Our brain loves shortcuts, and they can be used to manipulate us.

You know the old adage that people only want what they can’t have? Well, there is some truth to it. Parents, for example, often observe this phenomenon in their children: a toy will immediately become far more attractive if a child is expressly forbidden from playing with it

The safest bet is to single out an individual from the group and direct a clear help request at them: “You, in the green shirt, call an ambulance.” This way, the person can’t shy away from the responsibility and won’t need to look for guidance from the others. As a result, they will almost certainly help.

When opportunities become scarce, we desire them more.

Weathermen, for example, have gotten death threats for accurately predicting poor weather, simply because they are associated with it.

Well, being aware of the power of authority is already a first line of defense. And to quickly and easily recognize if an authority figure should be obeyed, we should ask ourselves two questions:

First, is this person really an authority or merely masquerading as one? Are their credentials valid for this situation?

To protect ourselves against likability manipulation, a good step is to ask ourselves whether we have come to like someone or something unusually strongly in a short time. If so, this could be due to some form of manipulation, and alarm bells should ring.

As we’ve just seen, people tend to look to others for guidance as to how to behave. And this tendency is strongest when the person observed is similar to ourselves, an effect that can be seen in how susceptible teenagers are to the opinions and fashion choices of their peers.

Our tendency to emulate others also produces a rather grim statistic: when

Just as we desire to pay back favors, when we’re negotiating with someone and they make a concession, we’ll feel obliged to reciprocate it. This is known as the rejection-then-retreat strategy.

The author experienced this first-hand when a Boy Scout approached him on the street, wishing to sell him tickets to the annual Boy Scout circus.

The author d

Turkey mothers are wonderful parents: loving, protective and nurturing of their young.

However, look a little more closely and you’ll see that this tenderness hangs by a single thread. If a chick emits the distinctive “cheep-cheep” sound, the mother will care for it lovingly. But if the chick does not, the mother will ignore or even kill it!

The “che