It’s not only computer novices who infer these psychological qualities; my
research with experienced engineers showed that even the tech savvy treat
computing products as though the products had preferences and personalities.
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The Stanford Similarity Studies
In the area of psychological cues, one of the most powerful persuasion princi
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ples is similarity.
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Simply stated, the principle of similarity suggests that, in
most situations, people we think are similar to us (in personality, preferences,
or in other attributes) can motivate and persuade us more easily than people
who are not similar to us.
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Even trivial types of similarity—such as having the
same hometown or rooting for the same sports teams—can lead to more liking
and more persuasion.
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In ...