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Ben Franklin Effect

A proposed psychological phenomenon where a person who has already performed a favor for another is more likely to do another favor for the other than if they had received a favor from that person.

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Origin

The effect takes its name from an anecdote in Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography (written in the 1780s). Seeking to disarm a rival in the Pennsylvania Assembly, Franklin borrowed a rare book from the man's library; the rival lent it, Franklin returned it graciously, and the two became lifelong friends. Franklin credited an "old maxim": he that has done you a kindness will be ready to do another. Psychologists Jecker and Landy confirmed the effect experimentally in 1969, and the Ben Franklin effect is now explained through cognitive dissonance theory.

Updated February 22, 2026