traynor
11-07-2016, 03:40 PM
Possibly because I have been poking around about moving back to Miami, I seem to have become a recipient of an unusually large number of "offers" (mainly related to making buckets of money with little or no effort on my part other than a lot of cash upfront). One of the more artistic is what seems to be a request for help to enable someone (that I know vaguely) to "persuade" someone else to "allow them to participate" in yet another "betting syndicate" with the inevitable claims of "seven-figure incomes." While pondering this latest offer, I came across this very interesting article:
"The key finding is that people tend to rate items they've seen before as more likely to be true, regardless of whether they are true or not, and seemingly for the sole reason that they are more familiar."
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161026-how-liars-create-the-illusion-of-truth
One of the more interesting aspects of the above is in the use of shills to create the repetition needed to increase uncritical acceptance of claims as being "true."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shill
One should always think carefully about what seem to be "comments" by others that are (very) thinly-disguised product or policy endorsements. Few things are more persuasive (to the uncritical reader/listener) than what seem (to the uncritical reader/listener) to be "unsolicited testimonials" praising the virtues and value of a particular product/policy.
One might also be wise to consider what the motives might be of those who go to great lengths to praise the virtues and value of a particular product/policy--then declare it is unavailable (or only available to a select few with extremely deep pockets). What Cialdini referred to as "contrived scarcity":
"In fundamental economic theory, scarcity relates to supply and demand. Basically, the less there is of something, the more valuable it is. The more rare and uncommon a thing, the more people want it. Familiar examples are frenzies over the latest holiday toy or urban campers waiting overnight to pounce on the latest iPhone."
http://www.influenceatwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/E_Brand_principles.pdf
"The key finding is that people tend to rate items they've seen before as more likely to be true, regardless of whether they are true or not, and seemingly for the sole reason that they are more familiar."
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20161026-how-liars-create-the-illusion-of-truth
One of the more interesting aspects of the above is in the use of shills to create the repetition needed to increase uncritical acceptance of claims as being "true."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shill
One should always think carefully about what seem to be "comments" by others that are (very) thinly-disguised product or policy endorsements. Few things are more persuasive (to the uncritical reader/listener) than what seem (to the uncritical reader/listener) to be "unsolicited testimonials" praising the virtues and value of a particular product/policy.
One might also be wise to consider what the motives might be of those who go to great lengths to praise the virtues and value of a particular product/policy--then declare it is unavailable (or only available to a select few with extremely deep pockets). What Cialdini referred to as "contrived scarcity":
"In fundamental economic theory, scarcity relates to supply and demand. Basically, the less there is of something, the more valuable it is. The more rare and uncommon a thing, the more people want it. Familiar examples are frenzies over the latest holiday toy or urban campers waiting overnight to pounce on the latest iPhone."
http://www.influenceatwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/E_Brand_principles.pdf