Library:Influence
| Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert B. Cialdini |
| First published | 1984 |
| ISBN | — |
| Role | Analysis |
| Domains | Business, Finance & Scams Consumer Products & Everyday Life |
| Tactics | Propaganda Technique Fraud or Scam |
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is a 1984 book by Robert B. Cialdini.
Summary
Robert Cialdini, a social psychologist at Arizona State University, spent years studying, and working undercover among, salespeople, fundraisers and advertisers to learn how they get people to say yes. Influence distills what he found into a set of principles that reliably trigger compliance.
First published in 1984 and expanded in later editions, it became one of the most widely read books on persuasion in business and psychology.
Key points
- Six principles. Reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity. A seventh, unity, was added in the 2021 edition.
- Automatic responses. Each principle works because it is usually a useful shortcut, which is what makes it exploitable.
- Defense. Cialdini explains how to recognize when each principle is being used against you.
Relevance to Bullshitopedia
Scams, high-pressure sales and propaganda use the same levers Cialdini describes, from fake scarcity ("only three left") to fake authority and fake crowds. The book is a field guide to the mechanics behind many Fraud or Scam and Propaganda Technique entries.