Influence: Science and Practice (ISBN 0-321-18895-0) is a Psychology book from 2003 examining the key ways people can be influenced by "Compliance Professionals". The book's author is Robert B. Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. The key premise of the book is that, in a complex world where people are overloaded with more information than they can deal with, people fall back on a decision making approach based on generalizations. These generalizations develop because they allow people to usually act in a correct manner with a limited amount of thought and time. However, they can be exploited and effectively turned into weapons by those who know them to influence others to act certain ways.
The findings in the book are backed up by numerous empirical studies conducted in the fields of Psychology, Marketing, Economics, Anthropology and Social Science.
The author also worked undercover in many compliance fields such as car sales and door-to-door sales.
The key "weapons of influence" outlined are:
Read more about Influence: Science And Practice: Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, Scarcity, Influencing As A Process
Famous quotes containing the words science and/or practice:
“No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power.”
—Jacob Bronowski (1908–1974)
“The mayor and Montaigne have always been two, with a very clear separation. For all of being a lawyer or a financier, we must not ignore the knavery there is in such callings. An honest man is not accountable for the vice or stupidity of his trade, and should not therefore refuse to practice it.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)