Influence -

The Psychology
of Persuasion
Introduction
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 What are the factors that cause a person to

• Weapons of
Influence
say yes to another person?
• Reciprocation
 Which techniques most effectively use these
• Commitment
and
factors to bring about such compliance?
Consistency
• Social Proof  Which psychological principles influence the
• Liking
tendency to comply with a request?
• Authority • → Weapons of influence
• Scarcity
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Introduction
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Research
• Weapons of
Influence • Experimental work
• Reciprocation  Lab experiments
• Commitment
 College students
and
Consistency • Observation of compliance professionals
• Social Proof
 Sales operators
• Liking
 Fund-raisers
• Authority
 Recruiters
• Scarcity
 Advertisers
 Others
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Introduction
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Six basic principles

• Weapons of • Reciprocation
Influence
• Commitment and consistency
• Reciprocation
• Social Proof
• Commitment
and • Liking
Consistency • Authority
• Social Proof • Scarcity
• Liking
 Rule of material self-interest
• Authority
• Most people want to get the most and pay the least
• Scarcity • Very important in driving decisions, also a powerful
weapon
• A given factor, deserves acknowledgement but not
extensive description
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion Ethology → the study of animals in their
Robert B. natural settings
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Turkey mothers
• Weapons of
Influence • Good mothers: loving, watchful, and protective
• Reciprocation • Virtually all this mothering is triggered by one thing:
• Commitment the “cheap-cheap” sound of young turkey chicks
and
Consistency • Stuffed polecat experiment
• Social Proof  turkey natural enemy immediately attacked
• Liking  stuffed polecat with hidden recorder that played the
• Authority “cheap-cheap” sound → no attack, but also was
gathered underneath by mother turkey
• Scarcity
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion Ethology → the study of animals in their
Robert B. natural settings
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Fixed-action patterns
• Weapons of
Influence • These responses are common
• Reciprocation • They can involve intricate sequences of behavior
• Commitment
and
Consistency
 Two important things about fixed-action
patterns
• Social Proof
• Liking • Work very well the majority of the time
• Authority • Humans also present fixed-action patterns
• Scarcity
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion Xerox machine experiment
Robert B. (Ellen Langer – Havard social psychologist)
Cialdini, PH.D.

 People simply like to have reasons for what they do

• Weapons of
Influence  Small favor of people waiting in line to use a library
copying machine
• Reciprocation
• 1- “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox
• Commitment machine because I’m in a rush?”
and  94% let her skip ahead of them in the line
Consistency
• 2- “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox
• Social Proof machine?”
• Liking  60% of positive response
• Authority • 3- “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox
machine because I have to make some copies?”
• Scarcity
 93% of positive response

 the word “because” triggered an automatic compliance

response → “because” = “cheap-cheap”
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Automatic, stereotyped behavior
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Prevalent in much of human action

• Weapons of
Influence • In many cases it is the most efficient form of behaving
• Reciprocation • In many other cases it is simply necessary
• Commitment
and  Extraordinarily complicated stimulus environment,
Consistency rapidly moving and complex
• Social Proof • We need shortcuts
• Liking • We can’t be expected to recognize and analyze all the
• Authority aspects in each person, event and situation we
encounter in even one day
• Scarcity
• Not enough time, not enough energy, not enough
capacity
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Automatic, stereotyped behavior
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Civilization advances by extending the

• Weapons of
Influence
number of operations we can perform without
thinking about them
• Reciprocation
• Commitment
and
Alfred North Whitehead
Consistency (British philosopher)
• Social Proof
• Liking
• Authority
• Scarcity
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Automatic, stereotyped behavior
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Most of us know very little about automatic

• Weapons of
Influence
behavior patterns
• Reciprocation
 They make terrible vulnerable to anyone who
• Commitment
and
does know how they work
Consistency
• Social Proof  Another glance to ethologist’s work → Mimics
• Liking • animals that copy the trigger features of other
• Authority animals to makes them produce the automatic
• Scarcity
response at the wrong time
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Contrast Principle
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Objects’ weight
• Weapons of
Influence
 Evaluation of blind dates
• Reciprocation
• Commitment
and
 Three pails of water
Consistency
• Social Proof  Real life marketing
• Liking • Retail clothiers
• Authority  sell costly items first
• Scarcity
 show ugly items first
• Real state
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
The old give and take … and take
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 The rule says → we would try to repay, in

• Weapons of kind, what another person has provided us
Influence
• Reciprocation  “much obligated” = “thank you”
• Commitment
and  There is no human society that does not
Consistency
subscribe to the rule
• Social Proof
• Liking  Web of indebtness → Human society
• Authority • lowering of the natural inhibitions against
• Scarcity transactions
• systems of aid, gift giving, defense, and trade
• significant competitive advantage
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
The old give and take … and take
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Social sanction to anyone who violates the

• Weapons of
Influence
rule
• Reciprocation • moocher, ingrate, welsher
• Commitment
and  There is an obligation to give, an obligation to
Consistency receive, and an obligation to repay
• Social Proof
• Liking  The rule is over powering
• Authority
• Scarcity  The rule enforces uninvited debts

 The rule can trigger unfair exchanges

 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
The old give and take … and take
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Mexico and Ethiopia

• Weapons of
Influence • 1985 → 5.000 U$S relief donation
• Reciprocation • 1935 → Mexico aided Ethiopia when invaded by Italy
• Commitment
and  Prof. Denis Regan → Art appreciation experiment (coke
Consistency and raffle tickets)
• Social Proof • coke favor → more success in selling the raffle tickets
• Liking • coke favor → individuals bought twice as many tickets
• Authority • coke favor response → no relation with liking
• Scarcity • coke U$S 0,10 → average raffle sale U$S 0,50
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
The old give and take … and take
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Christmas cards to a sample of perfect strangers

• Weapons of
Influence  The Hare Krishnas’ strategy
• Reciprocation
• flowers and books gifts
• Commitment
and  Real life marketing
Consistency
• Free sample
• Social Proof
 expose the potential clients to the qualities of the product
• Liking
 but the beauty is that it is also a gift
• Authority
• Mailings including unsolicited gifts
• Scarcity
 double the response rates
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Reciprocal Concessions
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Consequence of the rule or reciprocation → is an

• Weapons of obligation to make a concession to someone who has
Influence made a concession to us
• Reasonability
• Reciprocation
• Good faith
• Commitment
and
 County Youth Counseling experiment
Consistency
• 1st sample
• Social Proof
 ask them to chaperon a group of juvenile delinquents on a
• Liking day trip to the zoo → 17% accepted
• Authority • 2nd sample
• Scarcity  ask them to spend 2 hours per week as a counselor to a
juvenile delinquent for a minimum of 2 years → 100%
refused
 then, ask them to chaperon a group of juvenile delinquents
on a day trip to the zoo → 50% accepted
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Reciprocal Concessions
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Rejection-then-retreat tactic
• Weapons of
Influence • People don’t only agree to a desired request
• Reciprocation • but actually carry out the request
• Commitment
and • and finally to volunteer to perform further requests
Consistency
• Social Proof  Positive by-products
• Liking • felling a greater responsibility for, and satisfaction
• Authority with, the arrangement
• Scarcity
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Reciprocal Concessions
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Real life marketing

• Weapons of
Influence • Rejection-then-retreat technique
• Reciprocation  Make a larger request/offer
• Commitment  After refuse make a smaller request/offer
and
 Second request/offer does not have to be small it
Consistency
has to be smaller than the initial one
• Social Proof
• Retail stores
• Liking
 Go up the line from U$S 350 → average sale U$S
• Authority 550
• Scarcity  Go down the line from U$S 3000→ average sale
U$S 1000
• Request of referrals after refused sale
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Commitment is the key
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 The rule says → Once we have made a choice

• Weapons of or taken a stand, we will encounter personal
Influence
and interpersonal pressures to behave
• Reciprocation consistently with that commitment
• Commitment
and  This will cause us to respond in ways that
Consistency
justify our earlier decision
• Social Proof
• Liking  Even to do things that ordinarily we would not
• Authority want to do
• Scarcity
 The person whose beliefs, words, and deeds
don’t match may be seen as → indecisive,
confused, two-faced, or even mentally ill
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Commitment is the key
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 On the other side, high degree of consistency →

• Weapons of associated with personal and intellectual strength,
Influence rationality, stability, and honesty
• Reciprocation
 Consistency saves time, and effort, but sometimes it is
• Commitment
and also a way of avoiding thing we would rather not realize
Consistency (shield again thought)
• Social Proof
 Commitment has the potential to influence not only
• Liking future behavior, but also self-image
• Authority
 Public and written commitments are stronger
• Scarcity
 The more effort that goes into the commitment, the
greater is its power
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Commitment is the key
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Racetrack
• Weapons of
• just after placing a bet, people is much more confident
Influence
of their horse’s chances of winning than they are
• Reciprocation immediately before laying down that bet
• Commitment
and  Staged thefts
Consistency • onlookers would risk personal harm to halt the crime?
• Social Proof • no commitment → 4 of 20 persons reacted
• Liking • commitment → 19 of 20 persons reacted
• Authority
 Prediction of future action
• Scarcity
• volunteer as a donation collector of the American
Cancer Association → when then actually asked to
volunteer 700% increase of positive responses
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Commitment is the key
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Donations
• Weapons of
Influence • → “Hello, Mr. Smith. How are you feeling today?”
• Reciprocation • → response: “Fine/good/very well”
• Commitment
and • → standard solicitation approach
Consistency
• 90% positive response against 18% with only the
• Social Proof standard solicitation approach
• Liking
• Authority
• Scarcity
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Commitment is the key
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Korean War POWs

• Weapons of
Influence • Prisoners Camps essay contests
• Reciprocation
• Commitment  Public-service billboard – “Drive Carefully”
and
Consistency
• 83% refuse
• Social Proof • 76% acceptance
• Liking
• Authority
 Estimation of the length of a line experiment
• Scarcity
 Initiation rites
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Commitment is the key
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Real life marketing

• Weapons of
Influence • Toy manufacturers
• Reciprocation  Sales slump after Christmas holiday season

• Commitment  The problem is not in motivating kids to want more toys

and after Christmas, is in motivating the parents to buy them
Consistency – Special toy heavy pre-seasonal advertising
• Social Proof – Kids extract Christmas promises of their parents about the
special toy
• Liking
– They undersupply the special toys
• Authority
– Parents don’t have no other option → buy a different toy
• Scarcity – After Christmas advertising begins again to remind kids of
special toy
– Parents buy special toy to honor their promises
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Commitment is the key
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Real life marketing

• Weapons of
Influence • Industrial markets sale force
• Reciprocation  Start a large purchase by starting by a small one
• Commitment  Purpose is not profit, but commitment
and
 No longer a prospect → a customer
Consistency
• Social Proof • Establishing and communicating objectives
• Liking • Encouraging people to make public statements
• Authority • Cooling-off laws → have customers, rather than
• Scarcity the salesman, fill out the sales agreement
• Testimonial contests → loyalty
• Lowball → cause prospect to decide
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Truths are us
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 One means we use to determine what is correct is to

• Weapons of find out what other people think is correct
Influence
 The greater number of people who find an idea correct,
• Reciprocation
the more the idea will be correct
• Commitment
and  When we are unsure of ourselves, when the situation is
Consistency unclear, when uncertainty reigns, we are most likely to
• Social Proof look and accept the actions of others as correct
• Liking • Pluralistic ignorance: everyone is looking to see what
everyone else is doing
• Authority
• Similarity: social proof operates most powerfully when
• Scarcity we observe people just like us
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Truths are us
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Laugh Tracks
• Weapons of
 Bartenders “salt” their tip jars
Influence
• Reciprocation  Children dog phobia

• Commitment • treatment → watch videos of other kids playing with dogs

and
 Catherine Genovese murder (pluralistic ignorance)
Consistency
• failure of bystanders to aid a victim
• Social Proof
• 38 bystanders – 35 minutes
• Liking • better chance of receiving aid if there is only 1 bystander?
• Authority
 Liking smoke experiment
• Scarcity
• 75% of lone individuals reported it
• 38% of 3 person groups reported it
• 10% of 3 person groups with 2 syndicated
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Truths are us
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Lost wallets
• Weapons of
Influence • 33% of return when finder was dissimilar
• Reciprocation • 70% of return when finder was similar
• Commitment
and  Jonestown
Consistency
• Social Proof  Applause
• Liking
• Authority  Real life marketing
• Scarcity • Testimonial advertising
• Creating long lines
• Restaurants filling tables
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
The friendly thief
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 We prefer to say yes to someone we know and like

• Weapons of
Influence  Compliance factors:

• Reciprocation • similarity of opinion, life-style, background, personality

traits
• Commitment
and • familiarity and contact
Consistency • cooperation in shared goals
• Social Proof • physical attractiveness → favorable traits like talent,
kindness, honesty, and intelligence
• Liking
• compliments
• Authority
• association with positive things (beauty, what’s hip,
• Scarcity food)
• success
• smile
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
The friendly thief
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Joe Girard
• Weapons of • 5 car sales a day for 12 years
Influence
• U$S 200.000 a year
• Reciprocation
• Secret? “a fair price and someone they liked to buy
• Commitment from”
and
Consistency  Real life marketing
• Social Proof • Tupperware parties
• Liking  Reciprocation + Commitment + Social Proof + Liking

• Authority • Peer solicitation

• Scarcity • Good cop / bad cop
• Eating together
• Celebrity endorsements
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Follow the expert
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 We have a deep-seated sense of duty to

• Weapons of
Influence
authority
• Reciprocation
 Tests demonstrate that adults will do extreme
• Commitment
and
things when instructed to do so by an
Consistency authority figure
• Social Proof
• Liking
 Milgram’s experiment
• Authority • 60% went all the way
• Scarcity • 0% stopped before 300V
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Follow the expert
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Compliance factors:
• Weapons of
Influence • Titles
• Reciprocation • Uniforms
• Commitment
and • Clothes
Consistency
• Trappings of status
• Social Proof
• Liking  Real life marketing
• Authority
• Scientific or medical endorsement
• Scarcity
• Uniforms
• Hiring authority recognized individuals
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Scarcity
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Opportunities seem more valuable to us when

• Weapons of
Influence
their availability is limited
• Reciprocation
 We want it even more when we are in
• Commitment
and
competition for it
Consistency
• Social Proof  Potential loss plays an important role in
• Liking
decision making
• Authority
 Mormon church
• Scarcity
• exclusive areas
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Scarcity
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 In fact, people seem to be more motivated by

• Weapons of
Influence • the thought of losing something
• Reciprocation • than by the thought of gaining something of equal value
• Commitment
and  Avoid potential loss vs. Obtain potential savings
Consistency
 Things that are difficult to posses are typically better
• Social Proof
than those that are easy to posses
• Liking
• Authority  As opportunities become less available, we loose
freedoms; and we hate to loose freedoms →
• Scarcity Psychological reactance
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Scarcity
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Psychological reactance
• Weapons of
Influence • 24 month old boys
• Reciprocation  two toys, one behind a Plexiglas
• Commitment
 two groups, one the Plexiglas to small to restrict
and
access to the toy, the other group the Plexiglas was
Consistency
tall enough to restrict access to the toy
• Social Proof
 No restriction → no preference for either toy
• Liking
 Restriction → directly to the toy behind the Plexiglas
• Authority
• Scarcity • Teenagers
 Romeo and Juliet effect
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Scarcity
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 The scarcity principle applies beyond material

• Weapons of commodities → limited information value
Influence
 Reaction to censorship
• Reciprocation
• Commitment • approval or agreement with censored ideas or
and arguments
Consistency
 Beef importing company
• Social Proof
• One control group – standard sales presentation → X
• Liking sales
• Authority • Group #2 - standard sales presentation + information of
• Scarcity scarcity in the upcoming months → X sales x 2
• Group #3 - standard sales presentation + information of
scarcity in the upcoming months + information was
exclusive, not know by everyone → X sales x 6
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Scarcity
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Cookies study
• Weapons of
Influence • One group to taste a cookie from a jar with 10
• Reciprocation cookies
• Commitment • Other group to taste the same cookie from a jar
and with 2 cookies – This group rate the cookie
Consistency
 → more desirable to eat
• Social Proof
• Liking  → more attractive as a consumer item
• Authority  → more costly
• Scarcity • Recent scarcity
• Scarcity because of competition for limited
resources
 Influence -
The Psychology
of Persuasion
Scarcity
Robert B.
Cialdini, PH.D.

 Real life marketing

• Weapons of
Influence • Time limited offers – Now or never
• Reciprocation • Exclusive clients offers
• Commitment
and • Exclusive access areas
Consistency
• Limited quantity offers
• Social Proof
• Collector’s issues
• Liking
• Authority • “If I’m not mistaken, it is the last one available”
• Scarcity • “I can make you another visit”