From The Boston Globe, November 15, 2009, p. K3, Ideas Section:
Insincere flattery gets a bad rap. Sure, it sounds cheesy or even awkward. But new research suggests that one’s initial conscious reaction – discounting the flattery as a self-serving ploy – may mask a more durable implicit positive emotional association with the flatterer. People who were given a printed advertisement from a department store that paid compliments to their sense of fashion had higher opinions of the store, but only when they weren’t given much time to think about it, or when they were asked several days later. This effect was boosted after people engaged in self-criticism but was nullified after people engaged in self-affirmation, suggesting that flattery – even the patently insincere type – will be especially effective on folks who are down on their luck.
Chan, E. & Sengupta, J., “Insincere Flattery Actually Works: A Dual Attitudes Perspective,” Journal of Marketing Research (forthcoming).
