ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews 107 different experimentally tested social influence tactics along with 18 techniques for increasing credibility and attraction. It looks at the single most important theory for generating novel predictions about social influence and for understanding its more counterintuitive nature – cognitive dissonance theory. The book provides a tutorial on how to conduct a program of research to investigate social influence techniques, and a great introduction to research on social influence. It also provides a broad overview of the tools graduate students need to get started as a social influence researcher. The book examines the history of research on social influence, describes the nature of explanation in social influence research along with research methods and strategies. It explains a variety of approaches and perspectives on the issues raised by the scientific study of influence.