[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/discussion.php?id=d48dcdh1&trope=BavarianFireDrill From YKTTW]]

Schol-R-LEA: ''sigh'' I felt that there was enough reason to launch the trope, from the discussion, but... well, the lack of good examples is problematic. It's also one which I couldn't find any categories for it that fit... perhaps it wasn't such a great idea after all. I have made a new category 'Social Engineering' that it would go with... a more conventional name for it might be 'ConGames' or something, actually... but I've left it hanging for lack of time and attention. Similarly, I've left FencePainting (i.e., getting several people to each do part of a job you were supposed to do yourself, like Tom Sawyer whitewashing Aunt Polly's fence) open for now, as I need to check on YKTTW to see if there's a similar trope already. I suppose we'll just have to see if any WikiMagic takes place.

{{Ununnilium}}: Put it in NarrativeDevices, since that's what it felt like to me -- a way to move the plot forward. Seems like a perfectly good trope, to me.

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{{Kilyle}}: The Stainless Steel Rat has done it. Many times. I just can't come up with any decent examples. I think it does fail miserably when he's on the planet of the brainwashed torture-expert guys, but although I hazily recall some of the specifics of that scene, I can't even call up their ''names''. Ergo, I'll leave this info here until either I or someone more knowledgeable has useful data.

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{{StruckingFuggle}}: This has its bases in actual Psychology. Psychologist Jean Piaget put forth the idea that information enters the brain and relates to data in two ways - the easy way is we fit new data into our extant expectations and behave along with those - assimilation. There's also 'accommodation', which takes more work (meaning if you're busy or lazy or taken off guard, it's less likely to happen), where new data is evaluated and a new way of considering and dealing with it comes about. Given someone who looks like they belong, and has an air of authority, and it's not unreasonable that they'll assimilate and act in accordance. TruthInTelevision? RealLife? Not Worth Mentioning?
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FastEddie: pulled {{natter}}....
** Germans numbly following crazy orders from anyone in uniform? That's a stretch!
*** Yeah, that sort of gullible thing ''never'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds happens anywhere else]], does it?

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[=SenatorJ=]: Incidentally, has [=MacGyver=] ever actually done this?