Robert Cialdini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Cialdini
|
|
|---|---|
Robert Cialdini at ZURICH.MINDS in 2012
|
|
| Born | April 27, 1945 |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (BS) University of North Carolina (PhD) |
| Occupation | |
Robert Cialdini, born on April 27, 1945, is an American psychologist and author. He is known for his work on how people are influenced and persuaded. He is a retired professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University. He also taught at Stanford University for a time.
Contents
Learning and Teaching
Robert Cialdini studied at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where he earned his first degree in 1967. He then went on to study Social Psychology at the University of North Carolina, where he received his PhD in 1970. He also had further training at Columbia University.
Throughout his career, Cialdini was a professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. He also visited and taught at other universities, sharing his knowledge about how people think and make decisions.
Understanding Influence
Cialdini is famous for his 1984 book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. To write this book, he spent three years working "undercover" in places like used car dealerships and fundraising groups. He wanted to see how people tried to persuade others in real-life situations.
Six Principles of Persuasion
From his research, Cialdini discovered six main ways that people are influenced:
- Reciprocity: This means we feel like we should give back to someone who has given something to us.
- Commitness and Consistency: Once we make a choice or take a stand, we tend to stick with it.
- Social Proof: We often look at what others are doing to decide what is right for us.
- Authority: We tend to trust and follow people we see as experts or in positions of power.
- Liking: We are more likely to be influenced by people we like.
- Scarcity: Things seem more appealing when they are rare or hard to get.
In 2016, Cialdini added a seventh principle called Unity. This principle suggests that the more we feel connected to others, the more we are influenced by them.
Impact of His Work
His book Influence has been very popular, selling over five million copies and translated into 41 languages. It has appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list and was named one of the "75 Smartest Business Books" by Fortune magazine.
Cialdini has written other successful books too. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive was also a New York Times Bestseller. Another book, The Small BIG: Small changes that spark a big influence, was named a Times Book of the year. In 2016, he published Pre-suasion, which also became a bestseller.
The Society for Personality and Social Psychology even named a prize after him, the Robert B. Cialdini prize. This award honors psychological research that helps society using real-world methods. In 2019, he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences, which is a great honor for scientists.
Helping Campaigns
Robert Cialdini has also used his knowledge to help with important projects. He was part of a team of behavioral scientists who advised the Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012. He also gave advice during the early stages of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016.
Books by Robert Cialdini
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (1984)
- New and Expanded edition (2021)
- Influence: Science and Practice (2000)
- 4th edition (2001)
- 5th edition (2008)
- Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive with Noah J. Goldstein and Steve J. Martin (2008)
- The Small BIG: Small changes that spark a big influence with Steve J. Martin and Noah J. Goldstein (2014)
- Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade (2016)
See also
In Spanish: Robert Cialdini para niños
