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- [Amanda] Hey, Psych2Goers.
Welcome back to our channel.
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Now, let's continue.
Have you ever found yourself
agreeing to certain favors
you thought you would never agree to?
or perhaps you found yourself
in situations you swore you'd never be in.
But somehow you were successfully
persuaded by your friends.
Your friends may have used some psychological tricks
to get you to do what they want
or they're just really persuasive and nice.
But now you might be thinking,
what kind of psychological tricks actually work.
Some of these tricks are cleverly
used by teachers, psychologists,
and maybe even your friends.
So, here are eight psychological checks
that actually work.
Number one, call them by their name.
People love it
when you talk about them.
Well, most of the time.
When you say someone's name
mid-sentence in a conversation with them,
it's a great way to grab their attention
and redirect the conversation back to you or them.
Have you ever noticed as a child
when a teacher would say your name
in the middle of a lecture?
That's because when you hear your own name,
it grabs your attention
and pulls you back to the present.
School teachers don't want
their students to be distracted,
so they say their students' names
to bring them back to the discussion at hand.
This same tactic goes for making someone notice you.
While in conversation with someone you admire,
try saying their name often
and at the beginning or end of the question.
This will grab their attention
and add some charisma to your regular conversations.
Number two, hand someone something
while in mid-conversation.
Here's a fun trick.
Let's say you really need help carrying something
up to your room,
but your pesky brother
isn't interested in helping you.
In order to get his help,
try handing him the object
while in mid-conversation with him.
For some bizarre reason,
when people are in the middle of telling a story
or engaged in deep conversation,
they'll generally take anything
you reach out and hand them.
Go ahead, try it out next time.
Eating a banana?
Randomly hand over your banana peel
while you discuss with them
the complexities of life
and the stirring of the planets.
They'll probably take it from you
without any question.
Number three, practice the Pavlov Theory
by chewing gum during an exam.
Believe it or not,
bubble gum may just help you ace your next big exam.
Uh, what?
How on earth will chewing gum improve your test scores?
If you really need to ace that next exam,
you might want to find a distinct flavor of gum
and start chewing it during your study sessions.
Then when you finally take the exam,
you'll have conditioned yourself
to associate that flavor of gum
with the information you studied for the test.
And it may just help you remember
the information during the test.
This is a form of conditioning
that started from the Pavlovian Theory.
According to Husson University Online,
the Pavlovian Theory is learning procedure
that involves pairing a stimulus
with a conditioned response.
In the now famous experiments
that Ivan Pavlov conducted with his dogs,
he demonstrated how the presence
of a bowl of dog food, the stimulus,
would trigger an unconditioned response, salivation,
in the dogs.
So next time you're studying for a test,
bring out the bubble gum and get chewing.
It may just earn you that A+.
Number four, try imagining you're
where you want to be in life.
This is one psychological trick
that can really help you
if you use it correctly,
using a form of cognitive dissonance to benefit you.
Try changing your mindset
to the person you want to be.
According to Medical News Today,
cognitive dissonance is a theory
in social psychology
that refers to the mental conflict
that occurs when a person's
behaviors and beliefs do not align.
But instead of experiencing that discomfort,
try using cognitive dissonance
to motivate change within you.
If you can't get your behavior
to align with your goals,
try convincing your mind
that you are already someone
who is actively working on those goals.
Let's say you have a habit
of spending too much money
and that you're a bit of a shopaholic.
If you want to move past this habit,
try to tell yourself
that you just aren't the type of person
who likes shopping a lot
and that it's not your thing.
Changing your mindset could possibly
change your actions
if you really work at it.
Or perhaps you're feeling a bit sad
and always look at the negative in most situations.
Although it is important
not to suppress your emotions,
try to imagine yourself as a person
who always looks on the bright side
and you may be inclined
to start seeing the good
during your grumpy days.
Try using cognitive dissonance
to your advantage by imagining
that you're where you want to be in life.
Changing your mindset
to the person you want to be
may set you on the path
to actually becoming them.
Number five, ask for a big favor,
then change it to a smaller one.
Imagine this, you really want that adorable chinchilla
you've been eyeing in the pet shop window.
You pass by the pet store every day
on your way home from school
and the chinchilla's just there
staring you down with his cute little beady eyes.
Your birthday is coming up
and you don't have the cash
to buy him for yourself,
but you've already decided
that you want to name him Giblets.
Well, if you want to use
a psychological trick to your advantage,
try asking your parents for a dog first.
Wait, what?
But you don't want a dog?
You want Giblets the chinchilla?
Yes, but if you ask your parents
for a big favor first,
they're bound to say no.
If you change it later
to a favor that is smaller,
they're less inclined to deny you.
In psychology, this technique is called
the door-in-the-face technique
and can be used in many situations.
If you desperately need 20 bucks,
but you know your friend
doesn't like to lend you a lot of money,
try asking for 50 instead.
20 bucks seems like a lot less
now in comparison.
You and Giblets are now living splendidly.
Number six, ask for a favor when someone is exhausted.
This is another sneaky psychological trick.
Say your friend really needed to crash at your house.
You're definitely busy
and have spent the whole night
binge watching The Office on Netflix.
You just really can't let them stay the night
and you've made up your mind to tell them no.
But then your friend suddenly comes
knocking at your door in the middle the night.
Somehow you've now let them in
and told them they can stay the night.
You gave in because you were exhausted
and too tired to say no to their pleas.
According to several studies,
people are more likely to be influenced
to do something they initially didn't want to do
when they're tired.
You are mentally exhausted as well as physically.
And you really didn't want to be up that late
arguing with your friend.
You would have done anything
to have the situation over with
so you could get some rest.
Number seven, mirror others to help you make friends.
Are you having a hard time
making friends at school?
Without having to change
anything about who you are,
try mirroring the other person's
movements and gestures,
and they may just be more open
to getting to know you.
This kind of mirroring is called the Chameleon Effect
and has been explored in further studies.
If someone thinks that you're like them,
they may be more willing to be your friend.
So someone could be mirroring you subconsciously
to lure you in and gain your trust
or, most likely, I want to be your friend.
And number eight, nod your head
if you want someone to agree with you.
Have you ever needed someone to agree
with a pitch you were making at work?
Or perhaps you really want it to persuade someone
to agree with you on a subject
you just know they would understand
if they open their mind up to it.
Like, okay, they just really need
to watch The Office on Netflix.
If they just understood this point you're making
and agreed with it,
they'd likely want to watch it.
Try nodding while you're discussing a point
You want someone to agree with.
According to a 1980s study
published in the Applied Psychology Journal,
psychologists found that when others
nod while listening to someone,
they're more likely to agree with them.
You may even find yourself subconsciously nodding
to someone's intense story
because they are too.
So what did you think of these psychological tricks?
Remember, like what uncle Ben said,
"With great power comes great responsibility."
So only use these for good
and be aware that others may be using them on you too.
Are you going to try any of them out?
Let us know in the comments below.
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if you found it interesting
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The studies and references used
are listed in the description below.
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