Influence, Chapter 1: Weapons of Influence

Previously: Introduction

This chapter is an extended introduction to the idea of an automatic compliance response, by way of a number of examples "stereotypes" that people follow mindlessly. I'll skip right to the human ones, as I find animal psychology uninteresting.

The first example is that it is sometimes easier to sell jewelery to tourists by marking it up than by marking it down, simply because of the stereotype that expensive things are of high quality. The second is that people are more likely to do you a favor if you give them a reason -- even if your reason is useless. That is, you are more likely to get a friend to bring you a glass of water if you ask "Can you bring me a glass of water? I'm thirsty." Plain old "Can you bring me a glass of water?" doesn't work quite as well.

Two broader points are made. First, these mindless actions are not all bad; in fact the ability to do things without thinking about them is what allows us to keep up with the fast pace of our society. However, being unaware of how they work can leave someone vulnerable to exploitation. The second point is that marketers and others can take advantage of these "weapons" in a very subtle manner. For example, the principle of contrast says that when someone compares two sufficiently distinct items, their difference will percieved as larger than it actually is. A sales person uses this principle to show you a suit before a tie -- once you see the price of a suit, the price of the tie doesn't look that bad. In the same way, if you tell your parents about how much pot your friends smoke, your C- in history may not seem as horrible.

Next post: Chapter 2, Reciprocation