From Robert Cialdini’s “Influence”
The Scarcity Principle
- “opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited—” (p. 238)
- “If it is rare or becoming more rare, it is more valuable.” (p. 239)
Examples:
- The Mormon Church was just renovated. Cialdini read that for 3 days only, the Church was allowing non-members to see the Church. In the past, Cialdini had no interest in seeing this Church, but due to the Scarcity Principle, he had an urge to see it.
- A customer is looking at an appliance. The salesman tells the customer he thinks it sold out. He tells the customer he will check the back of the store to see if there is any left. The salesman said there is one left. The customer has the urge to buy it quickly!
- Advertisers often set up deadlines to make customers act quickly. They warn customers that if they don’t buy it by the deadline, the price will go up, or it will no longer will be available.
- People were asked to taste cookies. Some people were shown a jar of 10 cookies, and some people were shown a jar of 2 cookies. The people who were shown a jar of 2 cookies rated the cookies higher. In another experiment, people were shown a jar of 10 cookies. Then that jar was replaced with a jar of 2 cookies. They rated the cookies even higher!
When Things Are More Scarce, we Fight for the Freedom to Choose.
“whenever free choice is limited or threatened, the need to retain our freedoms makes us desire them (as well as the goods and services associated with them) significantly more than previously.” (p. 245)
- 2 year olds rebel because they want the freedom to choose. A barrier was set up to make it hard for the 2 year old to access the toy. The 2 year old desired the toy more. When there was no barrier, the boy desired it less.
- When jurors were asked to disregard evidence, the jurors used that evidence even more heavily.
- Like Romeo and Juliet, when teenagers have forbidden love, they desire each other even more.
- In Kennesaw Georgia, there was a new law that required everyone to own a gun. People in Kennesaw didn’t buy more guns. Sales of guns went up, but they were bought by visitors of Kennesaw.
- Dade County in Florida, prohibited the use of cleaning products that contain phosphates. People stocked up on cleaning products that contain phosphates. They also believed cleaning products with phosphates cleaned better than regular cleaning products.
- College students were shown advertisements about a book. Half the students were shown a label that showed the book was restricted to 21 years old and older. These students desired the book more and believed they would like the book more.
Other Good Quotes:
“This finding highlights the importance of competition in the pursuit of limited resources. Not only do we want the same item more when it is scarce, we want it most when we are in competition for it.” (p. 262)
“When our freedom to have something is limited, the item becomes less available, and we experience an increased desire for it. However, we rarely recognize that psychological reactance has caused us to want the item more; all we know is that we want it.” (p. 251)
“Almost invariably, our response to the banning of information is a greater desire to receive that information and a more favorable attitude toward it than before the ban.” (p. 251)
“The drop from abundance to scarcity produced a decidedly more positive reaction to the cookies than did constant scarcity. The idea that newly experienced scarcity is the more powerful kind applies to situations well beyond the bounds of the cookie study.” (p. 257)
“For example, social scientists have determined that such scarcity is a primary cause of political turmoil and violence. Perhaps the most prominent proponent of this argument is James C. Davies, who states that we are most likely to find revolutions where a period of improving economic and social conditions is followed by a short, sharp reversal in those conditions.” (p. 257)