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 o...
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Nov 20, 2008
sundeep
rated it: 
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 are m 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 are m More...
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Dec 07, 2010
Rachel
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So, I've read a fair amount of the literature about group dynamics and social influence, and taught classes that discussed and used it. So I thought I'd know much of what was in this book already. While I was familiar with some of it, there were a number of tricks I hadn't noticed, and excellent descriptions of the ones I had, complete with explanations. Definitely worth reading!
Influence describes the six categories of techniques that have the potential to influence us without ou More...
Influence describes the six categories of techniques that have the potential to influence us without ou More...
Dec 01, 2008
Mark
rated it:
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.
Aug 09, 2007
David
rated it:
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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Feb 12, 2008
Liz
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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
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Dec 23, 2008
Alex
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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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Sep 02, 2011
Gina
rated it: 
I don't understand why so many people rated this book so highly.
--It panders to the audience by using overly simple language and repeating the same idea 5 times to make sure that the reader really understood. Example (from memory): "People are heavily influenced by society. Society shapes our choices. Our choices are influenced by the people around us. There are countless examples of one's choices being swayed by his or her peers." Thanks, I got it the first time.
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--It panders to the audience by using overly simple language and repeating the same idea 5 times to make sure that the reader really understood. Example (from memory): "People are heavily influenced by society. Society shapes our choices. Our choices are influenced by the people around us. There are countless examples of one's choices being swayed by his or her peers." Thanks, I got it the first time.
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Jun 27, 2011
Chantal
rated it:
A classic example of how different books intrigue different people. My friend, Ben, gave me this book because he found it boring. I read it, highlighted it as I read it, and loved it. I love all things social psychology.
I thought it was funny when the author talks about the Mormon temple in Mesa. It was a great illustration of scarcity, but I wonder sometimes if people stop to think when they write that their audience may include the people they talk about.
There was o More...
I thought it was funny when the author talks about the Mormon temple in Mesa. It was a great illustration of scarcity, but I wonder sometimes if people stop to think when they write that their audience may include the people they talk about.
There was o More...
Mar 08, 2011
Daniel
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 23, 2011
Laurie
rated it:
Author Cialdini began the research that would lead to this book when he got tired of being taken advantage of. He’s not unintelligent, yet he would find himself talked into buying things he didn’t want at all. What was happening?
It turns out that there are some basic ways that humans are influenced, and most people follow them without questioning. Some are just the easy way to deal with situations, while some actually create discomfort when one refuses to follow the social conventions More...
It turns out that there are some basic ways that humans are influenced, and most people follow them without questioning. Some are just the easy way to deal with situations, while some actually create discomfort when one refuses to follow the social conventions More...
Oct 04, 2010
Men D.
rated it:
I've really gotten into pop psychology books lately. This one was exactly what I wanted: insight into persuasion from both an academic psychology perspective (lots of summaries of sometimes outrageous psych experiments, like those conditioning little boys to find toy robots immoral) and a marketing perspective (descriptions of persuasian/compliance tactics from car salesmen, Hare Krishna solicitors, advertisements).
While reading this book, I had to set it aside often to consider (1) More...
While reading this book, I had to set it aside often to consider (1) More...
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Dec 28, 2009
Peyton
rated it:
Six categories of weapons of influence. Each based on manipulation of social survival skill.
Seems like I read much of this in Psych 101 when we studied propaganda.
1. Reciprocation. First offer gift to create obligation. Then collect on obligation. Based on reciprocation of support.
2. Commitment and consistency. Based on social importance of keeping commitments and acting consistently. Get people to commit to seemingly innocuous agreement or action, and then le More...
Seems like I read much of this in Psych 101 when we studied propaganda.
1. Reciprocation. First offer gift to create obligation. Then collect on obligation. Based on reciprocation of support.
2. Commitment and consistency. Based on social importance of keeping commitments and acting consistently. Get people to commit to seemingly innocuous agreement or action, and then le More...
May 19, 2009
Anya
rated it:
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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Jul 08, 2008
Matt
rated it:
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
Feb 05, 2012
Veronika
rated it:
This book gives good insight to compliance strategies and main reasons we are persuaded - however I was unimpressed by a few of the examples Cialdini used and the main conclusion he made at the end of the book.
Example 1: After claiming to have been a bigger socialite than he really is to impress a young attractive saleswoman, Cialdini became particularly pugnacious about her "strategy of tricking him into exaggerating his habits" where as this was his fault, not the salesw More...
Example 1: After claiming to have been a bigger socialite than he really is to impress a young attractive saleswoman, Cialdini became particularly pugnacious about her "strategy of tricking him into exaggerating his habits" where as this was his fault, not the salesw More...
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Dec 12, 2011
Daniel
rated it:
How does changing your last name to Brown win you an election? Why do crowds of bystanders struggle to help a clear victim? Robert Cialdini's "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" answers these questions and a range of others. It's a fascinating and engaging introduction of psychological factors impacting on individual and group decision-making. Students undertaking a degree in Business, Economics, Marketing or Politics would benefit immensely from reading this book. However, the b
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Jan 26, 2008
Jerry
rated it:
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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(2 people liked it)
Apr 07, 2009
Marty
rated it:
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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Jan 17, 2011
Dave
rated it:
To understand why your marketing plans work or don't work, you need to look deep into what goes on in your customer's head. That's where this book takes you. It's a classic work on persuasion that will show you not only why behavior can be altered, but how to do it. The author, Robert Cialdini, is a professor of marketing at Arizona State as well as president of a consulting company specializing in ethical persuasion. Unlike my book on the subject, The Dynamic Manager's Guide to Marketing and
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Jul 30, 2011
Ricky
rated it: 
It's sometimes insightful but it seems to be written for a "young adult" reader and it seems to pander to the audience. I keep finding myself wishing it were better researched and better reasoned. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that such a popular book is so loaded with conventional wisdom and random assumptions presented as quasi-scientific.
What made me about apoplectic is that his fifth edition continues his inaccurate presentation of the Catherine Genovese myth despit More...
What made me about apoplectic is that his fifth edition continues his inaccurate presentation of the Catherine Genovese myth despit More...
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Mar 24, 2011
Emily
rated it:
I've been reading a number of books on human behavior and marketing, and this book was extremely highly recommended, so I picked it up. I would certainly recommend this book to anybody, whether you're interested in marketing or not. The author looks at a list of factors that can unconsciously influence people's decisions. He presents the research clearly and with easily understood examples, and concludes each chapter with advice on how to identify when someone is trying to influence you in these
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Mar 10, 2009
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...
Jan 13, 2009
Ben
rated it:
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...
Jan 20, 2012
Timo
rated it:
This book was a bit different than Persuation even though the subject of the book was similiar. Also unlike Persuation I really enjoyed reading this book because the writer had divided the content to 7 clear chapters and each was focusing on a different parts of influencing people. Cialdini also made enough references to different studies so that we weren't forced to take his word about how and why people work the way they do.
If you are interested ways how you are being (maliciously) i More...
If you are interested ways how you are being (maliciously) i More...
Mar 02, 2010
Dave
rated it:
Read the full review here.
When I pulled together my reading list for 2010 (side note: two months down, four books read. Rawk!), there were a few different types of books on the list:
1. New books I wanted to check out
2. Fictional books to lighten the load
3. Older books highly recommended by others
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini certainly fits into the last of those categories. Person after person recommended this book, so it was More...
When I pulled together my reading list for 2010 (side note: two months down, four books read. Rawk!), there were a few different types of books on the list:
1. New books I wanted to check out
2. Fictional books to lighten the load
3. Older books highly recommended by others
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini certainly fits into the last of those categories. Person after person recommended this book, so it was More...
Aug 11, 2010
Nick
rated it:
People often ask, "what's changed?" in marketing, in sales since the advent of digital marketing. Ask the equally interesting question "what has not changed?" an the answers are in this book. Timeless principles of marketing and sales are in here.
These are the invisible pulleys and levers every great act of sales or marketing relies on. Few books address the "why" of why things work, especially in am industry that focuses extremely on "how" thin More...
These are the invisible pulleys and levers every great act of sales or marketing relies on. Few books address the "why" of why things work, especially in am industry that focuses extremely on "how" thin More...
Oct 18, 2011
Tung
rated it:
This book is definitely worth reading, especially for people who are interested in psychology, marketing and politics.
The book is organized in a very scientific way. For each principle, Robert mentions the ways we are exploited first, then the psychology under it and finally how can we "say no" or deal with such exploitation. Many vivid examples are used, even though the example are from 20 - 30 years ago. Still many of them exist nowadays. I read this book while studying the cou More...
The book is organized in a very scientific way. For each principle, Robert mentions the ways we are exploited first, then the psychology under it and finally how can we "say no" or deal with such exploitation. Many vivid examples are used, even though the example are from 20 - 30 years ago. Still many of them exist nowadays. I read this book while studying the cou More...
Jan 16, 2012
Jamie
rated it:
This is quite a revealing book about how we are so easily influenced to the profit of others. Its underlying message is that we need to dedicate more time to self introspection, analysis of facts and motivations and listening to our intuition before acting. Seven key weaknesses of our mind the book centers on are: 1) Contrast principle: Our perceptions change when an item is contrasted with something else, for example we are willing to spend more on a second item (such as accessories) if we ar
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Oct 18, 2011
Ben
rated it:
Summary: An intesting book about the way humans use and abuse automatic behaviour. Kind of like the Gruen Transfer tv show in book form.
Things I Liked:
Scientific basis: Many if not all of his main points are backed up by at least one scientific study which he mentions and often critiques or demonstrates the flaws of.
Amusing examples: Stories submitted by the readers and the ones provided by the author himself are easy to engage with and use relevant examples. More...
Things I Liked:
Scientific basis: Many if not all of his main points are backed up by at least one scientific study which he mentions and often critiques or demonstrates the flaws of.
Amusing examples: Stories submitted by the readers and the ones provided by the author himself are easy to engage with and use relevant examples. More...
Jun 11, 2011
James
rated it:
This one I've reread a couple of times. My first experience of this book came when I took a social psychology course at Illinois State. This book was the text book for the class. At the end of the year I unknowingly threw it into a pile of textbooks that were to be resold. After realizing that I sold my favorite textbook, I immediately went to buy another copy. This book really makes psychology interested and relevant to anyone. It'll change the way to think and act around high pressure sa
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