Have you noticed that some people are unable to refuse? Don't pass by a counter with a promotional offer or buy useless things? If at least one answer is positive, then there is an influence on people. In order not to be a victim of manipulation, you need to know about the methods and traps that masters of manipulation so skillfully use. Many psychologists have studied this topic; one of the outstanding fruits of the research was a book such as: Robert Cialdini “The Psychology of Influence.”
The psychology of influence is a kind of toolkit for subordinating people to your wishes. This process of influence is interesting because it occurs all the time and has the form of conscious and unconscious actions.
How does this happen?
Conscious forms of influence
- A request is the simplest, most common, polite way of addressing another person’s needs.
- An order is a method of influence that is available to a person with power.
- Coercion is the imposition of a sense of duty to a person in order to fulfill a specific goal.
- Disciplinary measures - attracting a person to perform this or that action, and in case of disobedience, influence the offender with various measures of punishment.
- Threat - the use of fear to improve the effect of manipulation.
Unconscious forms of influence
- Charm is communication between men and women based on psychological and social needs.
- Inducement - phrases that do not force, but make the listener want to do what the speaker needs.
- Advice is an outside view, which seems to indicate the right decision.
- Obligation is the feeling of guilt that a person experiences if he does not fulfill a promise or request.
- Mutual exchange is a method that unconsciously forces you to repay the other person in kind. For example, give something to a friend who congratulated you last year.
- Authority is a method of influence that is based on a person’s faith in the authority of the speaker.
- Favor - if the proposer is liked for some reason, then there is a high probability that the effect of influence will be successful.
Having understood the concepts a little, we begin to dive into the very essence of the psychology of influence. There are no longer many secrets in the world: manipulations have become more and more open and understandable to the majority, but nevertheless there are more and more victims of influence. Why? If everyone knows that our life is a cycle of lies and desires to make money from each other, then how to protect ourselves? Unfortunately, the best way to protect yourself from the influence of others is to learn to influence other people yourself. The strategy of such a “struggle for peace without manipulation” is shown in the book “Psychology of Influence. Convince. Make an impact. Defend yourself" by Robert Cialdini.
The psychology of influence is of great importance in our lives and most often we do not even suspect it.
3.3. Official power
Official power is determined by the existing system of subordination (subordination) and the set of functions, rights and responsibilities in the management structure.
It is determined by granting the manager the authority to make and implement management decisions, issue regulations, and force subordinates to comply with them. All managers exercise legitimate power because they have been delegated the authority to manage other people. These bases of power are the tools by which a manager can force subordinates to do work aimed at achieving the goals of the firm.
The doer believes that the influencer has the right to give orders, and that it is his duty to obey them. This influence has become a tradition whereby obedience will lead to the satisfaction of the performer's needs.
The smooth functioning of the company directly depends on the willingness of subordinates to traditionally recognize the legitimate authority of the leader. But such influence is possible as long as the manager is able to satisfy the needs of the subordinate. A system based on tradition will collapse if it does not provide warmth and security to its loyal supporters.
Tradition is especially important for formal work groups. The ability to reward and punish strengthens the leader's authority to give orders. With the help of tradition, the speed and predictability of influence increases and the making of many decisions is greatly simplified.
Tradition has a huge advantage - impersonality. The performer reacts not to the person, but to the position. This increases stability, since the functioning of the company does not depend on the life or abilities of any one individual.
How do conscious forms of influence work and how can you protect yourself from them?
- Request. This species is encountered every day and few people recognize in it any rudiments of manipulation. However, you need to be able to correctly express your need for someone else’s help. The fact is that any person is seduced by respect for him, a sense of his own importance in the eyes of others.
For example, when asking for help, make it clear that no one can do this job better, and you will be very grateful if your problem is given attention. Be sincere, otherwise you will receive unnecessary offense instead of help. In this case, although the person has the right to refuse, he will not, because the motivation will be gratitude and recognition. Confirmation and further interpretation can be found in the book “Psychology of Influence”.
- Order. Naturally, this method is effective only if there is respect for the orderer. This is logical, because if a cleaner approaches the boss and orders him to be promoted to the position of deputy, the answer will be negative. A feature of this method of influencing a person is the reaction to orders of people with different temperaments. The more active a person’s life position, the greater the resistance will be.
- A separate, unpleasant type is coercion. In this case, a person agrees with what he does not want to accept due to various factors. For example, in order to please his wife, the husband does not go to football with his friends, although he really does not want to waste his day off behind four walls.
- Disciplinary measures are what limit our actions. For example, a child does not go for a walk until he has done his homework, otherwise he will be punished by his parents. Adults are also disciplined by the law, which spells out violations and corresponding punishments.
- Psychological influence through fear and panic. By threatening a person, the manipulator has a greater chance of success. When a person is scared, he cannot objectively assess the situation and therefore becomes an easy prey for manipulators. However, you should not think that the threat is only the measures of criminals and scammers. In life, we often encounter innocent threats - hints of misdeeds and recollections of long-standing mistakes on the part of friends.
To protect yourself from the influence of other people, you need to distinguish between the truth and the desire to subjugate yourself. For example, if a stream of flattering phrases forces you to work after hours, remember that you have the right to refuse. There is no need to think about the awkward situation; this is precisely what manipulators put pressure on.
Methods of unconscious, or more correctly, social influence are widely used for working with the public and for daily use. You can get acquainted with all the subtleties and features in two simple ways, such as: drive Cialdini “Psychology of Influence” into the search engine, download it, or use the “Psychology of Influence” function to read online.
Social influence on a person
1. Charm. People who speak correctly are more likely to achieve success than those who use correct arguments while barely moving their tongues. A person likes to make a choice that seems right to him, worthy of him. For example, a beautiful, well-groomed girl asks a young man for help and, naturally, he will not refuse her. It would be a different matter if it were an elderly, slovenly-looking woman. Surely everyone has met a sales representative and noticed his appearance: a beautiful suit, an expensive watch, polished shoes.
2. In psychology, motivations have a separate, very important role. If you give a person an idea, he will move mountains to implement it. Thus, if you give a person motivation, even a distant reward, this will encourage him to work for the benefit of the one who motivated him. For example, the company said that everyone would receive a bonus for fulfilling the nth plan. Workers do not know the percentage of plan completion, and therefore work harder all month.
3. A very insidious method - advice. People are very dependent on the opinions of others, and therefore any advice or criticism is perceived as more effective than an order or coercion. For example, a mother wants her child to wear a hat in winter and it doesn’t matter if the child is already 20 years old. Instead of coercion, which is inappropriate here, she says: “You look so good in a hat, if you don’t want to wear it, give it to me, I would definitely wear it if I were you.”
4. Mutual exchange. When we are given something, shown attention for no reason, on a subconscious level we want to repay in kind. For example, you didn’t even think about wishing your neighbor a Happy New Year, but when you see a postcard from him, you quickly go buy something in return. Tastings in a store are arranged in the same way: people are unusual in being in someone’s debt, and therefore they will either refuse the offer or want to pay for it with something. In Ancient Rome, for example, it was forbidden to receive gifts from subordinates, and among equal people there was a rule of giving gifts of equal value. You can find out more specific examples in Robert Cialdini’s book “The Psychology of Influence,” which is interesting and useful to read for a person in any field of activity.
Authority, as it turns out, also has an impact on a person. As a rule, seeing a more successful person, others try to imitate him and carry out his orders. For example, one study showed that people are willing to indulge their boss's mistakes simply because he is an authority figure for them. That is why you need to be vigilant, because all people make mistakes and blindly believing in one boss is extremely stupid.
Another side of this coin of authority is self-praise. Yes, there is a certain group of people who give authority to themselves or their services or goods. The most interesting thing is that people believe such statements without asking questions or checking the arguments.
- The more a person likes the seller, his manners and attitude towards the buyer, the greater the chances of a purchase. Again, goodwill towards the seller makes the situation of refusal awkward. Even if a person does not have money at this moment, next time he will definitely leave it at the cash register of this store. The book “Psychology of Influence” shows various experiments that showed that the level of how successful a person-trader relationship is is directly proportional to the success of the implementation. And this is understandable, do not forget that a sense of significance is very important for a person and he is ready to do anything for self-respect.
In the formation of personality, various factors such as culture, physical environment, social environment and personal experience come into play. Knowing the characteristics of each target audience and the person as a whole, methods are created to influence a person. Manipulators know exactly the weak points in upbringing and the social system, and by putting pressure on these “pain points”, they get the desired result. Inexperienced people or a group of socially vulnerable people, for example, students, the unemployed, young parents, pensioners, are especially subject to pressure.
Power
Power is the ability to influence the behavior of other people, the ability to influence their activities using any means: will, coercion, encouragement, suggestion, intrigue, etc.
Typically, a manager has power over his subordinates because they depend on him in matters such as the content of work assignments, salary increases, promotions, etc. However, in some cases, subordinates have power over the leader, since he depends on them in matters such as cooperation, obtaining reliable information, etc.
A successful leader will always maintain a balance of power over subordinates and his dependence on them. Exercising power, he will take care of the implementation of group goals, of helping the group with the means to achieve them.
What influences a person’s susceptibility to manipulation?
The influence of culture on the formation of personality and methods of influencing it:
1. Education. Parents teach us not to be debtors, to be obedient and to respond to the limits of what is permitted. It is in childhood that feelings of awkwardness, shame and guilt are laid down, which manipulators are used to putting pressure on. Remember your upbringing, teach your children to distinguish a request from impudence and boldly say “no” to any manipulation.
2. Stereotypes. We are accustomed to living by the rule: “The more expensive, the better quality” and thereby driving ourselves into the hands of unscrupulous sellers, who play on our prejudices with high prices. Yes, it often happens that a high price is justified, but not in everything and not always. The science of selling has gone further and learned to give people what they want - the feeling that they have bought a really worthwhile thing. This is how discounts, gift sets and cheap devices at exorbitant prices appear.
3. Mass culture. Sellers do not need to talk about the quality of their products; it is enough to advertise that this product is in demand and loved by other people. A product that connects consumers as one is destined for success.
4. Suggestion. The more often a person sees advertising and hears the slogan of a certain company, the more often thoughts about purchasing arise.
5. Inaccessibility. If something is inaccessible to a person, then the desire to acquire it grows at a high speed. Thus, we are manipulated by stores by raising prices or not bringing goods for some time.
The physical and social environment dictates to us what is supposedly necessary to maintain self-esteem, but in fact, all this is just a way to subjugate, to force us to do what we don’t want. With the advent of the media, manipulating people has become much easier, and for those who still suffer from trust in advertising and good operators, counting will prove to be a true panacea.
A little about the author
Robert Cialdini was born on April 24, 1945.
He studied at the University of Wisconsin and North Carolina and was a graduate student at Columbia University. Throughout the study, Cialdini worked at the University of Arizona. The psychologist was invited to Ohio University, a California institution.
Since 1996, the author of the book has served as president of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. He received various awards.
Since 2009, he stopped doing scientific research. An experimental social psychologist studied the principles of compliance. He analyzes the effect of requests and demands on a person.
Important!
All studies are based on the author’s personal experience and observations of his own behavior.
Some tips on how to avoid possible manipulation on the street
- If you see a sales representative who is beautifully dressed and standing on the street offering his product, do not believe it. Good companies have offices and do not sell products on the go.
- If a person meets you and gives you some goods, even if they are of small value, do not take it. Remember to give back and don't let others oblige you.
- Do not engage in conversation with those who are trying to sell or sell you something. Ignore, if the manipulator understands that you have taken the bait, he will enter into a long debate and, in the end, crush you with his experience.
- Try to avoid meeting with intrusive salespeople; they know how to publicly put people in an awkward situation and get their way. One time they made a mistake, and another time they took the tenth route.
- Do not allow them to steal your time and money, do not agree to presentations, tastings and the like, remember, this is just a marketing ploy.
The psychology of influence is something that everyone needs to know in order to distinguish manipulation from good intentions.
Yes, we all face every day that they want to build happiness on us, but knowledge will help us avoid serious losses and disappointments. Methods of psychology of influence are actively used in politics, journalism, marketing, advertising, trade and other industries. Learning to correctly convey your thoughts and be understood is an art that will help you live in the modern world. Psychology of influence was last modified: April 20, 2021 by Elena Pogodaeva
