Flipnosis audiobook cover - The Art of Split-Second Persuasion

Flipnosis

The Art of Split-Second Persuasion

Kevin Dutton

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Categories:
ScienceCommunication SkillsPsychologySociety & Culture

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Flipnosis
The Reality of Persuasion
  • Frequency
  • Societal Necessity
Biological & Instinctual Triggers
  • Key Stimuli
  • Human Application
  • Loss of Instinct
The Three A's of Mental Blind Spots
  • Attention
  • Approach
  • Affiliation
Professional Framing
  • Fundamental Attribution Error
  • Narrative Control
  • Sensory Manipulation
  • Linguistic Reframing
Group Conformity & Radicalization
  • The Asch Effect
  • Polarization
  • Confirmation Bias
  • In-Group Rationalization
SPICE Formula for Split-Second Persuasion
  • Simplicity
  • Perceived Self-Interest
  • Incongruity
  • Confidence
  • Empathy
Defense & Ethics
  • Inoculation
  • Ethical Use

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
According to the text, why is persuasion considered an essential part of society rather than just a common occurrence?
  • A. It replaces the need for a formal legal and justice system.
  • B. It prevents daily interactions from defaulting to aggressive coercion and physical force.
  • C. It is the primary psychological driver of economic growth in modern capitalist societies.
  • D. It allows individuals to completely avoid unwanted or uncomfortable daily interactions.
Question 2 of 7
How does Marco, the Job Centre employee, successfully pacify angry and frustrated job seekers without using security measures?
  • A. He increases their cognitive load by asking them highly complex questions.
  • B. He uses the representative heuristic by dressing in formal, authoritative clothing.
  • C. He utilizes a primal key stimulus by sitting on his hands to signal submission.
  • D. He asserts dominance by standing up and maintaining intense eye contact.
Question 3 of 7
According to the con man Keith Barrett, what is the effect of deliberately increasing a person's cognitive load (the "Attention" principle)?
  • A. It makes them more likely to tell the truth because lying requires more mental effort.
  • B. It triggers their fundamental attribution error, causing them to misjudge the persuader.
  • C. It causes them to seek out the nearest group to conform to social proof.
  • D. It makes them highly aggressive and resistant to any form of outside influence.
Question 4 of 7
Why did changing an infomercial prompt from "Operators are waiting" to "If operators are busy, please call again" drastically increase the number of callers?
  • A. It utilized incongruity to distract viewers from the high price of the product.
  • B. It made viewers feel empathy for the overworked operators on the other end of the line.
  • C. It simplified the instructions so that viewers didn't have to think critically about the purchase.
  • D. It leveraged social proof by suggesting that many other people were currently buying the product.
Question 5 of 7
The scenario comparing John crashing his car while rushing home with an anniversary present versus a brick of cocaine illustrates which psychological concept?
  • A. The representative heuristic
  • B. The fundamental attribution error
  • C. The principle of incongruity
  • D. The social proof phenomenon
Question 6 of 7
What did Solomon Asch’s famous line-length experiment demonstrate about human behavior?
  • A. Individuals with high cognitive loads cannot accurately judge physical dimensions.
  • B. People will often conform to a group's clearly incorrect answer just to fit in.
  • C. People are naturally immune to group pressure when the factual evidence is unambiguous.
  • D. Extremists are more likely to recruit individuals who lack basic visual perception skills.
Question 7 of 7
In the SPICE formula for split-second persuasion, what does the principle of "Incongruity" rely on?
  • A. Using an unexpected or strange action to throw the audience off balance and gain an edge.
  • B. Keeping statements as short and concise as possible to avoid confusing the audience.
  • C. Appealing directly to what the audience believes is in their own best financial interest.
  • D. Demonstrating deep emotional understanding to build a strong personal connection.

Flipnosis — Full Chapter Overview

Flipnosis Summary & Overview

Flipnosis (2010) looks at the role of persuasion in our lives, and the social and biological underpinnings that allow some people to quickly and successfully encourage and convince those around them. By examining the science and looking at real-world master persuaders – from magicians and advertisers to criminals and psychopaths – you too can tap into the art of persuasion.

Who Should Listen to Flipnosis?

  • Would-be social engineers, looking for a few tricks to improve their influence
  • Free-thinkers who want to make sure that their choices are, in fact, their own
  • Anyone who has been sold something they didn’t want, and were left wondering: What just happened?

About the Author: Kevin Dutton

Kevin Dutton is a British psychologist and researcher at the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University. He specializes in the study of psychopathy and has also written The Wisdom of Psychopaths.

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