The Benjamin Franklin Effect

Here is an interesting article from the ever amazing blog “Brain Pickings“. Maria Popova posits the we think that we do nice things to people we like and bad things to those we dislike, but that  the psychology behind the effect  is quite the opposite, a reverse-engineering of attitudes that takes place as we grow to like people for whom we do nice things and dislike those to whom we are unkind.

It seems Ben Franklin understood this quite well & used it to turn a rival into a friend and supporter.

“He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.”

-Ben Franklin

What I like about this concept is that it gives us another tool that will help us, the kind ones, succeed in life. So please check out her post for a fascinating read.

Via Brain Pickings