Invisible Influence
The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
BBB Library: Communication, Psychology and Strengths
ISBN: 9781476759692
Editorial Review
Sometimes we conform, or imitate, others around us. But in other cases we diverge, or avoid things because other people are doing them. Our older sibling is the smart one, so we become the funny one. We avoid blaring our horn in traffic because we don’t want to be one of those people. When do we imitate others and when do we avoid what they are doing? When do peers motivate us to work harder and when do they drive us to give up? And what does all this mean for happiness, health, and success, both at home and at work? Invisible Influence will address these and related questions as it delves into the myriad ways others affect everything we do.
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Wisdom to Share
Sometimes we conform, or imitate, others around us. But in other cases we diverge, or avoid things because other people are doing them.
Where we grow up, and the norms and practices of people around us shape everything from the language we use to the behaviors we engage in.
We often rely on others to provide a useful source of information that helps us make better decisions. Using others as information sources saves us time and effort.
We may not change our skin color, but we mimic the facial expressions, gestures, actions, and even language of the people around us.
Mimicry facilitates social interactions because it generates rapport. Like a social glue, mimicry binds us and bonds us together.
In fact, the only time we don’t mimic others is when we don’t want to affiliate with them. Only when we don’t want to connect with others do we break from this default tendency.
People talk about the wisdom of crowds, but crowds are only wise when the group has access to everyone’s individual information.
Turns out that even one dissenting voice can be enough. We don’t need to be in the majority to feel comfortable expressing our opinions, we just need to feel like we aren’t alone.
Privacy also has a powerful effect. “Monkey see, monkey do” nicely describes imitation, but the “Monkey see” part is more important than we often realize.
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One reason some products and ideas become popular is that they are just plain better. We tend to prefer websites that are easier to use, drugs that are more effective, and scientific theories that are true rather than false. So when something comes along that offers better functionality or does a
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