From: bilh@pd.jaring.my   
      
   On Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 12:55:55 PM UTC+8, wills...@gmail.com wrote:   
   > On Tuesday, February 13, 1996 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-5, Joseph B McGlinchey wrote:   
   > > Hi! A long long time ago, I read a great book on social psychology called    
   > > "Influence: Science and Practice" by Robert Cialdini...he opens one    
   > > section talking about Zappa in the 60s (when he had long hair) going on a    
   > > talk show much like the 80s Morton Downey Jr. Show, where the host would    
   > > invite guests and insult them as much as possible to try to get them    
   > > angry (and, hence, entertaining)...   
   > >    
   > > When our dear Frank came on, this particular guy, who had an artificial    
   > > leg, said "I guess your long hair makes you a girl", to which Frank    
   > > retorted "I guess your wooden leg makes you a table"!   
   > >    
   > > Does anyone remember this story?  I can't remember exactly for what    
   > > purpose Cialdini related the story, but it always stuck out in my mind,    
   > > and I have never seen it mentioned here...   
   > >    
   > > Does anyone know more about this particular event?   
   > >    
   > > Joe McGlinchey   
   > > Teachers College   
   > > Columbia University   
   >    
   >    
   > My dad was a big Joe Pyne fan - and he told me this story years ago.  All I   
   know about the incident is that Pyne was trying to belittle Zappa and his   
   music to his audience.  Has to be one of the best comeback lines ever though.    
   Now you have me curious.   
    Btw, I met Cialdini when teaching at The Ohio State University.  I had been   
   using the book you referenced as part of the reading for my advanced general   
   psychology class. That and "How to Think Straight About Psychology" by Keith   
   E. Stanovich were two    
   of my favorite texts for that course.   
   >    
   > Cialdini mentions this story in his epilogue in “Influence, Psychology of   
   Persuasion”, revised edition (He misspells “Pyne” as “Pine”). It has   
   to do with to first impressions, or making decisions based on only one piece   
   of information.     
   These cognitive shortcuts often save brain power for other tasks, but can also   
   backfire.  The use of only one highly representative piece of information, in   
   isolation, usually works for us. Unfortunately it can also lead to stupid   
   mistakes.  Researchers    
   Ambady & Rosenthal, 1993, describe the frequent accuracy of what they term   
   “thin-slice judgements”.   
      
   Cialdini's text went like this:   
      
   ACK IN THE 1960S A MAN NAMED JOE PINE HOSTED A RATHER remarkable TV talk show   
   that was syndicated from California. The program was made distinctive by   
   Pine’s caustic and confrontational style with his guests—for the most   
   part, a collection of    
   exposure-hungry entertainers, would-be celebrities, and representatives of   
   fringe political or social organizations. The host’s abrasive approach was   
   designed to provoke his guests into arguments, to fluster them into   
   embarrassing admissions, and    
   generally to make them look foolish. It was not uncommon for Pine to introduce   
   a visitor and launch immediately into an attack on the individual's beliefs,   
   talent,or appearance. Some people claimed that Pine’s acid personal style   
   was partially caused    
   by a leg amputation that had embittered him to life; others said no, that he   
   was just vituperous by nature.   
      
   One evening rock musician Frank Zappa was a guest on the show. This was at a   
   time in the sixties when very long hair on men was still unusual and   
   controversial. As soon as Zappa had been introduced and seated, the following   
   exchange occurred:   
       
   PINE: I guess your long hair makes you a girl.   
       
   ZAPPA: I guess your wooden leg makes you a table.   
       
   Aside from containing what may be my favorite ad-lib, the above dialogue   
   illustrates a fundamental theme of this book: Very often in making a decision   
   about someone or something, we don’t use all the relevant available   
   information; we use, instead,    
   only a single, highly representative piece of the total. And an isolated piece   
   of information, even though it normally counsels us correctly, can lead us to   
   clearly stupid mistakes—mistakes that, when exploited by clever others,   
   leave us looking silly    
   or worse.    
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)