Errors That Increase Our Appeal

You may not have heard of the “Pratfall Effect”, although you have probably experienced the results of it. It is a psychological phenomenon whereby a person becomes more attractive in the eyes of others when he makes mistakes. For this to happen, it requires that person normally be competent, but occasionally screw up. That makes it nice and attractive.

People who only very rarely make mistakes have the opposite effect. They become unsympathetic to others, who classify them as “perfect” and think they are very heavy. The same happens with those who make mistakes too frequently: they arouse rejection.

The discovery of the Pratfall Effect

The Pratfall Effect was discovered in 1966, at the University of Minnesota, when a group of researchers asked several students to participate in a knowledge contest. Each of the volunteers was allowed to see a recording of a supposed competitor who would also do the test.

There were actually four videos, although each candidate was told that there was only one. On one of the tapes was the image of a competitor who was absolutely competent and had a 92% hit rate. In another, the candidate was rather discreet and showed a 30% efficiency ratio. The third tape featured the same shiny competitor, but this time there was a scene where his coffee spilled and stained his suit. The last video depicted the same scene, but this time with the least effective candidate.

In the end, they were all asked if they wanted to compete with the supposed rival that had been presented to them.

The figures proved that the efficient competitor who had had an accident was the one who aroused the most sympathy and encouraged the most students to participate in the contest. On the contrary, the one who least motivated others was the discreet candidate who made mistakes.

Based on this experiment, it was concluded that people feel more sympathy for those who are more efficient, but occasionally make mistakes.

The Pratfall Effect in everyday life

The discovery of the Pratfall Effect has had a notable influence on the construction of film and television characters. In fact, even the superheroes of fiction have been touched by this phenomenon. For some years now, scripts that show great heroes with conflicts, or traits of fallibility, have been preferred.

The truth is that this should also call us to reflect on what happens in everyday life. Most people deeply fear error. They assume that they must always act correctly and sometimes they take their failures as a tragedy.

The Pratfall Effect occurs because we tend to view people who make mistakes as more trustworthy and approachable. The “perfect” intimidate us and awaken a sense of latent threat. Being infallible puts them on a plane that prevents us from recognizing them as close people. Frequent inefficiencies awaken us a feeling of insecurity; they give the impression that they can easily mislead us.

So every time you make a mistake, remember the Pratfall Effect. And think that maybe that mistake is simply one more point in your attractiveness.

Image courtesy of Gita Kulinitch Studio