Running head: YES!

50 SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN WAYS TO BE PERSUASIVE 1

Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation
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Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

Persuasion skills are handy in every endeavor because life involves negotiating with

virtually everything for an individual to get what he or he wants. The book written by Goldstein,

Martin, and Cialdini (2010) titled Yes! 50 scientifically proven ways to be persuasive,

highlighted some of the scientifically proven principles of persuasions applicable in any scenario

in life. Among the several principles of persuasion that the authors discuss in the idea of

reciprocation as a tool that one can use to persuade people to act in his or her favor even when

they do not like the individual. This principle of persuasion will prove to be very effective in my

field placement with Rainbow house Inc., an agency that provides service to family and children

that face sexual abuse. We work closely with Clayton County Police Department, children,

families, and the local courthouse offering medical examinations, also forensic interviews.

Working in the forensic field implies that I operate in a field where interactions with

people aim at bringing the best out of every individual. Reciprocity is a tool for persuasions in

this field is useful for ensuring that I cooperate effectively with other people. The mechanism

behind reciprocation as a tool for persuasion lies in the feeling of being indebted to a person who

has extended a given favor. A recipient of favor is more likely to act in a manner that will favor

the donor to reciprocate the gesture of generosity. In other words, any individual who receives a

gift or a favor from another person is highly likely to return the favor when or if an opportunity

presents itself. Based on these foundations it is possible to persuade people to act according to

what you desire by a gesture of generosity towards them. For example, getting the law

enforcement officer to work with me requires that I establish a conducive working relationship

with them to gain their support.

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Also, I can use reciprocity as a principle of persuasion when conducting forensic

interviews with victims and perpetrators to gather all the necessary information that could be

used as evidence. A critical part of my work is to create a hospitable environment that will build

a significant level of trust to allow me to collect the information that I need. Reciprocations have

proven to be an effective measure for building trust and ensuring compliance. Previous

researches have demonstrated that one builds trust by extending favors and makes it possible to

get the beneficiary of the favored to comply. Goldstein, Martin, and Cialdini (2010) discussed

some of the scientific experiments that have been performed regarding the applications of

reciprocation to elicit compliance. A 1971 research by social psychologist Denis T. Regan is an

example of such an experiment that demonstrated how favor and liking produce compliance. In

the outcome of the research, the participants who received an unsolicited gift in the form of a

Coca-Cola can purchase twice as much as a raffle ticket even when there was a delay between

the time which the gift was administered and the time then the participants purchased the tickets.

The findings in this research validate my approach of using favor as a tool for persuasion

and also, to build trust with the clients. Reciprocity makes it easier when working with victims of

gruesome crimes such a rape who feel insecure and have lost trust. The idea, in this case, is to

persuade them by extending a favor that will enable them to comply by providing information

necessary for the prosecution process. Also, the outcome of the research by Regan (1971)

demonstrates that people always feel indebted to act in favor of the donor because of the need for

reciprocations. This principle has assisted people to establish a long-term relationship and

cooperate to achieve a given objective. As a tool for persuasion, reciprocating enables one to

alter the decision of another party by extending a gesture of generosity which evokes a feeling of

being indebted to the benefactor. There exist an underlying psychological behavior that is
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predicated on the need for reciprocating. In this case, working with clients and building a lasting

relationship that will guarantee cooperation is critical in such cases.

In conclusion, reciprocation as a persuasion tool works on the principle of the need to

return the favor once an individual shows a gesture of goodwill towards another individual. This

approach works based on an underlying psychological need to cooperate in a given social

context. Extending a gesture of generosity has a lasting impact of creating the need of an

individual to return a gift or act in a manner that favors the benefactor. For this reason, one can

employ the principle of reciprocation as a tool for convincing people to act in a desires manner.
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References
Goldstein, N. J., Martin, S. J., & Cialdini, R. B. (2010). Yes! 50 scientifically proven ways to be

persuasive. New York: Free Press.

Regan, D. T. (1971). Effects of a favor and liking on compliance. Journal of experimental social

psychology,  7(6), 627-639.