legendary · People & Influence · PRO deck · first card free
Cialdini's principles of influence
Robert B. Cialdini · 1984. In the app: 7 Principles of Influence.
About this deck
Robert Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, first published in 1984, describes the mental shortcuts that make people say yes, often before they have really thought about it. He originally set out six principles, reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity, and later added a seventh, unity. This deck explains all seven in plain language. After it you will be able to recognize these levers in sales pitches, negotiations, marketing and everyday requests, ask the one question that separates a good reason from a persuasion trigger, and use the principles honestly when you need to make your own case.
The 7 ideas
Reciprocity
A gift creates a debt.
The reciprocity principle is our strong urge to repay what others give us. Robert Cialdini showed how even small, unrequested gifts or favors can create a sense of debt, which persuaders use to win much larger favors in return.
Commitment & Consistency
Small yes becomes large yes.
Commitment and consistency is Cialdini's principle that once we agree to something small, we feel pressure to act in line with it later. Persuaders exploit this with the foot-in-the-door technique, securing an easy yes first and then asking for something bigger.
Social Proof
When uncertain, we copy.
Social proof is our tendency to look at what others are doing when we are unsure what to do ourselves. Cialdini showed that it usually helps but can be manipulated. Crowds, reviews and queues can sway us more than the actual quality of a choice.
Authority
A title shortcuts the question.
Authority bias is our tendency to accept claims from people who look like experts. Cialdini showed that titles, uniforms and confident manner can switch off our own judgment. This works well when the expertise is real and fails badly when it is only borrowed.
Liking
We say yes to the people we like.
The liking principle says we are more likely to say yes to people we like. Cialdini found we tend to like those who are similar to us, attractive, complimentary or familiar. None of that tells us whether their request is a good one.
Scarcity
What's rare is what's wanted.
The scarcity principle is our tendency to value things more when they seem rare or about to disappear. Cialdini linked it to our dislike of losing options. Marketers often create artificial scarcity with deadlines and stock counters, because the feeling works whether the limit is real or not.
Unity
We for us is the shortcut.
Unity is the seventh principle of influence, added by Robert Cialdini in later work. It describes how shared identity, family, place, profession or group, makes us treat another person almost as part of ourselves, so their requests skip the usual scrutiny.
Test yourself
Two questions from the deck quiz. Pick an answer to see the explanation.
1. What does the reciprocity principle say?
Show the answer
We feel obliged to return favours, even unrequested ones. A small gift creates a quiet pressure to give back, often something larger. The favour need not be wanted.
2. You agreed to one 30-minute vendor call. Now it's the third call and dropping out feels rude. What's at work?
Show the answer
Commitment and consistency: each step escalated the first yes. The card's example: the first call wasn't the commitment. The third was, because each yes made the next feel consistent.
Walk this deck as a journey
In CODEX, 7 Principles of Influence is a world on the map: read each card in full, earn stars in the quiz, complete the field missions and beat the boss quiz. The first card is free; CODEX PRO unlocks the rest, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan.
