Question

Imagine that you have just moved into a house with four other people. One of your housemates, Tony, doesn't seem to like you all that much. If you were to make use of the Ben Franklin effect, what can you do to increase Tony's liking for you?

Answer 1

Answer:

C. ask Tony if he could give you a ride to the grocery store

Explanation:

The Ben Franklin effect (named after Benjamin Franklin and his quote "He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged") is the psychological theory that proposes the person is more likely to adopt admiration towards us if they perform a favor for us than if we perform a favor for them.

The explanation is that people usually help others because they like them, therefore if we do something for another person our brain (due to cognitive dissonance) will switch to thinking that we liked them in the first place.

This is why if we ask Tony to drive us and he agrees he might develop a liking towards us, thinking he did us a favor because of the admiration and his own attraction towards us.