This was a research report done at Solent University in Southampton throughout the class –
Advertising as persuasion. The research report got the marking B3
Lars H. Johnsen
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S C A R C I T Y
The Rule of the Few
Individual Research Report
By
Lars H. Johnsen
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Table of Content
(I) What has been written on the subject? Page. 3-7
The Six Weapons of Influence Page. 3
Reciprocation Page. 4
Commitment and Consistency Page. 4
Social Proof Page. 4
Liking Page. 5
Authority Page. 5
Scarcity Page. 5-7
(II) How does it work in the real life? Page. 8
Scarcity heuristics Page. 8
Time Page. 9
Rarity Page. 10
Quantity Page. 11-13
(III) Scarcity in product advertising Page. 14
Conclusion Page. 17
Reference list Page. 17
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(I) What has been written on the subject?
Throughout my research period it has been quit clear to me that the well know social
psychologist Robert B. Cialdini is the biggest contributor to this subject. He has written a
number of books on the matter and one of the most important, in my opinion is his
bestseller, The Psychology Influence of Persuasion.
This is the main source for my primary research that I will use when referring to Cialdini.
In his book he describes six types of weapons or technics that one can use to influence a
change in persons behaviour or in the way we are reasoning when we are making a
decision in a certain setting.
Even though this research report will focus on scarcity it is important not to neglect the
other weapons of influence. I choose therefore to describe all the six Principles of
Influence, because this makes it much easier to understand the scarcity principle. And a
second reason is that alone, they can be good persuasive tools, but if one would manage to
combine them all, one would really have a powerful persuasive weapon.
The six weapons that he describes are Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social
Proof, Liking, Authority and Scarcity.
Reciprocation
Reciprocation is being described as a tool that one can use to get a person to be more
inclined towards you. The rule as Cialdini says is “we should try to repay, in kind, what
another person has provided us”. Example if I where to give a friend a present on his or her
birthday, the person would most likely remember my birthday and celebrate it by giving
me a gift. In other words, by giving something or doing someone a favour that is not
expected of them, one will increase the chance of getting a yes on a later request.
Pay every debt, as if God wrote the bill
– Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Commitment and Consistency
When we commit to something either in writing or orally we tend to stick to our decisions.
This can be explained in a way that we tend to find it awkward when we cannot be account
for what we have said.
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Example, if I where to pitch an idea to a college or a friend and they showed me their
interest towards it, I would probably get help if I ask them later on.
Social Proof
Social Proof is a tool we use to determine what is correct in a given situation by asking
what other people think is correct, we have a tendency to say what other are saying and
follow what others are doing if we view them to be like us. This can be showed is several
examples like we tend to buy product that others recommend to us or we tend to watch
film or series that people have told us are good.
Liking
We are more likely to be persuaded by a person that we like rather than a person that we do
not like. This does not only describe a person that we like because they are funny or nice to
us. But we tend to be persuaded more easily by good-looking people, hence the pretty
bartender.
Authority
People will tend to obey or follow an authoritarian person. We will trust them and we will
more willingly accept what these people are saying. Examples are where advertisement use
authoritarian persons like a doctor or a well know businessman to promote a product or a
service.
Scarcity
Cialdini, R (2007) describes the scarcity principle in a way that opportunities seem more
valuable to us when their availability is limited. He also believes that people are more
motivated by the thought of losing something, a good deal or a opportunity, than by the
thought of gaining something of the same value.
When an item is being priced or an opportunity is being presented, one can as a rule say
that the more rare it is the more valuable it will be. And in the sales business this is a
weapon that is being used on a large scale.
The tactic as Cialdini describes, Cialdini, R (2007) is that the sales person or the
advertising is using the weakness that we have towards shortcuts to their advantage. We
tend to believe that things that are difficult to possess are typically better than those that
are easy to possess, we can us the rarity or the availability of an item to help us quickly
and correctly decide on its quality.
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The reason that the scarcity principle is so powerful is not only because and item is
difficult to possess, but since the item becomes less available, we also lose our freedom.
The strong wish to obtain our free choice, either it is choosing a product or deciding on a
certain matter is the essential thought in Psychological Reactance Theory, developed by
