July 05, 2020

The Science of Persuasion

There is a secret to persuading others. Its about getting them in the right frame of mind before you ask them to do something. A marketing expert shares secrets to the technique. Then, computers are getting smarter every year. Will the time come where they replace doctors in diagnosing medical illness? We’ll have the story.

Episode Segments:

Pre-Suasion Robert Cialdini, PhD, social psychologist, Regents' Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University, former visiting Professor of Marketing, Business and Psychology at Stanford University and the University of California at Santa Cruz, and author of Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade talked about the science behind persuasion. He said it’s not so much about the message, but what happens in the moment before the message is delivered. He explained how consumers can recognize when they are the target of this sales technique. He also discussed how it can be used in job interviews and other common daily activities.
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Dr. Computer Increasingly powerful computers are playing a greater role in our lives every year. Could a computer match, or even outperform, human physicians in diagnosing illnesses? Ateev Mehrotra, MD, Senior Investigator and Associate Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School led a study that found that humans still have the upper hand--for now. He outlined several possible ways that computers may play a greater role in future healthcare scenarios.
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The State of Public Schooling Nicholson Baker worked as on-call substitute teacher in a Maine public school district. He discussed the state of public schooling in America: children swamped with assignments, overwhelmed by social media and educational technology, and staff who struggle with overly ambitious curriculums. He is author of Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Robert Cialdini Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. His books including, Influence: Science & Practice, are the result of decades of peer-reviewed research on why people comply with requests. Influence has sold over 3 million copies, is a New York Times Bestseller and has been published in over 30 languages. His new book, Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, published by Simon & Schuster, quickly became a Wall Street Journal and a New York Times Bestseller. Because of the world-wide recognition of Dr. Cialdini’s cutting edge scientific research and his ethical business and policy applications, he is frequently regarded as the “Godfather of influence.” Dr. Cialdini received his Ph.D from the University of North Carolina and post doctoral training from Columbia University. He has held Visiting Scholar Appointments at Ohio State University, the University of California, the Annenberg School of Communications, and the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University. Currently, Dr Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. The Influence Network