Influence

Bibliography:

Cialdini, Robert B. PhD. “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” Harper. New York. 2006.

Review: The reason I am listing this one is because how well it connects to other principles regarding martial disciplines and the various ‘ways’ of practice that include the self-fense parts I like. It was pretty amazing the connections I made as you can read, if you so choose, in my blogs on martial arts and self-fense. It also takes you to those things we take for granted that involve life patterns, encoded responses and the consistency principle that drives us to do things sometimes not so good for us and others. I found this book enlightening and beneficial to understanding many things especially in martial practices and my re-birth in what I am calling, “The Dart Arts.” Well worth adding to your library, worth every moment of study and expense - monetary and mentally.

Addendum: did September 21, 2016 at 13:57 hours

Morality vs. Legality

There is a deep divide and they are two separate and distinct things often at odds with each other especially when it comes to money, i.e., resources, etc. Take the sales game, the goal is to entice people to purchase resources such as homes, cars and vacation trips - to name a few. There is two ways you can approach the sales game, one with morals involved where you use the psychology of persuasion to present things to people they may need, want or require. The person is persuaded to consider the product, the resource, and if they find that is does not meet a need, a desire or something similar they simply decline. 

Then there is the legality issue, i.e., where they use the same psychology of persuasion to entice you to make purchases or give up something of value to you regardless of whether you need it, want it or require it. Because there is no law or other mandate from society or the government banning such unscrupulous tactics and greed as well as profit is the only concern of those nefarious predators you end up getting the very principles that make society thrive and grow into something debasing and unconscionable and just plain nasty happen, they take those principles; they trigger the best in you; the use that to dupe you into doing or paying for things you don’t really want, need or desire. 

Yes, these same principles can be triggered form a moral stand resulting in exchanges between individuals and groups and tribes and societies with all the cards on the table and all parties understanding all aspects of the process but to the predatory compliance professionals they trigger you so you will instinctively react and then get caught in obligations, etc., that drive you to do things you would not do normally leaving you feeling guilty of nothing other than being human. 

How do you fight back? You learn about the principles involved in compliance and persuasion, you learn how to feel the old spidey sense - the uncomfortable feeling something is wrong by the butterflies in your tummy - and then you throw the compliance principles back at the predator leaving guilt and anger and regret out of it. 

How do you do that, you start with Robert B. Cialdini, PhD’s, book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” He sets out the most basic and most used principle of, “Reciprocity, Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, and Scarcity.” I cannot tell you what an eye opener that book was and how it triggered all kinds of “Oh shit moments” for me, it was illuminating. 

Bibliography:

Cialdini, Robert B. PhD. “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.” Harper Collins Publishing, New York. 1984, 1994, 2007.

p.s. now think of it, is this also something relevant to self-defense? :-)