Quotes from Robert B. Cialdini

the principle of social proof. It states that one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct.

there's a telling answer to the question of what Albert Einstein claimed was so remarkable it could be labeled as both "the most beautiful thing we can experience" and "the source of all true science and art." His contention: the mysterious.

The principles—consistency, reciprocation, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity

Now, during the tourist season, she first tries to speed the sale of an item that has been difficult to move by increasing its price substantially.

They behave in accordance with what the contrast principle would suggest: Sell the suit first, because when it comes time to look at sweaters, even expensive ones, their prices will not seem as high in comparison.

higher price typically reflects higher quality.

The researchers thought that recipients of precise offers are much more likely to believe that the person making that offer has invested time and effort preparing for the negotiation and therefore has very good reasons to support the precise offer they are making.

Our best evidence of what people truly feel and believe comes less from their words than from their deeds. Observers trying to decide what a man is like look closely at his actions.

Anything too stupid to be spoken," he asserted, "is sung.

All things being equal, you root for your own sex, your own culture, your own locality…and what you want to prove is that you are better than the other person. Whomever you root for represents you; and when he wins, you win.

patsy. For as long as I can recall, I've been an easy mark

The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. —G. K. CHESTERTON

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's own identity with another party's.

it will be when prestige (both public and private) is low that we will be intent upon using the successes of associated others to help restore image.

The renowned British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead recognized this inescapable quality of modern life when he asserted that "civilization advances by extending the number of operations we can perform without thinking about them." Take, for example, the "advance" offered to civilization by the discount coupon, which allows consumers to assume that they will receive a reduced purchase price by presenting the coupon.

All this has important implications for rearing children. It suggests that we should never heavily bribe or threaten our children to do the things we want them truly to believe in.

the world abounds with cults populated by dependent people who are led by a charismatic figure.

Every day in every way, I'm getting busier. —ROBERT CIALDINI B

Therefore, it is possible to attach this pleasant feeling, this positive attitude, to anything (political statements being only an example) that is closely associated with good food.

Our ability to create change in others is often and importantly grounded in shared personal relationships, which create a pre-suasive context for assent. It's a poor trade-off, then, for social influence when we allow present-day forces of separation—distancing societal changes, insulating modern technologies—to take a shared sense of human connection out of our exchanges. The relation gets removed, leaving just the ships, passing at sea.87 UNITY

the guiding factor in a decision is often not the one that counsels most wisely; it's one that has recently been brought to mind.

It is odd that despite their current widespread use and looming future importance, most of us know very little about our automatic behavior patterns. Perhaps that is so precisely because of the mechanistic, unthinking manner in which they occur. Whatever the reason, it is vital that we clearly recognize one of their properties: They make us terribly vulnerable to anyone who does know how they work.

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) to think hard about a choice, we're unlikely to deliberate deeply.

Every day in every way, I'm getting busier. —ROBERT CIALDINI