personality

When Influence Backfires
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When Influence Backfires

Behavioral Theory & Insights

When Influence Backfires

A review of 80 studies (1982–2024) reveals that influence strategies work best when tailored to personality. Influence strategies that match a person’s individual personality are significantly more effective than one-size-fits-all approaches. Even more interestingly, mismatched strategies can backfire! That means you shouldn’t apply influence strategies unless you have a solid understanding of your target group's personality. We provide a practical overview of Cialdini’s most effective strategies for each of the Big Five personality traits.

By Sander Palm|2025-11-05T00:15:22+00:00November 5th, 2025|Categories: Behavioral Theory & Insights|Tags: authority, big five, commitment and consistency, nudge, nudging, personality, reciprocity, robert cialdini, scarcity, social influence, social norms, social proof|

Personalised Persuasion: How Predictable Are You?

When it comes to nudging, it’s very much a case of ‘different strokes for different folks'. A free donut might entice some people to take a vaccine; for others, it might make them even more skeptical. Fortunately, a combination of digital footprints and ‘thin slicing’ psychology means that nudges can now be targeted to the right people in the right way.

By Patrick Fagan|2022-04-25T06:05:52+00:00April 22nd, 2022|Categories: Behavioral Theory & Insights, Society & Everyday Life, Technology & Digital|Tags: consumer behavior, morality, nudge, personality, persuasion, social psychology|

Balancing Motivational Orientations for Improved Goal Pursuit

Researchers have long maintained the importance of individual differences in motivational orientations for understanding personality and behavior. Recent findings suggest that strengthening and integrating four different motives in particular may make us better decision makers and more effective at achieving our goals.

By James Cornwell|2022-02-17T06:20:12+00:00January 22nd, 2019|Categories: Behavioral Theory & Insights, Society & Everyday Life|Tags: compromise effect, consumer behavior, decision making, endowment effect, goal pursuit, moral licensing, motivation, motivational orientation, personality, prevention, procrastination, promotion, regret, regulatory focus, status quo bias, variety seeking|