How Benjamin Franklin Turned His Enemies Into Friends |
Most of us assume that warmth is what leads to generosity, rather than the other way around. It’s an intuitive order of events: we like people first and then choose to help them. However, according to research from the Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, the opposite can also be just as true. Intriguingly, this is what’s known as the “Ben Franklin effect”: when, after doing someone a favor, you actually begin to like them more, despite having felt neutral or indifferent about them beforehand.
The phenomenon is named after founding father Benjamin Franklin, who famously described using small requests to soften his political rivals. For instance, he once described asking a man to lend him a rare book. His rival agreed, and, from that moment on, the man became significantly more friendly toward Franklin; he actively sought both his company and goodwill.
Here’s a breakdown of how this high-leverage........