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RIGHT BRAIN APPEALS

Professor Robert B. Cialdini’s Six Principles of Persuasion

Applying over fifty years of psychological research into the factors that prompt human beings to say “yes” when compliance is requested of them, Dr. Robert B.
Cialdini, a Regent’s Professor at Arizona State University, has identified six universal principles of persuasion. Significantly, he has discovered that, while keeping the substance of a request constant, the probability of receiving an affirmative response to it can be greatly enhanced by a skillful application of these principles. Most professional mediators consciously or unconsciously apply these principles in their efforts to bring the parties to say “yes” to settlement.

The principles are as follows:

Reciprocity	We feel a sense of obligation to give back to others who have given to us.
Consensus	We decide what we should do by observing and duplicating the conduct of others.
Authority	We rely on those with perceived superior knowledge for guidance on what decision(s) we should make.
Consistency	Once we make a choice or take a stand, we encounter personal and interpersonal pressure to behave consistently with that commitment.
Scarcity	Opportunities appear more valuable when they are less available.
Liking	We prefer to say “yes” to those we know and like.

For an understanding of these principles, one should read Robert B. Cialdini, “Influence - Science and Practice,” Allyn and Bacon (2001).

Professor Cialdini has reported that he is in the process of researching whether the notion of “We,” which possibly overlaps the principles of “Consensus” and “Liking,” should be elevated to a seventh, separate principle of persuasion. The concept of “We” is that humans tend to support and say “yes” to those they see as members of their group. The interesting point is that the boundaries of what one perceives as one’s group are exceptionally pliable.

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