GoodPersonEffed
Brevity is my middle name, but my name was TL
- Jan 11, 2020
- 6,727
With the release of the ReBreather and all the confusion around it, my skepticism has been heightened, so I revisited these principles, which I previously posted in a comment in the Manipulation Tactics thread.
Listed below are the seven principles of influence originally introduced in Robert Cialdini's book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, which he published after researching the manipulative techniques of sales, marketing, and advertising. I found online an accurate version of the principles, and have revised the descriptions based on having read the book, and to reflect the marketing techniques that forum members could be exposed to, with two specific products in mind: the ReBreather, and N.
Please note that I am not passively accusing any members of scamming or acting covertly. If I sense bullshit, I'll call it out with directness and/or report it to the mods, not drop hints and leave folks guessing as to my intent. What I am doing here is using the principles to show how easy it is to be manipulated and to say:
"Watch your back, watch your heart, and watch your wallet. If you sense a red flag, pay heed to the red flag, not to your desire for what you would like it to mean."
1. Reciprocity. The idea of reciprocity is one of obligation. Humans hate to feel indebted. If someone does a favor for another, the recipient feels obliged to pay it back. One example is the free samples handed out in grocery stores - one feels obliged to buy for having taken a sample, or even having been offered one. Giving someone the inside scoop before others are made aware is also a favor one feels obliged to repay, and it also makes them feel "special," which puffs up one's pride so that it becomes greater than reason. Scam artists use this tactic as well. Another example is the mutual intimate sharing of personal details between members, especially in PMs: when one member discloses something personal, the other feels obliged to return the favor, and increasing intimacy on the part of a scammer can be used to gain unwarranted trust.
2. Commitment (and Consistency). This principle explains that humans have a deep need to be seen as consistent, as much to themselves as to others. Once we have publicly (or even internally) committed to something or someone, we are much more likely to go through and deliver on that commitment…hence consistency. If we have decided that a ctb method is desirable and commit resources and effort to obtaining it, we are more likely to minimize red flags when a seller show signs of being untrustworthy. If someone announces their intention to buy a product, they are more likely to follow through even if they begin to have doubts.
3. Social Proof. This is when people do what they observe other people doing (when uncertain, there is safety in numbers). A scammer or marketer can make multiple user accounts from a variety of IP addresses and invent social proof of legitimacy, making unwitting observers more likely to follow the crowd they've created. The more people seeming to order a product makes it seems safe to order, and safer to use. This is also called the bandwagon effect.
4. Authority. People tend to trust authority figures, and they are inherently more persuasive because of this (authority can be based on many factors – wealth, uniforms, status, etc.). An example of this from Cialdini's book is the dramatic increase in sales of an OTC medicine when it was promoted by the actor from the old television show, Marcus Welby, MD, in which the main character was benevolent and wise. Another example is the university psychological experiment in which the subjects thought they were giving electrical shocks of increasing voltage to a hidden actor because they were instructed to do so by someone in a lab coat, and did it even when they actor screamed and begged them to stop, because they trusted the doctor more than their own reasoning. Con artists often use costumes that inspire trust and encourage ignoring the red flags caused by their incongruent behavior, such as police and security uniforms, priests' clothing, nuns' habits, medical scrubs, military uniforms, commercial pilots' uniforms, etc. (Frank Abagnale, Jr. is a famous example of a con using uniforms.)
5. Liking. The more you like someone, the more likely it is you'll be persuaded by them. A scam artist on a forum may be the nicest person on the forum. If they work in partnership with someone, or create and use additional accounts, they have more fans to praise them and more backup when they are questioned. Once a legitimate member has gone to their defense, that member's desire for internal consistency and a desire to appear consistent may make them slower to accept future bad behaviors as bad or to speak out against the behavior. Liking can also be applied to a product: most people like the idea of a quick painless, and peaceful death, which makes the product more desirable and influential so that it markets itself.
6. Scarcity. When you believe something is in short supply, you want it more. An old example of this is the Beanie Babies craze. Another is any product with a limited release. A variation of the scarcity tactic is the dangling carrot - the product will soon be available, then is postponed due to customs or police interference, or production delays. The more elusive the product, the more desirable, and it therefpre follows that questionable behavior becomes more easily rationalized or minimized because the desirability is exponentially increased.
7. Unity. It's about the categories that individuals use to define themselves and their groups, such as race, ethnicity, nationality, and family, as well as political and religious affiliations. A key characteristic of these categories is that their members tend to feel at one with, merged with, the others. They are the categories in which the conduct one member influences the self-esteem of other members. "We" is the shared "me." On SS, members who already are experiencing heightened emotions have a sense of unity with other members, leading to a sense of trust due to shared suffering and vulnerability. A scammer or covert marketer will take advantage of this trust that is more readily given than in other environments. Bad behavior can be explained away by mental issues or distress, leading other members to come to their defense. Where there is unity, lone voices who question an offense, a popular belief, or the provider of a highly desired product are more likely to be discounted and even vilified by the group. The scammer or covert marketer has to do very little, even nothing, because the group does all the work on his or her behalf.
Listed below are the seven principles of influence originally introduced in Robert Cialdini's book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, which he published after researching the manipulative techniques of sales, marketing, and advertising. I found online an accurate version of the principles, and have revised the descriptions based on having read the book, and to reflect the marketing techniques that forum members could be exposed to, with two specific products in mind: the ReBreather, and N.
Please note that I am not passively accusing any members of scamming or acting covertly. If I sense bullshit, I'll call it out with directness and/or report it to the mods, not drop hints and leave folks guessing as to my intent. What I am doing here is using the principles to show how easy it is to be manipulated and to say:
"Watch your back, watch your heart, and watch your wallet. If you sense a red flag, pay heed to the red flag, not to your desire for what you would like it to mean."
1. Reciprocity. The idea of reciprocity is one of obligation. Humans hate to feel indebted. If someone does a favor for another, the recipient feels obliged to pay it back. One example is the free samples handed out in grocery stores - one feels obliged to buy for having taken a sample, or even having been offered one. Giving someone the inside scoop before others are made aware is also a favor one feels obliged to repay, and it also makes them feel "special," which puffs up one's pride so that it becomes greater than reason. Scam artists use this tactic as well. Another example is the mutual intimate sharing of personal details between members, especially in PMs: when one member discloses something personal, the other feels obliged to return the favor, and increasing intimacy on the part of a scammer can be used to gain unwarranted trust.
2. Commitment (and Consistency). This principle explains that humans have a deep need to be seen as consistent, as much to themselves as to others. Once we have publicly (or even internally) committed to something or someone, we are much more likely to go through and deliver on that commitment…hence consistency. If we have decided that a ctb method is desirable and commit resources and effort to obtaining it, we are more likely to minimize red flags when a seller show signs of being untrustworthy. If someone announces their intention to buy a product, they are more likely to follow through even if they begin to have doubts.
3. Social Proof. This is when people do what they observe other people doing (when uncertain, there is safety in numbers). A scammer or marketer can make multiple user accounts from a variety of IP addresses and invent social proof of legitimacy, making unwitting observers more likely to follow the crowd they've created. The more people seeming to order a product makes it seems safe to order, and safer to use. This is also called the bandwagon effect.
4. Authority. People tend to trust authority figures, and they are inherently more persuasive because of this (authority can be based on many factors – wealth, uniforms, status, etc.). An example of this from Cialdini's book is the dramatic increase in sales of an OTC medicine when it was promoted by the actor from the old television show, Marcus Welby, MD, in which the main character was benevolent and wise. Another example is the university psychological experiment in which the subjects thought they were giving electrical shocks of increasing voltage to a hidden actor because they were instructed to do so by someone in a lab coat, and did it even when they actor screamed and begged them to stop, because they trusted the doctor more than their own reasoning. Con artists often use costumes that inspire trust and encourage ignoring the red flags caused by their incongruent behavior, such as police and security uniforms, priests' clothing, nuns' habits, medical scrubs, military uniforms, commercial pilots' uniforms, etc. (Frank Abagnale, Jr. is a famous example of a con using uniforms.)
5. Liking. The more you like someone, the more likely it is you'll be persuaded by them. A scam artist on a forum may be the nicest person on the forum. If they work in partnership with someone, or create and use additional accounts, they have more fans to praise them and more backup when they are questioned. Once a legitimate member has gone to their defense, that member's desire for internal consistency and a desire to appear consistent may make them slower to accept future bad behaviors as bad or to speak out against the behavior. Liking can also be applied to a product: most people like the idea of a quick painless, and peaceful death, which makes the product more desirable and influential so that it markets itself.
6. Scarcity. When you believe something is in short supply, you want it more. An old example of this is the Beanie Babies craze. Another is any product with a limited release. A variation of the scarcity tactic is the dangling carrot - the product will soon be available, then is postponed due to customs or police interference, or production delays. The more elusive the product, the more desirable, and it therefpre follows that questionable behavior becomes more easily rationalized or minimized because the desirability is exponentially increased.
7. Unity. It's about the categories that individuals use to define themselves and their groups, such as race, ethnicity, nationality, and family, as well as political and religious affiliations. A key characteristic of these categories is that their members tend to feel at one with, merged with, the others. They are the categories in which the conduct one member influences the self-esteem of other members. "We" is the shared "me." On SS, members who already are experiencing heightened emotions have a sense of unity with other members, leading to a sense of trust due to shared suffering and vulnerability. A scammer or covert marketer will take advantage of this trust that is more readily given than in other environments. Bad behavior can be explained away by mental issues or distress, leading other members to come to their defense. Where there is unity, lone voices who question an offense, a popular belief, or the provider of a highly desired product are more likely to be discounted and even vilified by the group. The scammer or covert marketer has to do very little, even nothing, because the group does all the work on his or her behalf.
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