Is it possible to magically turn a rival into a supporter simply by inducing them to do you a favor? This sounds far-fetched but turns out it shares a lot with psychology of attitudes and worked for Ben Franklin. In his autobiography, Franklin narrates how he dealt with hostility of a contending legislator by requesting him to do him a favor (len
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Often, when in a situation and uncertain of the correct way to behave, people tend to look at others for prompts concerning the appropriate behavior. This conformity occurs since many people believe that the majority’s interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more accurate than their own, and thus leads to more fitting course of action. This o
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The clustering illusion is the human tendency to see patterns where they do not exist. Basically, humans are pattern machines. That is why people tend to recognize things from their patterns compared to full details. While this is useful, it also means that humans can erroneously see patterns where they are none. When people encounter
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The attachment theory was pioneered by John Bowlby, an English psychiatrist and Mary Ainsworth, an American psychologist. The theory focuses on the bonds and relationships between people especially parents and children. In his theory, Bowlby sought to show that formation of early emotional bonds had lasting effects on human beings. Pre
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