- 12/02/2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
This is a phrase of well-known psychologist Dr. Cialdini, who wrote one of the most famous and popular book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”. A quarter of a million of copies sold worldwide have provided it the reputation of one of the most significant books on psychology of persuasion.
This book is written by American researcher Robert Chaldini, which in itself is quite unique – it is both a professor of psychology and professor of marketing at the University of Arizona. In it a famous psychologist Robert Chaldini explains how people can convince others to achieve their own goals, and how to win with such a gift in their own game.
The main theme of the book – a study of various means of persuasion and influence, which people consciously or unconsciously use in everyday life. Some people possess the art of persuading from birth, and often do not even realize how they manage to achieve the desired result. Of these people are great sellers, talented policy or do well with children’s parents. But what about us mere mortals? Are our decisions are truly independent or they are imposed on us by someone else? How to tell if we are a victim of manipulation? And most importantly, how to say “no” when we realize that the “best offer” is not so good?
Why do people rely on these rules? The answer is very simple – a lot of meaningful decisions each person has to take every day, and there is not enough time for their thinking over and decision making. As a result, the vast majority of decisions we take without thinking, and following some habits, traditions or conventions. This effect is now called “information explosion” and is usually tied to the incredible increase in information available in the past few years. In the book the author even quotes the British philosopher Alfred Whitehead that “the progress of civilization can be measured as an increase in the number of operations that we can perform without thinking about them.” (Cialdini, R., 2001)
Accordingly, the art of persuasion and influence other people can be largely reduced to the computation of the most conditioned reflexes, which can be used or even abused. The art of persuasion – is a whole history of diplomatic manipulation to convince other people to stand on your side without the use of force. The main objective is clear, but it is difficult to achieve: person should clearly describe the audience his point of view, and then make his point of view became the basis of their trust system.
In the book “Influence: The Psychology of persuasion” Robert Chiyaldini defines six determinants of influence: reciprocity, commitment, influence, social validity, lack of information, and passion / friendship.
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