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- In the last video we talk
about how the government
has used psychological
research as a better way
to arm ourselves against our enemies.
This didn't really work out for them
and a lot of innocent people
were hurt along the way.
But today I wanna switch gears a bit
and get into how businesses
utilize psychology
in order to get us to stay
longer in their stores
and buy more of their products.
Overall we know that business
are there to make money
and there's nothing
really wrong with that,
but in order to maximize
profits certain businesses
utilize tactics that are based on
psychological principles and research.
Now the first and the
silliest example of this,
or at least it is to me,
is labeling things as
exclusive or limited edition.
It's a highly effective tool,
because scarcity of any item
immediately increases demand
and perceived value of said item.
This is why companies
like Chanel and Hermes
make people wait months
for their $1,000 bags.
And airlines and hotels do this too.
Have you ever been on the
computer booking a flight or hotel
and it says, only one seat
or only one room left at this price?
But when I use my incognito browser,
which I really encourage
you all to try using,
and do the same exact
search, it suddenly shows
only four left at this price
or there's no limit at all.
By telling us there's a limited supply
that is running out it makes us think
that if we wait, we won't be
able to get on that flight
or stay at that hotel.
This fear of missing out
pressures us to be impulsive
and decide to buy before we're ready.
Try doing a simple Google
search about scarcity
or limited edition items.
You will find that almost
all companies work this
into their marketing plan
in one way or another.
Now let's talk about amusement parks
and how they manage to keep us there,
make us eat their food,
and buy their merch.
Aside from the obvious that
they often don't let you
bring in your own food
therefore you're forced to buy
overpriced not so yummy food
while you're inside the park,
amusement parks also do strange
things to get us to think
about eating even when we
might not be that hungry.
For example, Disneyland
pumps in specific smells
throughout their park
and some of these scents
are designed to get us primed
for our next food purchase.
This works because when
we're getting kind of hungry
our body intensifies it's sense of smell
by activating our CB1
receptors in our brain.
And it does this to make it
easier for us to find food,
which if you think about it makes sense
if we were still living in caves
and had to hunt or gather all our food.
Simply put, our sense of
smell helps us find the food
that our body needs more quickly.
Disneyland however uses this
knowledge to their advantage
and will pump in a scent of let's say,
waffle cones being made
or maybe the smell of
a corn dog being fried
to give us the time to think
about the food that we want
and decide we're going to eat
as we in just the right amount of time
find our way to the next food stand.
They also even spray scents around rides
to give it an authentic
feel like a damp wood smell
that they pump into Splash Mountain
that makes you think you're really
floating along in a hollowed out log.
But amusement parks don't stop there.
Did you know that some intentionally
don't have shaded spots
for us to sit and rest?
Unless of course we make our way
into one of their shops or food courts.
And the black asphalt that
they lay throughout these parks
get so hot in the summer,
it's no wonder people
wander right into much
needed air conditioning
and hopefully buy something.
At least that's the amusement park's plan.
I even read an article
that said Disneyland
has the AC cranked up so
high in one of their shops
and it's the only shop
that sells sweatshirts,
because without the
psychological manipulation
who thinks about buying a sweatshirt
when it's 85 and sunny out?
This is all just so crazy.
The next way that
businesses use psychology
to their benefit is called
the foot-in-door technique.
And this was created after a
study by Freedman and Fraser
in 1966 showed that if we
say yes to something small
like hey, can I borrow a couple of bucks?
We're more likely then to
say yes to something larger
like hey, can I borrow 20 bucks?
Their study proved that as
long as asks are similar
in nature, like you can't
ask to borrow a couple bucks
and then ask to copy all their homework,
we can struggle to say
no to the larger ask.
And I honestly believe
that this technique works
because of cognitive dissonance,
which is when we feel uncomfortable
because who we believe
we are is in some way
contradictory to what we are doing.
It's like we have new
evidence that clashes
with the way we believed ourselves to be.
Do you think that relates
here or is it just me?
The foot-in-door technique
also works in the reverse,
meaning that if we say
no to a big ask at first
we are more likely to say
yes to a much smaller ask.
Like if a sales person asks us to buy
an entire line of beauty products
and then after we've said no asks us
if we just wanna buy this $10 lip gloss.
We are much more inclined to say yes
to the second smaller ask.
This is called the door-in-face technique
and it was researched in
1975 by Dr Robert Cialdini.
He claimed this worked
because of the principle of reciprocity,
meaning that if we say no
to a much larger ask first,
we may in some ways feel
that we owe them something
and therefore will say
yes to the smaller ask.
And finally, let's talk
about subliminal messaging.
Now these are messages that are designed
to go undetected by our conscious mind
and to be understood by
our unconscious mind.
And yes, that sounds sneaky and terrible
because it is just that.
So many companies have been caught
doing this over the years.
Everything from soda
companies showing sexy ladies
on the sides of the bottles
without us recognizing it,
making us think that if we drink that
it's gonna make us sexy or we're gonna be
in a healthier, happier, sexual
relationship with someone.
They've used a lot of sexual references,
whether it be phallic symbols
or the way that the bubbles
arise through soda when
someone's drinking it,
all of these things to try and get us
to think about sex because sex sells.
There's also been different
accounts of the music
behind a commercial having
words like you're hungry,
hungry, or buy, buy,
and without recognizing
that those words are what we're hearing,
like I said it passes our conscious mind
and is heard by our unconscious mind.
We can be influenced and
that's why it's so important
that we stay mindful of
who we follow and why.
If following someone only makes us feel
like we need to buy more things,
maybe it's time to unfollow or mute them.
Because after reading
all about how businesses
get us to spend more
money on their products
I've realized that I can't underestimate
the power of marketing
and psychological research
because they're utilizing all the tools
in order to get me to make a purchase.
And because I feel like
we're being marketed to
all the time, TV, social
media, everything.
There's advertisements everywhere.
I'm personally just going to try be
a little bit more cognizant
of what I buy and why.
Is it because I felt
influenced by what someone else
said or did or is it because
I actually need this item
or it's something I've been saving up
and I wanna treat myself?
So there's just certain things
I think we should put in place
so that we're all more mindful
of what we buy and why.
Were you as shocked as I
was to learn all about this?
I mean I know that marketing plays a role
in what I decide to buy, but I didn't know
there was so much research to back it up
and that most companies utilize
some physiological research
in their own ad campaigns.
As always, do you think
I left something out?
Are there other ways companies
use psychology to manipulate us?
What did you find to be
the most interesting or shocking?
Lemme know in those comments down below
and I will see you next time
for the final episode of
The Dark Side of Psychology.
(mellow music)
