Influence - Robert Cialdini

Joe would then ask the subject to do him a favor and buy raffle tickets. Subjects who had been given a Coke bought twice as many raffle tickets as subjects who had not. This study showed the power of the principle of reciprocity. The subjects had not asked for a Coke, and some may not have even wanted it, yet it was effective in getting them to buy raffle tickets- worth more than the value of the Coke.

"A subject who participated in the study found himself rating, along with another subject, the quality of some paintings as part of an experiment on "art appreciation." The other rater— we can call him Joe— was only posing as a fellow subject and was actually Dr. Regan's assistant. For our purposes, the experiment took place under two different conditions. In some cases, Joe did a small, unsolicited favor for the true subject. During a short rest period, he left the room for a couple of minutes and returned with two bottles of Coca-Cola, one for the subject and one for himself, saying, "I asked him [the experimenter] if I could get myself a Coke, and he said it was okay, so I bought one for you, too." In other cases, Joe did not provide the subject with a favor; he simply returned from the two-minute break empty-handed. In all other respects, however, Joe behaved identically." What was the second part of the study, and what did the results show?

Reciprocity. In 1935, Mexico sent aid to Ethiopa.

"In 1985 Ethiopia could justly lay claim to the greatest suffering and privation in the world. Its economy was in ruin. Its food supply had been ravaged by years of drought and internal war. Its inhabitants were dying by the thousands from disease and starvation." Why then, would Ethiopa send aid to Mexico when Mexico city was hit by an Earthquake?

Instead of first asking to chaperone for a day trip, the students were first asked to sign up to be a student mentor: a commitment of 2 hours per week for 2 years. Then it was, "well, if you won't do that, how about being a chaperone for a day trip?" 3 times as many students volunteered to chaperone for a day trip when they were first asked for the larger commitment.

"Posing as representatives of the "County Youth Counseling Program," we approached college students walking on campus and asked if they would be willing to chaperon a group of juvenile delinquents on a day trip to the zoo. The idea of being responsible for a group of juvenile delinquents of unspecified age for hours in a public place without pay was hardly an inviting one for these students. As we expected, the great majority (83 percent) refused. Yet we obtained very different results from a similar sample of college students who were asked the very same question with one difference." How was the idea of Reciprocal Concession used, and what was the effect?

Principle of Consistency and Commitment

Beach theft study: In the study, a research accomplice would put a beach blanket down five feet from the blanket of a randomly chosen individual— the experimental subject. After a couple of minutes on the blanket spent relaxing and listening to music from a portable radio, the accomplice would stand up and leave the blanket to stroll down the beach. A few minutes later, a second researcher, pretending to be a thief, would approach, grab the radio, and try to hurry away with it. As you might guess, under normal conditions, subjects were very reluctant to put themselves in harm's way by challenging the thief— only four people did so in the twenty times, that the theft was staged. But when the same procedure was tried another twenty times, with a slight twist, the results were drastically different. In these incidents, before taking his stroll, the accomplice would simply ask the subject to please "watch my things," which each of them agreed to do. What Influence principle made 19 out of 20 subjects intervene in these thefts?

Favors are returned in kind. People have an obligation to both receive a favor and to return that favor in kind.

Describe the rule of reciprocity.

A favor with a relatively low value can be given, and a person will still feel obligated to return a favor of higher value.

How can the traits of the Influence principle of Reciprocity lead to unequal exchanges?

Accept offers for what they are, a participation in a normal social society of helping others. But always pair in mind the initial favor with any subsequent request, and recognize when a favor becomes a compliance device. Healthy social reciprocity requires that favors be met with favors, not that tricks be met with favors.

How can you avoid being manipulated by the reject-then-retreat tactic?

She refused to accept favors from Jim Jones, even when she was in need. She said, "I knew once he gave me those privileges, he'd have me. I didn't want to owe him nothing."

How did Diane Louie survive Jonestown?

They first got them to agree to display a small 3" square sign on their lawn. Then, when they followed up for the larger sign, they were much more likely to do so.

How did Freedman and Fraser exploit the "foot-in-the-door" technique to get homeowners to display a huge "Drive Carefully" sign on their lawn?

If he wanted to get one controversial line of dialogue in, he would insert 2-3 more controversial lines, knowing they would get chopped, and he'd get to keep the line he really wanted.

How did Gary Marshall use reject-then-retreat in dealing with TV censors?

Salesman gave a free sample of household cleaning products, and were told to give them a try for 3 days, with no obligation to buy. Salesman then came by and picked them up, and asked if they'd like to purchase any of the products they used. This "free gift" (which was never requested) was effective in dramatically increasing sales of the products that were sampled.

How did the BUG at Amway work?

Reciprocal Concession. He asked for a higher donation first, then said, "well if you can't do that, then how about buying a chocolate bar?" The intent was never really to get the donation, it was to sell chocolate.

How did the Boy Scout sell Robert Cialdini a chocolate bar, using the principle of Reciprocity?

They gave a flower before asking for donations. This exploited the principle of Reciprocity.

How did the Hare Krishnas increase donations? What Influence principle did this exploit?

Lyndon Johnson famously pushed many things through Congress during his time as President. Often, it was because he had provided people with political favors during his time in Congress. On the flip side, Jimmy Carter, who campaigned as being indebted to no one, struggled to get programs through Congress, possibly because few people were indebted to him.

How did the Influence principle of Reciprocity affect the political careers of Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter?

G. Gordon Liddy had actually proposed several, much more elaborate plans that kept getting rejected. He kept backing down and backing down when his "bare bones" proposal, that was still ridiculous, was accepted.

How did the Influence principle of Reciprocity lead to the Watergate scandal?

When door-to-door salesmen are inevitably rejected, they say, "that's okay, I understand you don't want to buy today. Would you be willing to recommend a friend who may be interested in this product?" Then, that person is sold to, using the Influence principle of Social Proof.... "your friend said you might be interested..."

How do door-to-door salesmen use reject-then-retreat to get referrals? After obtaining a referral, what secondary Influence principle is used when selling to the referees?

They have the customer, not the salesman, fill out the sales agreement.

How have door-to-door sales companies used the principle of Commitment to battle the cooling-off laws?

Reject-then-retreat signals social cues of compromise. Thus, even after having been "tricked" by this tactic, negotiators feel like they had control over the process, and are happier with the result of the negotiation. Thus, they are more compliant in the future.

The reject-then-retreat tactic was actually more effective in eliciting future favors, even after the subject had been "tricked" the first time. Why?

Starting with the extreme demand and retreating to the moderate demand produced the most return. Additionally, subjects facing the retreating negotiator felt like the had more control over the result of the negotiation (even though the retreating negotiator was just following a set algorithm) AND they were happier with the result of the negotiation, even compared to the negotiator who simply started at a more moderate demand. This implies that bargaining in strict "good faith" (ie, your "best and only offer,") is not only less effective, it makes others upset with you, even if you do truly offer your best offer right up front.

UCLA negotiation study: With some of the subjects, the opponent made an extreme first demand, assigning virtually all of the money to himself, and stubbornly persisted in that demand throughout the negotiations. With another group of subjects, the opponent began with a demand that was moderately favorable to himself; he, too, steadfastly refused to move from that position during the negotiations. With a third group, the opponent began with the extreme demand and then gradually retreated to the more moderate one during the course of the bargaining. What were the results and what are the implications?

Principle of Consistency and specifically, making a Commitment.

What Influence principle did this drive to boost election turnout exploit: He simply called a sample of Bloomington, Indiana, residents as part of a survey he was taking and asked them to predict what they would say if asked to spend three hours collecting money for the American Cancer Society.

Principle of Consistency and Commitment.

What Influence principle made bettors at the racetrack more confident of their choices after they made their bets than before?

Mooch, welsher, ingrate, freeloader.

What are some social stigmas applied to somebody who doesn't reciprocate?

Making it public.

What can magnify the effect of a written commitment?

The "foot-in-the-door" technique.

What do salesman call the practice of making a small, almost inconsequential sale, as a way to follow up to a larger one?

Giving something up first, then asking the other person to do so in return. "Start high and meet in the middle."

What is a Reciprocal Concession?

Most salesmen at the company just tried to push a 1-year warranty, with the idea that it was the cheapest and would be the easiest to sell to customers. However, he used the Contrast principle in conjunction with the reject-then-retreat technique, to sell more. He first tried to push the more expensive 3-year warranty ($150) and then backed down to the 1-year warranty, which cost only $50. This allowed him to be the highest-selling salesman at the company.

What other principle is often paired with the reject-then-retreat technique? How did the stereo salesman use this to meet his quota of 4 warranty sales per month, regardless of length of warranty contract? How was this different than other salesman at his company?

Reciprocity. This means that if somebody does you a favor, you will feel obliged to return the favor, even if you don't like them.

What principle has more power, Reciprocity or Liking? What are the implications of this?

Rejection, then retreat means to exploit the idea of Reciprocal Concession. If you want to get $10, first ask for $20, and then say, "well, if I can't get $20, can I at least get $10?"

What the "rejection, then retreat," sales technique?

Consistency and Commitment. Specifically: The first tactic was to start small and build. For example, "America isn't perfect." That could be followed up by listing a few ways it isn't perfect. Or to make statements like, "Communism might not work in America, but it's okay for those in Asia." Once they did that, they exploited the principle of Consistency. They would share the soldier's statements and/or broadcast them publicly. The principle of Consistency would then push the solider to act more in accordance with his collaborator label. They constantly pushed soldiers to write things down. Even if the soldier would not willingly write down a pro-Communist line, they would urge them to simply copy over a notebook of pro-Communist sentences. Also, the American POWs wanted to send letters home. The Chinese were much less likely to censor these letters if they contained small gestures of compliance from the POWs, such as appeals for peace or claims of kind treatment. They also sponsored essay contests for small prizes. They didn't give always prizes to the most pro-Communist one, but instead often to pro-American essays that featured just a bit of concession to the Chinese view.

What was the chief Influence principle that the Chinese used to gain support and "turn" American POWs in the Korean war? What were some specific tactics used to produce this influence?

When the initial request is so extreme so as to be seen as "not bargaining in good faith" by the other party. Therefore, top negotiators know how to set an initial offer that allows for plenty of Reciprocal Concessions, without being seen as extreme.

When does the reject-then-retreat tactic backfire? How does this inform top negotiators?

1. It affected their own internal desire for consistency, by having them physically write the sentences down. 2. They would then publish those statements, applying external pressure and the pressure to conform with how other people saw them.

When the Chinese pushed American POWs in the Korean War to write down pro-Communist sentences, even if it was just copying phrases from a notebook, how did that exploit the principle of Consistency in two ways?

Not because you try it and you like it. (This is the common assumption) They are effective because the salesman has given you a gift, and you are more likely to comply when they then ask you to buy.

Why are free samples so effective?

Because "how are you doing?" makes you make a public declaration to the fact that you are doing well. Then, when asked to make a donation to those less fortunate, you are more likely to share your already-stated good fortune with others.

Why do charity solicitors ask, "How are you doing?" Why is that more effective than "I hope you're doing well." ?

They want to exploit the principle of Commitment. Parents tell their children they will buy that toy. Then, when they go to the store, they can't find that one, but they still need a Christmas present. So they buy a replacement toy. However, they still made a commitment to buy that original toy, so they end up going back to the store after Christmas to buy that one too.

Why do toy manufacturers go through the trouble of creating a "hot" toy for the Christmas season, and then deliberately not supply the stores with enough product?

Because you can initiate an obligation for a favor somebody never asked for. If you give somebody an unwanted gift, they face social stigma if they refuse the gift. So somebody can be given a gift they don't even want, which later obligates them to return a favor they never asked for in the first place.

Why does the Obligation to Receive give such power to the Influence principle of Reciprocity?

Principle of reciprocity. When you do something for somebody, they automatically feel obliged to return the favor.

Why is "much obliged" a synonym for "thank you?"

actions effect how we think. This is the principle of Consistency. Just as an outside observer would watch our actions to determine our views, the actions that we perform in turn modify our internal thoughts, to constantly try to satisfy our desire for consistency.

How we think affects our actions but our...

So that regardless of who wins, they owe you a favor.

Knowing the Influence principle of Reciprocity, why would people donate to both sides of a political campaign?