book data
526 ratings,
4.26
average rating, 107 reviews
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published
October 7th 1998
(first published 1983)
by Collins
binding
Paperback, 336 pages
isbn
0688128165
(isbn13: 9780688128166)
description
Arguably the best book ever on what is increasingly becoming the science of persuasion. Whether you're a mere consumer or someone weaving the web of p...more
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avg 4.26
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Summary: This book can’t be summarized. It can only be very, very strongly recommended.
Recommended? YES. Buy it now if you haven’t read it.
Table of contents:
1 Weapons of Influence
2 Reciprocation: The Old Give and Take…and Take
3 Commitment and Consistency: Hobgoblins of the Mind
4 Social Proof: Truths Are Us
5 Liking: The Friendly Thief
6 Authority: Directed Deference
7 Scarcity: The Rule of the Few
Notes:
Below...more
Recommended? YES. Buy it now if you haven’t read it.
Table of contents:
1 Weapons of Influence
2 Reciprocation: The Old Give and Take…and Take
3 Commitment and Consistency: Hobgoblins of the Mind
4 Social Proof: Truths Are Us
5 Liking: The Friendly Thief
6 Authority: Directed Deference
7 Scarcity: The Rule of the Few
Notes:
Below...more
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4 comments
Read in November, 2008
Required reading for all marketing professionals. The book details the most common approaches to influencing the decisions of others, backed up by the authors time spent infiltrating direct marketing companies and the like. Offers handy hints on how to spot when you're being manipulated and how to handle it.
A very enjoyable read, should leave you much more aware of how you're being played next time you're in the market for a used car.
A very enjoyable read, should leave you much more aware of how you're being played next time you're in the market for a used car.
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Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more accomplices would look up into the sky; the more accomplices the more likely people would look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up, that they stopped traffic.
Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" ...more
Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" ...more
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Read in February, 2008
This book was assigned in my Social Influence class and I loved it! Cialdini has done tons of interesting research and is clearly very accomplished in the Psych field, yet he can write a book that everyone (non-Psych majors included) can understand. Each social tactic is explained thoroughly and he uses a lot of stories as well as his own experiments to back it up. I love how he peppers his anecdotes with his sense of humor ("Looking somewhat embarrassed because his father seemed to be ravi...more
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Read in January, 2007
This is an absolutely incredible book. One of those books that frame how you see the world--particularly how you interpret the behavior of others.
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Read in May, 2009
Why do we buy stuff we don't need? Why do we comply with requests that "feel wrong" or make us uncomfortable? In this book, Arizona State professor Robert Cialdini examines the social psychology behind compliance, with the goal of helping us understand the "weapons of mass persuasion" that advertisers and salespeople can so easily use against us.
Cialdini went undercover in the late 1970s/early 1980s to do research about compliance techniques. He apprenticed himsel...more
Cialdini went undercover in the late 1970s/early 1980s to do research about compliance techniques. He apprenticed himsel...more
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Read in February, 2009
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I read this because a Very Influential Person my magazine is profiling said that every consumer should read it. Can you say "hyperbole?" That said, Ciardini offers a tidy survey of post-Stanley Milgram research in human gullibility, and he's funny in a avuncular "professor who seems cool until you talk with him one on one" kind of way. Some of it--particularly a disquisition on the psych-warfare techniques of the Communist Chinese during the Korean War--is disturbingly timely...more
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I put this book under "dangerous knowledge." Cialdini, still a top consultant in this field, has a tiny disclaimer at the end of the book saying how he's aware that this knowledge could be misused, but doesn't go much further.
I see this stuff abused all the time, to spin democracies to go to war, to sell us products and services we don't really need and much, much more.
I've been wanting to start an ethics institute around this topic. Interested? Write me!
I see this stuff abused all the time, to spin democracies to go to war, to sell us products and services we don't really need and much, much more.
I've been wanting to start an ethics institute around this topic. Interested? Write me!
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Read in April, 2009
I started reading this book for work - one of the things I'm supposedly working on this year in my ability to have influence on project decisions and be able to effectively provide input. I figured this would be unspeakably boring and decided to read some vampire stuff at the same time to get me through it.
I actually loved this book, though. He talks about all these methods that people - typically sales professionals - use to influence customers to buy more stuff. And I fall for t...more
I actually loved this book, though. He talks about all these methods that people - typically sales professionals - use to influence customers to buy more stuff. And I fall for t...more
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Read in December, 2008
IMHO, a must read. It was recommended by a trusted source as part of a list of great business books. I think the audience that will appreciate Influence is much broader than that.
Also, it should be noted that this is not a "how to" book on Persuasion, and is not targeted at the sales professional. Instead the author discusses the mechanisms by which we are persuaded, how those mechanisms can be exploited and how we can avoid being victimized by unscrupulous agents of persu...more
Also, it should be noted that this is not a "how to" book on Persuasion, and is not targeted at the sales professional. Instead the author discusses the mechanisms by which we are persuaded, how those mechanisms can be exploited and how we can avoid being victimized by unscrupulous agents of persu...more
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not going to lie-- i think this book is going to freak me out a little, make me doubt the fate of contemporary society and so forth. but it's tentatively going on the summer reading list, which i hope will include a wide variety of perspectives no what moves us to act.
(aside: i was reading rudy rucker on the concept of wetware and he writes, in regards to a particular use of the term that strikes him as illegitimate: 'when i see people trying to reduce everything to corporate human...more
(aside: i was reading rudy rucker on the concept of wetware and he writes, in regards to a particular use of the term that strikes him as illegitimate: 'when i see people trying to reduce everything to corporate human...more
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Read in June, 2008
For the most part, sales books just teach you tricks. This book is the science behind it all. It's all about how humans are HARD-WIRED to react a certain way to certain things. Many marketing/sales techniques employed today were derived from the information in this very book. In fact, you'll see that you have been "controlled" by some of this over the years - if you're human.
So, unless you are the dude in his mom's basement that interacts only with avatars and the rob...more
So, unless you are the dude in his mom's basement that interacts only with avatars and the rob...more
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Read in May, 2009
Interesting, educational, but a little sad. As I read through this, I kept thinking about con artists and sociopaths, people who willingly use the rules of society to bend people to their dark purpose. In my mind, it's nothing short of villainous to do some of this stuff.
Some of it, though, does have its place. I don't think it's wrong or evil to advertise that a tube of toothpaste is the bestselling brand (as long as it's true). Still, the line is thin.
Of course, Cialdi...more
Some of it, though, does have its place. I don't think it's wrong or evil to advertise that a tube of toothpaste is the bestselling brand (as long as it's true). Still, the line is thin.
Of course, Cialdi...more
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Read in December, 2008
There would be no summary sufficient to cover all the topics and information in this book. My copy is all marked up with lines and stars. Each time I thought I had found the most amazing information, I found something equally important in a subsequent chapter.
The book is broken up into 8 chapters:
Weapons of Influence
Reciprocation
Commitment and Consistency
Social Proof
Liking
Authority
Scarcity
Instant Influence
Each chapter en...more
The book is broken up into 8 chapters:
Weapons of Influence
Reciprocation
Commitment and Consistency
Social Proof
Liking
Authority
Scarcity
Instant Influence
Each chapter en...more
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Read in January, 2004
One the one hand, this book reveals what every marketer (and consumer) should know about our 'click/whirr' social responses. Cialdini's classic makes transparent what influences consumer response. Buyers beware, and marketers take heed!
On the other hand, it's a study of how and why societal needs lead to 'knee jerk' reactions in how we respond to each other and the choices/decisions we make. Human behavior is ridiculously amusing at times!
On the other hand, it's a study of how and why societal needs lead to 'knee jerk' reactions in how we respond to each other and the choices/decisions we make. Human behavior is ridiculously amusing at times!
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Natalie by:
Brian
I thought this book was really interesting, but I really enjoy sociological/psychological experiments. It was a little bit different than I expected, but in a good way. I didn't realize this book had my interest in mind, which was very refreshing.
As I read how easily people can be "talked" into doing something, I was partially wishing I knew this stuff when I worked in sales. Then I realized I would never feel comfortable knowingly using such tactics against other peop...more
As I read how easily people can be "talked" into doing something, I was partially wishing I knew this stuff when I worked in sales. Then I realized I would never feel comfortable knowingly using such tactics against other peop...more
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Read in April, 2007
This was a brilliant look at modern marketing techniques and why they work. It isn't just for those who want to learn how to sell better; it's for anyone who wished to understand why they make the purchasing decisions that they do or why people fall for cults or MLM schemes. It's a must-read for anyone interested in the psychology of persuasion.
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Read in September, 2007
Been wanting to read something by Cialdini for a while, actually ever since I listened to one of his lectures - which was great. A day after I finished it, someone stopped us in the street selling timeshare. The commitment-consistency; contrast & reciprocity techniques were all there in the pitch (...and we didn't buy) [Sep-07:]
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Read in November, 2008
Good book by Cialdini on understanding the different sales tactics that you will likely encounter throughout your life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to enter into any type of transaction so you can better understand your emotional reactions during the process.
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