The Psychology of Persuasion

Please note that this book summary is made up from 7 different summaries I find in the Internet. None of this is written by me. It is just for my own learning, but made available for you as well since I think it's valuable.

The book explains the psychology of why people say “yes” — and how to apply these understandings

Here are the 6 main principles explored in this book:

1. Reciprocation
2. Commitment & Consistency
3. Social Proof
4. Authority
5. Liking
6. Scarcity

1. RECIPROCATION

This rule states that “…we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.”

Examples:

• If someone buys you lunch, you feel obligated to buy them lunch next time.
• At the supermarket, or a warehouse club like Costco, “free” samples encourage the reciprocity rule when they make you buy something you wouldn’t have otherwise.
• For the ladies, if a guy takes you out to an expensive dinner, you feel obligated to go out with him again even though you weren’t that into him.

Reject & Retreat — This technique consists of first demanding a high price (or a large favour), then waiting for it to be rejected, only to follow this demand up with a smaller one, (that you really wanted all along). Quote from a child: ‘If you want a kitten, first ask for a pony’ (Ed).

Does the giving of mint have any influence over how much tip you’re going to leave them? Most people will say no. But that mint can make a surprising difference. In the study, giving diners a single mint at the end of their meal typically increased tips by around 3%.

Interestingly, if the gift is doubled and two mints are provided, tips don’t double. They quadruple — a 14% increase in tips. But perhaps most interesting of all is the fact that if the waiter provides one mint, starts to walk away from the table, but pauses turns back and says, “For you nice people, here’s an extra mint,” tips go through the roof. A 23% increase, influenced not by what was given, but how it was given.
So the key to using the Principle of Reciprocity is to be the first to give and to ensure that what you give is personalized and unexpected.

• Rule for reciprocation: we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. If one person does us a favor, we should try to do them one in return.

2. COMMITMENT & CONSISTENCY

This principle is about our “…desire to be (and to appear) consistent with what we have already done. Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment.

Some examples:

• Maintaining your religious affiliation, even though there isn’t a shred of evidence that confirms what you believe is in any way true.
• You stay married, even though divorce may be the best option, because you’ve made a public commitment “til death do us part”.
• You’ve made it public knowledge that you believe President Obama was born in Kenya and continue to bring up the issue, even though there is substantial evidence indicating he was in fact born in Hawaii.
• You tell everyone you’re running your 1st marathon in 3 months. The public announcement, or what I call “forced accountability,” will motivate you to be more consistent in your training so you hit your goal.

Living up to our identity — “We are what we repeatedly do”- Aristotle. We will act in ways that are consistent with our identity, beliefs and values.

• If you can get someone to commit to a small initial action, it will be much easier to get them to commit to a larger action.

3. SOCIAL PROOF

This rule “…applies especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behavior. We view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.” Basically, everyone else is doing it, so I’ll do it too.

For example:

• You’re at a bar and your 4 friends order margaritas, so you do the same.
• You start wearing your jeans really low because all your friends are doing it.
• You laugh at a joke because your friends are laughing, but you don’t even get it.
• Principle of social proof: we use what other people think to determine what is correct.
• ie. we tend to see an action as more appropriate when others are doing it.

4. LIKING

Very simply, this just means we prefer to say yes to the requests of people we know and like.

• As a rule, we most prefer to say yes to the requests of someone we know and like.

But what are the factors that cause one person to like another person?

• A) Physical Attractiveness: If you are super hot and dress really well, people like you and want to be associated with.
• B)Similarity: We like people who are similar to us, whether it’s sharing opinions, personality traits, background, lifestyle, etc.

A good example are the cliques that form in high school: athletes, nerds, band geeks, etc. — everyone found a group they associated with the most. And if you were a total social outcast, you probably associated with other outcasts.

We see the same dynamic within agencies: Planners hang out with Planners, Creatives hang out with Creatives, and so on.

Compliments: We generally love getting compliments, even if they’re not true. Of course, YOU wouldn’t fall for it. I mean, you’re incredibly smart and fun to be around. Did I mention the fact that you’re insanely good-looking? Yes, YOU!!

Cooperation: Cooperation works a little differently. We also like people who work with us, instead of against us. Working together towards a common goal and being “on the same side” are very powerful.

As a rule, we prefer to say yes to the request of those we like over those we don’t. There are several key properties that determine our view of people: Attractiveness, similarity, compliments, contact & co-operation, conditioning and association.

When a salesman approaches the person recommended, saying “your friend recommended this for you” it increases the chance they will make a purchase. Turning the salesman away is difficult as it’s like rejecting one’s friend.

5. AUTHORITY

Very simply, people tend to follow authority figures. We are taught from a very young age that obedience to authority is right and disobedience is wrong.

Examples:

• Policemen, firemen, clergy, office managers, etc.
• Titles (PhD, Esq, MBA, etc.)
• The way people are dressed (Ex: 3-piece suit vs. tank top and board shorts).
• In Advertising, we see this principle at play in celebrity endorsements.

6. SCARCITY

• Scarcity principle: opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited.
• The idea of potential loss plays a large role in human decision making — we are more motivated by the thought of losing something than the thought of gaining something of equal value.

The scarcity principle states that “…opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited.” Fans of behavioral economists may see how this ties into the concept of Loss Aversion — the fear of loss is always greater than the desire for gain.

Examples:

• Limited time offers — A certain product is in short supply that cannot be guaranteed to last long (like Missoni at Target several months ago or Tickle Me Elmo several years ago).
• Deadlines — An official time limit is placed on the customer’s opportunity to get the offer. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great examples.
• Another variant of the deadline tactic is when you’re told that you have to buy NOW or the price will go up very soon (Ex: health club memberships, buying a car, etc.).

Why does the Scarcity principle work so effectively?

“…we know that the things that are difficult to possess are typically better than those that are easy to possess, we can often use an item’s availability to help us quickly and correctly decide on its quality.” Rather than weighing all the pros and cons, we use scarcity as a mental shortcut to make decisions.’

We are more motivated to act if we think we are going to lose something, than if we are to gain something. ‘Save £50 a month on…’ would not be as effective as ‘You are losing £50 a month on…’. An item that is scarce is more desirable than one that is freely available.

The high-pressure environment, like an auction, can lead an item being sold for an elevated price as the buyers fear losing out to another person.

So when it comes to effectively persuading others using the Scarcity Principle, the science is clear. It’s not enough simply to tell people about the benefits they’ll gain if they choose your products and services. You’ll also need to point out what is unique about your proposition and what they stand to lose if they fail to consider your proposal.

CRITICISM

Extra: Weapons of Influence

Reason Why — Attaching a reason to a request increases the success rate: “I have 5 pages, can I use the Xerox machine before you because I’m in a rush” had a success rate of 94% vs. 60% success rate when no ‘reason why’ was given.

Showing potential customers the most expensive item first then working downwards in price leads to an increase in the amount spent (as the next products seem cheaper in comparison)

• Adding the word “because” when asking a small favor vastly increases compliance, regardless if the reason is a good one.