influence-psychology

# Influence Psychology Framework

Apply six decades of persuasion science — Cialdini's research into why people say "yes" — to product, copy, and sales, ethically.

## Core Principle

**People don't make decisions rationally — they use mental shortcuts (heuristics) that can be triggered to influence behavior.** These shortcuts evolved because they're usually reliable, but they can also be exploited. Understanding them lets you design products, messaging, and experiences that align with how people actually decide.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** When reviewing or creating persuasive elements (features, copy, flows, campaigns), run the Quick Diagnostic, then score against the bands below and apply the ethics gate. Always report the current score and the specific change needed to reach 10/10.

- **9-10** — Multiple principles deliberately layered; every claim truthful; users can reverse the decision; passes the transparency test (still works if the user knows the strategy); safe for vulnerable users.
- **7-8** — Principles deliberately layered and honest, but one gap (e.g. weak reversibility, or a single principle where layering was possible).
- **5-6** — One principle present but generic, or leverage left on the table.
- **<=3** — No principle deliberately designed (relying on luck), OR any tactic is deceptive/coercive. Any fabricated proof, fake scarcity, or hidden-cost dark pattern caps the score at 3 regardless of other strengths.

## The Seven Principles of Influence

### 1. Reciprocity

**Core concept:** People feel obligated to give back to those who have given to them first.

**Why it works:** Humans are wired to avoid being indebted — the obligation to repay can overpower personal preference, and the return favor often exceeds the original gift.

**Key insights:**
- The gift must come first (before the request)
- Unexpected, personalized gifts beat expected, generic ones
- Even small gifts create obligation

**Product applications:**

| Context | Reciprocity Trigger | Example |
|---------|---------------------|---------|
| **Free trials** | Full access first, then ask to pay | Spotify Premium trial → subscription |
| **Content marketing** | Value upfront (guides, tools) | HubSpot free CRM → paid tools |
| **Referral programs** | Reward both referrer and referee | Dropbox: both get extra storage |

**Copy patterns:**
- "Here's a gift for you..." (before asking)
- "As a thank you for signing up..."
- "We noticed you needed help with X, so we..."

See [references/reciprocity.md](references/reciprocity.md) when building free trials, lead magnets, or referral rewards — gift tiers, email templates, day-by-day reciprocity-stacking, and A/B variables.

### 2. Commitment & Consistency

**Core concept:** People want to be consistent with their past statements, beliefs, and actions.

**Why it works:** Inconsistency is psychologically uncomfortable; once we take a stand, personal and interpersonal pressure pushes us to behave consistently with it.

**Key insights:**
- Small initial commitments lead to larger ones (foot-in-the-door)
- Public > private; written > verbal; active (user-generated) > passive
- Self-perception: we infer our attitudes from our behavior

**Product applications:**

| Context | Commitment Trigger | Example |
|---------|-------------------|---------|
| **Onboarding** | Easy yes, then larger asks | Duolingo: "Can you commit to 5 min/day?" |
| **Goal setting** | User publicly states a goal | Strava: "I want to run 50km this month" |
| **Habit formation** | Track streaks publicly | Snapchat streaks, GitHub contributions |

**Copy patterns:**
- "What's your biggest challenge with X?" (commitment to a problem)
- "How much would you like to save per month?" (numerical commitment)
- "You said you wanted to achieve X. Let's start with..."

**Onboarding sequence:** micro-commitment ("What brings you here?") → small action (click, choice) → public/written commitment (goal) → reinforce ("Based on what you told us...").

**Ethical boundary:** Make every commitment freely chosen and easily reversible — no trick opt-ins or locked-in defaults the user can't undo.

See [references/commitment-consistency.md](references/commitment-consistency.md) when designing onboarding or goal-setting flows — foot-in-the-door sequences and public-commitment tactics.

### 3. Social Proof

**Core concept:** People determine what's correct by finding out what others think is correct.

**Why it works:** When uncertain, we use others' behavior as a guide — "if everyone's doing it, it must be right."

**Key insights:**
- Most powerful when observers are uncertain; similar others = stronger proof
- Negative social proof backfires ("9 out of 10 don't...")
- Specific numbers beat vague claims ("2,347 users" > "thousands")

**Types of social proof:**

| Type | Definition | Example |
|------|------------|---------|
| **Wisdom of crowds** | Many people use/buy | "Join 50,000+ marketers" |
| **Wisdom of friends** | People you know use it | "3 of your friends use Notion" |
| **Expert** | Authorities endorse | "Recommended by Y Combinator" |
| **Celebrity** | Famous people use it | "Used by Elon Musk" |
| **Certification** | Third-party validation | "SOC 2 compliant", "App of the Year" |
| **User** | Similar people succeeded | "Startups like yours grew 10x" |

**Product applications:**

| Context | Social Proof Implementation | Example |
|---------|----------------------------|---------|
| **Landing pages** | User count, reviews, logos | "Trusted by 10,000+ companies" |
| **Signup flow** | Live signups, popular plans | "23 people signed up in the last hour" |
| **Feature adoption** | Show usage by others | "85% of teams use this feature" |

**Copy patterns:**
- "[X number] of [similar people] are already..."
- "[Name/Company] increased [metric] by [%]"
- "Don't take our word for it. Here's what [users] say..."

**Ethical boundary:** Disclose when proof is curated or cherry-picked (e.g. "selected reviews") rather than p