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.

Reciprocity Marketing: Your Free Trial Isn’t Really Free

Have you ever used a free trial period? Did you cancel before paying for the real subscription? Or did you feel like you should at least give them something if you got something for free? This reciprocity marketing strategy relies on you feeling obligated. Reciprocity marketing is a sales strategy in which something free is offered in the hopes of creating a reciprocal obligation. It’s harder to say no to someone after they’ve offered you something first. See when something is a genuine offer and when it is reciprocity marketing.

Authority Principle: Your Boss Is Right Even When He’s Wrong

Do you do as you’re told? Are you more likely to follow instructions from your doctor, manager, teacher, or a police officer? The authority principle of persuasion explains our instinctive deference to people with power or expertise. The Authority Principle is the theory that people are hard-wired to comply with requests that come from an acknowledged and accepted source of authority. While authority was important for the development of civilization, it can also be manipulated. Learn about where the need for authority came from and how authority influences you.

Psychological Reactance: Why You Want That Forbidden Fruit

How do you react when you’re told you can’t have something? Do you accept it or do you want it more? What if someone tries to take away something you have? When your choices are limited you may experience psychological reactance. Psychological reactance is the negative response you have when your choices are limited outside of your control. It comes from wanting to avoid loss. See how your fear of losing options influences your decisions with examples including the Romeo and Juliet effect.

Are You a Sucker? How to Avoid Being Manipulated

Have you ever thought that someone was trying to trick you? Could you tell they were using persuasion tactics to convince you? Do you know how to avoid being manipulated? Compliance practitioners are professional persuaders. They are able to manipulate you into agreeing even if you are trying to avoid manipulation. For each of the six principles of persuasion, there are key strategies to learn if you want to know how to avoid being manipulated.

Commitment and Consistency: Are You Loyal to Bad Ideas?

Have you ever followed through on a decision even if you doubted it? Maybe you felt like it was too late or you were already in too deep. Maybe you didn’t want to look like a flip-flopper. You were probably being driven by commitment and consistency principles. The Consistency Principle of persuasion is the tendency for humans to commit to a course of action or to a belief and to pressure themselves to conform to that commitment. Learn how the commitment and consistency are used to manipulate you through a consistency concept example.

These Social Proof Examples Show How You Become a Lemming

Have you ever been drawn to a crowd just because there was a crowd? Do you ever find yourself buying something based on its popularity? How about laughing when everyone else laughs even if you didn’t get the joke? These situations are all social proof examples. The Social Proof Principle is a theory stating that you decide what’s correct based on what other people think is correct. This theory is often used to sell products by showing how popular they are with other people. Learn with social proof examples and see when the social proof principle of persuasion might lead

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.