The mind game some advertisers play with you when you arrive at a website and the screen greys out, except for the
box in the middle. It asks you to choose something like getting a newsletter, mortgage quote, or weight
loss program. The grey
box disables you from escaping from the page. The "Escape"
key does not
work, and there is no "x" button to quit the page.
If you say "Yes," you will be taken to whatever the advertiser wants.
But the "No" option is where you get greyboxed. It says something unpleasant, disturbing, and ridiculous. You have a sense that you don't want to click on the "No" because it feels wrong somehow. For example, it might say "No, I don't want to
eat healthier," "No, I don't want to lose weight," or "No, I don't want to save
money."
This creates a
split inside of your
mind. You do not want to click on the statement because you don't believe that statement, but clicking the "No" phrase is the only
way out. Clicking the "No" phrase feels kind of like thinking it, but to answer "Yes" would be giving in to the advertiser and getting unnecessarily drawn away from what you were looking for in the first place.