(Book Review) Influence - The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition

Overview

Review Published: November, 2022.

From psychologist, speaker, and author Robert Chaldini comes an in-depth examination of how we are influenced through psychological means.

From an overview of each psychological mechanism, to its underpinnings in human psychology, this book serves as an in-depth introduction to how people are regularly manipulated and how they can protect themselves.

Rating:

5 / 5

(Incredible Content, Presentation is Engaging)

What does this score mean?

Difficulty:

Intermediate (Text is accessible, but covers some fairly complex psychological concepts).

Length:

320 pages.

Where to Buy It:

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What's Good

Clear concepts with lots of examples; the author introduces each concept generally, moves into various instances where that concept can be applied, and each step of the way examples are provided to show each in action.
Exhaustively researched & sourced; the guy has a PhD, and he cites sources like one (i.e. the notes and bibliography sections take up 29 pages).
Conversational & very readable; while some psychological concepts are a bit more advanced, the author goes out of his way to keep the language clear, understandable, and accessible.

What Can Be Improved

N/A .

The Bottom Line

Helps with understanding people & motivations; this book helps to encourage a proactive understanding of several of the driving forces that create sometimes baffling behaviours, and how to cut through that with better design activities.
For any UX designer looking for a deeper understanding of biases; this is a great “next step” in the study of human psychology and the biases that stem from them, and pairs nicely after reading “Design for Cognitive Bias”.
A great investment for advanced understanding; the quality of the insights, examples, and strategies for thwarting potential biases is well worth the modest price (of around $20).