The Weapons of Influence
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini. A book review.
Dr. Robert Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and author of the best selling book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. His extensive scholarly training in the psychology of influence, together with over 30 years of research into the subject, has earned Dr. Cialdini an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation.
Cialdini begins (and keeps the theme consistent throughout) with explaining what influence and persuasion really are: exploitation of instinct (he calls it the click, whirr phenomenon, which he covers in the book). He explains how people generally operate on a “fixed-action” pattern which is manipulated through some kind of “trigger feature.” Psychologists have determined what many of these trigger features are and Cialdini lays them out in the book, calling them “weapons of automatic influence.”
In his book he cites great examples of studies and stories based on the six weapons, which are detailed as follows…
1. Reciprocation: People are more willing to comply with requests (for favours, services, information, concessions, etc.) from those who have provided such things first.
For example, in my neighbourhood, a restaurant called District 10 offers free pizza with happy hour beer prices. This works on me because 1) I usually stay past happy hour 2) I frequent the restaurant more often because they have given me something upfront and I actually like the staff (see item 6, Liking/Friendship).
Reciprocity, through listening, is an important subject matter in the Trusted Advisor philosophy. See Trust Tip 35: Reciprocity, Sales and Suicide Hot Lines.
2. Commitment/Consistency: People are more willing to be moved in a particular direction if they see it as consistent with an existing or recent commitment. Once we have made a stand or position on an issue, we are then more willing to say “yes” to a request that is consistent with that commitment.
Consider how small that commitment can be and still motivate change forcefully: a Chicago restaurant owner was beset by the problem of no-shows—people who made table reservations but failed to appear and failed to call to cancel. He reduced the problem by first getting a small commitment. He instructed his receptionists to stop saying, “Please call if you change your plans” and to start saying, “Will you call us if you change your plans?” The no-show rate dropped from 30% to 10% immediately.
3. Authority: People are more willing to follow the directions or recommendations of a communicator to whom they attribute relevant authority or expertise.
One study showed that 3 times as many pedestrians were willing to follow a man into traffic against the red light when he was merely dressed as an authority in a business suit and tie.
4. Social Validation: People are more willing to take a recommended action if they see evidence that many others, especially similar others, are taking it.
One researcher went door to door collecting for charity and carrying a list of others in the area who had already contributed. The longer the list, the more contributions it produced.
Dr. Cialdini also quotes Cavett Roberts’ advice to sales trainees, “Since 95% of people are imitators and only 5% initiators, people are persuaded more by the actions of others than by any proof we can offer.”
5. Scarcity: People want what they can’t have and people find objects and opportunities more attractive to the degree that they are scarce, rare, or dwindling in availability. Even information that is scarce is more effective.
One example is a US beef importer who informed his customers (honestly) that, because of weather conditions in Australia, there was likely to be a shortage of Australian beef. His orders more than doubled. However, when he added (also honestly) that this information came from his company’s exclusive contacts in the Australian National Weather Service, orders increased by 600%!
Stephen Worchel did a cookie experiment and found that cookies with a few in the jar were rated as more desirable than cookies with plenty in the jar. The testers admitted that they tasted the same.
As Cialdini says, ” The joy is not in experiencing a scarce commodity but in possessing it. It is important that we do not confuse the two.” Hence all the scarcity tactics.
6. Liking/Friendship: People prefer to say yes to those they know and like.
For example, research done on Tupperware Home Demonstration parties shows that guests are 3 times more likely to purchase products because they like the party’s hostess more than because of their liking of the products.
He also cites Joe Girard as the world’s greatest car salesman. He was General Motors best salesman 12 years in a row, selling 5 cars or trucks every day that he went to work. He says that he offers a fair price and someone that they like to buy from (ie. good looking/ good presentation/ flattery/ same as them/ on their side).
Conclusion: The book is well worth the read if you are interested in ways to influence and to understand what influences people. In fact, Fortune Magazine lists Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion in their “75 Smartest Business Books.”
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion ISBN 0-688-12816-5
http://www.influenceatwork.com/
Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore
