Flattery

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If appeals like this make you roll your eyes, you’re not alone. Most people tend to not appreciate flattery accompanied by obvious ulterior motives, and consider themselves fairlyadept at determining whose compliments are sincere and whose are BS. Great tie, boss! Professor, your article redefined my entire understanding of human nature. I know we just met, gorgeous, but I’vealready fallen in love.
But what if this stuff actually works ? And not just on the suckers who can’t tell the difference between the sincere and the insincere, but on those who recognize thesetechniques for what they are. Such was the hypothesis of a new study, conducted by Elaine Chan and Jaideep Sengupta at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and published in the Journal ofMarketing Research.
Participants in the study were asked to evaluate the merits of a new department store opening in the area based on one of the store’s advertisements. In addition to describing the newstore’s offerings, the ad lauded readers for their impeccable sense of style and eye for high fashion. While participants overwhelmingly categorized the pamphlet as flattery with the ulterior motive ofpushing blouses, the experimenters were more interested in how their attitudes would be influenced at the implicit level. Might participants develop a non-conscious positive association with thedepartment store, even after rejecting the ad as meaningless puffery? And if so, would this implicit reaction be a better predictor of decisions and behavior down the road? Will even the people who are...