Book Review: Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion

This was an interesting read to understand the mind in the ways that we are influenced. There are a lot of factors that come into play when we are being influenced. Some of these factors we are not even aware of; it’s part of our biological makeup. We are adapted to find shortcuts to make quicker decisions. This being one. Other animals are in this same category. For example, hens will completely ignore anything that doesn’t make a cheep-cheep sound, even their own children. But as soon as they here the sound, the hen gets into mom mode and notices it’s one of theirs. We have similarities.

• e.g. When someone asks us for a favor, we will be more successful if provide reason. “Because” increases our chances
• When we see expensive, automatically associate that with good.
• Things that save time and mental energy generally are more persuasive. Simple solutions always win.
• It’s always more profitable to present an expensive item first. (e.g. if you just bought a $495 suit, a $95 sweater doesn’t seem excessive.) This wouldn’t work flipped around.
• Contrast also works. Stick your hand in hot water. Stick the other hand in cold water. Have a bowl of luke warm water in the middle. The hot hand when in the luke warm water feels cold. And the cold hand now feels hot. Room temperature water can be made to seem very different, even though it isn’t.Here’s the main highlights that I found:

1. Reciprocation
   • We have a feeling of indebtedness when someone gives a gift. e.g. If you give people a present before a raffle, raffle sales go up.
   • People want to do business with people they like. This rule though of obligation can be overpowering. It can move past you having to like the sales person.
     • e.g. In the war in Germany, “A frightened captivie with only a piece of bread in his hand offered it to the soldier… he gave his enemy some of the bread. So affected was the German by this gift that he could not complete his mission…”
   • Produce Indebtedness. Do favors without being asked. Provide uninvited gifts.
   • Another way people use this tactic is to start with a larger request and move to a smaller request. Then it’s negotiation. Labor negotiations start with extreme demands and then concede to get to the real concessions. Ask high and negotiate to lower.
2. Commitment
   • The act of making a final decision is a critical factor. e.g. At the horse track, after you buy a ticket, the odds of winning greatly increase in the mind of the bettor. We convince ourselves that we made the right decision.
   • Good personal consistency is highly valued in our culture.
   • Most of the times we’ll be better off if we approach things with consistency. Without this, our lives would be difficult, erratic, and disjointed.
   • Small commitments can lead to sales.
     • E.g. Asking questions at the beginning kicks this off. “How are you feeling today…” lead to more cookie sales. Small commitment and connection.
   • The strategy can be to obtain a large purchase is to being with a small one.
     • From an account side, perhaps we just start with something light.. (SEO/SEM) that leads into a large project (Website build)
   • Parenting – threats don’t do much but create interest. Telling kids not to play with the robot… or else… will create more desire. But, saying things such as “It’s wrong to play with the robot.” is a much better approach. The kids have committed then to themslelves this is true and find another thing to play with.
   • INternal commitment is the strongest tool.
3. Social Proof
   • The actions of those around us will be important in defining an answer
     • e.g. canned laughter, a few dollars in a tip jar, …
   • e.g. Nixon watching another kid getting his haircut before he did, which helped him.
   • The greater people who think the idea is correct, the more the idea will be correct…
   • Really interesting – Someone calls out for help, for anyone to help. Many people won’t stop.
     “Since nobody is concerned, nothing is wrong”
     The better approach when in need is to ask a specific person for help… Isolate an individual. They will then slow down and help you. (Commitment above) From there people will then follow this person’s lead.
   • Similar age – “I’m three, and Tommy is three. He can swim without a ring, so that means I can too”
   • Large tragedies often spur similar tragedies after people hear about them. (e.g. suicide)
   • Effective leaders are those who know how to arrange group conditions to allow the principle of social proof.
   • Especially when we are uncertain, we’re willing to place an enormous amount of trust in the collective knowledge of the crowd.
     Be aware of this. it’s not smart.
4. Liking
   • Friendship are brought to bear on the sale. (Side note… they don’t need to be artificial.)
   • Factors of likeability
     • Physical attractiveness. Even people who vote for candidates don’t realize this. Be well-groomed. Attractive defendants are twice as likely to avoid jail.
     • Similarity. They’re like us.
       Car salesman do this to the extreme taking note of a person’s car (e.g. camping gear). They then go towards the kill and talk about where to camp, etc.
       Good waiters also speak like their tables. Family – speak to the mom and entertain the kid. Couples – Be more stiff and let the man dictate what he wants for his woman.. etc.
     • Compliments. We are phenomenal suckers for flattery. … but it works well against us when we’re being manipulated.
     • Contact and Cooperation. Familiarity. This is being consistently with the person. e.g. How many times a person’s face was flashed on the screen.
       • An interesting story of schools/diversity. If you create competition against a particular group, you start to hate that other group. The better route is to create jigsaw learning. So, create groups where you need one another for mutual benefit. This proved to be really successful (and also helped get over racial bias.)
     • Association. We do tend to kill the messenger. People think of you with the news you provide. If it’s positive, they’ll think you’re positive. If it’s negative, ouch. You may not be liked. e.g. Weathermen constantly get hate mail. Good waiters also speak like their tables. Family – speak to the mom and entertain the kid. Couples – Be more stiff and let the man dictate what he wants for his woman.. etc.
5. Authority
   • Authoritative figures go a long way. Confidence goes a long way
     • We trust the doctor’s word. Nurses constantly just follow their orders which leads to 10% of cardiac arrests in hospitals. (e.g. story about nurse putting ear drops in patient’s anus.)
   • Clothes/cars also can show authority. It’s how good you dress.
6. Scarcity
   • Scarcity makes cookies taste better. You put the same cookies in a room and give people two scenarios. You can have more? Or… there’s only 1 left and here it is.
     Despite being the same exact cookie, the cookie that’s scarce will taste the best… in our minds.
     Reminds me on the Russian River tactic on their select beer they offer. It tastes better because its scarce.
   • Limited time – sales tactic to let them know the deal is only good for…
   • We hate to lose freedoms we already have.
     Parenting: Kids often fight for their freedoms and are frustrated when they are limited.
     The parent who grants privileges or creates rules erratically… invites a rebellious kid. They want consistency and they want freedom.
   • INteresting: Loss vs. Gain – Homeowners were told how money they could lose from inadequate insulation. This was more effetcive than how much money they could save. Lead with loss. What happens if we don’t do it?
   • Competition can also show scarcity. eBay is a great way that does this. It shows social proof of other people wanting it, and scarcity since there’s only one that we’re bidding against.
   • Must remember that the item under consideration will function equally well whether scarce or plentiful.

When we are rushes, stressed, uncertain, distracted, or indifferent – we revert to these primitive influences.