the new psychology of influence
You can use social and situational factors to surreptitiously influence people for political and financial gain. That is the subject of our latest piece, just published online in Campaigns and Elections. “The New Psychology of Influence” explains some of the basic social and situational principles of influence and identifies how these principles might be applied to a fundraising program. Here’s just one.
Social proof. We take most of our cues from other people. That’s why we follow the crowd and look to see if others started eating before we do. Applications: If you have a collection jar at your event, add a significant amount of money to the jar before the start. This will unconsciously “prove†that giving is a popular thing to do, prompting more and bigger donations than you would receive if you started with an empty jar.
Each principle we cover in the original article has dozens of applications for nearly any form of organized political activity. If you are interested in this material, we recommend reading Robert Cialdini’s classic work Influence: Science and Practice as well as Brainfluence by Roger Dooley.
Of course, if you’re like most people in politics, you don’t have the time to turn yourself into a political psychology expert. You’re too busy running your campaign or your organization. That’s why First Person Politics is here: to bring you the solutions you need so that you don’t have to go out and find them!
First Person Politics will help you optimize your campaign or strategic operations to make them as influential and effective as they can possibly be. Let us focus on the psychology, so that you can focus on your work.
Contact us today. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Categorized in: First Person Politics, Political Psychology, Social Influence and Compliance