Hey what’s up guys! Kathy Gibbens here…
Let’s start off today’s episode with a quick review of a fallacy we discussed earlier this Season: the Appeal to Ignorance. The Appeal to Ignorance happens when someone insists that something must be true just b/c it can’t be or hasn’t been proven false, or b/c the other party doesn’t know that it’s false. The Appeal to Ignorance is when someone tries to convince you to accept a conclusion based on assumptions or guesses rather than providing real evidence for their conclusion.
So, the question to ask yourself if you think you’re facing an Appeal to Ignorance is this: “Is this thing really true just b/c nobody has proven it isn’t?”
If you want to review or learn more about this fallacy, check out Episode 28.
New Fallacy: Reciprocity is our desire to do something for or give back to someone who has done something for us. We feel obligated to them. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to do something or give back when someone does something nice for us or gives us something. But it becomes manipulative when someone does something nice for you ON PURPOSE, specifically to make you like you owe them something in return.
Now, these things aren’t always nefarious, sometimes it’s a way for stores to get people to purchase more. Have you ever been to one of those big warehouse-type stores where they have people set up all throughout the food section giving away free samples of food they’re trying to sell? That’s a simple example of reciprocity. They gave you a small taste of something in the hopes that you’ll buy the whole package of it. The technical business term for this is “building brand awareness,” but you better believe these companies are also trying to get you to reciprocate their generosity with future purchases. And if they can get you to use their products consistently…you can see where this is going.
Here’s another example of reciprocity that I was actually taught in that business group I told you about a few episodes ago. Say we were going into someone’s home to try to make a sale, they taught us to ask the people whose home we were in for a drink of water. It seems like a simple request, but the reason we were asking for a drink of water was that it gets the person to say “yes” to us right away, which then makes it easier for them to say yes to us again later on. Also, we were taught that asking for a drink of water starts the cycle of reciprocity, and it will make them more likely to buy something from us later. Isn’t that crazy!! Now THAT’s an example of purposeful manipulation!
So, the question to ask yourself if you think someone is trying to get you into a cycle of reciprocity is this: “Is this person trying to get me to do something in return or are they just being kind” *repeat*
Alright, that was a short one today! Up next, we’ll be talking about passive-aggressive behavior.
* Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
