Produktinformation

• Amazon-Verkaufsrang: #558 in Bücher
• Veröffentlicht am: 2007-01-01
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2006-12-26
• Originalsprache: Englisch
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• 336 Seiten

Amazon.com
Arguably the best book ever on what is increasingly becoming the science of persuasion. Whether you're a mere consumer or someone weaving the web of persuasion to urge others to buy or vote for your product, this is an essential book for understanding the psychological foundations of marketing. Recommended.

Pressestimmen
Influence should be required reading for all business majors. (Journal of Retailing )

For marketers, this book is among the most important books written in the last ten years. (Journal of Mariketing Research )

This book will strike chords deep in the hearts and psyches of all of us. (Best Sellers Magazine )

The material in Cialdini's Influence is a proverbial gold mine. (Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology )

Kurzbeschreibung

Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book.

You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.

Kundenrezensionen

A Social Psych Book We Can Use
It's nice to finally find a book on social psychology that is actually useful. Most books that purport to teach you something about social influence are full of obvious rules such as "don't be rude to people without reason" or contradict themselves. This one doesn't.

This book is primarily a study of psychological compliance-- what causes a person to agree to something they normally wouldn't. Cialdini rushes to explain that the techniques explained here aren't a panacea, something that elevated him in my mind-- this wasn't an "unbeatable control over everyone you meet" book. It's well-supported with references to both real-world situations and psychological experiments, and the author explains in great detail not only how the techniques are used, but also why they work and how to counteract them.

What I found most interesting, however, is how many of the same compliance techniques Cialdini uses to get us to accept his ideas. For instance, this book is written as a guide for the victims of compliance techniques: us (Cialdini goes to great lengths to include himself in this group, using the techniques of similarity and cooperation). This is enhanced even more by his consistent use of the word "us"-- he wants us to think of him as one of us, because it increases compliance: in this case, acceptance of the book.

This comes off as more amusing and instructive than anything else, because it really is a well-written and interesting book, with all sorts of helpful information in it. Probably the best book in the field.

A mouse can roar with 'The Psychology of Persuasion.'
The chapter on commitment and consistency is worth the price of the book. A fascinating explanation of how and why we do things and where the manipulation happens, along with practical defenses. I was trying to understand why I was committing to doing things and then regretting afterwards yet still doing them. After the commitment and consistency chapter, I understand what it was all about and I got the knowledge to ensure I keep control over my life and time and not give away things so precious. The book is filled with insights which will arm you for the countless intensional and unintensional manipulations that go on in the world. I've learned so many things from this author, like using neurosync mesmeric inference and mnemonic evocation to constantly reinforce my goals and behavior changes without any conscious effort. A life changing book you must read.

Required Reading for the Intelligent Consumer
The human mind is a wonderful thing, capable of the most wonderful thought processes and ideas. Yet the brain is on automatic pilot for most situations. That allows the conscious mind to really focus. The drawback is that some people will use our conscious inattention to sneak one by us, like a fastball pitch to a hitter looking for a change-up.

Influence, the book, is very useful in this regard, because it uses interesting examples to help us be aware of our own tendency to let automatic pilot thinking take over.

Since I first read this book many years ago, I have been watching to see if the circumstances I see support or invalidate Professor Cialdini's points. By a margin of about 9 to 1, Cialdini wins.

Given that we are easily manipulated by our desire to be and to appear to be consistent with our past actions and statements, swayed by what the crowd is doing, and various other mechanisms, the only way we can be armed against unscrupulous marketing is to be as aware of these factors are the marketers are.

At the same time, I appreciated how the book explores the ethics of when and how much to apply these principles. Without this discussion, the book would come off like Machiavelli's, The Prince, for marketing organizations. That would have been a shame. By dealing with the ethics, Professor Cialdini creates the opportunity to educate us intellectually and morally. Well done!

I have read literally dozens of books about marketing and selling, and I find this one to be the most helpful in thinking about how influence actually works. Even if you will never work in marketing, you will benefit from reading this book in order to better focus your purchases and actions where they fit your needs rather than someone else's.