Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini (RBC)

Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini (RBC)

I have set out below a summary, key takeaways / learning outcomes, some ramblings and unanswered questions.

As a general comment, RBC makes a very pertinent point upfront when he says that amongst the many principles or weapons of influence, the most powerful is the one of “material self-interest”. It is quite true that for humans (a form of an animal) self-interest in a number of cases is considered as a self-preservation technique and drives our actions and reactions. Of course, all of these principles and weapons are likely to apply in a majority and not all of the cases nor to everyone with the same degree.

Chapter 1 – Weapons of Influence

Most people have automatic / pre-programmed compliance triggers which makes them susceptible to acting or reacting without much thought. Stereotyped behavior is prevalent in human actions because in most case it seems to be the most efficient and simplest form of behaving.

This behavior also seems to stem from brains being cluttered with a lot of needless stuff and such pre-programmed automatic behavior helps in avoiding further brain strain. Therefore, to my mind, the less you cabbage up your mind the better it is for your decision making and thinking skills.

Chapter 2 – Reciprocation

The rule of reciprocation (i.e. we should repay in kind what another person has provided us) has been given importance on account of the need of humans to be sociable. Reciprocation is overpowering in its influence since it generates an existing feeling of indebtedness and even trumps the fact whether or not you like the person to whom you may feel indebted to.

It becomes more effective as a tool of influence since it has the “benefactor before beggar” principle built into the construct. The reciprocity rule also governs many situations of a purely interpersonal nature where neither money nor commercial exchange is at issue.

RBC explains that although the obligation to repay constitutes the essence of the reciprocity rule, it is the obligation to receive that makes the rule easy to exploit since this reduces our ability to choose whom we wish to be indebted to and puts that power in the hands of others. It is true that even uninvited gifts produce a feeling of obligation and then one gets the feeling of trying to “better the gift” that has been received.

This entire behavioural pattern also arises because of the tendency of humans to respond more to negative feelings. The fact that we will be shamed if we don’t reciprocate gestures or gifts leads to psychological discomfort.

The key point is that while favours can be met with favours but “tricks” should not be responded to with favours.

Chapter 3 – Commitment and Consistency

This one seems to be the most potent and from a personal experience perspective – the most influential. I agree with RBC when he says that for most people it is the obsessive desire to be (and to appear) consistent with what we have already done and, once we have made a choice or taken a stand, that makes us encounter personal and interpersonal pressure to behave consistently with that commitment. From an investment perspective, this may cloud judgment when you try and give a positive spin to negative developments in a business / company and which may anchor you to a bad investment decision you may have made.

The need for consistency stems from the fact that inconsistency is thought to be an undesirable personality trait and as social animals we like people to like us and therefore suppress or do not gravitate towards anything that would make us unlikeable.

This influence tool works at a more deeper level as it has the potential to sub-consciously change the perception one has of one’s own self in one’s own eyes and then brings about the tendency to live up to that “cooked up” perception. Written statements and public commitments are more powerful in making a person stick to her stand.

The biggest motivation for making a commitment and remaining loyally consistent with it also arises if that commitment is driven from an inner choice - where we are prepared to be internally responsible for our actions.

Chapter 4 – Social Proof

This was the simplest principle to understand but it was quite fascinating to read that even what is considered as apathy at times arises because of the desire to seek social proof of one’s actions. Social proof or social evidence is used by us to assure us that we prefer to be true will seem to be true i.e. we like to validate our own biases.

Uncertainty breeds the desire to look to others for behavior and actions and seek social proof. From an investing perspective, this explains why people jump into the well together in case of volatility. Following the collective knowledge of the crowd can often lead to sub-optimal results as the crowd may not be acting on any superior information.

Similarity also triggers social proof type behavior and we are more inclined to follow the lead of a similar individual – very important from a leadership trait perspective though.

Chapter 5 – Liking

It is quite natural to be influenced by people whom you like and the feeling of likeness can be generated on account of various, including superficial, factors. RBC also explains about the Halo Effect of some people – when one positive characteristic of a person dominates the way that person is viewed by others. A smooth talking CEO can create a halo effect on analysts’ analysis re the company / business leading to sub-optimal analysis!

People have an automatic impulse of assigning favourable traits to good looking (I will add good sounding as well) individuals and therefore, good looks helps you in being persuasive and getting more favourable treatment . We also tend to like people with whom we share a certain sense of similarity. Compliments, flattery, ass licking are a powerful influential tool given that as humans we are suckers for flattery – like Aamir Khan indulges in Andaz Apna Apna with “aap gyaani hain, antaryami hain…aap purush hi nahin, mahapurush hain!!!”

The principle of association governs both negative and positive connections. For instance, people think that we have the same personality traits as our friends. But to an extent it is true that we tend to associate with “our kind” of people. In those cases we associate our traits with those of others – “the self is at stake”. If we surround ourselves with success of others that we are connected with us in even a superficial way, our public prestige will rise. But we bury any negative connections with failures. This behavior can stem from lack of self-worth.

RBC says that we have to let this weapon of influence work and once we know that “liking” has been produced do we need to take steps from being influenced solely on account of such liking.

Chapter 6 – Authority

This tool of influence gets to work from the day we are born and its power continues to grow because of a deep-seated sense of duty to authority within us all. In a majority of cases, succumbing to this weapon of influence is necessary for an orderly conduct of the society as a whole, however, in a number of cases, discarding obedience to authority would be the more prudent option to adopt. Acting on the basis of authority is reactive and not a result of thinking and therefore, mindless obedience can result in harm.

Command of a higher authority – something that exists outside of us – has the potential to trump the command of inner consciousness and morality – something that exists within us, this is because our response to authority is automatic in a click and whirr fashion.

RBC explains that even appearance and not possession of real authority is persuasive enough for us to act under the influence of authority. Possession of aspirational materialistic things by an “authority” figure provides a semblance of authority to the possessor and captivates us into submitting before her authority and the influence of authority not only works forcefully but also unexpectedly.

As part of protective tactics, RBC suggests that one should reorient one’s thinking in such cases towards the authority figure’s credentials and the relevance of those credentials to the topic at hand. The credentials must have a direct relation to the authority and one should develop the ability to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant authorities. Trustworthiness of the authority’s source is of paramount importance.

Chapter 7 – Scarcity

Something expensive and / or scarce always appeals to people as being more valuable. Imperfections that would otherwise make for rubbish make for prized possessions when they bring along an abiding scarcity. People end up buying junk because it is scarce!! People put money into hugely run up stocks for fear of losing out on further prospective profits.

RBC explains that the scarcity principle works on two major sources – (i) our weakness for seeking shortcuts (if it is scarce it must be valuable); and (ii) the hatred for losing the freedom we already have (the fact that something may not be available in the future makes us fight for it in the present). This is explained by the diminishing personal control theory – whenever free choice is limited or threatened, the need to retain our freedoms makes us desire them significantly more than before. Competition for a scarce resource makes it even more valuable.

RBC advises extreme caution whenever one encounters the devilish construction of scarcity plus rivalry. He says that knowing how scarcity works on us isn’t enough because knowledge is a cognitive thing and once the principle springs into action our emotional reaction to scarcity overpowers our cognitive functions. In such a situation it becomes pertinent to distinguish whether the scarce item has possessory value or utility value for us. The latter is what should form the basis of our responses and actions.

RBC concludes by suggesting that while these weapons aide us in most cases and help us in progressing in life without making much effort for mundane decisions, we should be ready for counterassault when these weapons are being used against us to trigger sub-optimal and self-destructive responses and actions.