14 checked facts

Persuasion

Everything on this site about persuasion — each one naming the study behind it.

Asking why makes you more stubborn than asking how.
A 2013 study found that asking someone to explain 'why' they hold a position strengthens their opposition.…
You value information simply because a successful person said it.
Prestige bias is the tendency to assign greater weight to the opinions of people who are high-status, regardless of th…
You repeat a lie until it sounds like truth.
The illusory truth effect shows that repeated statements are judged as more likely to be true than non-repeated statem…
You think media influences others, but not you.
People consistently perceive mass media as having a greater effect on others than on themselves.…
You are more likely to agree after you have refused.
The door-in-the-face technique uses the psychological pressure of concession to secure a smaller request.…
You trust a statement more if it rhymes.
The rhyme-as-reason effect makes you perceive rhyming phrases as more truthful than identical statements written in pr…
You eventually believe the lies you heard before.
The persuasive power of a message can increase over time, even if the source was initially discredited.…
A message you reject today can change your mind later.
People who initially dismiss a persuasive argument often find it more convincing as time passes.…
Your chances of success rise after a blatant refusal.
The door-in-the-face technique demonstrates that you are more likely to agree to a small request after rejecting a lar…
You remember the message but forget the unreliable source.
The sleeper effect occurs when the persuasiveness of a message increases over time as you decouple it from its source.…
You find statements more true if they simply rhyme.
Rhyming statements are processed as more accurate and truthful than non-rhyming statements.…
You feel compelled to restore your lost freedom.
Psychological reactance is a motivational state that arises when an individual's behavioral freedoms are threatened, w…
You eventually trust a source you once thought was lying.
A 1951 study found that persuasive messages from unreliable sources become more convincing over time.…
A small favor makes a large request more likely.
A 1966 study found that people who agreed to a trivial request were significantly more likely to agree to a larger, re…