Robert V. Levine, «The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold»

×

Robert V. Levine, «The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold»

Close

Robert V. Levine, «The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold»
Wiley | ISBN 0471266345 | <2003-02-21> | PDF | 1 Mb | 288 Pages

This valuable and nonacademic guide reveals the extent to which we are surrounded by persuasion, and how we can resist. Levine (A Geography of Time), a professor of psychology at Cal State Fresno, opens by demonstrating that all of us (including himself) can be persuaded under the right circumstances. He goes on to study financial manipulation and the use of the sense of obligation (which exists in all cultures, even if it is most strongly visible in Japan), and then proceeds to a nuts-and-bolts analysis of salesmanship by describing what he learned and did (and had done to him) as an automobile salesman. He offers an admirably concise and unemotional analysis of the famous Milgram experiment, involving the (claimed) administration of ever-stronger electric shocks to test the impulse to obedience. Inevitably, he moves to cults, the Moonies and the ultimate persuasion horror story, Jonestown. Not so inevitably, he avoids hysteria and demonization, even of Jim Jones, and points out that brute force is required at the extreme end of the persuasion spectrum. Levine's final chapter offers ways of dealing with unwelcome persuasion while remaining part of a society in which some persuasion is part of almost any social interaction. The final results are bout as far as possible from the shrill Hidden Persuaders tradition or the cult deprogrammers who become cult gurus themselves-and quite persuasive about the author's credentials, common sense and ethics.


There’s a sucker born every minute–don’t let it be you!

Learn how to ward off even the best predators with the secrets revealed in The Power of Persuasion

When it comes to persuasion, there are three universal truths:

1. You’re more susceptible to it than you think;
2. The most effective persuaders are the least obvious; and
3. Whether they’re selling cars or religion, professional persuaders all follow the same principles of psychology.

Stop falling prey to their ploys. The Power of Persuasion looks behind the curtain of shilling and pitch to reveal the many methods of seduction used to pull your strings and push your buttons every day.

Drawing heavily on empirical psychological evidence as well as real-world investigations and anecdotes, The Power of Persuasion arms you with the knowledge to fend off such common manipulation tactics as:

* Limited time offers: "Act fast because this fabulous opportunity won’t come around again!"
* The "Four Walls" technique: A series of carefully worded questions makes you realize that you have no good reason for not purchasing the product
* "Bait-and-switch": A salesman quotes a price on a car missing an important feature, then finds a more suitable car at a higher price.