Side of Psychology.
(mellow music)