SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Influence: Science and Practice (The international edition!!!), 5th Edition By Robert B.
Cialdini ISBN-13: 9781292022291, Book has 272 pages. Book is the new International
Edition Published 23 Jul 2013 by Pearson. All chapters are part of the exam!
Assignment
- Video pitch (2 minutes)
- Change behavior
- Use the theories/ principles/ techniques
- Be creative
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION & HEURISTICS
Using the influence strategies
- Card trick vs influence strategies
- Recognition ->
- You are the casino
- Look for combinations
- Who are your influence targets
- Differences in strength
- Use to review/ strengthen existing strategies
- Gamble:
o A. 60% chance of winning 100 Euro, 40% chance of 0 Euro
o B. 100% chance of winning 50 Euro, 0% chance of 0 Euro
o Expected Utility Theory:
▪ A: 0.6 * 100 Euro + 0.4 * 0 Euro = 60 Euro
▪ B: 1 * 50 Euro + 0 * 0 Euro = 50 Euro
• Utility of A (60 Euro) > Utility of B (50 Euro) => A should be
chosen
- Because
- Expensive = good
- Effort-value
- Effort- processing argument
- Recognition heuristic
- Simulation
- Reference points: alternatives + compromise
- Contrast
1
,The elaboration likelihood model
- So what determines the level of elaboration and thus whether persuasion follows
the central or peripheral route? Two factors: a person’s ability and motivation to
elaborate that message.
VIDEOS
- What you need to know before discussing Social influence: When we talk about
"Social influence", what are we talking about? We need a proper definition and
some insight in how it relates to other concepts. It is also handy to know about
the two paths towards behavior....
o What is social influence?
▪ It is when one’s emotions, opinions or behaviors is influenced by
other people.
▪ How does differ from persuasion:
• Purest form: when you are using social influence
intentionally, it is non-cursive, it involves two or more
people
• It can also happen within you (convince yourself), it can
also be unintentional, or coercive (there is a consequence)
▪ Compliance gaining: going along with that request
▪ Process by which we are influenced
▪ Types of processes:
• Automatic process (higher lack of unawareness,
uncontrolled, highly efficient
• Controlled process (effort)
▪ Two automatic processes compete with each other you have to
rely on a controlled process
▪ People usually thing why they act the way they do
- Heuristics are effective starting points for influencing and persuading people. I
talk about what they are, and explain a number of them in these 6 VIDEOS
o What are heuristics? And the power of "because"
▪ Heuristics are decisions strategies, rules of thumb intuitive
judgments, educated guesses, unconscious and automatic
(leading to the decision or behavior)
2
, ▪ They are highly efficient, we have cognitive limitations, decision
rules are making live easier, and are usually correct
▪ Relying in heuristics is a rational choice.
▪ Study done by Langer (example of copies): people like a reason for
a favor (the because triggers a script, even though the reason is
not important). The cost stablishes the limit (in a higher cost
because does not work)
o How raising the price can actually increase sales
▪ Price is used as a heuristic used to determine the quality, and
influence in your decision
▪ The quality of beers were the same, but the opinion was based by
the price
▪ When a product is a free gift people will automatically lower the
value of this product (indicating the price makes the other effect)
▪ Discount, people will rate the product as value but they want it
cheaper
o Why and how to "play hard to get"
▪ The money that comes easily is spend differently than money
earned (hedonistic vs rational)
▪ Effort indicates the value of something, the same goes for
relationships
▪ Arguments, the effort involved in processing this information is
often used as a heuristic to value the argument itself (the more
effort the more they seem true)
▪ If a lot of effort is needed, you might thing that the argument is
not true
▪ Complex writing is less persuasive (the amount of effort to
understand an argument will make people think it’s not true)
o Simmulation, recognition and similarity as weapons of influence
▪ Recognition: Within two options they will chose the familiar option
to rate it higher (they think the familiar is the correct)
▪ Similarity: When making judgement we compare the current
situation to previous ones
▪ Simmulation: the less likely will be the one that is more difficult to
imagine. You will feel more regret if you can imagine that things
could have happened differently (near miss trained)
o The product made to influence you
▪ Reference points (when we make judgements we take reference
points, that will influence your judgment). To influence people is
important which reference point people take (sell something
expensive and then selling something cheaper)
▪ The contrast principle (if you show some horrible house, the next
will seem good).
▪ The compromise (by adding a compromise alternative
o When do we rely on heuristics
▪ Elaboration Likelyhood Model
• How a persuasive message will make an attitude change
3
, • The message can be low or high elaborated. For high
elaborated it will take the central route (content and
quality is the key). When elaboration I slow persuasion
follows the peripheral route (it will rely in cues and
heuristics). For middle elaboration, you use a combination
of both.
• What determines a level of elaboration? Ability
(knowledge, complexity of topic, distraction, mental
fatigue, time, repetition) and motivation (involvement in
topic, personal relevance, need for cognition) to elaborate.
• Persuasion taking the peripherical route is less consistent
in time, but better for weak arguments
▪ Heuristic Systematic Model
CHAPTER 1 and 7
4
Influence: Science and Practice (The international edition!!!), 5th Edition By Robert B.
Cialdini ISBN-13: 9781292022291, Book has 272 pages. Book is the new International
Edition Published 23 Jul 2013 by Pearson. All chapters are part of the exam!
Assignment
- Video pitch (2 minutes)
- Change behavior
- Use the theories/ principles/ techniques
- Be creative
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION & HEURISTICS
Using the influence strategies
- Card trick vs influence strategies
- Recognition ->
- You are the casino
- Look for combinations
- Who are your influence targets
- Differences in strength
- Use to review/ strengthen existing strategies
- Gamble:
o A. 60% chance of winning 100 Euro, 40% chance of 0 Euro
o B. 100% chance of winning 50 Euro, 0% chance of 0 Euro
o Expected Utility Theory:
▪ A: 0.6 * 100 Euro + 0.4 * 0 Euro = 60 Euro
▪ B: 1 * 50 Euro + 0 * 0 Euro = 50 Euro
• Utility of A (60 Euro) > Utility of B (50 Euro) => A should be
chosen
- Because
- Expensive = good
- Effort-value
- Effort- processing argument
- Recognition heuristic
- Simulation
- Reference points: alternatives + compromise
- Contrast
1
,The elaboration likelihood model
- So what determines the level of elaboration and thus whether persuasion follows
the central or peripheral route? Two factors: a person’s ability and motivation to
elaborate that message.
VIDEOS
- What you need to know before discussing Social influence: When we talk about
"Social influence", what are we talking about? We need a proper definition and
some insight in how it relates to other concepts. It is also handy to know about
the two paths towards behavior....
o What is social influence?
▪ It is when one’s emotions, opinions or behaviors is influenced by
other people.
▪ How does differ from persuasion:
• Purest form: when you are using social influence
intentionally, it is non-cursive, it involves two or more
people
• It can also happen within you (convince yourself), it can
also be unintentional, or coercive (there is a consequence)
▪ Compliance gaining: going along with that request
▪ Process by which we are influenced
▪ Types of processes:
• Automatic process (higher lack of unawareness,
uncontrolled, highly efficient
• Controlled process (effort)
▪ Two automatic processes compete with each other you have to
rely on a controlled process
▪ People usually thing why they act the way they do
- Heuristics are effective starting points for influencing and persuading people. I
talk about what they are, and explain a number of them in these 6 VIDEOS
o What are heuristics? And the power of "because"
▪ Heuristics are decisions strategies, rules of thumb intuitive
judgments, educated guesses, unconscious and automatic
(leading to the decision or behavior)
2
, ▪ They are highly efficient, we have cognitive limitations, decision
rules are making live easier, and are usually correct
▪ Relying in heuristics is a rational choice.
▪ Study done by Langer (example of copies): people like a reason for
a favor (the because triggers a script, even though the reason is
not important). The cost stablishes the limit (in a higher cost
because does not work)
o How raising the price can actually increase sales
▪ Price is used as a heuristic used to determine the quality, and
influence in your decision
▪ The quality of beers were the same, but the opinion was based by
the price
▪ When a product is a free gift people will automatically lower the
value of this product (indicating the price makes the other effect)
▪ Discount, people will rate the product as value but they want it
cheaper
o Why and how to "play hard to get"
▪ The money that comes easily is spend differently than money
earned (hedonistic vs rational)
▪ Effort indicates the value of something, the same goes for
relationships
▪ Arguments, the effort involved in processing this information is
often used as a heuristic to value the argument itself (the more
effort the more they seem true)
▪ If a lot of effort is needed, you might thing that the argument is
not true
▪ Complex writing is less persuasive (the amount of effort to
understand an argument will make people think it’s not true)
o Simmulation, recognition and similarity as weapons of influence
▪ Recognition: Within two options they will chose the familiar option
to rate it higher (they think the familiar is the correct)
▪ Similarity: When making judgement we compare the current
situation to previous ones
▪ Simmulation: the less likely will be the one that is more difficult to
imagine. You will feel more regret if you can imagine that things
could have happened differently (near miss trained)
o The product made to influence you
▪ Reference points (when we make judgements we take reference
points, that will influence your judgment). To influence people is
important which reference point people take (sell something
expensive and then selling something cheaper)
▪ The contrast principle (if you show some horrible house, the next
will seem good).
▪ The compromise (by adding a compromise alternative
o When do we rely on heuristics
▪ Elaboration Likelyhood Model
• How a persuasive message will make an attitude change
3
, • The message can be low or high elaborated. For high
elaborated it will take the central route (content and
quality is the key). When elaboration I slow persuasion
follows the peripheral route (it will rely in cues and
heuristics). For middle elaboration, you use a combination
of both.
• What determines a level of elaboration? Ability
(knowledge, complexity of topic, distraction, mental
fatigue, time, repetition) and motivation (involvement in
topic, personal relevance, need for cognition) to elaborate.
• Persuasion taking the peripherical route is less consistent
in time, but better for weak arguments
▪ Heuristic Systematic Model
CHAPTER 1 and 7
4
