What consumerism really is, at its worst, is to get people to buy things that don’t actually improve their lives. — Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon.com) Although I’ve never tried it, I’ve heard it’s one hell of a drug; that is, shopping on Black Friday. I mean, if so many people wake up before the crack…
So to put it simply, forcing people to choose is not always wise, and remaining neutral is not always possible. — Richard Thayer, author of Nudge It’s always easier to identify problems rather than provide solutions. Just ask my dentist. Unfortunately, it’s no different in psychology, where the purpose of the field—arguably more than any other…
Persuasion is often more effectual than force. — Aesop If you’ve ever used social media, you have probably tried to change someone’s opinion on something–and probably done so in vain. Facebook feuds, Twitter storms, back-and-forth email exchanges, in all of these cases, it can be quite difficult to change another person’s opinion. But did you know…
It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen. — Muhammad Ali Recently, I finished reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X, from which, I learned about a very nuanced man, a leader who committed his life to bettering the lives of others. And although the…
Eye contact is a dangerous, dangerous thing. But lovely. Oh, so lovely. – Hazel Hira Ozbek One of my favorite things about grad school? I can tell people that I literally study persuasion for a living. From writing chapters on persuasion to conducting my own research on the topic, there’s hardly a day I don’t think…
Charisma is not just saying hello. It’s dropping what you’re doing to say hello. — Robert Brault People have told me I’m charismatic. And by people, I mean my mother. And in that moment, she was being sarcastic [the waitress just didn’t understand the complexity of my pun]. Even still, I have clung to that…