## Persuasion Knob #6: Repetition
**One-sentence formulation:**
*Repeated exposure increases acceptance by turning the unfamiliar into the familiar, and the familiar into the trusted.*
### Adams’ core observation
Scott Adams emphasizes that **repetition works even when people know it works**. Familiarity creates comfort, and comfort is often mistaken for truth.
Repetition does not persuade by argument.
It persuades by **normalization**.
The brain treats frequently encountered ideas as safer, more legitimate, and more credible than rare ones.
### What repetition actually does
Repetition:
- Reduces cognitive effort
- Lowers perceived risk
- Increases processing speed
- Creates the illusion of consensus
An idea heard once is evaluated.
An idea heard often is *assumed*.
This is why slogans, catchphrases, and talking points outperform nuanced explanations.
### Why repetition works
The brain is optimized for efficiency, not accuracy.
Under repetition:
- Skepticism decays
- Emotional resistance softens
- Doubt feels exhausting
- Agreement feels effortless
Adams’ insight is blunt: **the brain confuses familiarity with correctness**.
### Repetition without belief
Importantly, repetition works even if you consciously reject the message.
You may think:
- “That’s wrong”
- “That’s propaganda”
- “I don’t believe this”
…and still feel its pull over time.
This is why repeated lies, repeated fears, and repeated narratives gain power regardless of truth value.
### Ethical ambiguity
Repetition can be used to:
- Teach skills
- Build habits
- Reinforce important truths
- Establish shared language
But it is also the backbone of:
- Advertising
- Propaganda
- Institutional messaging
- Social conditioning
Because repetition is passive and ambient, it is often underestimated.
### Repetition vs. evidence
Adams highlights a dangerous substitution:
- Evidence convinces slowly
- Repetition convinces quickly
Over time, repetition can drown out evidence by sheer volume.
This does not require censorship—only saturation.
### Why recognizing repetition matters
When you notice an idea everywhere, it is worth asking:
- Is this being repeated because it’s true?
- Or because repetition itself is the strategy?
Frequency is not validation.
### Why this knob follows contrast
Contrast reshapes judgment in the moment.
Repetition locks that judgment in place.
What initially felt “reasonable” through comparison becomes *normal* through exposure.
### The compounding effect
Repetition stacks with every other persuasion knob:
- Fear repeated becomes panic
- Curiosity repeated becomes obsession
- Novelty repeated becomes identity
- Contrast repeated becomes consensus
This is how narratives harden.
The next persuasion knob addresses the final refinement—how complexity itself can be used against understanding.
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