An Academic Review of the Following Text:
Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: Collins, 2007. Print.
Summary
Weapons of Automatic Influence The book begins with Cialdini introducing his idea of “weapons of automatic influence.” He recounts a story of a shop owner on an Indian reservation who was having trouble selling a certain set of turquoise` jewelry during the height of tourist season. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the merchandise, she asks her employee to mark the price of the jewelry down by half. She was surprised to find out that the jewelry she was struggling to sell cleared the shelves at double their original value after the employee had made a mistake. The customers, who knew nearly nothing …show more content…
To his surprise, nearly everyone whom he sent a card to sent him one in return. This seemingly automatic response is credited to the rule of reciprocation, which states that “we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” Nearly all cultures have developed a version of this rule, as it encourages exchange of goods as well as specialization. Salespeople and solicitors alike use this rule to their advantage. For example, in mailing out requests for donations, the American Veterans Society nearly doubled its response rate by including a gift. The rule of reciprocation does not always require a gift, though. A concession can be just as powerful: a door to door sales person will concede a sale and ask for references as …show more content…
While many of the principals of persuasion that Cialdini discusses seemed obvious at the surface, he provides enough insight, examples, and applications to make the content valuable. I found the examples to be interesting and entertaining. One complaint I have about this book is that some of the ideas are almost too simple. For example, the fact that people are more likely to comply with someone whom they like is glaringly obvious. On the bright side, Cialdini does take these ideas to a deeper level, in this case discussing the unconscious aspects of liking someone. Another issue I found with this book was the seeming lack of scientific evidence that the author provides. While the examples are both interesting and compelling, they seem to be more anecdotal than scientific. Finally, he seems to mull over the concepts a bit much. As stated before, most of the ideas are somewhat simple, yet he will spend paragraphs explaining them. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it quite insightful. I recommend it to anyone going into sales or
Cialdini, Robert B. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: Collins, 2007. Print.
Summary
Weapons of Automatic Influence The book begins with Cialdini introducing his idea of “weapons of automatic influence.” He recounts a story of a shop owner on an Indian reservation who was having trouble selling a certain set of turquoise` jewelry during the height of tourist season. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the merchandise, she asks her employee to mark the price of the jewelry down by half. She was surprised to find out that the jewelry she was struggling to sell cleared the shelves at double their original value after the employee had made a mistake. The customers, who knew nearly nothing …show more content…
To his surprise, nearly everyone whom he sent a card to sent him one in return. This seemingly automatic response is credited to the rule of reciprocation, which states that “we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” Nearly all cultures have developed a version of this rule, as it encourages exchange of goods as well as specialization. Salespeople and solicitors alike use this rule to their advantage. For example, in mailing out requests for donations, the American Veterans Society nearly doubled its response rate by including a gift. The rule of reciprocation does not always require a gift, though. A concession can be just as powerful: a door to door sales person will concede a sale and ask for references as …show more content…
While many of the principals of persuasion that Cialdini discusses seemed obvious at the surface, he provides enough insight, examples, and applications to make the content valuable. I found the examples to be interesting and entertaining. One complaint I have about this book is that some of the ideas are almost too simple. For example, the fact that people are more likely to comply with someone whom they like is glaringly obvious. On the bright side, Cialdini does take these ideas to a deeper level, in this case discussing the unconscious aspects of liking someone. Another issue I found with this book was the seeming lack of scientific evidence that the author provides. While the examples are both interesting and compelling, they seem to be more anecdotal than scientific. Finally, he seems to mull over the concepts a bit much. As stated before, most of the ideas are somewhat simple, yet he will spend paragraphs explaining them. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it quite insightful. I recommend it to anyone going into sales or