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Originally published in 1984 and since revised four times, Robert Cialdini’s Influence will likely linger for decades to come. Cialdini studies the science and psychology of persuasion. “Just what are the factors that cause one person to say yes to another person? And which techniques most effectively use these factors to bring about such compliance?”

This book is as enlightening as it is lethal. Understanding the “psychology of compliance” will bring greater awareness to your own vulnerabilities, but it is even more tempting to use the principles of Influence to leverage the vulnerabilities of others. “The evidence suggests that the ever-accelerating pace and informational crush of modern life will make this particular form of unthinking compliance more and more prevalent in the future.”

Cialdini details six “weapons of influence.” (Note: Wikipedia has a nice breakdown of these as well.)

Reciprocation: Give people something and they’ll feel like they owe you
“People we might ordinarily dislike—unsavory or unwelcome sales operators, disagreeable acquaintances, representatives of strange or unpopular organizations—can greatly increase the chance that we will do what they wish merely by providing us with a small favor prior to their requests.”

“Although the obligation to repay constitutes the essence of the reciprocity rule, it is the obligation to receive that makes the rule so easy to exploit. The obligation to receive reduces our ability to choose whom we wish to be indebted to and puts that power in the hands of others.”

“Suppose you want me to agree to a certain request. One way to increase your chances would be first to make a larger request of me, one that I will most likely turn down. Then, after I have refused, you would make the smaller request that you were really interested in all along.”

Commitment and Consistency: Get people to commit and they generally follow through
“The tactic of starting with a little request in order to gain eventual compliance with related larger requests has a name: the foot-in-the-door technique.”

“And once you’ve got a man’s self-image where you want it, he should comply naturally with a whole range of your requests that are consistent with this view of himself.”

“The purpose behind the testimonial contests [when companies ask you to say something nice about their product] is the same as the purpose behind the political essay contests of the Chinese Communists. In both instances, the aim is to get as many people as possible to go on record as liking the product.”

“And the evidence is clear that the more effort that goes into a commitment, the greater is its ability to influence the attitudes of the person who made it.”

Social Proof: People do things when others are doing it too
“The principle of social proof. It states that one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct.”

“Social scientists have determined that we accept inner responsibility for a behavior when we think we have chosen to perform it in the absence of strong outside pressures.”

“We view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.”

“The principle of social proof says so: The greater the number of people who find any idea correct, the more the idea will be correct.”

“All things being equal, you root for your own sex, your own culture, your own locality…and what you want to prove is that you are better than the other person. Whomever you root for represents you; and when he wins, you win.”

Authority: People generally respond to perceived authority
“A multilayered and widely accepted system of authority confers an immense advantage upon a society. It allows the development of sophisticated structures for resource production, trade, defense, expansion, and social control that would otherwise be impossible.”

Liking: People like what other people like

Scarcity: Perceived scarcity often generates demand
“Like the other weapons of influence, the scarcity principle trades on our weakness for shortcuts.”

“This raises the worrisome possibility that especially clever individuals holding a weak or unpopular position can get us to agree with that position by arranging to have their message restricted.”

“We can see that information may not have to be censored for us to value it more; it need only be scarce.

“The drop from abundance to scarcity produced a decidedly more positive reaction to the cookies than did constant scarcity.”

“The feeling of being in competition for scarce resources has powerfully motivating properties.”

“The joy is not in experiencing a scarce commodity but in possessing it. It is important that we not confuse the two.”

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