After being exposed to the price of the large item, the price of the less expensive one appears smaller by comparison. In the same way, the larger-then-smaller-request procedure makes use of the contr...
After all, the reciprocity rule asserts that if justice is to be done, exploitation attempts should be exploited. READER
Advertisers love to inform us when a product is the fastest-growing or largest-selling because they don’t have to convince us directly that the product is good, they need only say that many others thi...
Actually he wrote, A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. For some obscure reason, a central distinction had been lost as the years eroded the accurate version of his statement to mea...
What is more accessible in mind becomes more probable in action,
Quite frequently the crowd is mistaken because they are not acting on the basis of any superior information but are reacting, themselves, to the principle of social proof.
Patsy. For as long as I can recall, I’ve been an easy mark
Extensive analysis requires more time, energy, and motivation. As a consequence, its impact on our decisions is limited by the rigor it requires. If we don’t have the wherewithal (time, capacity, will...
Without question, when people are uncertain, they are more likely to use others’ actions to decide how they themselves should act.
When the newspaper detailed the suicide of a young person, it was young drivers who then piled their cars into trees, poles, and embankments with fatal results; but when the news story concerned an ol...
When our freedom to have something is limited, the item becomes less available, and we experience an increased desire for it. However, we rarely recognize that psychological reactance has caused us to...
The differential phrasing might seem minor, but it is critical to achieving the company’s unitization goal. Providing advice puts a person in a merging state of mind, which stimulates a linking of one...
Once again we can see that social proof is most powerful for those who feel unfamiliar or unsure in a specific situation and who, consequently, must look outside of themselves for evidence of how best...
No psychic powers; I just happen to know how several of the big toy companies jack up their January and February sales. They start prior to Christmas with attractive TV ads for certain special toys. T...
Lastly, these findings tell me that the answer to the question of whether, as a group, MDs are primarily patient-serving or self-serving is . . . yes. They are each, depending on their attentional foc...
In this case, because we know that the things that are difficult to possess are typically better than those that are easy to possess, we can often use an item’s availability to help us quickly and cor...
Every day in every way, I’m getting busier. —ROBERT CIALDINI
But more telling for me as a persuasion scientist attuned to pre-suasive approaches was how Mr. Buffett began that all-important section.
A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor we will be more successful if we provide a reason. People simply like to have reasons for what they do.
A job candidate might say, I am not experienced in this field, but I am a very fast learner. An information systems salesperson might state, Our set-up costs are not the lowest; however, you’ll recoup...