I needed to buy milk last night, and as I walked through the grocery store toward the dairy section, my eye was caught by an unusual amount of candy on display.
My first reaction was physiological; I shuddered a bit at that much of such a strong and memorable flavor. My second reaction was a thought: how could I use this in Psychology?
The Long Con
The long con refers to any of a variety of cons which require more planning, preparation, a longer window of interaction with the con’s target and a longer period of time to execute. The long con may also require a large crew or a larger number of involved people to pull off the deception needed to relieve the mark of their cash or other valuables. Unlike a short con, the long con requires time to slowly draw the mark or marks into the con, but often results in very large pay-outs. Because of the difficulty in organization and execution, long cons are considered to be for experts, not the province of new, young con men.
I include that from the Leverage Wiki for giggles, but it does point to my thought regarding the Junior Mints and my Psychology students.
Imagine on the first day of school, as you’re welcoming students into your class for the first time, you greet them in as friendly a way as possible, handing out Junior Mints. Then, periodically throughout the course, you use Junior Mints as: demonstration devices when you might have used some other candy, disposable manipulatives, rewards, and – as on the first day – for “no reason.”
Students would come to associate Junior Mints with Psychology class. Would they realize it on their own? Would they be able to connect thir experiences with Junior Mints in Psychology with principles in the Learning Unit? Would the long con be worth it, as opposed to other conditioning activities (see below)?
Edit:
Perhaps Andes Creme de Menthe Thins would work too. 240 individually-wrapped pieces would go a lot further than Junior Mints.