All Humans are Irrational

Do you hear people say things like this?:

“I don’t let emotions cloud my judgment”

“I decide things based on logic and reason”

Well they’re lying to you. Scientific research has found that humans don’t decide based on logic and reason. Humans make decisions based on emotions.

Ask any good copywriter or sales person. They don’t lead their pitch with cold, hard facts. They want you to feel what it would be like if you used their product:

• You’ll become wealthier

• You’ll become more beautiful/handsome

• People will admire you

• It will taste wonderful

• Pain will leave your body

Once they have sold you on your emotions, they will throw in some facts and figures. That way your ego will have a way to justify the purchase, especially to others. The real sales goes on with your emotions.

Hard to believe? Back in the 1990’s neurologist Antonio Damasio found that people who had damage to the emotional processing centers of their brain had trouble making what seemed like logical decisions.

We have two brains in effect - the Lizard brain the Logic Brain. They are really your sub-conscious and conscious brains.

The conscious brain takes a lot more energy to run than your sub-conscious. So it’s easy to slip into sub-conscious or ‘lizard brain’ (emotional) mode.

For instance I take my dog for a walk at night because he doesn’t like being around people. If there is a weird noise around us I can’t help but think it is something dangerous. I can feel my body tense up sometimes. My normal brain says it’s nothing after a minute or two. But that first reaction is lizard brain.

Here’s a trick that you can use to help you persuade a family member or friend to comply with your requests more easily. Something that doesn’t make a lot of sense logically. Something that appeals to your emotional brain.

Use the word ‘because’.

In 1977 the psychologist Ellen Langer ran an experiment. Back then copy machines were expensive. They were few and far between and people had to wait in line to use them.

Ms Langer had her team go up to the copy lines and ask if they could go to the front of the line. 60 percent of the people in line actually let them in. It shows people don’t like conflict.

In the second iteration, she had her team ask if they could go to the front of the line “BECAUSE” they’re in a hurry. Adding the “because” phrase achieved a 94% success rate.

Here’s where the lizard brain kicks in. The third time her team went to the line, they asked if they could go to the front “because I need to make copies”. That request achieved a 93% success rate.

The logic brain would say “duh - everyone in line needs to make copies”. In this case the lizard brain takes over, hears the word because and thinks “Oh I guess they have a good reason”.

So if you’re trying to get someone to do something, try to add a ‘because’ phrase to the request you’re making. You don’t even need to have a very good reason after the word ‘because’.

And if someone tells you how rational and logical they are? Just smile to yourself and realize how irrational that statement is.