Drinking the Kool-Aid: "Influence: Science and Practice" by Robert B. Cialdini - A Review

"Influence: Science and Practice" by Robert B. Cialdini (Source: Amazon.com)

          Most people would be shocked to discover the extent to which their emotions, opinions and attitudes are manipulated in every facet of life. From their political affiliations to mundane decisions on which vacuum cleaner to purchase, people are barraged continually by tactics tailored to shape and drive human behavior and decision making. According to Robert Cialdini, a social psychologist and author of “Influence: Science and Practice”, these tactics are successful in large part because they prey upon fundamental psychological principles that are present in each of us. In the hands of a master manipulator aware of these vulnerabilities, these techniques can yield “purchases, donations, concessions, votes, or assent” in individuals and groups (See Cialdini, Robert p XI).

          Cialdini focuses on the psychology of compliance; how people influence others to act in a way in which they would not normally act. While much of Cialdini’s book is targeted to marketing and sales, his theories are readily applied to the arena of politics. The 2008 Obama presidential campaign applied these theories to create the successful “Get Out The Vote” campaign and later to influence his campaign for change in the healthcare system and the economy (See Grunwald, Michael). Initially written as a classroom text, Cialdini’s book has become a pop culture phenomenon in large part because it not only outlines methods of persuasion but also provides useful guidance on how to recognize and avoid these persuasion methods.

          Cialdini suggests that humans have fixed, involuntary and automatic patterns of behavior which have been acquired since childbirth. When triggered, these “fixed action patterns” also referred to as human automatic actions (See Cialdini, Robert p6) begin a sequence of predictable behavior from start to finish. These automatic actions are useful to humans because they provide “judgmental heuristics” (a term of art meaning mental shortcuts) that allow us to rapidly perform a shallow analysis of a complex environment. Examples of judgmental heuristics are stereotypes, analogies, metaphors, rules of thumb and other constructs that enable human beings to quickly classify something and then act according to that general classification. Interestingly, the use of metaphors as assessment tools is similar to cognitive linguist George Lakoff’s theories on framing and metaphor. In Lakoff’s model, metaphors are conceptual building blocks that people use as the basis of how to think and act (See Lakoff, George) whereas Cialdini sees metaphor as one tool among many to evaluate a situation. An instance of judgmental heuristics that Cialdini cites is the stereotype “expensive = quality” whereas "cheap = low quality". Lakoff suggests an interesting parallel where across all human cultures the direction of "up" is a metaphor for more and "down" for less.

          These automatic stereotyped behaviors are very efficient in allowing human beings to process information at a high level but they leave us vulnerable to “profiteers” (individuals that use compliance techniques to influence others [See Cialdini, Robert p9]). An unscrupulous compliance professional who understands these mental shortcuts can mimic “trigger features” that elicit an automatic complying response in the individual. Cialdini indicates that these techniques are not infallible, but they work in many, many cases and are often unnoticed by the targeted subjects. For example, there are instances where a manufacturer has increased price without changing the product and subsequently increased sales, because of a resulting perception among consumers of a higher quality product. Lakoff’s work on framing taps into this idea of being able to influence opinion by presenting narratives that appeal to the metaphors that underpin the thought processes existing in the psyche. The business of politics is the stuff of metaphor and stereotype. For example one side uses the frame of “tax burden”, suggesting the image of a crushing weight on the shoulders of hard working Americans depleting their hard-earned resources, will, and strength. The other side frames taxes as “what you pay to be an American, to live in a civilized society that is democratic and offers opportunity…” (Powell quoting Lakoff, See Powell, Bonnie). The facts relating to an issue do not change with framing, but voters' attitudes and perception of issues are heavily influenced by how that issue is framed.

          Cialdini has extensively studied consumer psychology, finding that marketeers and sales people draw heavily on six categories of "compliance tactics": reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. Reciprocation is the feeling of a person who has been given something of an obligation to repay the debt that was created. Metaphors such as “tit for tat” or “one hand washes to the other” draw on deeply-rooted notions of fairness and equity. Consistency refers to the innate desire of most people to act and think in ways that are consistent with their own belief system. Consistency is a valuable an sought after trait. A person consistent in values, beliefs and previous decisions is thought to be “reliable” and “good” (See Cialdini, Robert p94). Once a person has been persuaded to commit to an idea or action, they are predisposed to behave consistently thereafter, often following through with additional demands associated with the previous commitment in an effort to remain consistent even if the initial commitment is found to be wrong. A classic example is doomsday cult followers who choose to remain within the cult even though doomsday has come and gone numerous times. Authority is the psychological principle that there is a tendency to obey or heed the teaching of those who represent authority. An example of this is former talk show diva Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club. Formerly obscure and struggling book titles would instantly be catapulted to bestseller status after being recommended by Oprah. Out of 70 recommended titles during a 15-year period, over 50 books made it on bestseller lists. Oprah not only influenced her listeners to buy books, but also influenced her followers on political and cultural issues so much so that the phrase the “Oprah Effect” was coined (See Jacobson, Murrey). Liking is simply the principle that we are more likely to help and say yes to someone that we like and know versus someone who is unknown. Social proof or imitation is the idea that people will act, do or believe in something based on what other people are doing or saying, particularly if those people are similar to them. Scarcity is the idea that when something such as an opportunity is presented as less available, it is perceived as more desirable and valuable. For example, ads on television proclaiming “Act Now”, “Limited Quantites” or “Limited Time Offer” are all tactics used to instill a sense of scarcity and therefore an urgency which incites people to buy.

Consumerism as an alturistic act for loved ones or manipulation? (Source: Pierre Bourgeault-noistar.com)

          Cialdini offers many real world examples to support his 6 categories of compliance. He cites “possibly (the) most spectacular act of compliance of our time,” (See Cialdini, Robert p127) the “Jonestown Massacre” to support the category of social proof (See “Jonestown”). Beginning in 1977, members of the religious cult “Peoples Temple” began migrating from the United States to Jonestown, Guyana to escape perceived religious persecution and to create a “socialist paradise” in the jungle (See “Peoples Temple”). In 1978, 907 members of the Peoples Temple, among them 276 children committed mass suicide. Forming in orderly queues, they drank cyanide and sedative laced Flavor Aid (often referred to incorrectly as kool-aid) at the behest of their leader, the reverend Jim Jones. According to Cialdini, under conditions of uncertainty and the unknown, in the wilderness of a foreign country far away from home and family, members willingly and calmly dosed themselves and their children with poison because, “they looked to the actions of others to guide their own actions” (See Cialdini, Robert p129), a herd mentality that demonstrates the influence of social proof.

          Uncertainty and looking to what other people were doing may have played a role in Jonestown. However, it seems to me to be quite a stretch to assume that social proof and uncertainty were a more significant driving force in the behavior of members than being dependent upon the organization of the Peoples Temple for sustenance and survival, the fear of an unbalanced and megalomanical Jim Jones, his gun toting acolytes and an overall feeling that there was no viable choice other than to “drink the kool-aid” (a commonly used metaphor derived from the Jonestown Massacre referring to beliefs held without any critical examination [See “Drinking the…”]).

Did they want to "drink the kool-aid" or were they coerced? (Source: AP)

          Human beings actions and ideas are shaped and manipulated everyday often unknowingly. Cialdini’s focus is on applications and behavioral patterns that can be manipulated. In contrast scientists like Lakoff (metaphor is the basic process of how people evaluate the world in moral terms), John Zaller (people obtain their political and social beliefs from elites) and John Turner (Social identity theory) are focused on the fundamental aspects and theories of human personality at a more granular, deeper level. Cialdini’s analysis is more superficial, but in a way also more useful because he describes many specific tools that are used in manipulating individual and group behavior. His book also serves to make people aware of such practices so they will be more able to read between the lines, form, and adopt informed opinions and judgments on issues that are important to them while avoiding manipulative influence.


Works Cited:

Cialdini, Robert. (1985). “Influence: Science and Practice.” Glenview: Scott, Foresman and Company.

“Drinking the Kool-Aid.” (n.d.) Wikipedia. Retrieved December 17, 2012 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_the_Kool-Aid

Grunwald, Michael. (April 2, 2009). “How Obama Is Using The Science Of Change.” Time Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2012, from: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1889153,00.html

Jacobson, Murrey. (May 25, 2011). "The Oprah Effect, By The Numbers." PBS News Hour. Retrieved December 16, 2012, from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/05/the-oprah-phenomenon---by-the-numbers.html

“Jonestown.” (n.d.) Wikipedia. Retrieved December 17, 2012 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown_massacre

Lakoff, George & Mark Johnson. (1980). “Metaphors We Live By.” Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

“Peoples Temple.” (n.d.) Wikipedia. Retrieved December 17, 2012 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoples_Temple#San_Francisco_Temple

Powell, Bonnie. (October 27, 2003). “Framing The Issues: UC Berkeley Professor George Lakoff Tells How Conservatives Use Language To Dominate Politics.” UC Berkeley News. Retrieved December 16, 2012, from: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml