Psychology Of Persuasion By Robert Cialdini | Influence The

Every day, you say "yes" to something you didn't plan on agreeing to.

If you are walking down a street and see five people looking up at a building, you will look up. If you are in a hotel room and the card says "75% of guests reuse their towels," you will reuse your towel. Cialdini calls this "following the herd." It is most powerful when we are (we don't know the best answer) and when the similarity is high (people just like us are doing it). influence the psychology of persuasion by robert cialdini

In the Milgram shock experiments, ordinary people administered what they thought were lethal electric shocks simply because a man in a lab coat told them to. Cialdini argues that we don't even need real authority; we just need the symbols of authority: Titles (Doctor, Professor), Clothes (a police uniform or a suit), and Trappings (fancy cars, Rolexes). Every day, you say "yes" to something you

"How are you feeling today?" "Great, thanks." (Commitment to feeling good). Then, "Would you like to donate to the children's fund?" (You can't say no to a charity if you just said you feel great about life). Car salesmen use "lowballing": they give you a great price, get you to commit to buying, then "discover" the manager won't approve it. You buy anyway because your identity is now "the person who bought that car." Cialdini calls this "following the herd

Cialdini opens with the story of the Hare Krishna society. In the 1970s, they were struggling to raise money. Then they changed their tactic. Instead of asking for donations, they started walking up to strangers in airports and handing them a flower (or a "gift" of a small book). The moment the tourist took the flower—even if they didn't want it—the Krishna would say, "This is our gift to you." Then they asked for a donation. Because the tourist felt indebted, the money poured in.