Thinking Lured into a Straight Line - Guiding Questions and the Consistency Trap (2000s - Present)

Thinking Lured into a Straight Line - Guiding Questions and the Consistency Trap (2000s - Present)
Guiding questions are a technique to fix the direction of thought by asking the other person to be linear and consistent. People tend to want to believe that their statements and judgments are consistent, and unconsciously avoid denying past statements. Guiding questions take advantage of this psychology, starting with innocuous and abstract questions and building up assumptions step by step to create a situation in which the other person naturally keeps answering in the same direction. The key is the order rather than the sophistication of the questions themselves, which are characterized by the fact that they form a flow that is easy to agree with, thereby lowering one's guard and getting closer to the core of the question. The same structure has been repeatedly confirmed in recent cases of phishing scams and fraudulent inducements. Guiding questions are a manipulation to design a path of thought and lead a person to a straight path through psychological inertia.