Social Trap

A Social Trap is where someone uses another persons decency against them, generally to make them do something they'd rather not. They can start as an open invitation or request to do something that someone would not normally do, if they refuse they risk being uncharacteristically rude or impolite, or they continue. While not entirely unlike peer pressure Social Traps rely more on the finesse of landing the target in the trap, whether this be through carefully calculated subterfuge or dumb-luck. This makes them more similar to plain manipulation or a lower-stakes ultimatum, however instead of choosing A or B they are slightly more geared towards the etiquette and standards of the target.

"Dude what happened? I left you and Lucy alone for 10 minutes and I come back to you watching this."
"I didn't want to watch it, if I had refused it would've been rude."
"Yeah right, bet you enjoyed."
No I really didn't . She totally caught me in a Social Trap."

by Mr. Farenheit August 22, 2021