Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert B. Cialdini Phd
This is one of the best books I have read this year and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in how people tick. This is very important for marketers, psychologists, or anyone else who needs to understand and persuade people (pretty much everyone). The book details why humans act the way we do and how we make seemingly irrational decisions all the time based on the context of the decision. The book is full of interesting examples and studies and is also written in a tight, informal, and humorous manner. I highly suggest reading this book.
(To see more book reviews, check out the Hoffman Reading List at http://www.summation.net/reading.html)
If you like “Influence” by Cialdini, this is a book you might want to check out. My dad is a social psych prof at Stanford and just completed a speaking tour with Malcolm Gladwell. This is a book both of them recommended and I enjoyed:
“How We Know What Isn’t So” by Thomas Gilovich
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0029117062/qid=1068511089/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-6549749-9783038?v=glance&s=books