Reality Reconstruction

We Are Less Rational Than We Think

We humans fancy ourselves as highly evolved animals that have rational minds, advanced language, arts, society, culture and a host of other advanced technologies. We don’t like to think of ourselves as irrational creatures that are at the mercy of ancient evolutionary hot buttons.

The truth about us, however, is that we are far more susceptible to seemingly innocuous external factors than we’d care to admit.

There have been seven demonstrated elements, or influence hot buttons, that we, unfortunately, have a hard time resisting. When they are effectively combined, either by design or by accident, they can cause us to buy useless gadgets like pet rocks, or go bezerk and follow a dictator and stand by while millions of innocents are put to death.

It also caused our ancestors to live long enough to reproduce, and pass on their genes that made them susceptible to this kind of influence to us.

This can be good news if you are a salesperson, or in need of some skills of influence. It helps to know what these are so you can both use them to persuade others, and to defend against them when you find yourself doing or buying something that you wouldn’t normally do.

This article will be a brief overview of these six elements, and each one in particular will receive further examination in a further post.

All six of these are described by Dr. Robert Cialdini, PhD, in his book “Influence, Science and Practice.” It is a must read no matter your profession or position in life.

These are not theories, based on some esoteric branch of psychology. These are laws of influence that have been ascertained by careful, scientifically designed social experimentation.

These Laws of Influence are as follows:

Reciprocity

When somebody does something for you, you will feel an unconscious desire to repay the favor. This can be exploited when somebody gives you something that you don’t really want, or need, and then later asks you for a favor. When this happens, it is almost impossible to reject the request.

Authority

The more authority somebody has, the more persuasive their message will be. If some homeless guy on the street tells you to buy gold, you’ll likely ignore him. However, if Warren Buffet buys a 15 second TV commercial, and tells you to buy gold, there will be a lot of people buying gold. Same message, different source.

Social Proof

Safety in numbers. When in doubt, look to the crowd for guidance. Humans are highly social animals, and depend largely on the group in order to make our decisions. Much more than we’d like to admit. If you see one guy standing on the corner staring up at the sky, you’ll look at the guy and wonder what’s wrong with him. If you see ten guys standing there looking up in the sky, you’ll stare up into the sky.

Scarcity

The scarcer something is, the more valuable it is. If you go to the DVD store, and there are fifty copies of the latest movie, it may seem interesting, it may not. But if all fifty copies save one have been rented out, you’ll be much more inclined to rent the one that’s left before you miss your chance.

Comparison and Contrast

Our judgments on the value or other attribute of something is largely influenced if it is compared to something similar. That fifty-dollar bottle of wine may seem too expensive, but not when the only other bottle of wine on the menu is $350.

Commitment and Consistency

We are much more likely to follow through with an action, or hold to an opinion, when we make a public statement to that effect. Jury trials where each juror actually verbally states his or her vote last much longer than jury trials that use the secret ballot system. Once people make a public statement of opinion, they are generally resistant to change it.

Liking

We are much more prone to believe an idea or suggestion when it comes from somebody we identify with, or like on a personal level. Waiters who discreetly tell the customers which menu items are overpriced receive much higher tips. The customers feel they are getting special, personal treatment.

Stay tuned for an in depth look at each influence factor. You’ll learn how to use them in sales and persuasion, and defend against them in life.

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