Mark Levison

Do you ever walk into a clothing store just to buy a suit and walk out having bought the suit, tie, belt and several shirts? This chapter will explain what just happened.

This is the third posting in an ongoing series of notes from Robert Caildini’s ” Influence: Science and Practice“. This posting covers Chapter 2 “Weapons of Influence” Other postings in this series: Introduction, Other Sources coming soon: Reciprocation, Commitment/Consistency, Authority, Social Validation, Scarcity, Liking/Friendship

“Weapons of Influence” introduces the concept of fixed-action patterns or automatic responses.

What are automatic responses? They’re preprogrammed behaviours that are fired in response to one or more triggers. For example a mother turkey will nurture anything in its nest that makes the “cheep, cheep” noise of a chick (even a mortal enemy as demonstrated with a stuffed polecat and tape recorder). However as soon as the cheep sound goes away the mother turkey will recognize the intruder for what it is (attacking the polecat). Cialdini explains how and why these responses work and why they’re necessary for our day to day sanity.

For example one jewelry store owner (a friend of Cialdini’s) was having trouble moving some turquoise jewelry in her store. Frustrated she with the sales she left a note to the sales staff to reduce the price by 1/2. However the staff misread the note and doubled the price. Over the weekend the jewelry sold out. What happened? The buyers assumed Expensive = good. Why does an automatic response work like this? Short-cuts: automatic stereotyped responses that help us navigate through the thousands of choices we have to make every day. We have so many decisions to make that we can’t afford to do a proper analysis of each one. Instead we really on shortcuts like expensive = good or an experts opinion.

Even an experts opinion can be dangerous, do we listen with a critical ear or just accept it without question. As aircraft accident investigators have found too often we listen to the voice of authority (captain) even when the instructions are clearly wrong and might have fatal results. In another example (drawn from the book Crucial Conversations) in one hospital a patient showed up for a tonsillectomy and had a foot operated on instead. At least seven other people in the operating room wondered why the doctor was working on the foot but didn’t question his authority.

The chapter also introduces the contrast principle, a favourite of profiteers everywhere. The idea: sell or show the customer the most expensive item first and afterwards everything will seem cheap by comparison. For example when a customer comes in to buy a suit, sell them the thousand dollar suit first. After that even a two hundred dollars in accessories will seem cheap by comparison. In another example Cialdini mentions a real estate firm that maintained several rough properties that realtors could show clients first. Once the client had seen the rough property, normal properties seemed good by comparison.

This post introduced the importance and use of automatic triggers, the next post will discuss the Reciprocity principle. Or why we return automatically return favours.

Other reading Marshall Soules Media studies 205: promotion, persuasion and propaganda. Janin’s Surrounded by Weapons of influence

After my introductory notes, I’ve received a few inquires about more notes on Cialdini’s Influence Science and Practice. So I dug around on the web and offer up my discoveries.

The best of the bunch (much like my own) is a series in six parts starting on Janin’s (sp?) blog happening-here. Update: Just discovered Marshall Soules class Media studies 205: Promotion, Persuasion and Propaganda. Fall 2006. (at Malaspina University College, Nanaimo BC). Marshall’s course also has an extensive summary.

Other pages of interest:

• Scott Foresman’s one page summary: https://pages.prodigy.net/mschnall/cialdini.html
• Some good notes from the Mind Hack’s blog
• An extended review courtesy of PronettSolutions
• Another extended review by Jack Thomas
• Back issues of the influence report – a monthly report put out Robert’s company that contain new snippets.
• Robert Cialdini’s company offers seminars
• Finally the inevitable Wikipedia  entry Influence Science Practice

I’ve never read a book twice and not since undergrad have I taken notes on a book. Yet Robert Cialdini’s “Influence Science and Practice” is so engaging that I’m enjoying a second read.

The book is about the psychology of compliance. How do salespeople (“compliance professionals”) and others get us to do things that may not be in our best interests? Along with the usual scientific experiments Cialdini spent three years doing field research: working, training and interviewing sales professionals, fundraisers and even their natural enemies police and consumer groups.

One of the things that I’ve enjoyed most is the relevance of the book to everyday life. I’m amazed how often that I see the principles that Robert talks about being used. Most recently I noticed the tactics of someone trying to sell me a fixed price gas contract. First he tried to find something we had in common principle: “Liking: The Friendly Thief”. Then he told me ‘all your neighbours have signed up’ principle: “Social Proof”. Finally he concluded with not doing this will cost you money principle: “Scarcity: Loss is Worse”. I felt the tug of his pitch, in the past I might have signed up (and felt like a patsy five minutes later). Now I’m better able to see his manipulative tactics for what they are. I can sit back and analyse the value of his offer (a loss in the ensuing months). Does anyone know where natural gas prices will be in the next five years? Can you predict the futures market for me?

In the coming weeks I will share what I’ve learned about Cialdani’s “Weapons of Influence” and how I’ve seen them used in the real world.

Next up “Weapons of Influence” or why do automatic responses work so well.

Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for helping me discover this book via his Top Ten List and reviewing it here Book Review: Influence–Science and Practice. If the rest of the books on his top ten list are this good I won’t run out of reading for another few years. Now according to the Reciprocity Principle I should just have to ask Guy for a link to my blog.