PsychologyAugust 15, 2026

instigators

IN-stih-gay-terz

Definition

People who prompt, provoke, or incite others to perform a specific action, specifically referring in this context to those who initiate requests.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'instigare,' meaning to stimulate, goad, or urge on. It entered English in the 16th century, originally carrying a sense of inciting someone to do something, often with a negative connotation.

In the news

The article uses the term to describe the people making requests, noting that they often fail to realize the social pressure they are exerting on others to comply.

Across studies with more than 14,000 strangers, people underestimated how often a direct request would get a yes by about half, and the same blind spot showed up when the request was to commit a small act of vandalism

Read the full article ↗

ScienceBlog.com

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