Invisible Influence

March 21, 2016
Expanding on the ideas explored in his 2013 bestseller, Contagious, Berger offers an engaging guide to the concept of social influence. He examines how opposing categories of socially motivated behavior—imitation and differentiation—combine to create complex cultural patterns. He shows, for example, the imperceptible communal nudges behind baby-naming trends, racial achievement gaps, and group decision-making at work. Though Berger teaches marketing, his book appeals to readers beyond the M.B.A.s. Ultimately, the focus is on applied psychology. “We like things that are moderately similar,” he says, “blending the allure of novelty with the comfort of the familiar.” Some of his points are familiar from Psychology 101: familiarity increases attraction, stereotypes are shortcuts used to process new information. But unlike the writing in the average psych textbook, Berger’s prose is consistently entertaining, applying science to real life in surprising ways and explaining research through narrative. He can be repetitive, and his stylistic brevity becomes distracting: sentence fragments are overused. Still, it makes for good retention. Social influence is an intricate subject, but Berger simplifies without patronizing. His book fascinates because it opens up the moving parts of a mysterious machine, allowing readers to watch them in action.

Starred review from May 15, 2016

Using compelling storytelling and drawing on research from the fields of education, psychology, and other social sciences, Berger's (marketing, Wharton Sch., Univ. of Pennsylvania; Contagious) eye-opening book offers insights into how human behaviors are influenced by social forces such as imitation, differentiation, conformity, avoidance, and combinations of these factors. The author argues that these elements impact choices ranging from trivial decisions to important life events. He then expands upon his theories to show how cultural authorities shape aspects of business, such as markets, operations, products and services, and technological uses and innovations. These powers affect business decision making, including careers; human resources; and consumer perceptions, preferences, and purchasing. VERDICT Berger's unique knowledge will appeal to readers from many backgrounds, especially individuals interested in making better decisions. Suitable for both academic and public library business collections.--Caroline Geck, Camden Street Sch. Lib., Newark, NJ

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
If Johnny told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it? If you're susceptible, like most people, to garden-variety social influence, then the answer is likely to be yes.Nearly 60 years ago, Vance Packard wrote in The Hidden Persuaders of the power of psychologically shrewd advertising to induce desires for things we didn't know we needed. Drawing on decades of later research, Berger (Marketing/Wharton School, Univ. of Pennsylvania) picks up where his Contagious: Why Things Catch On (2013) left off to explore why we desire what we do--and more, why we act as we do, politically, socially, economically, and emotionally. Though we enjoy independence, writes the author, we respond to social influence. Our tastes shift to accommodate the opinions of others, and the more time we spend with others, the more our opinions change--until, that is, we reach a saturation point, whereupon familiarity can breed contempt, challenging those who profit from our patterns to keep things interesting, since "the more complex the stimulus, the less likely the habituation." Some of us are likely to change things up when they're not interesting, but others habituate, and still others habituate while trying to stand out a little. As Berger writes, newly minted attorneys often reward themselves with BMWs, status symbols par excellence, but one wishing to signal independence will buy an orange one. Should we pick lawyers by the color of their fetish objects? Perhaps, but if we're influenced to value daring, the legal eagle with the bright ride may be the one to snag. Influenced, we might guess, by genre conventions, Berger doesn't avoid the gee-whiz tropes of pop science ("But science doesn't just happen in fancy labs. It's happening all around us, each and every day"). Still, he does a good job of distilling scientific insights into easily understood object lessons on social psychology. Of particular interest to those selling messages of various stripes--marketers, advertisers, etc.

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