Rina Shah

An avid reader for as long as she can remember, Rina’s love for books began with The Boxcar Children. Her penchant for always having a book nearby has never faded, though her reading tastes have since evolved. Rina reads around 100 books every year, with a fairly even split between fiction and non-fiction. Her favorite genres are memoirs, public health, and locked room mysteries. As an attorney, Rina can’t help analyzing and deconstructing arguments in any book she reads.

Escalating Commitment: Why Hazing Creates Loyalty

Have you heard terrible stories about pledging fraternities? Why do people keep joining and stay loyal if it’s so awful? How does the psychology of hazing create escalating commitment? Escalating commitment is a manipulation tactic that leverages one small commitment to create bigger and bigger commitments. Your desire for consistency creates a commitment bias. Learn how the escalation of commitment bias creates loyalty even after difficult experiences.

Safety in Numbers? Not With the Bystander Effect

Do you feel safer going out at night when there are people around? Have you heard of the bystander effect? Pluralistic ignorance shows there might not be safety in numbers. Pluralistic ignorance is a phenomenon in which a group of people behaves contrary to the norms and standards of most of the individual members of that group. The bystander effect is a type of pluralistic ignorance. Learn how to counter the bystander effect.

The Liking Bias: Why You Can’t Say No to Your Friends

Have you ever found it hard to say “no” to someone you like? What if a friend or neighbor tries to sell you something? It might feel easier to just buy it than to feel uncomfortable after rejecting them. How does the liking bias influence the way you make decisions? Robert Cialdini’s Liking Principle of persuasion is a theory stating that people are more likely to grant requests from people they know and like. It also states that you’re more likely to grant requests from people you perceive to be good-looking or to like you. We’ll cover the basics of

Reciprocal Concessions: The Mirage of Middle Ground

What are reciprocal concessions? Why do you feel the need to concede something just because someone else has given on their side? Rejection-then-retreat is a tactic used to help persuade you to give in. Reciprocal concessions is a negotiation strategy that uses an unreasonable ask that is scaled back to what a person really wants. You are tricked into thinking that you “won” a hard-earned concession and give on your starting position. Learn how to see through this rejection-then-retreat strategy.

Champions by Association? The Psychology of Sports Fandom

Why are sports fans so devoted to their teams? What is it about the psychology of sports fandom that leads to such visceral responses? The association principle plays an important role in sports fandom. People try to associate themselves with the achievements and victories of others. See how the psychology of sports fandom demonstrates the association principle and how it’s used for marketing.

The Reciprocity Principle: Why Free Samples Are a Trap

When you take a free sample at the grocery store without buying something, do you feel a twinge of guilt? The Reciprocity Principle explains how getting something for “free” creates future obligations. We feel like we have to buy some cheese if we took a free cube because of the reciprocity principle of persuasion. Learn about Cialdini’s Reciprocity Principle definition and understand how the principle of reciprocity came about.

The Psychology of Persuasion: How You Get Manipulated

Have you ever noticed how some people are gifted in the psychology of persuasion? Without even realizing what’s going on, you’re convinced to buy, join, or do something. Robert Cialdini’s principles of influence identify the six key parts to the psychology of persuasion. We’ll cover the basics of Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion and how each one can be used to manipulate us.

Fixed Action Patterns: Why You’re as Predictable as a Turkey

Have you ever been persuaded to purchase something that you later regretted? A fixed action pattern probably influenced you. Have you ever been manipulated into contributing money to a charitable cause that you didn’t actually support? Again, this is another fixed action pattern example. Fixed-action patterns are the mental shortcuts and assumptions that we use to fill in the blanks of our everyday experience. They are also known as modal action patterns. A lot of persuasion rests on the manipulation of human fixed-action patterns. Learn about fixed action patterns in humans and how they make us like turkeys.