Cialdini, Robert B., Influence: the psychology of persuasion
Concepts
consistency
reciprocation
social proof
authority
liking
scarcity
Notes
Ch 1 Weapons of Influence
3 fixed action patterns--behaviors that happen in the same way in the same order every time
4 Request + reason = 94% effectiveness Use “because” in request
11 automatic influence--
- 1 nearly automatic process which will activate the power of the weapons of influence
- 2 shows how exploitable the power is by anyone who knows how to turn the process on
- 3 exploiters can start process expending very little energy
12 Contrast Principle buying higher $ item first leads to spending more on smaller items right after
Give Bigger/worse choice first--makes other option seem better later
Ch 2 Reciprocation
19 Human societies get competitive advantage from reciprocity rule--make sure members are trained to follow it--failure to follow and you are known as being cheap, or a mooch
27 Free sample is a gift which engages reciprocity rule Giving free sample can start the deeply embedded reciprocity rule
31 Obligation to give, receive and repay--repayment is the essence of the rule
33 Strong cultural pressure to reciprocate even an unwanted gift
5 Say no to reciprocation
Ch 3 Commitment and Consistency
57 our nearly obsessive desire to be consistent with what we have already done
76-7 effects of writing Chinese and American POWs
79 Set a goal and write it down
82 Whenever someone takes a stand that can be seen by others, they have a need to appear to be consistent otherwise they will be judged as fickle or uncertain and scatterbrained
83 Students who had not written choices least loyal to choices, s who had publicly written choices refused to change even after finding contradictory info
85 Greater the effort going into a commitment greater its ability to influence attitudes of people who made it
86 Severity of initiation ceremony increases commitment to group (hazing)
93 Social scientists--we accept inner responsibility for behavior when we think we have chosen to do it without outside forces---Small rewards convince the subject they really wanted to do it or they valued it
94 Raising children--bribing kids to get them to do what we want--we have to get them to accept inner responsibility for their actions and convince themselves not to do what we don’t want them to do Threats don’t work in the long run--A reason must be given that is strong enough to be truthful most of the time, but not so strong so the kid sees the threat, or reason as who they are being truthful
97 public minded person--sign posted
99 Lowballing--an offer is made giving buyer a good deal, after they decide to make the deal, but before deal is signed the terms of purchase are skillfully changed
100 Lowball --ability to make someone feel pleased with a poor choice
How to say no
103 Ralph Waldo Emerson “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” --be automatically and unthinkingly consistent
105 Be aware of the feeling in the pit of your stomach
120 we experience our feelings a split second before we can think about them--be aware of initial reaction
Ch 4 Social Proof
116 Social proof--one way we find out what is correct is to look at what others around us are doing
Canned laughter--causes mindless laughter because we are fooled by reflexive
117 Bartenders-- start night with a few dollar bills in tip jar to simulate tips left by other customers
118 long lines outside of clubs create longer lines--the place to go
91% of people are imitators--5% initiators
128 The greater the number of people who find the idea correct, the more the idea will be correct
132 Pluralistic ignorance effect--we prefer to appear poised and unflustered in front of others so we search for evidence of how to act by making quick glances at those around us.--strongest among strangers
136 Devictimizing Yourself--Call out if you know or think you are having a problem
139 First aid--pick one person and assign that person the job--call 911
142 We will use others response to guide our response if they seem to be like us
144-5 Suicides increase when someone of similar background commits suicide
156 The most influential leaders arrange group conditions to allow social proof to work maximally in their favor--get some members moving in desired direction and the rest will go along--e.g. youtube videos
157 How to say no--use social proof until we find inaccurate data and then take over--no longer leave it on autopilot
Ch 5 Liking
171 Physical attraction--grooming accounted for more favorable review from job interviewers than job qualifications
173 Similarity--We like people who are similar to us
174 Be careful of salespeople who seem to be just like you
175 We tend to believe praise and to like those who give it
176 We can have such an automatically positive reaction to praise even when it is obviously not genuine
177 We often don’t realize our attitude has been influenced by how many times we have been exposed to it in the past
198 Sports fans--root for teams like you
204 How to say no--When we feel ourselves liking the person more than we should under the circumstances
Ch 6 Authority
208- Milgram study--subject shock and screaming but kept going
216 following orders
Ch 7 Scarcity
261 Freedoms once granted will not be relinquished without a fight
266 How to say no--the joy is not in experiencing a scarce commodity but in possessing it
268 Psychological benefits of possessing something rare scarcity pressures will give us indication of how much we would want to pay for it--less available--more we would pay
Used cars--create scarcity by having multiple people come at the same time
