influence-psychology

# Influence Psychology Framework

Framework for applying the science of persuasion ethically and effectively — six decades of research into why people say "yes."

## 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), rate them 0-10 based on adherence to the principles below. A 10/10 means ethical, effective application of influence psychology; lower scores indicate missed opportunities or ethical concerns. Always provide the current score and specific improvements needed to reach 10/10.

## 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..."

**Ethical boundary:** Give genuine value — don't create artificial debts or exploit obligation.

See: [references/reciprocity.md](references/reciprocity.md) for reciprocity techniques and case studies.

### 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:** Don't lock users into commitments they didn't freely make — allow easy reversibility.

See: [references/commitment-consistency.md](references/commitment-consistency.md) for commitment tactics and flows.

### 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:** Never fabricate social proof — real numbers, real testimonials, and disclose when proof is curated.

See: [references/social-proof.md](references/social-proof.md) for social proof types and implementation patterns.

### 4. Authority

**Core concept:** People follow the lead of credible, knowledgeable experts.

**Why it works:** Obedience to authority is deeply ingrained — following experts is an efficient shortcut when we lack expertise ourselves.

**Key insights:**
- Titles, credentials, even symbols (lab coats, official-looking design) trigger automatic compliance
- Admitting a weakness paradoxically increases authority (trustworthiness) — lead with it before strengths
- Expertise doesn't transfer across domains, but people assume i