Psychology Persuasion

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Business and Investment Book Summaries

Published by The Business Sourcewww.thebusinesssource.com

Influence

The Psychology of Persuasionby Robert B. Cialdini, Ph. D.

Whether you are a fundraising professional hoping to get alarge donation from a skeptical prospect, a manager needingemployee buy-in for a large project, or a parent trying to get histwo year old off to bed, the ability to get a "yes" may seem torequire a bit of luck.

However, according to Robert B. Cialdini, Ph. D., president of

Influence At Work

,an international training and consulting company based on the ethical businessapplications of the science of influence, the difference between getting a "yes" ora "no" response may lie in the science of psychology and the way that you use it.By understanding the science behind the power of influence, and learning how toutilize that science, you can easily apply its power to achieving both yourpersonal and professional goals.

With his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion Cialdini uses research,human studies, and science to pinpoint the six psychological principles —Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, andScarcity — that direct human behavior and compliance. He then delves furtherinto these principles and shows you how the ethical application of each one canhelp you increase the likelihood of receiving a "yes" response to almost anyrequest.

The science, and power, behind these six principles of ethical persuasion lies intheir ability to produce an automatic response from people. The principles, whenapplied correctly, influence the individual to respond affirmatively without firstgiving the situation any in-depth thought.

According to Cialdini, this automatic response is part social conditioning, partlearned behavior, and part a timesaving defense. When faced with a decision weoften rely on shortcuts — or cues — that clue us in on whether it would be moreprudent to say yes or no. We rely on these cues in order to avoid the time, effort,and complex thought processing that are needed to accurately analyze thesituation and make a truly informed decision. It is by understanding these

shortcuts and the science of persuasion that you can use these cues to influencepeople to act according to your wishes.

The first principle – Reciprocation – revolves around the basic social rule: ifsomeone does us a favor, we are obligated to do one for him in return.

The second principle – Commitment and Consistency – gets its power from ourdesire to stand behind any previous decisions we have made: if we tell asalesman that we like horror films, then we must purchase a ticket when asked todo so in order to stand behind our previous statement.

Principle three – Social Proof – preys on our belief that if others are doing it, "it"must be the correct thing to do: if we see others buying, we subconsciously feelthe need to buy also.

In principle four – Liking – the power to receive a favorable answer lies in therelationship with the target. According to Cialdini's research people are morelikely to purchase something from someone they know and like.

Principle five – Authority – uses our automatic belief that people in authority knowbetter and are actively looking out for our best interests.

Finally, principle six – Scarcity – preys on our fear of missing out or on losing ourchance at something. A regular box of writing pens becomes very coveted if thepurchaser is lead to believe that these pens are the last ones of their kind. Thesame is true if there are plenty of pens but they will only be this inexpensive for avery short period of time.

If you are ready to learn how to harness the power of influence, read on anddiscover how each of the principles of ethical persuasion can make yourprofessional and personal life easier and more successful.

Principle One: Reciprocation

The principle of reciprocation relies on automatic behavior brought on by socialconditioning. Humans long to be accepted by others and deemed as goodpeople. Good people, those with morals and values, always return a favor. So ifyou give something to a person he will feel obligated to repay the debt.

For example, if a salesperson approaches a customer and begins his pitch bypointing out all of the benefits of buying a one-year car wash package, he mayeventually receive a positive response to purchase. However, if he approachesthe customer and first offers a free car wash, using the time that the car is beingcleaned to explain the benefits of the package, his chances of making a salegreatly increase. After all, this salesman just did us a favor; he washed our car

for free. We can cancel out our feelings of obligation by doing him a favor inreturn: purchasing the one-year car wash package.

The same is true for a manager wanting to "sell' his staff on the idea of overtime.If he first approaches the idea as an ultimatum: "Everyone is going to have to putin ten hours of overtime each week until this project is finished" he is likely tomeet resistance. However, if he begins the request with a favor: "This newproject is going to take extra commitment. Because of this I am offering each ofyou two extra paid days off if you work ten hours of overtime each week until theproject is completed. Now, if everyone will please sign up for their two days ofvacation we can complete the project in no time," most of the employees will signup and agree to the terms without protest.

This principle can also work without having to exchange any actual gifts orfavors. In this scenario, the power lies in a perceived favor. For example, if thecar wash salesman is trying to sell one-year car wash packages he couldimprove his success rate by offering a three-year package first. When thecustomer balks at the expense and time commitment of a three-year deal thesalesman could then offer up the one-year deal. In this instance the customermay feel as though the salesperson has made a concession, or done a favor forthem, by reducing the scope of the commitment. He or she will then feel moreobligated to give a concession, like buying the one-year deal.

Principle Two: Commitment and Consistency

The power behind this principle lies in an individual's strong desire to appear tobe consistent. According to Cialdini, people whose actions match their beliefs areviewed by others as honest, stable, rational, and intelligent. On the other hand,those who show inconsistency are seen as indecisive, confused, and dishonest.

Since humans have a strong desire to be seen as good and valued, they areusually willing to go to great lengths to protect their decision-making consistency.This desire can be used by others when attempting to illicit a favorable response.

For example, a salesman trying to sell movie tickets may pose instead as a mantaking a survey in order to make you commit to liking what he has to offer. In thisexample the salesman would ask you if you like movies and how often you go tothe theater. If you responded that you enjoyed the movies and that you go atleast once a week, he could then offer to save you money by selling you a ticketpackage. Since, as he would point out, this package includes enough tickets togo to the theater each week and will definitely reduce the cost of the ticketsbought individually, you would be wrong not to buy the package since you lovemovies and you were going to buy the tickets anyway. In order to say no in thisscenario you would have to go back on your earlier statement of attending themovies once a week or admit that you would rather pay full price for something.

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