Incredible Book on the Powerful Influence of Authority

I’m reading the book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Social Psychologist Robert Cialdini, PH.D., and was so amazed at this I thought I’d share it:

A group of researchers, composed of doctors and nurses with connections to three midwestern hospitals, became increasingly concerned with the extent of mechanical obedience to doctors’ orders on the part of nurses. It seemed to the researchers that even highly trained and skilled nurses were not using that training or skill sufficiently to check on a doctor’s judgment; instead, when confronted with a physician’s directives, they would simply defer.

[...] Finally, they wanted to see what would happen if they physically removed the authority figure from the situation and substituted an unfamiliar voice on the phone, offering only the frailest evidence of authority - the claimed title “doctor.”

To twenty-two separate nurses’ stations on various surgical, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric wards, one of the researchers made an identical phone call in which he identified himself as a hospital physician and directed the answering nurse to give twenty milligrams of a drug (Astrogen) to a specific ward patient. There were four excellent reasons for a nurse’s caution in response to this order:

1. The prescription was transmitted by phone, in direct violation of hospital policy.
2. The medication itself was unauthorized; Astrogen had not been cleared for use nor placed on the ward stock list.
3. The prescribed dosage was obviously and dangerously excessive. The medication container clearly stated that the “maximum daily dose” was only ten milligrams, half of what had been ordered.
4. The directive was given by a man the nurse had never met, seen, or even talked with before on the phone.

Yet in 95% of the instances, the nurses went straightaway to the ward medicine cabinet, where they secured the ordered dosage of Astrogen and started for the patient’s room to administer it. It was at this point that they were stopped by a secret observer, who revealed the nature of the experiment.

Quoted from Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition, p. 224-225, by Robert B. Cialdini, PH.D.

This book is a must-read by anyone in the sales, marketing, or other business professions as it really explains the seemingly crazy things that motivate us as human beings. Dr. Cialdini also explains how each of these seemingly crazy motivators actually provide great value to our species, since they allow us to be able to process the enormous amount of information thrown at us on a daily basis without going into information overload.

The book is especially useful for anyone who wants to protect themselves against sleazy salesmen or con artists because after each case study or key point, Dr. Cialdini goes into great detail on how these mental shortcuts we use naturally can be taken advantage of by sleazy salesmen or marketers. Dr. Cialdini also details exactly how you can avoid being influenced by these tactics.

I’m glued to the book and haven’t put it down since I picked it up earlier today. Click here to pick up a copy for yourself.