Influence - by Robert Cialdini

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'Influence' explains in detail the fundamental principles of persuasion. How do you get people to say yes? How do other people get you to say yes? How are you manipulated by sleek salesmen, clever marketing folks and sneaky confidence tricksters? This book will help you understand the psychology behind their techniques, enabling you to unleash your own persuasive powers, while also defending against their tactics of manipulation.

Influence has been authored by Robert B. Cialdini, PhD a Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. He also acted as a visiting professor at Stanford University and the University of California at Santa Cruz. Influence is based on 35 years of evidence-based research into the phenomena of influence, manipulation and persuasion. Dr. Cialdini also runs a consultancy based on teaching and implementing the ethical business applications of his research.




Summary & Key Learnings

Chapter 1 - Levers of Influence: (Power) Tools of the Trades
Chapter 2 - Reciprocation: The Old Give and Take
Chapter 3 - Liking: The Friendly Thief
Chapter 4 - Social Proof: Truths Are Us
Chapter 5 - Authority: Directed Deference
Chapter 6 - Scarcity: The Rule of the Few
Chapter 7 - Commitment and Consistency: Hobgoblins of the Mind
Chapter 8 - Unity: The "We" Is the Shared Me
Chapter 9 - Instant Influence: Primitive Consent for an Automatic Age

This book teaches you the 6 fundamental principles of manipulation and the most relevant persuasion techniques that compliance professionals employ. It will help you defend yourself from deceit, but also put these techniques to use yourself, should you need to flex some persuasive muscle. In many situations, we humans like to avoid thinking about how we should react by using predictable shortcuts to guide our decisions. Compliance professionals like advertisers, con artists and salespeople take advantage of these preprogrammed human reactions to elicit the response that’s in their best interests, not ours. Specifically, they leverage the principles of reciprocation, scarcity, consistency, social proof, liking and authority. Since we cannot stop using these shortcuts that mostly serve us well, we must instead learn to defend ourselves against the manipulators who abuse them.


Chapter 1 - Levers of Influence: (Power) Tools of the Trades

Ethologist, researchers who study animal behavior in the natural environment, have noticed that among many animal species, behaviour often occurs in rigid and mechanical patterns. Called fixed-action patterns, these mechanical sequences are noteworthy in their similarity to certain automatic responses by humans. For both humans and subhumans, the automatic-behaviour patterns tend to be triggered by a single feature, or trigger feature, can often prove valuable by allowing an individual to decide on a correct course of action without having to analyse carefully and completely each of the other pieces of information in the situation.

The advantage of such shortcut responding lies in its efficiency and economy; by reacting automatically to a normally informative trigger feature, an individual preserves crucial time, energy, and mental capacity. The disadvantage of such responding lies in its vulnerability to silly and costly mistakes; by reacting to only a piece of the available information (enven a usually predictive piece), an individual increases the chances of error, especially when responding in an automatic, mindless fashion. The chances of error increase even further when other individuals seek to profit by arranging (through manipulation of trigger features) ti stimulate a desired behaviour at inappropriate times.

Since dealing with the complexities of life means having to rely on shortcuts, we must identify and defend ourselves against the manipulators who would trick us into wrongly using those shortcuts. The following chapters introduce the 6 basic psychological principles that we use as shortcuts, and which can be exploited for persuasion which are: reciprocation, scarcity, consistency, social proof, liking and authority.

Perceptual contrast is the tendency to see 2 things that are different from one another as being more different than they actually are. It is a lever of influence used by some compliance practitioners. For example, real estate agents may show prospective home buyers one or 2 unattractive options before showing them a more attractive home, which then seems more attractive than it would have if shown first. An advantage of employing this lever of influence is that its tactical use typically goes unrecognised.


Chapter 2 - Reciprocation: The Old Give and Take

According to sociologists and anthropologists, one of the most widespread and basic norms of human culture is embodied in the rule of reciprocation. The rule requires that one person try to repay, in form, what another person has provided. By obligating the recipient of an act to repayment in the future, the rule allows one individual to give something to another with confidence that it is not being lost. This rule forms the foundation of all societies, for it allowed our ancestors to share resources, safe in the knowledge that they would be reciprocated later. 

And if someone does us a favor and we do not return it, we feel a psychological burden. This is partially because, as a society, we are disdainful of those who do not reciprocate favors; we label them as moochers or ingrates and fear being labeled as such ourselves. The desire to reciprocate is intense that people are so keen to rid themselves of the burden of reciprocity that they will often perform much larger favors in return for small ones.

So how can you fight back?

Reciprocity plays a fundamental role in the way societies and social relationships work, so you can’t forego the principle entirely. But you can learn to identify and resist deliberate attempts to abuse it.

Start by getting into the habit of asking yourself if the favors you receive are really genuine, or if they could be attempts to manipulate you. Think about whether you actually want to donate your money to that nonprofit organization, or if you only feel obliged because they handed you a gift on the street. And don’t worry about not reciprocating “favors” that are really manipulation attempts in disguise; favors warrant favors in return, but tricks do not.


Chapter 3 - Liking: The Friendly Thief

People prefer to say yes to individuals they like. Recognising this rule, compliance professionals commonly increase their effectiveness by emphasising several factors that increase their overall likability.

One feature is physical attractiveness.
Although i has long been suspected that physical beauty provides an advantage in social interaction, research indicates the advantage may be greater than supposed. Physical attractiveness engenders a halo-effect that leads to the assignment of other traits such as talent, kindness, and intelligence. As a result, attractive people are more persuasive both in terms of getting what they request and changing others' attitudes. 

A second factor that influences liking and compliance is similarity.
We like people who are like us, and we are more willing to say yes to their requests, often in an unthinking manner. 

Another factor is praise.
Compliments generally enhance liking and, hence, compliance. 2 particularly useful types of genuine compliments are those delivered behind the recipient's back and those selected to give the recipient a reputation to live up to, by continuing to perform the desired behaviour.

Increased familiarity through repeated contact with a person or thing is yet another factor that normally facilitates liking. 
This relationship hold true principally when the contact takes place under positive rather than negative circumstances. One positive circumstance that works especially well is mutual and successful cooperation. A fifth factor linked to liking is association. By connecting themselves on their products with positive things, advertisers, politicians, and merchandisers frequently seek to share in the positivity through the process of association. Other individuals as well (sports fans for example) appear to recognised the positive effect of simple connections and try to associate themselves with favorable events and distance themselves from unfavorable events in the eyes of observers.

How do we protect ourselves against likability manipulation? 
A good step is to ask ourselves whether we have come to like someone or something unusually strongly in a short time. If so, this could be due to some form of manipulation, and alarm bells should ring.


Chapter 4 - Social Proof: Truths Are Us

The principle of social proof states that one important means people use to decide what to believe or how to act in a situation is to examine what others are believing or doing there. The principle of social proof can be used to stimulate a person's compliance with a request by communicating that many other individuals (the more, the better) are or have been complying with it. Therefore, simply pointing to the popularity of an item elevates its popularity.

Social proof is most influential under 3 conditions:

1st condition is uncertainty.
When people are unsure, when the situation is ambiguous, they are more likely to attend to the actions of others and to accept those actions as correct. In ambiguous situations, for instance, the decisions of bystanders to offer emergency aid are much more influenced by the actions of other bystanders than when the situation is a clear-cut emergency.

2nd condition under which social proof is most influential involves "The many."
People are more inclined to follow the lead of others in proportion to the others' number. When we see multiple other performing an action, we become willing to follow because the action appears to be more (1) correct/valid, (2) feasible, and (3) socially acceptable.

3rd condition is similarity.
People conform to the beliefs and actions of comparable others, especially their peers - a phenomenon we can call peer-suasion. 

When communicators are not able to use existing social proof because their idea, cause, or product does not have widespread support, they may be able to harness the power of future social proof by honestly describing trending support, which audiences expect to continue.

Recommendations to reduce our susceptibility to faulty social, proof include cultivating a sensitivity to counterfeit evidence of what similar others are doing and recognising that the actions of similar others should not form the sole basis for our decisions.


Chapter 5 - Authority: Directed Deference

Renowned psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a study in the 1960s showing that volunteers would administer potentially lethal electric shocks to others simply because they were told to do so by an authority figure. Although no one was harmed, the experimenters were surprised by the results. In the Milgram studies, we see evidence of strong pressures for compliance with the requests of an authority. Acting contrary to their own preferences, many normal, psychologically healthy individuals were willing to deliver dangerous levels of pain to another person because they were directed to do so by an authority figure. 

From birth, we’re taught to always obey figures of authority, be they teachers, doctors or police officers. Unfortunately, this tendency to comply with authority is so ingrained and powerful that we don’t bother to think or challenge perceived authority figures before obeying them. It is adaptive to obey the dictates of genuine authorities because such individuals usually possess high levels of knowledge, wisdom, and power. For these reasons, deference to authorities can occur in a mindless fashion as a kind of decision-making shortcut.

When reacting to authority in an automatic fashion, people have a tendency to do so in response to mere symbols of authority rather than to its substance. 3 kinds of symbols effective in this regard are titles, clothing, and trappings such as automobiles. In studies, individuals possessing prestigious forms of one or another of the symbole (and no other legitimising credentials) were accorded more deference or obedience by those they encountered.

Authority influence flows from being viewed as either in authority or an authority. But the first of these types, merely being in charge, has its problems. Ordering people to do things often generates resistance and resentment. The second type of authority, being viewed as highly informed, avoids this problems, as people are usually willing follow the recommendations of someone who knows more than they do on the matter at hand.

The persuasive effect of being seen as an authority is maximised by also being seens as a credible such authority - one perceived as both expert (knowledgeable on the relevant topic) and trustworthy (honest in the presentation of one's knowledge). To estable their trustworthiness, communicators may admit to a (usually minor) shortcoming of their case, which ca be swept aside later by the presentation of outweighing strengths.

It is possible to defend ourselves against the detrimental effects of authority influence by asking 2 questions:

Is this authority truly an expert?
How truthful can we expect this expert to be?

The first directs our attention away from symbols and toward evidence for authority status. 
The second advises us to consider not just the expert's knowledge in the situation by also his or her trustworthiness. With regard to this second consideration, we should be alert to the trust-enhancing tactic in which communicators first provide mildly negative information about themselves. Through this strategy, they create a perception of honesty that makes all subsequent information seem more believable to observers. 


Chapter 6 - Scarcity: The Rule of the Few

According to the scarcity principle, people assign more value to opportunities that are less available. The use of this principle for profit can be seen in such compliance techniques as the "limited number" and "deadline" tactics, wherein practitioners try to convince us that if we don't act now, we will lose something of value. This engages the human tendency for loss aversion - that people are more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.

When does scarcity become a powerful influence on our decision-making?

Two conditions need to be fulfilled:

  1. First, we tend to want something more if its availability has decreased recently than if it has remained steady over time. This is why revolutions tend to happen when living conditions deteriorate sharply rather than when they are consistently low; the sudden drop increases people’s desire for something better, so they take to the streets.
  2. Second, competition always sets our hearts racing. Whether in auctions, romances or real-estate deals, the thought of losing something to a rival often turns us from reluctant to overzealous. This is why, for example, real estate agents often mention to buyers that several other bidders are also interested in a given house, whether true or not. In fact, a competitive situation can induce a “feeding frenzy” for a scarce good, even among seasoned negotiators.

To counter the eagerness that arises from scarcity, we should always consider whether we want the item in question because of its use to us (for example, its taste or function), or merely because of an irrational wish to possess it. When scarcity is being used against us, the answer will often be the latter.


Chapter 7 - Commitment and Consistency: Hobgoblins of the Mind

Psychologists have long recognised a desire in most people to be and look consistent within their words, attitudes, and deeds. This tendency for consistency is fed from 3 sources. 
  1. First, good personal consistency is highly valued by society.
  2. Second, aside from its effect on public image, generally consistent conduct provides a beneficial approach to daily life.
  3. Third, a consistent orientation affords a valuable shortcut through the complexity of modern existence. By being consistent with earlier decisions, one reduces the need to process all the relevant information in future similar situations; instead, one merely needs to recall the earlier decision and to respond consistently with it.
Within the realm of compliance, securing an initial commitment is the key. After making a commitment (that is, taking an action, stand, or position), people are more willing to agree to requests in keeping with the prior commitment. Thus, many compliance professionals try to induce people to take an initial position that is consistent with a behaviour they will later request from these people. Not all commitments are equally effective in producing consistent future action. Commitments are most effective when they are active, public, effortful, and viewed as internally motivated (voluntary), because each of these elements changes self-image. The reason they do so is that each element gives us information about what we must truly believe.

Commitment decisions, even erroneous ones, have a tendency to be self-perpetuating because they can "grow their own legs." That is, people often add new reasons and justifications to support the wisdom of commitments they have already made. As a consequence, some commitments remain in effect long after the conditions that spurred them have changed. This phenomenon explains the effectiveness of certain deceptive compliance practices such as "throwing the low-ball."

Another advantage of commitment-based tactics is that simple reminder of an earlier commitment can regenerate its ability to guide behaviour, even in novel situations. In addition, reminders do more than restore the commitment's vigor, they appear to intensify it by strengthening one's related self-image.

To recognise and resist the undue influence of consistency pressures on our compliance decisions, we should listen for signals coming from 2 places within us: our stomachs and our heart or hearts. 

  • Stomach signs - appear when we realise we are being pushed by commitment and consistency pressures to agree to requests we know we don't want to perform. Under these circumstances, it is best to explain to the requester that such compliance would constitute a brand of foolish consistency in which re prefer not to engage.
  • Heart-of-heart signs - are different. They are best employed when it is not clear to us that an initial commitment was wrongheaded. Here, we should ask ourselves a crucial question: "Knowing what I now know, if I could go back in time, would I make the same commitment?" One informative answer may come as the first flash of feeling registered. 

Commitment and consistency tactics are likely to work especially well on members of individualistic societies, particularly those who are over 50 years old, who, hence, should be particularly wary of their use. 


Chapter 8 - Unity: The "We" Is the Shared Me

People say yes to someone they consider one of them. The experience of "we"-ness (unity) with others is about shared identities - tribe-like categories that individuals use to define themselves and their groups, such as race, ethnicity, nationality, and family, as well as political and religious affiliations.

Research into "we"-groups has produced 3 general conclusions.
  1. Members of these groups favour the outcomes and welfare of fellow members over those of nonmembers,
  2. "We"-group members also use the preferences and actions of fellow members to guide their own, which enhances group solidarity.
  3. Finally, such partisan tendencies have arisen, evolutionarily, as ways to advantage our "we"-groups and, ultimately, ourselves.
These 3 constants have surfaced in a wide range of domains, including business, politics, sports, and personal relationships.

The perception of belonging together with others is one fundamental factor leading to feelings of "we"-ness. This perception is generated by commonalities of kinship (amount of genetic overlap) as well as by commonalities of place (including one's home, locality, and region). 

The experience of acting together in unison or coordination is a second fundamental factor leading to a sense of unity with others. Shared musical experience is one way people can act together and feel consequent unity. Other ways involve repeated reciprocal exchange, joint suffering, and co-creation.

It may be possible to use the unifying effects of belonging together and acting together to increase the odds of getting together as a species. It would require choosing to share, with out-group members, family experiences in our communities, and friendship experiences in our social interactions.

Other kinds of connections involving national identity, mutual enemies, joint emotional experience, and shared perspective can also lead to feelings of unity with out-group members; unfortunately, they are often short-lived. However, focusing concentrated, repeated attention on such connections may make them more enduring by increasing their perceived importance.


Chapter 9 - Instant Influence: Primitive Consent for an Automatic Age

Modern lift is different from that of any earlier time. Owing to remarkable technological advances, information is burgeoning, alternatives are multiplying, and knowledge is exploding. In this avalache of change and choice, we have had to adjust. One fundamental adjustment has come in the way we make decisions. Although we all wish to make the most thoughtful, fully considered decision possible in any situation, the changing form and accelerating pace of modern life frequently deprive us of the proper conditions for such a careful analysis of all the relevant pros and cons. More and more, we are forced to resort to another decision-making approach - a shortcut approach in which the decision to comply (or agree or believe or buy) is made on the basis of a single, usually reliable piece of information. The most reliable and, therefore, more popular such single triggers for compliance are those described in the book. they are commitments, opportunities for reciprocation, the compliant behaviour of similar others, feelings of liking or unity, authority directives, and scarcity information.

Because of the increasing tendency for cognitive overload in our society, the prevalence of shortcut decision-making is likely to increase proportionately. Compliance professionals who infuse their requests with one or another of the levers of influence are more likely to be successful. The use of these levers by practitioners is not necessarily exploitative. It only becomes so when the lever is not a natural feature of the situation but is fabricated by the practitioner. In order to retain the beneficial character of shortcut response, it is important to oppose such fabrication by all appropriate means.




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Hi, my name is Christine Calo and I'm a designer by trade who has an engineering background. I have an interest in design, technology and science which I like to read, watch and write about from time to time. This blog contains random ramblings of these topics and may tangent off to other topics. Want to say hello, you can contact me on: calo.christine@gmail.com

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