Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be all right to smoke while praying.
Max replies, "Why don't you ask the priest?"
So Jack goes up to the priest and asks, "Father, may I smoke while I pray?"
The priest replies, "No, my son, you may not! That's utter disrespect to our religion."
Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good priest told him.
Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try."
And so Max goes up to the priest and asks, "Father, may I pray while I smoke?"
To which the priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all means. You can always pray whenever you want to."
Not too get too technical, but that's actually a great example of the fascinating psychological effect of "framing."
Second:
The priest was walking down the street looking sad.
"What happened?" asked a parishioner.
"I am afraid someone from the parish stole my umbrella."
"Here's what you do. Next sermon talk about the Ten Commandments and look around when you quote 'Thou shall not steal' and see who bows his head in shame."
Next week the priest walks happily down the avenue, twirling his umbrella.
The smart parishioner said, "I see my advice worked."
"Not exactly," said the priest. "When I reached 'Thou shall not commit adultery,' I remembered where I forgot it."
E-mail Diana Hsieh
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