(light music) - [Amanda] Hey, Psych2Goers. Welcome back to our channel. Did you know that your ongoing support is what helps us make
psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone? Well, it's true. And we are so grateful for all of the love that you've given us. Thank you so much. 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. Please like and share this video if you found it interesting and want to share it with your friends. The studies and references used are listed in the description below. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and notification bell icon for more Psych2Go videos. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.
