Save to My Latticework unsave

Cialdini's Six Principles of Influence
Cialdini's Six Principles of Influence
Cialdini's Six Principles of Influence
save0 saved view41.3K views
Share this with your network
Share this with your network
Overview

In his seminal marketing book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Dr Robert Cialdini laid out principles to hel ...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vide, quantum, inquam, fallare, Torquate. Nec lapathi suavitatem acupenseri Galloni Laelius anteponebat, sed suavitatem ipsam neglegebat; Honesta oratio, Socratica, Platonis etiam. Cuius similitudine perspecta in formarum specie ac dignitate transitum est ad honestatem dictorum atque factorum. Quid enim de amicitia statueris utilitatis causa expetenda vides. Eam stabilem appellas.

Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Mihi enim erit isdem istis fortasse iam utendum. Que Manilium, ab iisque M. Non quaeritur autem quid naturae tuae consentaneum sit, sed quid disciplinae. Diodorus, eius auditor, adiungit ad honestatem vacuitatem doloris. De hominibus dici non necesse est. Idem iste, inquam, de voluptate quid sentit? Egone non intellego, quid sit don Graece, Latine voluptas?

Piso igitur hoc modo, vir optimus tuique, ut scis, amantissimus. Quorum sine causa fieri nihil putandum est. Quis istud possit, inquit, negare? Sic enim maiores nostri labores non fugiendos tristissimo tamen verbo aerumnas etiam in deo nominaverunt.

Share this model with your network to be smarter, faster, together!
Actionable Takeaways
  • Offer ‘freemium’ options to people’s problems (reciprocity)

Offering free servi ...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sit hoc ultimum bonorum, quod nunc a me defenditur; Et ais, si una littera commota sit, fore tota ut labet disciplina. An eum discere ea mavis, quae cum plane perdidiceriti nihil sciat? Sed quoniam et advesperascit et mihi ad villam revertendum est, nunc quidem hactenus; Commoda autem et incommoda in eo genere sunt, quae praeposita et reiecta diximus; Duo Reges: constructio interrete.

Quis animo aequo videt eum, quem inpure ac flagitiose putet vivere? Est enim effectrix multarum et magnarum voluptatum. Videmusne ut pueri ne verberibus quidem a contemplandis rebus perquirendisque deterreantur? A mene tu? Perge porro; Neque enim civitas in seditione beata esse potest nec in discordia dominorum domus; Nondum autem explanatum satis, erat, quid maxime natura vellet. Nec enim, dum metuit, iustus est, et certe, si metuere destiterit, non erit; Itaque eos id agere, ut a se dolores, morbos, debilitates repellant.

Sed erat aequius Triarium aliquid de dissensione nostra iudicare. Cum audissem Antiochum, Brute, ut solebam, cum M. Ad quorum et cognitionem et usum iam corroborati natura ipsa praeeunte deducimur. Non igitur bene. Amicitiae vero locus ubi esse potest aut quis amicus esse cuiquam, quem non ipsum amet propter ipsum? Traditur, inquit, ab Epicuro ratio neglegendi doloris.

Limitations

These principles could easily lead people into pitfalls if used for evil instead of goodness. It might encourage predatory behavior, indebting people through favours and using manipulation techniques. Cialdini 

In Practice

Reciprocity: free mints to increase tips

One study seemed to show the impact of reciprocity, with a slight increase in tips as a result of diners receiving free mints at the conclusion of their dinners.

Commitment: Writing down the appointment

One study showed that missed appointments at health centres were reduced by 18% when patients wrote down the appointment rather than staff. 

Liking: closing the deal 

According to Cialdini, in a study on negotiations of MBA students, one group was told to focus on getting the deal done, the other group was told to identify something in common before they began. The first group came to an agreement 55% of the time, the second group came to an agreement 90% of the time.

Consensus: nudging tax payments

The Behavioural Insights Team in the UK, or original Nudge Unit, discovered that by tweaking the wording of letters to taxpayers to reference the fact that most people in their town paid tax on time, resulted in a 15% increase in timely tax payments. 

Build your latticework
This model will help you to:

These principles are often used in sales and marketing and tend to play on common unconscious biases. They have been further explored by cognitive psychologists exploring behavioural economics. That said, they can be used in developing relationships and influence. 

Use the following examples of connected and complementary models to weave Cialdini’s six principles of influence into your broader latticework of mental models. Alternatively, discover your own connections by exploring the category list above. 

Connected models: 

  • Fast and slow thinking: which underpins many of these approaches.  
  • Social proof: as it relates to liking and even authority.  
  • Supply and demand: as it relates to scarcity. 

Complementary models: 

  • 4Ps of marketing: considering the combination of these methods with the 4Ps. 
  • Hanlon’s razor: to support the development of effective relationships. 
  • Non-violent communication: to help uncover needs and connect.
Origins & Resources

Find out more from Dr Robert Cialdini’s book ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’ and his broader services at his website  Influence at work.

My Notes

  • profile
    713 days ago Amin
    "Cialdini's Six Principles of Influence are reciprocity, scarcity, authority, commitment, liking and commitment. " One of the commitments was meant to be concensus...
Already a ModelThinkers member? Please log in here.

Oops, That’s Members’ Only!

Fortunately, it only costs US$5/month to Join ModelThinkers and access everything so that you can rapidly discover, learn, and apply the world’s most powerful ideas.

ModelThinkers membership at a glance:

Small mark
UNLOCK EVERYTHING
Access all mental models and premium content.
Small mark
BUILD YOUR LATTICEWORK
Save models to your personal list.
Small mark
QUICKLY MEMORISE MODELS
Use our Learn function to embed models to memory
Small mark
PERSONALISE MODELS
Add your own notes and reminders.
Small mark
BUILD YOUR ‘EXTERNAL BRAIN’
Discover a new idea? Capture it by adding a new model.
Small mark
JOIN THE MT COMMUNITY
Rate models, comment and access exclusive events.

“Yeah, we hate pop ups too. But we wanted to let you know that, with ModelThinkers, we’re making it easier for you to adapt, innovate and create value. We hope you’ll join us and the growing community of ModelThinkers today.”

Arun Pradhan & Shai Desai
CoFounders, ModelThinkers.

You Might Also Like:

- Actionable summaries of the world's most powerful ideas.