5 Psychological tricks

Cuddling, hand-holding, and other forms of skin-to-skin contacts can lead to the release of Oxytocin. Oxytocin is one of the many brain hormones that affect human behaviour. It promotes feelings of trust, bonding and devotion. So next time you are feeling stressed or worked up, cuddle up with that someone special in your life, or just hold hands.

Getting touched by someone, even accidently, immediately releases Oxytocin, which in turn leads to a formation of a bond of trust with that person. Salepeople frequently use this tactic to get you to trust them. They will seize the opportunity to touch you on your arm or shoulder while they are casually joking or explaining something. So beware the next time you are touched. Nothing wrong with being touched, just realize that there could be a motive behind that touch, possibly a confidence trick.

One might intuitively think that doing favors for someone makes them like you. Well, actually, requesting favors from someone actually makes them like you more! This is called the Ben Franklin effect. When you do a favor for someone, you internalize the feeling that you did that favor because you liked that person. So, next time you want someone to like you, convince them to do you a favor.

When someone goes along with small requests, it is easier to manipulate them to go along with larger requests, a phenomenon the social scientists call successive approximations". Even though a person might have agreed to a smaller request out of politeness, the person can then be manipulated into getting more complex and larger requests done.

Love how the names are coined, but this is exact opposite of the foot-in-the-door technique. If you wish to get a milder request accepted, you first deliberately ask for ridiculously outlandish request. The Foot-in-the-door and the door-in-the-face are some of the strategies that salespeople use to manipulate their customers.