Social Engineering Blogs

What if I told you that you could influence the way someone behaves towards a certain person by simply telling them a story or exposing them to certain words just before they met up with the other person. Well the truth is, you can. It’s called priming and can be used to modify behavior and manipulate the way other people perceive things.

Basically priming works because of the fact that human beings associate different ideas and concepts with certain words. Here’s a quick exercise I got from the book “Methods of Persuasion: How to Use Psychology to Influence Human Behavior” by Nick Kolenda that demonstrates this concept.
“It might seem like an odd request, but think of a lucky dwarf. Are you thinking of one? Good. Now go with your immediate gut reaction and think of a number between one and ten. Quick! Stick with the first number that pops inside your head, and don’t change your mind. Are you thinking of a number? Although it’s far from foolproof, you were more likely to think of the number seven.”

He goes on to explain how the “lucky dwarf” that he told you to think of, has certain associations with the number seven that were activated in your mind. Lots of people view the number seven as a lucky number, and even if you don’t you’re still aware that that association does exist. Also, the word dwarf activates a subconscious association to the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves that many of us have seen at some point in our lives. Again, even if you’ve never actually seen the movie before, chances are you’ve probably heard about it several times before, and that’s all that needs to happen for your brain to make that type of association.

This type of psychological manipulation can also be used to program another person to feel a certain way about someone based on the temperature of another object. Below, you’ll see a video that demonstrates how the temperature of a beverage you happen to be temporarily holding for someone, can influence the way you feel about that particular person. Once again, your mind associates certain feelings with certain temperatures, and that’s why this method can alter your perception of the other individual.

As you can see, if you understand the different ways in which the mind works, you can use it to your advantage and of course the good of others. When you practice priming other individuals on a consistent basis, you’ll begin to become rather skilled in the way you think of and embed words that activate the associations you’re aiming for. Don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work as well as you had hoped it would the first few times you try it. More practice will only make you better. You’ll be amazed at how powerful this technique can be.