100 Effective Techniques of Social Influence. A tool as useful as it is dangerous

These days “an influencer” is a very common word denoting not only well-connected people or lobbyists, but also individuals who exert influence on hundreds of people via social media. Researchers from SWPS University’s Social Behavior Research Center, professors Dariusz Doliński and Tomasz Grzyb, provide an overview of the ways in which people use techniques to persuade others to meet various requests, suggestions, and commands.

#social influence #techniques of influence #social impact #manipulation

What we researched:

The researchers studied techniques of social influence. They explored the idea behind each of the techniques, the empirical data and the psychological mechanism behind its effectiveness. In short, they researched why and how these techniques work.

How we did it:

The researchers focused on many areas of social life (the public and the private spheres), including business, management, marketing and close interpersonal relationships. They analyzed mechanisms of social influence that have been in use since the 1970s. By exclusively focusing on techniques influencing human behaviors, rather than beliefs, biases, or emotions, the authors have shown how humans can be reliably convinced to behave in a certain way in a huge range of situations and contexts. Rather than being based on anecdotal evidence or legends of famous people, the authors have only included techniques that have been proven to be effective through scientific research.

Why is it important:

Social influence, i.e. the process where one’s behaviors, feelings or views change due to the influence exerted by others is a common phenomenon and no one can completely be immune to it while living in a society. Therefore being familiar with techniques of social influence improves one’s effectiveness in human interactions and helps to protect oneself from intentional manipulation by others. According to the researchers, the techniques of social influence are like dynamite. If they are used for good, they enhance human actions, if used for evil purposes, they bring destruction.