Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Rereading Cialdini has made me certain that this is my bible for practical, useful psychology. The first time I read this was in 2018, and then, I absorbed the big ideas in the work, but on this second read, knowing the big ideas freed me to look at the nuances of situations: the larger principles are easy to digest, but under which situations do they work the best? Starting a bandwagon to take advantage of social proof is most effective and easiest in unfamiliar situations and moments of uncertainty; people are more motivated intrinsically if they act and are also aware of a lack of extrinsic motivation which makes them conclude they acted on their own volition; the power of authority is best used by not giving direct orders (obedience), but rather simply by authorable requests (compliance).

The book is deeply connected to ideas presented by Kahneman on System 1 & 2 thinking. Cialdini essentially dissects what techniques can result in a favorable System 1 decision. All the compliance methods that Cialdini describes works better when System 2 can’t easily be deployed – under duress, physical/mental pain, time pressure, intense competition, sleep deprivation, or after using System 2 for too long. I think it was from Kahneman that I read the traditional best TV ad timeslot was 10-11pm, when our brains are tired, we’re ready to sleep, and we had a whole day of thinking and don’t want to think anymore. That’s when the advertisers strike, and the methods they use, are the methods Cialdini describes, such as presenting positive association of the product using a model, using “unrehearsed” testimonials, “limited time/quantity offer” to trigger scarcity responses, and the myriad others.