The Science of Influence: How to Get Anyone to Say "Yes" in 8 Minutes or Less!, Second Edition

Chapter 16. The Problem and Opportunity of Memory in Influence

"Buyers are liars."

Having spent half of my life in the world of sales and marketing, I can share with you that a lot of people believe that to be true.

Reality? Maybe . . . but maybe not.

And the same thing that opens the door to their mind . . . opens the gate to you being able to shape your mind for wealth, happiness, and more of what you want in life.

Analyze this with me:

Forty-five first-year psychology students were told three stories about their grade-school experiences and asked about their memories of them. Two of the accounts were of real grade-three-to-six events recounted to the researchers by the participant's parents. The third event was fictitious, but also attributed to the parents. It related how, in first grade, the subject and a friend got into trouble for putting Slime (a colorful gelatinous goolike toy made by Mattel that came in a garbage can) in their teacher's desk.

The participants were encouraged to recall the events through a mix of guided imagery and mental context reinstatement—the mental equivalent of putting themselves back in their grade-school shoes. Half of the participants were also given their real first-grade class photo, supplied by their parents.

So a bunch of psych students are told that this event happened when they were kids. Half of the psych students were shown photos of their first-grade class picture. Make sense?

• Question One: Estimate the percentage of students who literally believed ...