I belong to a collective, and I must not be a drag | The Deception Game of the Brain Part XII
This is Kirito's 586th tweet on "Negotiating Thinking."
The full text is 1939 words long and takes about 3 minutes to read.
1 Introduction
Richard Newman is a faculty member of the Cambridge Juvenile Delinquency Education Working Group in the United Kingdom.
He deals with a group of troubled teenagers every day.
On this day, he led fifteen children from the labor camp on a bus trip to the zoo.
The kids rarely go out and today's event is exciting for them.
The reason why these children are called "problem teenagers" is naturally not fuel-saving lamps.
No, one child just won't wear a seat belt;
Richard said to the child,
Gavin, fasten your seatbelts!
It was as if Gavin hadn't heard it.
Richard told the driver to park the bus by the side of the road and said to Gavin,
Come, Gavin, you get out of the car with me, I'll talk to you.
Gavin did not show any timidity and followed him to the bus without any hesitation.
Richard was just about to continue educating him when he heard Gavin say to him,
Why? Want to hit me? Come on, fight!
This makes Richard feel angry, but he certainly doesn't use corporal punishment to solve the problem;
Richard thought for a moment, then whispered only a word to Gavin, and the boy obediently went back to fastening his seat belt.
What exactly did he say?
2 The power of subordination
We're still in the "Brain's Deception Game" series of tweets, and its way of thinking is inspired by experimental psychology research at Oxford University.
There are some professions associated with "cheating the brain".
For example, professional bosses, magicians, hypnosis.
You read that right, these techniques revolve around how to use the brain's limited attention resources, mislead and overload it for deceptive purposes.
In this series, let's take a look at what kind of secrets are hidden in the methods of "persuasion" of similar professionals from the perspective of "negotiation thinking".
In a nutshell, three technologies:
Super negative, short circuit, subordinate.
The so-called "subordinate" means "conformist".
Man, as long as he does not live on an isolated island, will always be a "social animal."
The most significant feature of "social animals" is the group nature, that is, the so-called "things are clustered in groups, and people are grouped."
Once people are subordinate to a certain "group" label, they will seriously affect their own judgment.
How serious will it be?
It can even trick your brain.
Back to the story at the beginning of the article, what kind of words did Richard say that would make this unruly child obey immediately?
That's a phrase borrowed from the "subordinate" technique.
Richard said to Gavin,
Gavin, I'm not going to hit you.
But I'll tell you, as long as you don't fasten your seatbelt, we're not leaving.
Richard pointed to the bus and continued,
You look at the other fourteen classmates who are waiting, just because of you, for every minute of delay, they played one minute less in the zoo today.
Gavin subconsciously looked at the bus, and the classmates all looked at themselves;
After hesitating for five seconds, Gavin turned back to the bus and fastened his seat belt.
Let's think about it, how exactly did Richard's "subordinate" technology work?
The most powerful phrase is this, "Just because of you, for every minute of delay, they played one less minute at the zoo today."
Gavin was one of the fifteen students in this class, and he was "subordinate" to this "group";
And if it is because he alone that the pleasure of the whole group is hit, "subordination" will exert its existing power;
Or in the vernacular,
Gavin was afraid that people would blame himself for "not having enough fun in the zoo".
(You know, these fifteen people's "class" is not an ordinary middle school class, but a variety of problem teenagers, in a sense, these children's group has a greater influence on individuals)
Once the "subordinate" came into play, Gavin quickly completed the process of changing decisions in his heart;
You know, until then, Richard's use of either cajoling or coercion would do nothing.
3 Ferguson's envelope
As long as they understand the weakness of the brain, smart people will use it to achieve their own goals;
And the affected people, in fact, many times do not realize that such an impact is happening;
Like Gavin in the story above.
Let me end the series with another story, which is still a clever application of "subordinate" technology.
Alex Ferguson, nicknamed "Galeries Lafayette", was the head coach of the famous team "Manchester United" from 1986 to 2013.
As long as it is a fan, I believe there is no one who does not know this old man.
Many media and fans consider Ferguson to be one of the greatest coaches in the history of football.
He has been at the helm of Manchester United for more than twenty-six years, the longest tenured manager in United history;
Back in 1993, however, Ferguson was not so glamorous;
In April 1993, United beat Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 at home, welcoming their first league title since Ferguson took charge.
However, the performance of the players began to slacken, and Ferguson was worried that the next Manchester United might go downhill;
In order to take manchester United to the next level, Ferguson thought of a way.
In a later interview, Ferguson recalled,
I said to all the players, "Starting this year, I'll write down three names and put them in an envelope." ”
"I expect these three men will be the ones dragging United's hind legs next season!"
Then, I saw all the team members staring at each other, then shook their heads and answered loudly, "Definitely not me!" ”
Since then, every year at the beginning of the season, I've said this to the players.
Of course, you know, I didn't write any envelopes at all, but the team members didn't know it, and they all took this "envelope" to heart.
This seemingly naïve approach allowed Ferguson to lead the team to a total of 38 trophies in the next sixteen years, including 13 Premier League titles and 2 Champions League titles;
In 1999, Ferguson swept the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League to achieve treble.
The success of a team is the strength of the collective;
However, each member is "subordinate" to the collective and is also influenced by the collective power;
Ferguson's "envelope", like Richard's words, leaves a mark on the heart of every player,
I can't be the one who is dragging my feet.
When you are subordinate to it, it will change your behavior.
4 Summary
Our brains are so powerful and so vulnerable.
Individuals are subordinate to groups, and this is the brain's deception game.
Here is "Negotiation Thinking"!
"The Deception Game of the Brain Part XII" to be continued
--- Platycodon