The Ben Franklin Effect
There’s a story that goes something like this: Benjamin Franklin, wanting to win over a hostile rival, didn’t do him a favor . . . he asked him for one. Franklin asked to borrow a rare book. The rival obliged, and from that day forward, their relationship changed. The rival eventually became a lifelong friend.
Two centuries later, researchers put the idea to the test. In a classic 1969 experiment, people who were asked to do a personal favor ended up liking the person who asked significantly more than those who had been helped, or those who had no interaction at all.
The Ben Franklin Effect, as it’s now known, has held up across decades: we tend to grow attached to the people we invest in. And follow-up research suggests the effect is strongest when the requests are personal and social rather than merely transactional.
Perhaps there’s a Sunday thought here for all of us:
Sometimes, allowing someone the opportunity to help us may be a better way of building a relationship than simply helping them.
Sometimes, allowing someone the opportunity to help us may be a better way of building a relationship than simply helping them.