Influence and Persuasion

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

 

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is a social psychology book examining the fundamental ways people are persuaded by influencers in compliance fields, defined salespeople, peddlers, and fundraisers. The book's author is Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. 
 

The premise of the book examines how people in a complex world are overloaded with more information than they can cope, many of us rely on a decision-making approach based on generalizations. These generalizations develop because they allow us to act correctly with a limited amount of thought and time. However, they can be exploited and effectively turned into weapons by those who know them to influence us to act certain ways, (Butler-Bowdon, 2005). 

 

Although there are thousands of different tactics that compliance practitioners employ to produce an affirmative response, according to Cialdini, the majority fall within six basic categories which he terms “weapons of influence.” Each of these categories is governed by a fundamental psychological principle that directs

Behavior, (Cialdini, 2009).

 

How can one person get someone to do something with ease, while it's an uphill battle for someone else? The answer is being able to use influence and being persuasive, without the use of power or control, (Williams, 2009).

 

 



References

Cialdini, R. (2009). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: Collins Business Essentials

Cialdini, R. (2009). Influence: Science and Practice. Boston: Pearson Education.

Butler-Bowdon, T. (2005).  Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do.          

            Insight and inspiration from 50 key books. Boston: Nicholas Brealey.

Williams, R. (2009). Leaders Need to Use Influence and Persuasion, Not Authority. Psychology

            Today. Retrieved from (LINK)

Harnessing the Science of Persuasion (2009). Retrieved from Google Images (Link)