Invisible Influence, Jonah Berger
Invisible Influence, Jonah Berger
6 Rating(s)
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Invisible Influence
The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior

Author: Jonah Berger

Narrator: Keith Nobbs

Unabridged: 6 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/14/2016


Synopsis

In Invisible Influence, the New York Times bestselling author of Contagious explores the subtle influences that affect the decisions we make—from what we buy, to the careers we choose, to what we eat.

“Jonah Berger has done it again: written a fascinating book that brims with ideas and tools for how to think about the world.” —Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit

If you’re like most people, you think your individual tastes and opinions drive your choices and behaviors. You wear a certain jacket because you liked how it looked. You picked a particular career because you found it interesting. The notion that our choices are driven by our own personal thoughts and opinions is patently obvious. Right? Wrong.

Without our realizing it, other people’s behavior has a huge influence on everything we do at every moment of our lives, from the mundane to the momentous. Even strangers have an impact on our judgments and decisions: our attitudes toward a welfare policy shift if we’re told it is supported by Democrats versus Republicans (even though the policy is the same). But social influence doesn’t just lead us to do the same things as others. In some cases we imitate others around us. But in other cases we avoid particular choices or behaviors because other people are doing them. We stop listening to a band because they go mainstream. We skip buying the minivan because we don’t want to look like a soccer mom.

By understanding how social influence works, we can decide when to resist and when to embrace it—and learn how we can use this knowledge to exercise more control over our own behavior. In Invisible Influence, Jonah Berger “is consistently entertaining, applying science to real life in surprising ways and explaining research through narrative. His book fascinates because it opens up the moving parts of a mysterious machine, allowing readers to watch them in action” (Publishers Weekly).

About Jonah Berger

Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and internationally bestselling author of Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst. He’s a world-renowned expert on social influence, word of mouth, and why products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and has published over 50 papers in top-tier academic journals. He has consulted for a range of Fortune 500 companies, keynoted hundreds of events, and popular accounts of his work often appear in places like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. His research has also been featured in the New York Times Magazine’s “Year in Ideas.”

About Keith Nobbs

Keith Nobbs has appeared on Broadway in The Lion In Winter and off-Broadway in Dog Sees God, Romance, The Hasty Heart, Bye Bye Birdie, Dublin Carol, and Four (Lucille Lortel Award, Drama Desk Nomination). His film credits include Phone Booth, Double Whammy, and 25th Hour. Television credits include The Black Donnellys (series regular), Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and The Sopranos.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bianca on June 25, 2016

I received this via NetGalley and admit I didn't finish it. I liked the first 20%. The concept of mimicry is excellent. It's that we mimic those around us. At the 30% mark I realized that there's very little research to support the stories. By 35% I was skimming. Forty percent - should I finish it? And......more

Goodreads review by Rob on June 18, 2016

A very fast read but lacking in substance compared to Contagious. These genres of books tend to blend together. Same stories, different angle. Not a lot of new here.......more

Goodreads review by Ramón on July 28, 2021

Un estupendo libro de psicología social, acerca de las muchas maneras en las que nuestra necesidad de imitar al grupo por un lado, y de diferenciarnos del resto por otro influyen en nuestra toma de decisiones, y cómo esto se puede usar para persuadirnos y motivarnos. Como bibliografía para el segundo......more

Goodreads review by Mircea on February 16, 2025

O carte excelentă de psihologie socială. Locul în care creștem, normele și acțiunile oamenilor din jurul nostru modelează totul, de la limba pe care o vorbim la comportamentele pe care le adoptăm. Copii adoptă credințele religioase ale părinților, iar studenții adoptă obiceiurile de studiu ale colegi......more

Goodreads review by Jenny on November 14, 2016

Good book. Here is what I want to remember: (p.59) If people can't see, or observe what others are doing, there is no way for those others to influence them...Social influence only works when other people's opinions or behaviors are observable. (p. 65) Birth order is the biggest predictor of elite ath......more