How We're Being Manipulated Out Of Our Money | Dr. Robert Cialdini

every hour of every day we are bombarded by attempts to influence our behavior what to buy how to vote what to click next and most of the time we are completely oblivious to this as humans we have psychological triggers that once activated make us much more vulnerable to the schemes of commercial politicians and anyone else who seeks to manipulate us and separate us from our freedoms and our

money

, we have to be careful with the speculators, those people, the pirates, the people who lie and wait along the way. of these shortcuts to the correct answer because they want to exploit us hello friends, adam taggart, founder of richyon.com, today we welcome you to a very special interview.

We are accompanied by Dr.

robert

cialdini

, famous as the godfather of influence, is a new. York Times bestselling author and Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. Bob's books include influence and presuasion. He sold more than 7 million copies in 44 different languages. He is known worldwide as the seminal expert on the science of influence and how to apply it ethically in business his six principles of persuasion have become the cornerstone for any organization that is serious about increasing its influence bob, I am so excited that you can join us today, I have to admit a little of hero worship here, your work has really shaped the way I see the world.

It's an honor to have you here on the show. Well, it's very gratifying to listen to Adam. I appreciate it. Thanks and I guess for people who aren't familiar with your work. You too will be one of his heroes after we have this conversation. So let's get into it here. I'm really interested in this conversation about how we can recognize and defend ourselves from the bombardment of daily attempts. both overtly and surreptitiously to influence our behavior, but first for those unfamiliar with your work, can you explain why humans are so susceptible to these attempts to influence us?

Yes, and it has to do with the fact that most of the time these influence principles that I talk about guide us correctly, they give us excellent advice on when to say yes to a request for proposal recommendation that we receive because they and because they do it, then those individuals who want to move us in their direction harness the power of those principles to move us forward in that direction and most of the time, if they have honestly pointed out one or another of these tendencies that we normally take to increase our results, they will have guided us correctly. , but we have to be careful. for the profiteers, those people, the pirates, the people who lie and wait along the way for these shortcuts to the right answer, because they want to exploit us by manufacturing or manufacturing, those principles are great and I know that in your book they influence you.

You talk about um, you call it the click, we are answer, but these are shortcuts, since you're saying that there are ways that we make decisions quickly, um, because they work for us 99 percent of the time, um, but for you point, these are. You know, potential hackers can do it, if they understand that code, they can learn to crack it and basically use those shortcuts against us, almost like a hacker hacking into a computer. I'll let you expand on this, but just an example. In your book, this refers to turkeys, not humans, but it is similar to some of the responses that humans have, where turkeys and polar cats, which are basically weasels, are just natural enemies and if a mother turkey sees a polar cat, he will simply convert.

She gets angry and tries to kill him because she doesn't want him to eat her chicks, so she has this biological response of just destroying the polar cat and her chicks when they make the cheap little noise. She has a strong biological prerogative to care for them. and one of those actually trumps the other meaning if you put a polar cat with a weasel, sorry, a polar cat with a turkey and it has a recorder that makes the stingy little chick become a mother turkey instead of flying. enraged will actually care about the polar cat, so his biological responses are

being

hacked and to your point, they are very powerful for us if people are able to harness them, um, we can be fooled without even realizing it. is that right, let me give you a human analogue of that story: the word because triggers in us the willingness to accept the next thing we hear because typically a reason follows the word because and we are programmed to want reasons for what we do So, there was A large study done in a library at Harvard University where there was a line of people waiting to use the photocopier and a researcher walked up to the front of the line and said: Excuse me, but I'm jumping ahead because I'm in a hurry, right? and 93 percent of people said yes, because I'm in a hurry.

She used another because and she didn't add any real reason. Okay, she said she because I have to make some copies. Well, that's just stating the obvious. everyone in life has to do some kind of 93 let her get on with it was because the word because was used and people responded to that trigger in the same way that mother turkeys respond to the trigger of the cheap cheap sound that their chicks make and They produce Mothering Behavior, the word because it produces docile behavior and what I love about your work, Bob, is that once you are exposed to it, you see it everywhere, you recognize that we live in a world of attempts to influence our behavior all the time and I just use this because, for example, you know, if you look at any type of marketing out there, it always offers the why or the reason, whether it's a good reason or not, so chew, taste and gum. because four or five dentists recommend it, eat our breakfast well. cereal because it's fortified with nine essential vitamins and minerals, you know, um l'oreal, their motto is because you're worth it, which doesn't say anything specific, but it just takes advantage of that because it's a really enlightening way of looking at the world once you has lifted the veil from your eyes in terms of all of these, you know the principles of science that are

being

used, as you say, to drive compliant behavior.

Okay, and by the way I will say that it's not all marketing. attempts, it's not all advertising efforts, some forget to use the word, they just show a scene, a positive scene with favorable results or, uh, attractive people using their product, forget the trigger and go under. Those approaches sink in well, so I think this is what you know. a testament to the enormous value of his work and what he has discovered here, which provides a model for people who are having problems, perhaps in relationships, in terms of trying to get people on the same page as them here.

There are ways to try to close those gaps more effectively or to your point as a company. Hey, we're trying to drive consumers to buy our product, use our services, etc., maybe we're not talking to them in the most effective way possible, let's use some of these. tenants here and let's see, let's audit our marketing and make sure we're really using them effectively, you know where we're falling, where we're falling short, so this is a great segue into my next question, which is in your really great book. You influence the psychology of persuasion. You detail what you call the six principles of persuasion that science shows us are particularly effective in getting people to adopt the type of behavior you want.

Can you do your best to quickly check them off and summarize each one and why it is important. Yes, let me do it with an example in each case. The first is the principle of reciprocity. It is a rule that says that we are formed from childhood in each human culture. By the way, there is not a single human society that fails. train its members in this rule from childhood that says that I am obliged to return to you the form of behavior that you have given me first, if you succeed, if you invite me to a party, I should invite you to one of mine and so on.

Okay, but if you do me a favor, I owe you a favor and I'll put it very simply: in the context of obligation, people say yes to those who owe, which implies that we have to give first, give benefits, give advantage, advantages, give information, give something. of value and people will stand up ready to give back to us the second principle is something that no one would argue our taste we prefer to say yes to the people we like it's no surprise, but there are two small things we can do to increase the willingness of people to give us that relationship one is to point out the genuine similarities that exist between us when that was done in a negotiation experiment the number of stalled negotiations just when people first gave each other information that allowed them to see complementary interests and hobbies , etc., the number of stalled negotiations reduced from 30 to 6.

The second thing you can do is give genuine praise, we don't just like people who are like us, we like people we like and they say it, so , genuine praise. that's the next other principle, the principle of social proof, people say yes to those who can give them evidence that many other people like them have been saying yes to this request, so if you, for example, are in a study done at McDonald's if at the end of their order you tell people if you would like to order one of our desserts, okay, our ice cream, whatever it is, I can't remember what our most popular ice cream orders are, it goes up 54 just by telling people what's popular next. the principle of authority people say yes to those who can provide evidence that what they are suggesting is consistent with the voices of genuine experts authorities people with credentials and knowledge in the field, so testimonies from recognized experts in the field should always be included any message and This is where again I would say that many times marketers and advertisers go wrong because they don't put testimonials at the top of their message, they are buried somewhere in the middle or at the end, testimonials should go first, so the whole aura of authority infuses every line of what comes next.

The next principle is the principle of commitment and consistency. People want to be consistent with what they have already said or done well. In a study conducted at a restaurant, the manager was able to get the number of no-shows at that restaurant significantly reduced by asking his receptionist when he took a reservation to say not only thank you for calling our restaurant, please call us if you have to. change your reservation or cancel, she said could you? Call us if you have to change or cancel your reservation and waited for a response and everyone said of course and no shows decreased by 67 because people were registered as committed to that activity and then they were willing to live up to it.

To a much greater degree, the next principle is scarcity. People go a little crazy when they think that something they want or something that is attractive is rare or scarce or less and less available to them, so they honestly inform people about any decreasing availability of available options or products. or services is certainly one thing, but the other thing we often forget to do is tell them what it is about our product or service or idea that is unique and can't be gotten anywhere else, that's a scarcity manipulation even for companies that have as much information, products or services as there is to ask for, tell people what is unique that they can't get anywhere else and then they will jump in your direction and finally I have added a seventh principle, the uh principle of unity, The idea that if a communicator can convince an audience that he or she is a member of a group in which he or she has an important social or personal identity, everything within the influence process becomes easier. them, one of them, for example, there was a study done on a university campus, the researchers had a young woman at the university, a woman looked like a student standing on the campus and as people walked by she said: excuse me, would you be willing to donate to United Way? and she got some kind of contribution, but if she preceded that by saying that I am also a student here, the contributions doubled, actually doubled just by saying I'm right, it was enough to break down all the walls against it. a contribution, okay, I have so many questions and instructions that I would like to continue the discussion and after all that excellent summary you just read, the key conclusion I drew from it is that I really want to make sure that viewers The takeaway It's also in almost every example you just listed, Bob, it was an example of a small investment on behalf of the agent that then led to a big action on behalf of the recipient, so these are ways you can give a little push , you know, like you say, you can just add a little phrase, change a phrase a little bit and you know double your conversions or actionsdesired, you want all of that, the right ways of pushing the universe not only have no cost in terms of time, they have no cost in terms of resources, it costs us nothing to add them and will you or I be like you in this or am I yours? ? some kind of message like that, mcflurry is our most popular dessert, that's right, yeah. our pop more is one more breath and you get 54 more expenses, so here's the crux of the question I want to ask you in this interview, which is, um, you know, folks, if you haven't read Bob's books, do you read them? , that's all. backed by the science and the experiments that he mentions here, so these little, no-cost, you know, no cost, they don't require much effort on the part of the people implementing them, but they produce great results.

The results are incredibly effective. as Bob just described them here. Bob, you know? Once you understand them, the danger is understanding that these principles can be used for good or evil. You know, are there people who are? deliberately trying to use these things to manipulate us, whether it's to buy their product or vote a certain way or simply adopt behavior that is actually best for them, not ours, there is such a danger, it is a worry that has plagued me since This is the first time I write this, but not because it is exclusive to the principles of influence.

There is no information that cannot be corrupted and that cannot be twisted so that it is not only used for good, but also used for evil. These principles, like sticks of dynamite, you can use dynamite to build a bridge, you know, or you can use dynamite to blow up a bridge, destroy a bridge, they can always be used for good or evil, we can't use that fact to eliminate the information that we send out into the world about how they work how these principles work how they work as human beings the readers of this information so for me the important thing was to identify what constitutes ethical use and what constitutes ethically objectionable use of these principles Okay, then, going into that territory, then I guess first there are cases that bother you particularly on the ethical side of things here that you see in the world.

Yeah, so, for example, let me give you a personal example that came from uh. A few years ago I was in an appliance store and was looking for something else, but a large screen TV caught my eye that I knew was highly rated based on consumer reports and was on a drastic sale and I went. in front of it and there were some brochures on the counter and I was looking at them and a salesperson came up to me and said, "I see you're interested in this game at this price." It's a great deal, I can see that. why are you interested, but I have to tell you that it's our last one, because of a shortage and then he upped the ante by saying and I just got a phone call from a woman that she said she's probably going to go to the store this afternoon and buy it.

You know I'm supposed to be the influence doctor, but you have your own buttons as a human. I'm walking out of the store with this game in my cart, let's do this because if we unravel what he did, I think we'll get to The point I really want to make about what's ethical and what's unethical if he was telling me the truth. , that this really was the last of this model, there were none in the warehouse, there were none anywhere else. That's right, he was my ally in the process. He adequately guided me to become an educated professional simply as an informed decision in a productive manner.

If only he knew, right? I guess he was the last one, he really was the last one and he didn't say it. Me and I went home to think about it and then we came back that night to buy it because I decided I wanted it and he said, "Oh, I'm sorry, it's the last one, it was the last one and I sold it to a woman this afternoon." which was the last one and you didn't tell me about the true scarcity that applies to this situation. What's the matter? Well, I guess he wasn't the last.

He only told me it was to agitate and attract me. He got to the point where he would buy it, then he went back to the warehouse and put another one on the shelf and did it again and this is where uh, my answer to his question. Have I seen this happen before it turns out that it is better to buy employees? The Best Buy store was caught doing this as a sales strategy a few years ago and accused of it, okay, so that's the objectionable point now, what did Brad do? That was his name, the seller, did he fall on the ethical or ethical side?

I went back the next morning after buying the game to see if he had put another one in that shelf space or if it was really empty, it was really empty, Adam, okay, good for Brad, yeah, so what I say is what I say. say. I went and wrote a five star review for that place and for Brad, that's what we have to do and that's what we have to take into account for the true use of the principle versus the fabricated counterfeit uses of them, yeah, well, I What I love about that is Did you reward your integrity in one of the six key principles of scarcity with another of the principles?

Actually, there are two of them, which is social proof, right? You wrote the testimony, but you are also an authority in the field, so you contributed. authority is also true, you are right, this is the circle of life of persuasion that we are following here, I just want to add that story which was a great way to expose the real conundrum that we have when we are seeing these principles used in nature and not We necessarily know the agent's intention. They could be good as Brad turned out to be, but they might not be and there is an example of this that I read in your book that was similar, but I think even more nefarious, was the used car salesman who advertises the price too good for be true in the car you come in, you take it for a test drive, you're so excited because it's by far the best price you've ever seen for a car like this, they ask you if you want it, you say, of course, you know , let's close the deal quickly before you realize what a great deal you're offering me and then get through the paperwork.

They come out and say God, you know someone really priced the car wrong, it's actually a lot higher, but we won't give you the full price, but we can't lose

money

on this car, how about we meet at in the middle and at this point you've gone down to the store, you've test driven the car, you've told them you'll love it, so your commitment and consistency has you locked in, yeah, you rationalize to yourself, look. Am I really going to find a better price for a car like this anyway? I have done all the work well.

I guess I'll keep the car and they've basically sold you a car that you weren't going to buy from them before. you saw the fake price they put there so this whole transaction has been designed to manipulate you yes there is actually a label for that technique it's called throwing the low ball that first price is called the low ball it's below any number you actually expect sell the car to get them to commit to it and then a lot of times they will say, "take it home for a drive, show it at work and now you know you're in love with the car, your coworkers think you have this new car and now it's coming to you." they are going to remove oh no no no I have committed to this so they will adjust the price a little bit but not to the price you would have bought it at in the first place it is a very effective tactic and by the way it also goes against the law, okay, so there are a lot of minefields here that we need to be careful of, we hope you did.

I've been enjoying this conversation with famous psychologist

robert

cialdini

. The interview continues in part two, where Robert reveals the. better methods to protect ourselves from bad actors who try to use the principles of persuasion to manipulate us. To watch part two simply click on the link provided in the description of this video below or go to youtube.com bar richyon and to make sure you get notified every time we post a new video on this channel just click on the subscribe button below as well as the little bell icon right next to it and in return If you want a no-strings-attached portfolio review from a financial advisor as passionate as Robert about protecting you and your money of any damage, simply visit richyon.com and we will help you set one up.

See you in the second part of our interview with Robert Cialdini