{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Book","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/","name":"Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion","shortTitle":"Influence","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Robert Cialdini"},"isbn":"9780062937650","numberOfPages":9,"wordCount":3743,"timeRequired":"PT15M","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:04:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:04:00Z","publisher":{"@id":"https://readstacks.com/#organization","@type":"Organization","name":"Read Stacks"},"workExample":[{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-1-weapons-of-influence/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-1-weapons-of-influence/","name":"Weapons of Influence","position":1,"wordCount":421,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"Animals run fixed-action patterns: a single cue triggers a behavior chain, regardless of whether the broader situation justifies the response. Cialdini's claim is that humans have parallel shortcuts — short, automatic responses we run when full deliberation would cost too much time.","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-2-reciprocation/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-2-reciprocation/","name":"Reciprocation","position":2,"wordCount":412,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"The rule is universal: when someone gives you something, you feel obligated to give back. Across every culture studied, reciprocation operates without conscious effort — and it doesn't require the original gift to be wanted, asked for, or even appreciated.","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-3-liking/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-3-liking/","name":"Liking","position":3,"wordCount":405,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"We say yes more often to people we like, and we like people who are similar to us, who pay attention to us, and who associate themselves with things we already value. The mechanics are unflattering: physical attractiveness, similar background, shared interests, compliments, and proximity…","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-4-social-proof/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-4-social-proof/","name":"Social Proof","position":4,"wordCount":403,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"The principle: in situations of uncertainty, we look at what others are doing to figure out what we should do. The more people we see doing it, the safer the choice feels — even when the underlying situation makes the crowd's behavior wrong.","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-5-authority/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-5-authority/","name":"Authority","position":5,"wordCount":431,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"We're trained from childhood to defer to authority figures, and the training transfers far beyond its original target. People follow instructions from someone in a lab coat further than they thought they would — Stanley Milgram's experiments showed this uncomfortably.","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-6-scarcity/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-6-scarcity/","name":"Scarcity","position":6,"wordCount":414,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"What's rare becomes desirable. Limited-time offers, exclusive memberships, last-one-available — the cue triggers urgency even when the underlying scarcity is engineered or irrelevant. The mechanism: humans treat opportunities as more valuable when their availability is limited, and as we lose the freedom to choose something,…","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-7-commitment-and-consistency/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-7-commitment-and-consistency/","name":"Commitment and Consistency","position":7,"wordCount":428,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"Once people commit to something — even a small thing, even verbally — they feel internal pressure to behave consistently with it. The commitment doesn't have to be public, written, or large; the consistency pressure is automatic.","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-8-unity/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-8-unity/","name":"Unity","position":8,"wordCount":418,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"The seventh principle, added in the 2021 expanded edition: we are most influenced by people we share an identity with. Not just people similar to us — people who are us in some meaningful sense.","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"},{"@type":"Chapter","@id":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-9-instant-influence/","url":"https://readstacks.com/books/influence-the-psychology-of-persuasion-robert-cialdini/chapter-9-instant-influence/","name":"Instant Influence","position":9,"wordCount":411,"timeRequired":"PT1.5M","abstract":"The book ends with a practical observation: we operate increasingly under conditions of information overload, decision fatigue, and time pressure. Those are exactly the conditions in which the shortcuts work hardest and the manipulators have the most leverage.","datePublished":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T01:00:00Z"}]}