It is 1977 at Harvard University.

A pioneering study is being conducted and the final results are in.

Nobody knows it yet, but they will forever change the way we think about human behavior.

A thread 🧵👇

It all started with a simple question:

"May I use the xerox machine?"

Researchers asked this to see if they can cut in front of people already busy using the copy machine.

They asked the same question, in 3 different ways.👇

1. Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the xerox machine?

2. Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the xerox machine, because I have to make copies?

3. Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the xerox machine, because I'm in a rush?

Want to take a guess as to which one was the most successful in getting the researchers to cut in front?

Try it.

And then have a look at the results below:👇

1st question - 60% success rate.

2nd question - 93% success rate. 👀

3rd question - 94% success rate.