5 stars (Good guide to the tactics of persuasion.) - Right away, buyers should know that Cialdini has produced a less-expensive version of this book. "Influence: Science and Practice" is designed as a textbook for classroom instruction. So, it has things like chapter summaries and questions that can be assigned as homework. However, the other book "Influence: the psychology of persuasion," is designed for a more general audience. The content is basically the same, but it omits the classroom-oriented layout. It's also cheaper. If you are a student who is buying textbooks online, this is probably what you (or rather, your professors) want. If not, get the other one.
Both books focus on persuasive tactics. This is not a theoretical work trying to lay out a strategy of communication, like "Getting to Yes." This is a toolkit, designed to give the reader a selection of tools for specific circumstances. That is not to say that Cialdini lacks an understanding of more strategic thinking, just that it isn't the focus here.
The underlying theory is that people tend to be hardwired to respond to certain stimuli in predictable ways. The book tells you what those stimuli are, that is, how to push people's buttons. And it does a very good job, which is why Cialdini has demand for two versions of the same book.
I'm not going to list all of the tactics because the table of contents does that and, because they're detailed, they're difficult to understand without reading the book. But, they all have some basis in science and their effectiveness is empirically demonstrable, so you can trust that they work. The best part of this book, for me, was becoming more conscious of how others, including politicians, advertisers, and bosses, try to manipulate me. Cialdini deserves respect just for opening people's eyes, but he goes a step further by explaining ways to deal with the constant manipulation that is inherent in human communication.
The only problems I see are that the textbook version (this one) has a better index in the editions I compared, so it makes a better reference tool and that the book is written from an American cultural perspective. That's fine, as most of his audience is American, but, and this is my M.A. in Int'l Relations talking, I wonder how well some of these tactics would be recieved by people from other cultural backgrounds. In particular, notions of authority (which constitute a chapter) vary widely. Just a heads up. This is still a "must read" for people who want to know how to persuade or protect themselves against other's persuasion.
4 stars (Interesting book on what influences us) - This book describes the external circumstances that influence our choices. The information is interesting and helpful for those who are motivated by externals. Unfortunately too many people are erroneously motivated. I recommend Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self to anyone who is interested in being optimally self-motivated by doing their best in any situation.
5 stars (Survival manual for the information age) - Cialdini explains how we have become dependent on shortcuts to remain healthy and functional in a world of increasing complexity. Such shortcuts can work either for or against us, depending on the instigator. In particular, he outlines six or so of the most commonly manipulated varieties (fraudulently triggered, often by the marketing industry, but also by politicians or even inadvertantly by friends, or indeed ourselves). Examples abound, supported by well-documented studies and bringing the concepts gracefully to a practical level, ranging from eating cookies to buying vacuum cleaners to contemplating romantic rivals.
Advice for defending ourselves is also given, as summarized briefly here at the end of the book with a few (well, sorta smug in this case) examples:
"We should refuse to watch TV programs that use canned laughter. If we see a bartender begin a shift by salting the tip jar with a bill or two, that bartender should get no tip from us. If, after waiting in line outside a nightclub, we discover from the amount of available space that the wait was designed to impress passerby with false evidence of the club's popularity, we should leave..."
As far as the six main vulnerable points of influence are concerned, here is a summary:
1. Reciprocation. When a business gives us a gift (even a worthless little trinket), we are prone to an overwhelming feeling of obligation to return the favor with some sort of purchase. Or as a slight variation on this, the business might start out with an unrealistic offer and then apply a bargain, causing us to see this as a "concession" worth repaying in kind.
2. Commitment and consistency. If someone tricks us into committing to something (especially publically), we are likely to follow through, even if we realize soon afterwards that we were deceived. This tendency is especially strong if cancelling the commitment would violate a belief or reputation we hold tightly (i.e., force us to be inconsistent). The hazing process for fraternities operates by the same principle, making us feel guilty for leaving something that we overcame some ridiculous hurdle to achieve membership in.
3. Social proof. When we are unsure about the appropriateness of an action, we will often look to others to see what they do, assuming it's correct if (and only if) we see others doing it. Many crime victims are ironically _least_ safe in crowds, because passerby hesitate to act unless "everyone else" acts first. The tendency is stronger the more uncertain we are, and the more similar we are to those we are watching.
4. Liking. We are much more likely to comply to the wishes of someone we experience a positive feeling towards, even if this feeling is fake and fleeting. We are susceptible to such features as physical attractiveness, similarity, and associations (for example, connections with celebrities).
5. Authority. We will often blindly follow the advice or orders of someone we consider a superior in some way, in title or repuation or otherwise. This phenomenon explains why the majority of nurses fail to catch mistakes in prescriptions written by doctors. One amusing example offered is of a nurse who quite literally carried out orders to treat an ear infection by administering droplets to (abbreviated by the doctor) "R ear." The clincher here is that the patient was also neutralized by a sense of the nurse's superiority and failed to object!
6. Scarcity. We will lustfully pursue the most ludicrous things when they are in short supply, especially if they are in demand and reducing quickly in availability. For example, we will often buy something impulsively if we sense that a competitor is eyeing the same item.
So how do we know when and how to fight these tendencies? Sometimes they are working for our best interests, when they are correlated with actual desirability or utility. But often they are not, being concocted by someone wanting our money or time. Cialdini offers tips on how to distinguish between these two possibilities. Often it's as simple as learning to detect when one (or more) of these tendencies is triggered and using this chance to think twice, before we fall prey to a "click, whirr" response. With a wealth of real-life examples, this book makes it that much easier to get a head start!
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