The Thought That Counts
Pre-Suasion
By Robert Cialdini
Simon Schuster, 413 pages, $28
BY CAROL TAVRIS
MANY YEARS ACO, my husband, an actor who trained and worked in England, had an exchange with the great Ralph Richardson about audience members with colds who would invariably cough at a critical moment-blocking out the name of the murderer, perhaps. "Dear boy," said Richardson, "theres no such thing as the flu. Theres only bad acting." Readers of Robert Cialdinis "Pre-Suasion" will learn why Richardson was right. They will also learn why Ill wait to explain why he was right until the end of this review.t Mr. Cialdini is a pre-eminent social psychologist whose classic book, "Influence," published in 1984, amply deserves its continued fame-it is readable, scientifically grounded and, dare I say, persua-sive. Mr. Cialdini summarized decades of research on sue basic tech-niques (including reciprocity, liking and reliance on authority) that increase our vulnerability to "saying yes" even if we otherwise wouldnt, shouldnt or couldnt.
Now he has written something of a prequel a book that exhaustively reviews the research not on how to influence others but on how to make people ready to be influenced. "Even the finest seeds will not take root in stony soil or bear fullest fruit in poorly prepared ground," he writes. You dont just march up to people and say "believe this" or "buy that" or "listen to this great idea I have"; but if you know how to say or do the right thing immediately before you want them to believe, buy or listen, your chances of persuasion will improve dramatically. For example
If you want someone to feel warmly toward you, "hand them a hot drink."
If you want someone to help you, "have them look at photos of individuals standing close together."
If you want them to try an untested product, "first inquire whether they consider themselves adventurous."
If you want an employee to "make careful assessments," show them a photograph of Auguste Rodins "The Thinker."
Do you believe any of these claims? I didnt think so. But then, I havent pre-suaded you.
This book, however, probably will, because chapter after chapter piles on the experimental evidence from the field and the lab. "The basic idea of pre-suasion," Mr. Cialdini ex-plains. "is that by guiding preliminary attention strategically, ifs possible for a communicator to move recipients into agreement with a message before they experience it."
Of course, no technique is always going to work, so he cautions against any book that promises "the" answers. But research indicates how we can increase the likelihood that a technique will work. These little boosts, he shows, can increase compliance from children,give organizations an edge over their rivals, and improve workers performance and satisfaction. Moreover, although people in every occupation think that their issues are unique when it comes to persuasion-marketing is different from sales is different from lobbying is different from fundraising-they are wrong. The psychological laws he presents, Mr. Cialdini argues, show that "similar procedures can produce similar results over a wide range of situations."
Accordingly, the book is organized not by problem but by procedures and processes. You cant be per-suaded of something, after all, unless you are paving attention to it, and once you are, Ive got you by the threat. Accordingly, Part I consists of six chapters on key elements of attention, including "privileged moments," identifiable instants when a person is particularly susceptible to your message, and "channeled attention," about the "human tendency to assign undue levels of importance to an idea as soon as ones attention is turned to it." And what gets our attention most? Sex, threatening information (plane crashes, dire health warnings, crimes of violence), and the unusual or unfamiliar. Surrounded as we are by repeated images and blather, we are drawn to anything that stands out.
The books second part contains chapters on the mental processes of association that make us favorable to changing our minds or behavior. These mechanisms are what make us favorably disposed to a person who shares our first name or birthday or make us more likely to buy a bottle of expensive French wine if French music is playing in the background.
Part 3 consists of chapters on practices that optimize pre-suasion. Donald Trump should study the chapter on "Acting Together," because the evidence is overwhelmingthat cooperation boosts reciprocal liking and support, whereas going it alone increases . .. going it alone. Mr. Cialdinis examples include pre-suasion techniques that encourage "greater helping among strangers, cooperation among teammates, self-sacrifice among four-year-olds, friendship among schoolchildren, love among college students, and loyalty between consumers and brands." Whew!
The strength of this book, its comprehensiveness, is also a problem, because in the course of its 14 dense chapters the author presents so many studies, methods, stories and examples that its easy to lose sight of the forest. Heres a way to help kids do better on standardized tests; heres a way for work groups to be more productive; heres a way to up sales of your familiar product.
Nonetheless, each tree in this thicket is" pretty interesting. For ex-ample, political advisers have long known that if you manipulate meta-phors, you can influence policy Is a rise in crime portrayed as "a wild beast rampaging through the city that must be stopped" or as "a spreading virus infecting the city that must be stopped"? In one study in which people read one or another version of these two news accounts, the "beast" group recommended "catch-and-cage" solutions (lock em up), but the "virus" group recommended "remove-unhealthy-condi-tions" solutions (deal with poverty and joblessness).
To his credit, Mr. Cialdini repeatedly emphasizes that the tools he describes are only tools, which can be used for good purposes or nefarious ones. Organizations that use de-ceitful practices with customers and stockholders, he reports, will experi-ence "a nasty set of internal conse-quences" that spread like malignant tumors Unethical tactics will damage their reputations, cause pooremployee performance and attract employees "who find cheating acceptable and who will ultimately cheat the organization as a conse-quence." Companies that put profit above ethics, he maintains, will fail at both. Im afraid he lapses here into delusional optimism, given his admission that in two global surveys "close to half of high-ranking execu-tives reported they would act uneth-ically to get or retain business."
Hand people hot drinks, and theyll feel warmly toward you. Show them The Thinkerand theyll deliberate more carefully.
Mr. Cialdini believes that evi-dence-based behavioral economics and social psychology are in a Golden Age, thanks to the increased willingness of academics to write for "the public"-once considered an unseemly activity for any scientist. But we must be careful what we wish for, because today every academic and her grandmother are eager to write a popular book, do a TED talk and make fortunes giving motivational lectures. Often the price of that success is to jettison the complications of research by oversimplifying and smoothing out the wrinkles.
This is not Mr. Cialdinis way. Readers who know that science as well as God is in the details will find them in the endnotes, where caveats and commentary accompany the comprehensive references. Scholars, teachers and researchers win find the endnotes invaluable, because here, with his usual clarity and charm, Mr. Cialdini addresses academic concerns-such as the debateabout the persistence and strength of change that can be produced in a brief lab study or field intervention-and explains many studies in detail, with more anecdotes to illustrate them.
I was disappointed, however, that several old studies on "priming" were included, as this research remains largely unreplicated and is in serious dispute in the field In priming, you are asked to read or listen to some information, or perhaps a stimulus is placed unobtrusively near you, and then you are tested later to see whether the information affects your performance on another type of task. Thus people eating at a cafeteria are supposedly more likely to tidy up after eating if a bucket of cleaning fluid is placed near them than if it isnt They have been "primed" for cleanliness. Anyone who thinks that placing a bottle of Formula 409 near a group of teenagers will increase their "cleaning behavior" knows whats wrong with priming.
Nonetheless, the overall message of this book is compelling, the studies linked by a common thread. As you read, you will realize that the old aphorism is backward You can get a horse to drink, but only if you lead him to the water.
Oh, about that coughing audience? Mr. Cialdini provides examples (as if any were needed) showing that starting your story with a mystery, and then leaving it unsolved for a while, draws attention to your topic and makes it memorable. Ralph Richardson was right Coughing creates a contagion effect, like yawning or itching. One damned cougher in your audience can set off others, and it has nothing to do with the flu.
Ms. Tavris, a social psychologist, is the author, with Elliot Aronson. of "Mistakes Were Made (But Not byMe)."
Pre-Suasion
By Robert Cialdini
Simon Schuster, 413 pages, $28
BY CAROL TAVRIS
MANY YEARS ACO, my husband, an actor who trained and worked in England, had an exchange with the great Ralph Richardson about audience members with colds who would invariably cough at a critical moment-blocking out the name of the murderer, perhaps. "Dear boy," said Richardson, "theres no such thing as the flu. Theres only bad acting." Readers of Robert Cialdinis "Pre-Suasion" will learn why Richardson was right. They will also learn why Ill wait to explain why he was right until the end of this review.t Mr. Cialdini is a pre-eminent social psychologist whose classic book, "Influence," published in 1984, amply deserves its continued fame-it is readable, scientifically grounded and, dare I say, persua-sive. Mr. Cialdini summarized decades of research on sue basic tech-niques (including reciprocity, liking and reliance on authority) that increase our vulnerability to "saying yes" even if we otherwise wouldnt, shouldnt or couldnt.
Now he has written something of a prequel a book that exhaustively reviews the research not on how to influence others but on how to make people ready to be influenced. "Even the finest seeds will not take root in stony soil or bear fullest fruit in poorly prepared ground," he writes. You dont just march up to people and say "believe this" or "buy that" or "listen to this great idea I have"; but if you know how to say or do the right thing immediately before you want them to believe, buy or listen, your chances of persuasion will improve dramatically. For example
If you want someone to feel warmly toward you, "hand them a hot drink."
If you want someone to help you, "have them look at photos of individuals standing close together."
If you want them to try an untested product, "first inquire whether they consider themselves adventurous."
If you want an employee to "make careful assessments," show them a photograph of Auguste Rodins "The Thinker."
Do you believe any of these claims? I didnt think so. But then, I havent pre-suaded you.
This book, however, probably will, because chapter after chapter piles on the experimental evidence from the field and the lab. "The basic idea of pre-suasion," Mr. Cialdini ex-plains. "is that by guiding preliminary attention strategically, ifs possible for a communicator to move recipients into agreement with a message before they experience it."
Of course, no technique is always going to work, so he cautions against any book that promises "the" answers. But research indicates how we can increase the likelihood that a technique will work. These little boosts, he shows, can increase compliance from children,give organizations an edge over their rivals, and improve workers performance and satisfaction. Moreover, although people in every occupation think that their issues are unique when it comes to persuasion-marketing is different from sales is different from lobbying is different from fundraising-they are wrong. The psychological laws he presents, Mr. Cialdini argues, show that "similar procedures can produce similar results over a wide range of situations."
Accordingly, the book is organized not by problem but by procedures and processes. You cant be per-suaded of something, after all, unless you are paving attention to it, and once you are, Ive got you by the threat. Accordingly, Part I consists of six chapters on key elements of attention, including "privileged moments," identifiable instants when a person is particularly susceptible to your message, and "channeled attention," about the "human tendency to assign undue levels of importance to an idea as soon as ones attention is turned to it." And what gets our attention most? Sex, threatening information (plane crashes, dire health warnings, crimes of violence), and the unusual or unfamiliar. Surrounded as we are by repeated images and blather, we are drawn to anything that stands out.
The books second part contains chapters on the mental processes of association that make us favorable to changing our minds or behavior. These mechanisms are what make us favorably disposed to a person who shares our first name or birthday or make us more likely to buy a bottle of expensive French wine if French music is playing in the background.
Part 3 consists of chapters on practices that optimize pre-suasion. Donald Trump should study the chapter on "Acting Together," because the evidence is overwhelmingthat cooperation boosts reciprocal liking and support, whereas going it alone increases . .. going it alone. Mr. Cialdinis examples include pre-suasion techniques that encourage "greater helping among strangers, cooperation among teammates, self-sacrifice among four-year-olds, friendship among schoolchildren, love among college students, and loyalty between consumers and brands." Whew!
The strength of this book, its comprehensiveness, is also a problem, because in the course of its 14 dense chapters the author presents so many studies, methods, stories and examples that its easy to lose sight of the forest. Heres a way to help kids do better on standardized tests; heres a way for work groups to be more productive; heres a way to up sales of your familiar product.
Nonetheless, each tree in this thicket is" pretty interesting. For ex-ample, political advisers have long known that if you manipulate meta-phors, you can influence policy Is a rise in crime portrayed as "a wild beast rampaging through the city that must be stopped" or as "a spreading virus infecting the city that must be stopped"? In one study in which people read one or another version of these two news accounts, the "beast" group recommended "catch-and-cage" solutions (lock em up), but the "virus" group recommended "remove-unhealthy-condi-tions" solutions (deal with poverty and joblessness).
To his credit, Mr. Cialdini repeatedly emphasizes that the tools he describes are only tools, which can be used for good purposes or nefarious ones. Organizations that use de-ceitful practices with customers and stockholders, he reports, will experi-ence "a nasty set of internal conse-quences" that spread like malignant tumors Unethical tactics will damage their reputations, cause pooremployee performance and attract employees "who find cheating acceptable and who will ultimately cheat the organization as a conse-quence." Companies that put profit above ethics, he maintains, will fail at both. Im afraid he lapses here into delusional optimism, given his admission that in two global surveys "close to half of high-ranking execu-tives reported they would act uneth-ically to get or retain business."
Hand people hot drinks, and theyll feel warmly toward you. Show them The Thinkerand theyll deliberate more carefully.
Mr. Cialdini believes that evi-dence-based behavioral economics and social psychology are in a Golden Age, thanks to the increased willingness of academics to write for "the public"-once considered an unseemly activity for any scientist. But we must be careful what we wish for, because today every academic and her grandmother are eager to write a popular book, do a TED talk and make fortunes giving motivational lectures. Often the price of that success is to jettison the complications of research by oversimplifying and smoothing out the wrinkles.
This is not Mr. Cialdinis way. Readers who know that science as well as God is in the details will find them in the endnotes, where caveats and commentary accompany the comprehensive references. Scholars, teachers and researchers win find the endnotes invaluable, because here, with his usual clarity and charm, Mr. Cialdini addresses academic concerns-such as the debateabout the persistence and strength of change that can be produced in a brief lab study or field intervention-and explains many studies in detail, with more anecdotes to illustrate them.
I was disappointed, however, that several old studies on "priming" were included, as this research remains largely unreplicated and is in serious dispute in the field In priming, you are asked to read or listen to some information, or perhaps a stimulus is placed unobtrusively near you, and then you are tested later to see whether the information affects your performance on another type of task. Thus people eating at a cafeteria are supposedly more likely to tidy up after eating if a bucket of cleaning fluid is placed near them than if it isnt They have been "primed" for cleanliness. Anyone who thinks that placing a bottle of Formula 409 near a group of teenagers will increase their "cleaning behavior" knows whats wrong with priming.
Nonetheless, the overall message of this book is compelling, the studies linked by a common thread. As you read, you will realize that the old aphorism is backward You can get a horse to drink, but only if you lead him to the water.
Oh, about that coughing audience? Mr. Cialdini provides examples (as if any were needed) showing that starting your story with a mystery, and then leaving it unsolved for a while, draws attention to your topic and makes it memorable. Ralph Richardson was right Coughing creates a contagion effect, like yawning or itching. One damned cougher in your audience can set off others, and it has nothing to do with the flu.
Ms. Tavris, a social psychologist, is the author, with Elliot Aronson. of "Mistakes Were Made (But Not byMe)."
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