Influence Science and Practice
Influence Science and Practice (ISBN 0321188950) is a Psychology book examining the key ways people can be influenced by "Compliance Professionals". The book's authors is Robert B. Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University.
The key premise of the book is that, in a complex world, where people are overloaded with more information than they can deal with, people fall back on a decision making approach based on shortcuts. These shortcuts developed because they usually allow us to act in a correct manner with a limited amount of thought. However, they can be expolited, and effectively turned into weapons, by those who know them to influence others in to acting certain ways.
The findings in the book are backed up by numerous Empirical studies conducted in the fields of Psychology, Marketing, Economics, Anthropology and Social Science.
The author also worked undercover in many Compliance fields such as car salesman and door-to-door salesman.
The key "Weapons of Influence" outlined are:
| Contents |
Reciprocation
People generally feel obliged to return favours offered to them. This trait is embodied in all human cultures, and is one of the human characteristics that allow us to live as a society.
Compliance Professionals often play on this trait by offering a small gift to potential customers. Studies have shown that even if the gift is unwanted, it will influence the recipient to reciprocate.
A variation on this theme is to ask for a particularly big favour. When this is turned down, a smaller favour is asked for. This is likely to be successful because a concession (to ask for a small favour) will be reciprocated by a consession from the other person (by accepting to do the favour).
Commitment and Consistency
People have a general desire to appear consistent in their behaviour. People generally also value consistency in others.
Compiance Professionals can exploit our desire to be consistent by having someone make an initial, often small, commitment. Requests can then be made that are in keeping with this initial commitment.
People also have a strong desire to stand by commitments that they have made, by providing further justification and reasons for supporting them.
Social Proof
People generally look to other people similar to themselves when making decisions. This is particularly noticable in situations of uncertainty or ambiguity.
This trait has led Compliance Professionals to provide fake information on what others are doing. Examples of this are staged interviews on television adverts or "infomercials".
Liking
People are more likely to agree to offers from people that they like.
There are several factors that can influence people to like some people more than others. One major factor is physical attractiveness. This can give people a "halo" effect whereby others are more likely to trust them, and think of them as smarter and more talented.
It is also noted that people tend to like people who are most like themselves.
People also tend to like those who pay them compliments, or people who they are forced to cooperate with to achieve a common goal.
Authority
The studies of Stanley Milgram provide some of the most stunning insights into how influencial authority can be over others.
People often act in an automated fashion to commands from authority, even if their instincts suggest the commands should not be followed.
Scarcity
People tend to want things as they become less available. This has led advertisers to promote goods as "Limited Availability", or "Short time only".
It has also been shown that when information is restricted (such as through Censorship), people want the information more, and will hold that information in higher regard.
Scarce items are also given a higher value when they were once in high supply, but have now become scarce.