Persuasion When We Are Mindless: "Can I Use The Copy Machine, Because ..."

When someone asks us for a favor and provides a valid reason, we are more inclined to help. But in some situations it is already sufficient to present a quite dumb reason...


Langer, E. J., Blank, A., & Chanowitz, B. (1978). The mindlessness of ostensibly thoughtful action: The role of" placebic" information in interpersonal interaction. Journal of personality and social psychology, 36(6), 635.

Replication:
Key, M. S., Edlund, J. E., Sagarin, B. J., & Bizer, G. Y. (2009). Individual differences in susceptibility to mindlessness. Personality and Individual Differences, 46(3), 261-264.

Author: Eskil Burck (degreed psychologist)