Cialdini’s Persuasion Techniques

Persuasion is the social influence of beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations and behaviors. It is a form of manipulation that is based on compromise and is used to change thoughts and behaviors. Persuasion techniques use words to influence other people and achieve desired changes.

Among those who have been interested in persuasion, we can highlight the name of Robert B. Cialdini, a psychologist from the United States who integrated the different techniques of persuasion into six fundamental principles. To achieve this, Cialdini has worked as a used car salesman, in charities, in marketing companies, etc.

While working, he used his knowledge of psychology and practiced it to test their effectiveness as he performed experiments “in secret”. We will then see each of the six principles on which its persuasion techniques are based.

Commitment and consistency

The influence of the principle of coherence is based on the desire to be and to resemble a person with consistent attitudes and behaviors over time. According to this principle,  people will be more willing to accept a request if it matches their commitments. One of the best known techniques in this principle is the “door-to-nose”.

The door-to-nose technique consists of asking for a small compromise from the person from whom we expect something. The latter is not very expensive so she does not say no and it is tied to our goal. Once she accepts this concern, one more important thing is asked of her, which is what we really wanted. If the person refused this second request, it would appear inconsistent.

Another technique is that of establishing an agreement on bases or conditions and then removing the bases on which the agreement was made  by replacing them with much worse ones. However, since people had already accepted, they will tend to accept the second conditions. It is one of the most effective persuasion techniques.

Reciprocity

Normally, people need to do favors. Reciprocity refers to the need that exists to restore balance in social relationships. That is, when we receive something, we feel the need to give something in return. If we want to extract information from someone, the easiest way is to first give them a little personal confidence, a little confession or give them other information. He will thus feel obliged to tell us something in return.

People tend to treat others the same way they have been treated and this inertia gives shape to one of the most effective persuasion techniques. The application of this principle is simple and can be verified, for example, in the delivery of an unexpected gift or an exclusive discount. The influence of this psychological mechanism will be even greater when the gift received is perceived as personal and personalized. It is therefore about giving something so that the other person feels the need to give something back in return.

Social proof or consensus

People, in general, tend to view this behavior which a large number of people reproduce as valid. “If they all do it, it must be for a reason, I don’t want to be the only one not doing it”. We all like to be accepted by a group and we believe that by acting like others do, we reduce the risk of making mistakes. This principle is found in the popular proverb “ if you beat your neighbor you can prepare your kidneys”.

This is the psychological mechanism through which we tend to follow the majority opinion:  we are more willing to accept something if others have already accepted it,  and also to reject it if others have rejected it. . Its application is very frequent: if we see that a product has received very positive reviews, it is more likely that we will buy it. Likewise, if we see that a brand has a lot of social media followers, we’re probably going to follow it.

Authority

According to the principle of authority, we are more willing to let ourselves be influenced when we are called upon by an authority. It has nothing to do with pressure or the exercise of power but is related to the aura of credibility and the status that authority assumes. We tend to believe that those in a leadership position have more knowledge, more experience, or more right to give their opinion.

Two elements come into play in the principle of authority: hierarchy and symbols. Hierarchy is based on the belief that people in senior positions have more knowledge and experience than others. For their part, the symbols bring credibility: the uniform of a police officer, the costume of a banker, the smock of a doctor, the titles of an academician, etc. We find an example of this when a celebrity recommends a product or defends an idea, even when what she promotes is not related to his activity (the actor who plays Doctor House advertising for drugs).

Sympathy

It is easier to persuade through building a bond of sympathy and likeness. The principle of sympathy, also translated as the principle of passion, taste or attraction, signals to us something that may at first glance seem obvious to us :  we are more willing to let ourselves be influenced by people who attract us than by people who attract us.  people who produce negative feelings in us.

Beauty, similarities, familiarity, praise and compliments are some of the factors which are used to cause sympathy and which can appeal to us. The portrayal of celebrities or models in advertisements is based on the sympathy and familiarity they arouse. In politics, we usually reinforce the idea that candidates are normal people concerned with the same issues as most people.

Scarcity

There is also a tendency to believe that there are resources for everyone. However, when a resource is scarce, we will increase the value that we normally attribute to it. Scarcity can be limited by time or by accessibility. In short,  the perception of scarcity generates a strong demand.

This principle is used through offers for a fixed period, such as sales or the creation of limited editions. The more difficult it is for us to acquire something, the more we will value it. The same thing happens with the ban. When an object is banned, the effect is nothing other than an immediate increase in the public interest, such as drugs, for example.

The persuasion techniques we’ve seen are being used by advertising and salespeople to try and get what is expected of us. Now that we know them, we will be able to better identify them and control their influence.

Our thoughts

Social political psychology has been tasked with broadly investigating the factors that influence the direction of our political vote.