I am reminded of an interesting book I read recently called "Influence", a study of some of the trigger-response mechanisms which veteran sales people and other persuaders and manipulators learn to use in order to gain compliance from customers, or voters, or whatever.

Damn. Just wiped out this comment. I'll try again.

I was rather appalled when the salesman for a roofing company that was bidding on the work on my roof mistook a question of mine and started making bigoted remarks about the mixed-race neighborhood just across the creek. I'm on the south side next to the bridge, and though it is an artificial barrier and the races are mixed on both sides, the size of houses and yards make the neighborhoods distinctly different. He seemed conspiratorial, as if a shared bigotry would get him the business. (It didn't, I hired a Mexican roofer directly, without the middle man.)

SRS