The effect works because our brains need to conciliate the fact that we are helping someone with our dislike for them, and the easiest way to do that is to assume we actually like them.
The request creates a contradiction and then discomfort for the person who dislikes you. And that pushes one to readjust their way of thinking.
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Similar ideas to Behind The Ben Franklin Effect
Most believe that this effect results from cognitive dissonance - when a behavior (helping someone) contradicts our beliefs (disliking the helped one).
To lessen the unpleasantness of the contradiction, our brains...
It happens when asking someone for a favor makes them like you more.
This is believed to work because our brains try to solve the dissonance between helping someone and not being interested in their well-being by liking them.
Research indicates that the meaner you are to someone, the more you’ll dislike them—even without real cause.
This reverse Ben Franklin effect may help explain how soldiers are able to kill enemies, why prison staff can become needlessly cruel to inmates, and generational f...
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