A study done by researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and reported in Scientific American suggests that people are affected by flattery even when they recognize it as such.
Of course you, being outstandingly perceptive, wouldn't fall for it but I'm talking about the average person.
Even when the flattery was in the form of an ad for a clothing store, and the readers of the ad clearly identified the ulterior motive and phoniness of the ad, "It turns out that implicit attitudes towards the store were more positive than explicit attitudes."
They were also better predictors of reported likelihood of making future purchases, as well as likelihood of joining the store’s club. So it seems that while participants quickly dismissed these ads at the explicit level, the flattery was exerting an important effect outside their awareness."
This may stem, the authors said, from most people's desire to feel good about themselves and to believe it when others rate them highly. This is related to the phenomenon in which most people rate themselves as above average drivers--which, statistically, has to be false. (I'd be one of the few to admit that I'm a terrible driver, but I'm sure I'm totally deluded about many of my other qualities.)
Does this mean you should use flattery to enhance other people's perception of you? Far be it for me to suggest someone as sincere and full of integrity as you would ever resort to that...
(Unusually gifted people like you deserve the inspiration to be found in my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. It will be sent to above-average people who request it by sending an email request to [email protected]. P.S. You're looking good!)
