How to Get People to Like Me: The Benjamin Franklin Effect
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:53 am
Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, had a bitter enemy for many years. One day he dealt with him in a truly unusual way. You will learn from him how to make people like you.
In 1737, Benjamin Franklin ran for Pennsylvania's clerk. To win, he had to win over his rivals middle east rcs data . One of them was particularly resistant. No wonder – the two men had been bitter enemies for many years and didn't even talk to each other.
Franklin, however, came up with a specific tactic to win over his enemy. He asked him to lend him a book. At first, he was terribly surprised, because if they had not exchanged a single word for many years, then why such a request suddenly. Of course, he gladly granted it.
What did Franklin do? In return for this favor, he sent a passionate letter of thanks, raving about his enemy’s gesture. The result was that when Franklin appeared at the next meeting of the assembly, his—still—enemy immediately approached him and they engaged in an almost friendly chat.
The whole story ends like in a movie, because - as it turned out - they became friends for many years, or rather - until death. Franklin described this whole situation in his autobiography, concluding "we are more inclined to like people for whom we have done something good."
But from the point of view of modern science, could Benjamin Franklin have been right? The researchers decided to check it out, specifically Jim Jacker and David Landrie . So they arranged the following experiment:
Two groups of participants were asked to help one person with something, and the other group was asked to receive help from someone else (small favors). Then, after the experiment was over, they were asked to rate how much they liked each person they had been in a relationship with.
In 1737, Benjamin Franklin ran for Pennsylvania's clerk. To win, he had to win over his rivals middle east rcs data . One of them was particularly resistant. No wonder – the two men had been bitter enemies for many years and didn't even talk to each other.
Franklin, however, came up with a specific tactic to win over his enemy. He asked him to lend him a book. At first, he was terribly surprised, because if they had not exchanged a single word for many years, then why such a request suddenly. Of course, he gladly granted it.
What did Franklin do? In return for this favor, he sent a passionate letter of thanks, raving about his enemy’s gesture. The result was that when Franklin appeared at the next meeting of the assembly, his—still—enemy immediately approached him and they engaged in an almost friendly chat.
The whole story ends like in a movie, because - as it turned out - they became friends for many years, or rather - until death. Franklin described this whole situation in his autobiography, concluding "we are more inclined to like people for whom we have done something good."
But from the point of view of modern science, could Benjamin Franklin have been right? The researchers decided to check it out, specifically Jim Jacker and David Landrie . So they arranged the following experiment:
Two groups of participants were asked to help one person with something, and the other group was asked to receive help from someone else (small favors). Then, after the experiment was over, they were asked to rate how much they liked each person they had been in a relationship with.