17 Little Known Psychological Hacks That Will Give You A Leg Up

People are weird, complicated creatures. That fact can make managing social life tricky if you haven't studied up on the quirks of human psychology. But the reverse is also true.

By learning a few simply psychological truths about how our minds work, you can give yourself a huge leg up when it comes to succeeding at work, finding love, and getting what you want in life. And mastering basic psychological hacks will also give you a big advantage over most people, who navigate the world on instinct and emotion alone.

1.Nudge people to like you with "the Ben Franklin effect."

Benjamin Franklin noticed that when you do someone a favor, you will eventually like them more than you did before," 

Why? Cognitive dissonance. It emerges . whenever our behavior does not coincide with our beliefs. If you do someone a favor that you do not have warm feelings for, your brain will try to rationalize your behavior by adapting your beliefs to the situation. It will tell you, “This person isn’t so bad after all” and give you various other opportunities to find explanations that will reduce the cognitive dissonance.
It will decide that the recipient of your help must be a cooler person than you first thought.

2. Discover close ties in a group

Want's to know who has close ties with who in a group? Simple! Pay attention to those who look at each other when everyone in the group laughs at a joke. People instinctively look at and agree with the person they feel closest to within the group.

3.Mirror people’s body language to build up trust

Scientists have shown in various experiments that the “chameleon effect” can not only facilitate the smoothness of social interactions, but it can also increase liking between those who interact.

If you subtly mimic the body language of the person you’re talking to, you can effectively build up trust with them. By mirroring the way they speak and how they move they’ll tend to like you more, because, to them, it will seem as if you are pretty good compatible.

When speaking with someone, try to match their body language and speaking pattern. If the person talks with excitement and joy, don't cross your arm showing a negative attitude.

Display the same amount of excitement and show openness and interest.

4.Don't be afraid to touch

Touching someone on the shoulder or their knees creates an emotional and physical bond. Especially during moments of joy, laughter and excitement touching positively reinforces these traits.

5.Fake it until you make it.

No one became an expert on anything over night. The learning process in everything you do is accelerated by commanding your brain to think what you want it to think. In simple words. You are what you believe you are. • You are confident if you believe you are confident • You are attractive if you believe you are attractive • You are extrovert if you believe you are extrovert If you want to look deeper into this idea look up two words. Neuroplasticity and brain rewiring.

6.Foot-in-the-door phenomenon. 

People are more likely to agree to do a task for you if you ask them to do something simpler first. (Gradual commitment makes people think you like them.)

7.Utilize the door-in-the-face effect.

This is the opposite of the idea of getting your foot in the door by warming up the other party with a small request before making your real, larger ask. In some situations, it's better to make an unrealistically large request first. The other party will say no (and feel a bad about it). That way, when you make your real request, he or she will feel obliged to say yes

8.When speaking with someone, use their name as much as possible.

Talking to someone by using their name—rather than buddy, Miss, etc.—suggests that you consider them important and memorable, and so they are more likely to find you more likeable, agreeable, and personable. Additionally, find out how people like to think of themselves (what is their self-image) and reinforce this to enable them to like you even more.

9.Make a plea to individuals rather than groups.

Research on the bystander effect reveals that people tend to ignore pleas—especially pleas for help—when they are among a group of people. Appealing to five people individually will generally get you better results than directing a single appeal to the entire group. The idea is that people in a group will tend to dismiss you as they will reason that there are other people who could help you, and so they don’t feel personally responsible. If, however, you make a plea to them directly, they will feel more personally responsible and be more likely to help. The point here is that people are generally nice and willing to help you, but social circumstances and pressures can sometimes be strong enough to prevent them from doing so.

10.Get yourself happy and excited before seeing someone whom you want to like you. (They will reciprocate next time you see them.)

Most people probably have some awareness of emotions being, to some extent, contagious. It’s hard to be really upset when you are surrounded by happy people. (This doesn’t mean that you should go to a circus to get over your depression, but it will probably be more helpful than being alone.) People respond to social cues. When you are happy and enthusiastic, this does tend to rub off on people, to an extent. It’s not paranormal; people just pick up on your demeanor, and consciously or not, adjust their own to be more similar. So by being happy and excited, you are also conditioning other people to associate those emotions with you.

11.When Nervous, Chew Gum

when you’re approaching a situation that would make you nervous chew gum. Apparently if we are ‘eating’ something, our brains trip and it reasons ‘I would not be eating if I were in danger. So I’m not in danger.' This can help calm you down.

12.Get someone saying a little bit more

If you are having a conversation with someone and they only partially answer or respond to something you say, remain silent but keep eye contact. They will feel an implicit pressure to elaborate, or keep talking. People tend to feel subtly pressured and will generally want to decrease the social awkwardness by talking.

13.Use "See one, do one, teach one" to master new skills.

When you’re studying/learning something new, teach a friend how to do it. Let them ask questions. If you’re able to teach something well, you understand it.

 
14. Check eye color for instant charisma.

Science shows maintaining eye contact just a little longer than most people do naturally instantly increases your charm. To trick yourself into putting this research to use, simply check a person's eye color when you first meet him or her. The extra beat or two it takes to determine the color of someone's eyes will make you instantly more likable.

15.Make good impressions

People don't remember the entire duration of experience equally. When recalling something later, they're much more likely to recall their first and last memories of a person or event. We all know that first impressions are important, but it's essential to nail your last impression, too. So when you're looking to impress and be remembered, think carefully about how to leave on a high note.

16.Warm your hands before you shake hands (rub them together).

Whether in business, social, or romantic settings, first impressions matter a lot. The CEO of a Fortune 500 company once reportedly said that when he was choosing between two similarly qualified applicants, he always went with the one that had the better handshake. This story has probably been exaggerated wildly over time, but there is some truth to it: Studies show that handshakes can be even more influential than agreeableness, conscientiousness, or emotional stability. It’s not that warm hands make you desirable—but cold or wet hands definitely do the opposite. Hands that are dry and warm inspire confidence; those that are wet and/or cold indicate nervousness and weakness.

17.Always frame a request as a choice.

No one likes to feel pressured into doing something they don’t want to do. By subtlety rephrasing a request, you can make the person feel like they came to the decision on their own terms.
Homeless people who say things like, “it’s up to you if you want to donate or not” end up making more money than those who simply ask for money. The same is generally true for bands that offer “pay what you want” payment structures for their music. They know you can easily download their music for free off the internet, so they encourage you to pay what you feel is right.
A slightly more aggressive technique is the assumptive close:
This is a classic sales technique that can be used in any social situation. Instead of asking for permission, “do you want to donate/go on a date/get something to eat” assume that the person already does. Of course, you can’t just force someone to do something, but a leading question can nudge them in the right direction: “Would you like to donate 5 dollars or 10 dollars?”
Now instead of simply saying yes or no, they have to actively deny your request and feel like a naysayer.