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The Power of Persuasion 200

Posted by timothy from the art-of-worldly-wisdom-mk-II dept.
AlexisKai writes "The Ten-Second Review: Robert Levine's The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold is an engaging, highly readable survey of the sophisticated methods of persuasion we encounter in various situations. From television to telemarketing and from self-deception to suicide cults, Levine takes a hard look at all the ways we attempt to persuade each other - and how and why they work (or don't). Robert Levine is a professor of psychology at Cal State Fresno; his previous books include The Geography of Time, about the differences in the perception of time and its passage in various cultures and cities around the world." For those with a longer attention span, AlexisKai's review continues below.
The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold
author Robert Levine
pages 278
publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
rating 8
reviewer Colin Cannell
ISBN 0471266345
summary An engaging, highly readable survey of the sophisticated methods of persuasion we encounter in various situations. From television to telemarketing and from self-deception to suicide cults, Levine takes a hard look at all the ways we attempt to persuade each other - and how and why they work (or don't).

The book is quite balanced in its approach and unusual in that it looks at the art of persuasion through the lens of psychological field research. Levine doesn't merely muse about the vagaries of the mind; he gets out there and investigates it. He takes a job selling knives from a "multi-level marketing" company. He interviews former car salesmen, entrepreneurs, and marketing directors. His students conduct experimental bake sales.

The Power of Persuasion is at its most interesting when it shows how human behavior frequently travels outside the lines of economic theory. Chapter 6, "The Hot Button," details the situations in which we're likely to do something irrational, like buy the most expensive of four very similar-looking toasters, because a decision-making shortcut in our brain has been tripped (in this case, we equate higher price with higher quality despite there being little evidence for that).

The Power of Persuasion covers a certain amount of ground that has already been covered by such books as Robert Steiner's Don't Get Taken and Gerald Zaltman's How Customers Think. What I liked about this particular book's approach is that it takes a position between the two previously mentioned: for the most part it neither condemns the act of persuasion nor celebrates it. Levine is usually content simply to observe how persuasion is done and occasionally marvel at the way, say, a door-to-door salesman often has greater insight into the human brain than a psychologist.

Levine's writing style is fairly consistent throughout the book. In each chapter, he takes a particular theme or area of the art of persuasion and breaks it down to show what psychological and cultural forces are at work. He does this through well-reasoned arguments interspersed with amusing anecdotes, factoids, and citations of interesting studies and statistics.

For example, in the first chapter, "The Illusion of Invulnerability," he uses the metaphor of Garrison Keillor's fictional Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above-average, to describe how people consistently underestimate the extent to which they are personally influenced by advertising and the likelihood that they would fall for deceptive claims and scams. He punctuates this with a story of how he was preparing a university course on the use of mind control in social psychology and became so wrapped up in his thoughts about totalitarian governments and secret police that a man claiming to be a chimney sweep was able to hoodwink him out of $250. After this, he said, he realized that "it's the people we're unprepared for who present the greatest threat. The fast-talking salesman puts us on alert. But the nice guys, the friendly thieves who sell beneath the threshold of our awareness, put us at their mercy."

The following chapters deal with other facets of persuasion, including:

  • The illusion of authority, i.e. "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV."
  • The use of generosity or kindness to create a sense of obligation.
  • Contrasting what you're selling with something very similar or very different to create a "false dilemma" in the buyer.
  • Moving from "Yes, I'll look at your brochure" to "Yes, I'll sign over my life savings to you" through a series of "gradually escalating commitments."
  • One of my favorite chapters, and one that I identified with personally, is "$2 + $2 = $5," which takes a look at "The Ten Rules of Framing." Just like the lottery is "a tax on people who are bad at math," the rules of framing take advantage of the way we perceive numbers emotionally to subtly influence us toward decisions that don't necessarily make logical or financial sense.

Rule #1, for example, is "Separate Gains." Levine cites studies showing that people would prefer to win a $50 prize and a $25 prize rather than a single $75 prize. "This is because we respond less to the cumulative total of the gains than the fact that it is a gain," says Levine. "Every gain brings pleasure." This is why you always see Sports Illustrated offering you a "free" book, video, or football helmet mug, even though most of us would be better off if they would forget the video and just lower their subscription price. "The company wants you to file the gift in your unexpected windfall account," Levine writes, "where its perceived value is psychologically inflated, rather than mentally bunching it together with the other products into one big purchase."

In fact, I found a number of "hey, someone else wonders about that too" topics in The Power of Persuasion, such as the idea of the JND, or Just Noticeable Difference. This is the idea that you can quantify how much something can be changed before people notice that it has done so.If our product costs $5.49, and we raise the price to $5.59, will customers care? What about $5.99? Levine looks at how the JND is different at different price points and in different circumstances.

There are a few problems with the book:

  • It includes some minor factual errors, such as the paragraphs in which Levine discusses the ad campaign that introduced "Infinity," which he describes as Toyota's luxury car brand. (I assume he means Infiniti, which is actually Nissan's luxury marque).
  • The penultimate chapter is entirely devoted to an analysis of Jim Jones and the cult of Jonestown, whose members committed mass suicide in 1978. The analysis is interesting, and someone who hasn't studied Jonestown will find a good introduction here, but I wasn't convinced it deserved a chapter to itself. Levine's rationale appears to be that Jonestown represents the logical extreme, the "dark end of the dark side of persuasion," and there but for the grace of God go we, etc.
  • The last chapter, "The Art of Resistance," turns toward the advocacy that I was so relieved not to find in the rest of the book. It contains advice on "asking disconfirming questions," avoiding groupthink, and being sure to practice "persuasion with integrity." This advice is very intelligent and well-founded, but most Slashdot readers will probably find themselves being told things they already know.

I would strongly recommend The Power of Persuasion to anyone whose job involves selling, who has ever wondered why in the world they bought that sweater/car/time-share, who lives in a capitalist economy, or who is just looking to fill a few hours with a fascinating book. It's an insightful, scientific look at a force that permeates the existence of anyone who has to interact with other people but that we rarely take the time to examine.

Besides being a cracking good read, it's fully footnoted, indexed, and so stuffed with information as to make a worthy addition to anyone's reference library. The next time you wonder what possessed you to pay $50 for a medallion commemorating the series finale of Friends, you'll know where to turn.

You can purchase The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
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The Power of Persuasion

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  • *waves hand in front of face* (Score:5, Funny)

    by Tatarize ( 682683 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:31PM (#8728791) Homepage
    This is not the book you want to read.
  • Yes, we're all individuals! ...I'm not.

  • la di da (Score:5, Funny)

    by B3ryllium ( 571199 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:32PM (#8728798) Homepage
    Well, I'm sold.

  • Best Pursuasion (Score:4, Funny)

    by Doesn't_Comment_Code ( 692510 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:33PM (#8728811)
    I often find that the best way to pursuade someone is to call them an insensitive clod, or a dolt, or something equally as curt and dimeaning for not seeing my point of view.

  • sick mind (Score:4, Funny)

    by nocomment ( 239368 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:34PM (#8728830) Homepage Journal
    Maybe I just have a sick mind, but I parsed the story title as "The Power of Perversion" I feel like a dirty old man now...

  • Speaking of Methods of Persuasion (Score:4, Funny)

    by MooseByte ( 751829 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:35PM (#8728832)

    "From television to telemarketing and from self-deception to suicide cults, Levine takes a hard look at all the ways we attempt to persuade each other [...]."

    Hmmmm. I wonder where Slashdot moderation fits in that spectrum....

  • If he understands it so well (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:35PM (#8728847)
    Why isn't this #1 on the best seller list?

  • The Real Measure (Score:5, Insightful)

    by somethinghollow ( 530478 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:35PM (#8728853) Homepage Journal
    The real measure of how good this book is, I think, is whether or not the author persuaded you (the reader) to believe his points. ;)

  • Cool! But the most important part is... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Penguinisto ( 415985 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:35PM (#8728854) Journal
    ...where's the chapter on convincing hot young babes to go out with the geek set?

    • Right after the chapter telling us geeks to brush our teeth, shower at least once a month, and not drool while talking to them.
    • That would be between "How to make a rolling stone with your smile" and "How to make someone RTFM" ;)
    • I guess you've never been to alt.seduction.fast then. They've got a good web page, too. Lots of NLP (neurolinguistic programming) applications.

      You should be rolling in the chicks (or with them, whatever) in no time.
      • Hey, so i noticed you standing here alone and i thought "you must be looking for a low-risk high-return investment!" now i know what your thinking - "whats the catch" and im not gonna pull the wool over your eyes, btw thats a great smile, keep it coming! you could be signed up and finished in about 3 minutes! and thats only because your my first customer! so erm, why dont you just follow me out here and i'll get my pen out.
    • ...where's the chapter on convincing hot young babes to go out with the geek set?

      It's available online at www.mbusa.com

    • You are looking for the pickup guide [pickupguide.com].

      "Strip" away all the manipulative embedded suggestion nonsense and the dumb macho ideology, and there's a few gems in there :)
  • As pointed out on the Howard Stern show this morning, tiny changes in speech can make a big difference in the perception of the audience, like between "friends" and "friend" (group vs. individual).
    On that note, friend, I'd like to ask you to visit my artist interview [fulcrumgallery.com]. See? It works!
    • Hmm. Yes, it does seem to have an effect, but in my case, it was a negative one. It had the effect of putting me on alert, as per the review.

      One alerting factor was singling me out as "friend"; if you had addressed "friends", I would've felt like I was slipping under the radar, like I could visit the site without being noticed, which appeals to my introverted side. Second, the use of "friend" in other contexts, namely spam, gives it a very negative connotation. Thirdly, of course, you alerted me with "
    • Ugh. I detest the gratuitous use of the word "friend". Nothing turns me off faster than when I see an email from someone I don't know who uses it in the intro.
  • Sting said it best already...
    "Poets, preists, and politicians
    Have words to thank for their positions."
  • Why is this icon used on this story. Are they tryoing to persuade us that the author is a smart guy? I've certainly never seen a more misused icon on Slashdot, unless the irony is intended.

  • Concentrate on the Sound of my Voice... (Score:5, Funny)

    by bcolflesh ( 710514 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:41PM (#8728930) Homepage
    You will RTFA... You will RTFA...

  • Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The I Shing ( 700142 ) * on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:46PM (#8728996) Journal
    A primo example of the "feeling of obligation" sales pitch that the author mentions is those vacation timeshare sales pitches that promise a free or discounted event ticket.

    They're really common in Las Vegas and in the Orlando area. They have booths set up in hotels and in small buildings located in the parking lots of plazas in commercial districts.

    They give you a nice little breakfast buffet at a nearby resort, and tell you that they'll only take 90 minutes of your time, and there's no obligation.

    Four hours later you're signing one document after another, agreeing to pay thousands and thousands of dollars over the next ten years for something that's not worth jack squat, and then you go and get your stupid theme park tickets.

    Stay away from those things, and if you do go to one, don't buy into it. You can buy them second-hand MUCH cheaper from someone else who got suckered. When they start trying to close the deal, you say, "Nope, not signing anything. Give me my discounted park passes now, please." If they hem and haw, and say that the deal they're offering is only good if you sign right there and then, you have to say, "Then I guess that's my loss. I'll take my discounted park passes now, please."

    Don't let the mind control kick in.

    And if you do sign up, you've got ten days to cancel, at least in Florida. But it's much easier to just not get suckered in the first place.

    • Re:Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Doesn't_Comment_Code ( 692510 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:57PM (#8729135)
      I heard one of those pitches once too. And what threw a red flag for me was: "This deal is only good today. Once you walk out that door, I can't legally offer you a price this low again." First of all... against the law to offer me a discount price after I leave? Secondly, the time limit and pressure shows that the salesman doesn't want you to have time to think things over. WHOOP WHOOOP Sirens should be going off in your head!

      After an hour long tour (which was actually enjoyable) and listening to the sales pitch, I started to feel a tiny bit pursuaded. And that feeling made me so uncomfortable (knowing that his smooth talking had even slight power over my thought process) that I got up and left. Although as soon as I did, the salesman informed me that a new deal had just opened up. It was for half the original price, and he couldn't legally offer it to me once I walked out the door...

      • Re:Vacation timeshare sales pitches (Score:4, Interesting)

        by goon america ( 536413 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @05:46PM (#8730685) Homepage Journal
        I went to one of those things once, too.

        When I was in college, I lived in a really cheap apartment. I don't know if they somehow aimed for the neighborhood, but my phone and mailbox were constantly bombarded with every scam imaginable. Maybe the previous residents collectively got that address on all the wrong mailing lists, I don't know.

        Anyway, this one called me up and offered me a $50 gift certificate (to Wal*mart!) if I just saw some presentation. Easy $50, I figured. And I'm certainly too strong and smart too buy into one of these deals.

        Anyway, my usual bad habit of arriving aggregriously late worked in my favor, and I wasn't let in to see the "main presentation". Instead, I was moved directly to a salesman who would work on individual prospects after they had seen the main presentation and not decided to buy.

        And, I have to say, it was weird -- I really did start to feel a tiny but persuaded. The salesman told me that the offer was just for me, just for now, and that strangely made me not want to miss out on it. Of course, a totally different part of my brain told me that was why it had to be complete bullshit -- which I wisely listened to.

        Still, I'll always remember that weird feeling I had, despite my best intentions and clear good sense contradicting it, so that perhaps if I ever feel it again I'll know for sure to discount it at all costs.

    • Almost Suckered... (Score:5, Informative)

      by DeionXxX ( 261398 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @04:24PM (#8729543)
      Goddamit... I hate telling this story because it shows how weak I was...

      I was on a cheap trip to Vegas with my Fiancee... Cheap meaning we drove there, stayed in $30/night hotel room, and $10 in nickle poker machines. While walking around we got stopped and offered free tickets if we listened to their talk about time-shares. We say okay because free stuff on a cheap trip cannot be refused. Long story short... 3 hours of talking and I was ready to put $2k down on a timeshare... ofcourse I only had $200 in my bank account (ie. the cheap trip). Me and my s/o fought it out... he even left so I could pursuade her and even kept trying to boost my male ego.

      Thank god for the level headed, no-bullshit woman I married. She almost left me after all the shit I gave her during all that presentation. Ofcourse she'll never let me forget... and so I still remember the horrible feeling I had afterward that I was manipulated.

      Ohh the humanity....

      --D3X
      • I went window shopping for HDTVs with my wife and these two guys talked up one TV so much they not only convinced my wife but she started hammering on me to buy it that moment for a special one-day price, yada yada.

        It scared me a little because she was now teaming with them against me, and they had almost convinced me to drop $5,000 when I was aiming around $2,000, mostly because they could have it in time for me to watch my Patriots win the superbowl.

        Anyway, I never buy anything before reading reviews, a
    • Wow, the most consensus I've ever seen in a series of /. posts... like some new record.

      All these replies underscore a key point... these salespeople are professionals, experts at closing the deal by whatever means necessary, alternating between cajolery and insults. "I can tell you're smart enough to know a good deal when you see one," or "You're not stupid enough to walk away from a deal like this, are you?"

      They weave a spell over the prospective buyer, not unlike the way a high-performing car salesman w
      • It only *seems* like consensus because of unfair modding. When all of the time-share salesmen out there get off work, all of those "They're just doing their jobs!" will get modded up and we'll have a real discussion on our hands.

        I mean, there has to be *someone* out there to defend slimy sales tactics, right? ;)

        Taft

    • "They give you a nice little breakfast buffet at a nearby resort, and tell you that they'll only take 90 minutes of your time, and there's no obligation. Four hours later you're signing one document after another, agreeing to pay thousands and thousands of dollars over the next ten years for something that's not worth jack squat, and then you go and get your stupid theme park tickets. "

      I realize some people have less willpower than others, but for those that have it, I'm curious what tactics they use to k

  • Sounds alot like... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sploxx ( 622853 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:46PM (#8729003)
    "Virus of the Mind".
    See http://www.memecentral.com/votm.htm.

    As a sidenote, there is also thhis nice (e)mail chain-letter debunking page:
    http://www.memecentral.com/antidote.htm

    IMHO, the everything's-a-meme-thought is a bit exaggerated today, but it is still interesting.
    • The concept of Memes is likely overrated, not just a bit, but a great deal.
      First, Richard Dawkins, in his book "The Selfish Gene" both introduced the concept, and admitted that some of the very things which he had cited to prove his concepts about Genes cast some serious doubts on the idea of Memes. Since then, most of the people who have expanded on the idea of Memes appear to have not read page 209 of "TSG", where Dawkins admits that Memes have a much higher copying error rate than Genes, and that is a bi

  • I would buy this book but... (Score:5, Funny)

    by rabbot ( 740825 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:47PM (#8729010)
    I spent all my money on an icon of a diamond ring for a person i've never met on a website.
  • Price runner [pricerunner.com] shows that Amazon are the cheapest but they are still ut of favour for aggressive [slashdot.org] and stupid [slashdot.org] patent [slashdot.org] practice [slashdot.org], so pick another supplier from the list [pricerunner.com]

  • This is why I'm so.... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MisanthropicProgram ( 763655 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:48PM (#8729034)
    cynical!

    If you come up to me and say "My, what a nice pair of shoes you're wearing!"
    I'll think:

    You want to sell me something..

    You want money for nothing..

    You want someting
    I think it's worse for us Americans because everyone is trying to sell us something!
    I once took a class from an Asian Chi Gong master. During his lesson he said that he had videos on sale. All of us just groaned under our breath. To make a long story short, he was sincere and wanted us to buy the videos to remember his lessons. Nothing else! He was the exception.

    I'm still jaded and I haven't been wrong since. We're continually being bombarded to spend our precious income on shit in America. Companies are demanding that we buy their crap in order for us to be happy and to keep "our" economy working. My friends, who really care about me (I think), say supportive things, I just think they want something! I thought it was just me, but I'm beginning to think that it's a side-effect of living in America. Watch out, anyone who says nice things to you wants to sell you something!

    Makes me want to shave the rest of my hair off, move to Thailand, and become a Buddhist Monk!

    • That was an awesome post, MisanthropicProgram. You have a very interesting a viewpoint. You seem like a very intelligent person. By the way, I just happen to sell tinfoil hats. Would you like to buy one?
    • I had similar experiences in high school whenever a girl would actually try to talk to me. I would act polite, but the entire time I would be wondering what she really wanted. Of course, in all of those cases, she really was just looking for something (ex. help with learning some math concept). This probably isn't too unusual for the slashdot crowd.

    • I can't stand sales pitches.

      It's gotten to where I find something cynical to say about every TV commercial I watch, even the story lines in TV shows. People have told me how cynical I am, but I feel like I have to fight against this seething mass of industrial psychology that's shoved onto us at every opportunity.

      Why don't they teach this stuff in school, so we can be educated enough to make it go away?

      I'm wondering if this kind of despair hits anyone else here on slashdot. Does being a code geek creat
      • I'm with you.

        The rampant commercialism is depressing for anyone who doesn't define their life in shallow materialistic terms. The other day I saw my (2yr-old) niece wearing some overpriced "J-Lo" branded clothing and I just all I could do was shake my head in disgust.

        But, I don't despair as much as I used to once I realized how profoundly molecular manufacturing will change our economy in the near-future. No longer will people have to SELL SELL SELL useless shit for the sake of TRADE in order to put foo

      • I can't stand sales pitches either. At least now I know I'm not the only one :) Thanks!
    • > If you come up to me and say "My, what a nice
      > pair of shoes you're wearing!"

      > I'll think:

      > You want something

      Spot on.

      Give me your shoes.

      And throw in your iPod while your at it.

    • There's nothing wrong with buying stuff.

      The problem is that when you buy something because it had the best sale pitch rather than because it was the best product. This rewards scam artists and gives companies incentive to spend all their time developing better sales pitches than developing better products.

    • My, what a great idea you just had!

      And such a lovely post about it!

      Say, what kind of razor will you be using?

      :)

      Ravi
    • 1) Why do you think this ChiGong master was different? I sincerely want to fix people's computers and to redesign bad websites but it's also a business. He needed to eat and teaching probably didn't leave time for a full-time job. What I'm saying is, even if he did want to make money, is that a bad thing? As long as he offers you something of value (to you) and doesn't pressure you into taking it...

      2) High-pressure salesmen are *everywhere*. Used-car salesmen in the USA, merchants in a Thailand street-mall
  • I would love to read an equally well researched analysis, with concrete examples, of how politicians use these same sales techniques -- on the one hand to pimp themselves to the money people, and on the other to convince the rest of us that democracy is still real.

  • Doesn't this... (Score:4, Funny)

    by bfg9000 ( 726447 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:52PM (#8729071) Homepage Journal
    ...belong in apple.slashdot.org?
  • Wow, I wonder if good 'ole Darl submitted this or what? I'm sure it's mandatory reading over at SCO.

  • Also check out Remar Sutton (Score:5, Informative)

    by deacon ( 40533 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @03:59PM (#8729174) Journal
    Remar Sutton [corningcu.org] wrote a book called

    Don't get taken every time [amazon.com]

    He also speaks at seminars sponsered by Credit Unions [google.com] , (Anyone can join one these days) which is where I met him.. got my (secondhand) book autographed too.

    The people who sell you stuff are trained by professionals.

    * They are NOT YOUR FREINDS!*

    For the sake of your bank account and your sanity, it's worthwhile to educate yourself about the methods that are used, and how to circumvent them.

    • The people who sell you stuff are trained by professionals.

      * They are NOT YOUR FRIENDS!*

      One of my roommates is a natural sales guy. It's amazing to watch him work, and nauseating at the same time. What's worse is when he tries it on me, because I know exactly what he's doing, but sometimes it works anyway.

      "You weak-minded fool! He's using an old Jedi mind trick!"
      • I wish I could meet people like that in a personal setting...I only know a handfull of salesmen in a work related setting and they all buy me lunch and dinner. (Mmmm Sushi!) In a personal setting it would give me more training for how to resist them in a personal sense...

        In a professional sense I am just taking a bribe to buy their widgets for production

        Seriously, though, how can his tricks work if you know what he is doing?

        What is the mechanism with which he is able to circumvent your logic?

    • The people who sell you stuff are trained by professionals.

      * They are NOT YOUR FREINDS!*

      Actually, they are highly trained professionals. They may or may not be your friends. When you encounter a salesperson you can assume:

      * They are experts on the verbal and non-verbal language of conducting business transactions.
      * Every word is crafted carefully to create a precise response from you.
      * They have a mastery of their product that may or may not be obvious. If they say "I'll have to ask engineering" they
      • * They have a mastery of their product that may or may not be obvious. If they say "I'll have to ask engineering" they already know the answer.

        I would contest this one. I work with sales guys all day, and there's something I've noticed: The best ones sometimes know nothing about the products they're selling, but they engage engineering almost seamlessly. I've become convinced that a truly good sales guy can sell *anything*. Doesn't matter what.

        Now, this is not to say that knowledge of his goods won't
      • * They are experts on the verbal and non-verbal language of conducting business transactions.

        Agreed, absolutely.

        * Every word is crafted carefully to create a precise response from you.

        Garp. :)

        * They have a mastery of their product that may or may not be obvious. If they say "I'll have to ask engineering" they already know the answer.

        Like your other reply asked, could you clarify this? I understand the concept of refering to a higher authority, but I cannot fit that with what you said.

        * Often they kn

        • Like your other reply asked, could you clarify this? I understand the concept of refering to a higher authority, but I cannot fit that with what you said.

          Nine out of ten times, referring to higher authority is a shell game designed to allow the salesperson to crafte a better response. More times than not, they actually know the answer to your question but do not like it and are going to try to find an engineer to tell them what they want to hear so they aren't the liar.

  • Seminal work? (Score:4, Informative)

    by D. Book ( 534411 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @04:01PM (#8729213)
    Reading AlexisKai's review, the book sounds remarkably similar to "Influence: Science and Practice" by Robert Cialdini who, like Levine, is a social psychologist (at Arizona State University), took a job (as a car salesman) to research the various methods of persuasion, uses examples where he himself has been fooled (he calls himself a patsy), and categorises the various "weapons of influence" under concepts such as "reciprocation", "commitment and consistency", and "social proof". It's a very persuasive read ;-)

    The genre seems to be getting a bit bloated, though, with the review itself mentioning yet another two recent books covering the same ground--Robert Steiner's "Don't Get Taken" and Gerald Zaltman's "How Customers Think". There must be some great thinker who came before these guys to pioneer the field. I thought of Charles Mackay's classic "Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds", but it deals mainly with people as a herd (only one aspect of persuasion/influence, falling mainly under the umbrella of Cialdini's "social proof").

    Is there a seminal work in the field of persuation/influence covering all the bases, or is this really just a recent thing?

    • Re:Seminal work? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Stinking Pig ( 45860 )
      Mackay rocks -- absolutely fabulous book.

      Volume 1: http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/636
      Volume 2: http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/713
      Volume 3: http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/884

      Heck I may stop at the library on my way home and read that one again :-)

    • Re:Seminal work? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Citizen of Earth ( 569446 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @06:16PM (#8731060)
      Robert Cialdini who, like Levine, is a social psychologist

      I think the best advice is, if you are in university, to take a Social Psychology course. If you don't have the prerequisites or don't want to do the homework, just sneak into the lecture hall (like I did). It's facinating stuff.

  • The Cheat (Score:2, Funny)

    by Beer_Smurf ( 700116 )
    "No "The Cheat" can resist my Powers of Persuasion."
    StrongBad
  • Back in the sheltered days of college, I attended one of those informational meetings for selling encyclopedias door-to-door during the summer. In order to get offered a position, you had to show high drive, excitement, and a little naivite. I considered my actually getting an offer to be the sign that they were just scamming the newbies.
  • No TV. Ad blockers on the web. (Does Slashdot still have advertising? I wouldn't know.) On do-not-call and no-junk-mail lists. Mixed-paper recycling bin next to mailbox. I avoid shopping malls. If I want canned entertainment, I'll rent a DVD, go to a movie, or go out to a club.

    "Pull" information is fine. If I want something, I'll use Google to find it. But I don't want people pushing stuff in my face. Is that too much to ask?

  • As I read this, I wonder if anything in here is useful for scoring chicks. Cuz then I'll buy it damn I just bought it.

  • I just realized that this book is available in PDF format at the website of my school's library (U. of Alabama in Birmingham)

    A student log-in is required, of course.

    I hadn't even realized that my school carried e-books. Each individual page is a separate PDF, so dowloading it for offline viewing would be annoying.

    Anyway, if my college has it, yours might have it too.
  • Do I get anything free with this book? Or does it cost just a few cents more than the book next to it?

  • Who needs the book when you've got a persuadertron?

  • Trading Up (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ThousandStars ( 556222 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @05:09PM (#8730180) Homepage
    This book sounds like it would go well with Trading Up: The New American Luxury by Michael Silverstein. The premise of that book is that companies like Starbucks, GE's appliances division, American Girl, Victoria's Secret BMW and others have figured out that coupling modest technical advantages with persuasive advertising can dramatically increase sales.

    There's an element of groupthink in that idea too -- that if others are doing it, so should I. They don't wield the con-man kind caliber of persuasion this book seems to favor, but they play on the idea that you'll be smarter, more attractive and a better person if you buy their brand. People will build emotional affinity with a company vastly out of proportion with the usefulness of that company's products.

    I think discerning readers who read both will get a better idea of one of the problems of our times: if we turn on, tune in and veg out, someone is going to try to take advantage.

  • The #1 Tool (Score:2, Insightful)

    by solarlux ( 610904 )
    I recently attended a get-rich scam revovling real-estate. (I wasn't interested but my wife wanted to check it out).

    Man, those guys were slick! Almost every other sentence had the word "money" in it. After watching a series of testimonies by people who claimed to have made thousands of dollars in just days, the speaker conducted a pep rally to get everyone excited about how rich they were going to become. He gave helpful pointers on how to deal with all the extra money coming in, like, "after you make

  • Manditory link to propagandacritic.com (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TopherC ( 412335 ) on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @05:37PM (#8730571)
    I just thought I'd post the manditory link: www.propagandacritic.com [propagandacritic.com]

    I know this site doesn't go into as much depth as a book could, but it's a good start. I honestly think that this material should be the basis of a required course in high school, or at least interwoven into english and/or history courses. The widespread use of propaganda is perhaps the greatest threat to democracy today.

  • best defense against persuasion (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tobes ( 302057 ) <tobypadilla@gmail.cTEAom minus caffeine> on Wednesday March 31, 2004 @05:46PM (#8730687) Homepage
    When someone tries to convince you of something they usually come at it with a million little assumptions in their head about what your arguments are going to be and what their counters are. The best way to totally de-rail someone trying to convince you of something is, to use their own assumptions against them. Destroy all the preconceptions they have and they'll be so confused that you're likely to gain the upper hand.

    sales enders I've used:

    "Don't you want to save money?"
    "No, I'm not really concerned with my budget."

    "Please vote for candidate X."
    "I don't believe in voting."
    "Everyone should vote!"
    "Oh yeah, tell me why."

    "Who makes the decisions you or your girlfriend?"
    "I let her decide every single aspect of my life. I'm basically just a pathetic sycophant."

    Try them out, at least it will spice things up a bit!
    • Cold telephone calls: "Thank you." . Or..."With whom do you wish to converse?" ... generic 'personal call' answer... "I asked: with whom? I suggest not calling back until you know." ... or if they say X... "I can leave a message for X - I assume they already have your contact details?"

      Hard-selling: "For clarity, please put your best offer in writing - It will be considered alongside the other options next week."... any-old pressure technique saying why this is a bad choice..."What a shame. It sounds as if
  • Advanced Anti Spy [anti-spy.biz] indicates...

    "Special offer: $59.95 (If you decide to buy until Wednesday, March 31, 2004)."

    If you view the source, you will see that the date is javascript: my_date()
  • Surprisingly, the most informative books I read on persuasion, perceived value, behavior modification, etc. were while I was doing an English paper on the internal environment (historically) of mental hospitals. Have a look into 'token economies', specifically the experiments that have been performed in this area in terms of psychological 'marketing' strategies tested against patients. The correlation of these experiments' findings to the assertions, images, situations, etc. commonly used in modern marketin
  • The amazing thing about this book is that even though it talks about the art of persuasion, and that most people think they are above it, is that many smart people who come away will still not grasp just how deep the persuasion efforts in society go.

    There is programming all over the place. It affects people on levels which are not even associated with advertising.

    "Turn the other cheek"

    "Forgive and Forget"

    "The weak will inherit the Earth"

    Sound familiar? These are nodules of effective societal control

  • Moo (Score:2)

    by Chacham ( 981 ) *
    We equate higher price with higher quality despite there being little evidence for that).

    Um, no. We equate lower price with cheapness, and there is much evidence of that.

    Higher price is only a factor when the item is already "expensive". And then many factors are at play. When a software package costs more, it is assumed to have more features, because it is expensive. Not better quality, just more of an "enterprise" edition. It can also give social status, and the like. As for it being better quality, th

  • Dominating Meetings (Score:5, Insightful)

    by solprovider ( 628033 ) on Thursday April 01, 2004 @03:14AM (#8734729) Homepage
    I recently had a meeting with someone who knew more about how to dominate meetings than about business.

    We were selling software software through a reseller. The reseller dissolved, and the partner we knew took her client list to a startup being funded by a VC firm. As far as I can tell, the startup has 2 people: the entrepreneur and a "manager". The manager, Jeff, probably works for the VC firm as a roving manager.

    We were lured to a meeting with the entrepreneur to "discuss future possibilities." The meeting time was changed at the last minute (we were already in the car) to the following day so that Jeff could be there.

    We arrived at the meeting. The table seated 3 people per side, plus one person on each end. Each team had 3 people. If you want to work with people, sit on the sides so you are close. If you expect conflict, the ends are the power positions. Jeff already had his stuff at one end of the table, with the reseller next to him. So I took the other end, and my associates sat on either side of me.

    The reseller greeted us, but Jeff did not appear for about 5 minutes. (Being late implies that everybody else should wait on you.) Then they announced that the entrepreneur would not be joining us.

    They already had glasses of water, but my request for some was denied. That is just bad manners. Did Jeff think we would talk less if our mouths were dry? (Later, I left the room while Jeff was talking to have water brought for us.)

    Jeff finally entered the room, and as he sat down, he suggested that "Why don't you move closer?" It was a good tactic to get me out of a power seat. (We did not move.)

    Then he demanded the source code for the product we sold through the reseller. They wanted to cut us out, and could not support the program without the source. He was quite persuasive saying that he knew they had a right to it because of all his experience and analysis of the situation. I let my business manager debate with Jeff (which he said was fun but pointless), and Jeff never noticed he spent the entire meeting debating with a subordinate. Jeff offered a royalty on future sales, but my manager had Jeff admit they had little interest in selling software. Unfortunately for Jeff, ownership of copyright can only be transferred by written contract, and no such contract existed.

    I had fun with Jeff. Even though I have been in the software business for over a decade, and own this company, I gave him the impression that I was the stereotypical unworldly programmer and acted like an egotistical brat. This caused Jeff to make a few mistakes. I did try to move the meeting back to the original purpose of building a partnership relationship, but Jeff dismissed the attempt. At one point, after I interrupted one of Jeff's attacks, he said he was thinking of offering me a job, but now he wouldn't. (If you have read my other posts, you know I would never consider a regular job, and I avoid working with people like Jeff.)

    He kept trying to hire my technical assistant. The techie had worked for the reseller and knew the customer's infrastructure. We hired him when he left the reseller. I am uncertain why Jeff tried, since the techie did not talk much in the meeting, and does not have the source. I think Jeff was trying divide-and-conquer, but the techie had already met Jeff, and disliked him intensely.

    Jeff "complimented" my business manager by suggesting he should go to college to become a lawyer because "he would be good at it." This happened as we were leaving, so I was able to contain the laughter until we were outside. My business manager has been working in this field since the 70s, and has held upper management positions at several large companies.

    Jeff's fatal mistake was to threaten to have the customer's lawyer contact us. Later that week we received a nasty letter from this lawyer. I believe the letter was written by Jeff, since it contained several of the fallacies he used in the meeting. That letter opene

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