Robert B. Cialdini's Influence: Science And Practice

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John Hancock once said, “The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and to influence their actions.” To obtain what you want in life whether it be in work or leisure requires constant negotiation or persuasion. This can be done through many communicative ways and requires observation and understanding of nonverbal cues, as well as a deep understanding of the intended goal for both you and the other party in which you are influencing. Influencing others can surely deem to be a challenging task and gaining a deeper understanding of the psychological principles that underlie within the influencing process is very important. For this reason, the book we studied in class- Robert B. Cialdini's Influence: Science and Practice (2009), outlines the principles of consistency, reciprocation, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity. Cialdini takes us into deep examinations, real-life examples, experiments, and strategies to further our knowledge of these principles by outlining …show more content…

It is almost as if we feel wired to repay that debt and the rule states that this is something that is in our nature. Psychologically speaking, we as humans hate to carry the burden of indebt! The rule says that we should at least kindly attempt to repay the person whether it be lunch, a drink, or even if you are invited over to dinner at their place, we feel obligated to reciprocate. According to the findings of the Regan experiment, we were able to see that like/dislike had nothing to do with reciprocation. “The rule for reciprocity was so strong that it simply overwhelmed the influence of a factor-liking for the requester-that normally affects the decision to comply” (Cialdini, 2009, p. 23). Inevitably this rule allows for uninvited debts and compels us to be obligated to give, receive, and

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