Biosketch

Robert B. Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. He has been elected president of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology and to membership in the National Academy of Science as well as to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award of the Society for Consumer Psychology, the Donald T. Campbell Award for Distinguished Contributions to Social Psychology, the Peitho Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Science of Social Influence, The Lifetime Contributions Award of the Western Psychological Association, and the Distinguished Scientist Award of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. Professor Cialdini’s book Influence has sold over 5 million copies while appearing in numerous editions and 44 languages. His more recent book Pre-Suasion was an immediate New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller. Dr. Cialdini attributes his interest in social influences to the fact that he was raised in an entirely Italian family, in a predominantly Polish neighborhood, in a historically German city (Milwaukee), in an otherwise rural state.

Research Interests

Robert Cialdini's research interests include the study of human altruism and self-presentation but have been most focused on the processes of persuasion and social influence. The work has prioritized field settings such as suburban neighborhoods, national parks, automobile showrooms, hospital parking structures, election polling places, amusement parks, university dormitories, and hotel guestrooms. Most recently, he has examined how normative messages can be structured to reduce environmentally harmful actions such as littering, failure to recycle, environmental theft, and household energy overconsumption, while employing a variety of communication media (e.g., handbills, signage, door-hangers, mailers, and public service announcements).

Membership Type

Member

Election Year

2019

Primary Section

Section 52: Psychological and Cognitive Sciences

Secondary Section

Section 53: Social and Political Sciences