Book Review: Influence,The Psychology of Persuasion

            NATIONAL BESTSELLER 2006  

               

GENRE Psychology

AUTHOR Robert B Cladini

PAGES 336

YEAR OF PUBLISH 2006

SUMMARY OF INFLUENCE, The Psychology of Persuasion 

Although there are thousands of different strategies that compliance practitioners employ to produce an influential yes, the majority fall within six basic categories. 

Each of these categories is governed by a fundamental psychological principle that directs human behavior and, in so doing, gives the tactics their power. The book is organized around these six principles, one to a chapter. 

The book is from a marketing and advertising perspective where the author discusses principles to influence the customers. These principles have been used by enterprises to persuade customers. It can not only optimize your professional acumen but also enhance your personal life. 

The six principles of Influence are:

1. Reciprocity

2. Consistency

3. Social Proof

4. Liking

5. Authority

6. Scarcity. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 These psychological traits can be captured from everyday day life.

For instance, the Authority Principle: 

We try to avoid complex thinking and quickly believes in the statements of our elders or more experienced person. Marketing people understand this fact therefore, for fitness or nutrition products promotions, they hire sports person.

Another interesting factor of influence is Reciprocity.

If someone does a favor, there is a sense of obligation to the other person and he/she tries to remove it. The freebies given to customers are in coherence to this fact. The customer feels to purchase or subscribe to the product in return for the obligation. There will be a number of people who may not convert. But this process will open the opportunity for sales and word of mouth.

Liking plays important role in persuasion. If we like someone, we tend to be influenced by his/her actions. For instance,  actors have huge fan followings. Their advertisement campaigns draw sales. Scarcity influences people to run after it. 

Finally, each principle is examined as to its ability to produce a distinct kind
of automatic, mindless compliance from people, that is, a willingness to say yes without thinking first. 

 

BOOK REVIEW INFLUENCE, The Psychology of Persuasion

This is my fourth book in understanding persuasion. It is commendable work to understand influence from a marketing point of view. The tone of the author is descriptive which is supported with examples from business and personal life. The examples are like 2-3 pages story. It helped me visualize the situation. The reader may sometimes struggle to comprehend the metaphorical examples, but, it is not an impossible task. 

Many times I felt, this book is parallel to another psychological masterpiece Thinking Fast and Slow. It is more comprehensive towards understanding how the mind works towards processing and making decisions.

I am a marketing student and believe this is a vital topic to be included in our curriculum. To sum up, this is a great read for initial or advanced students who wants to understand the psychology of persuasion.

 

 

 

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