Competent people become more likable after making a minor mistake.
Aronson's 1966 study: a candidate who spilled coffee was rated more likeable than one who did not, but only if he had already been established as competent. The blunder costs the incompetent.
In practice
- A surgeon who mentions the one operation that went badly is trusted more; a trainee who mentions the same thing is watched.
- A speaker who admits the one thing they got wrong is trusted more on the rest; the incompetent speaker who does the same is trusted less.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Psychology & Behavior
- Essay
- A century and a half of measuring the mind