Books by Robert B. Cialdini
Influence is the Robert B. Cialdini book in our library. It is the foundational text in the Psychology bundle: rather than listing persuasion tricks, it identifies the principles those tricks are exploiting, which makes it useful in both directions.
Knowing the six principles changes what you notice. Once you can name reciprocity or scarcity or commitment, you start seeing them applied to you in ordinary transactions, which is exactly what the book is for rather than an accident of reading it.
How to read it. Read it with a recent decision in mind. The principles are easy to understand and much more useful once you have caught one being used on you.
It sits in the Psychology bundle. It is the only book here written for the receiving end of persuasion as much as the sending end, which is why it reads as a manual and a warning at the same time.
The book
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Robert B. CialdiniPersuasion reduced to principles rather than tactics. The lasting value is that once you can name the principle, you can recognise it being used on you, which the book explicitly intends. It is a defensive as well as an offensive text.
What it argues- Reciprocity: a small gift creates a felt obligation to return something larger.
- Commitment and consistency: small agreements make larger ones much easier to obtain.
- Social proof: people copy what others appear to be doing, especially under uncertainty.
- Liking: we agree more readily with people we like, and liking can be manufactured.
- Authority: credentials and uniforms shorten the decision considerably.
- Scarcity: limits raise perceived value, which is why they are so often invented.
Suited to anyone who negotiates, sells or buys, which is most people. Read it for defence first: the practical outcome is noticing when one of the six is being applied to you rather than learning to apply them.
Where to start
Read the reciprocity and scarcity chapters first, because those two show up in ordinary purchasing more than the others. Then keep a note of every principle you catch being used on you during a normal week, which is when the book stops being interesting and starts being useful. If you only have time for one chapter, take the one on commitment and consistency, because it explains the most about decisions you have already made and cannot now account for.
Where this fits
This is the practical book of the psychology shelf. Kahneman explains why the shortcuts exist, and this one names the specific levers those shortcuts create, which is why the two are usually read together. Read it before Mindset and Grit, since both assume you can choose your own framing, and read it knowing that the same techniques work whether or not the person using them has your interests in mind. It is also the most immediately applicable book on this shelf, which is a reason to read it carefully rather than quickly.
The rest of this shelf
The Psychology shelf holds 5 books in total. These are the others, each condensed into a guide you can finish in about 15 minutes:
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
- Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Read it with the other four
Influence is in the Psychology bundle with Thinking, Fast and Slow, Mindset, Grit and Outliers.
Five complete guides, about 15 minutes each.
Explore PsychologyName the principle and you can see it being used on you.