Cialdini

Cialdini [34] provides a simple structure for influence and asserts that much of the effect of influence techniques is built-in below the concious level of most people. Some factors cross all human societies, while others may be more affected by social norms and culture. Cialdini discusses both the benefits of these natural tendencies and their exploitaiton by professionals for gaining compliance to desired behaviors. Regardless of how they are created, these techniques are apparently pattern matching phenomena that operate without regard to deep logical thought processes:

Area	Technique	Explanation
Recirprocation	If it costs more it is worth more	Raising the price on many items increases their sales because the buyers are looking for high quality and associate it with price.
Authority	Experts know more than others	When someone believes you are an expert, they will tend to defer to your opinions regardless of the sensibility of those opinions.
Contrast	Contrast principle	Substantial differences tend to be exagurated. Things are taken relative to context. After having your hand in hot water, luke-warm water seems cool. To sell something expensive, start by offering something more expensive and work your way down.
Automaticity	Because	When you add a 'because' followed by no new information, the chances of compliance increase substantially.
Recirprocation	Reciprocation	People tend to reciprocate any gifts. For example, even a meaningless gift will create an obligation. Refusal to accept a return gift makes you less likable because of the lack of opportunity to reciprocate.
Reciprocation and Contrast	Reject and retreat	This invokes both reciprocation and contrast. You start by asking for something big, then lower the request to something smaller. By reducing your request, you are both giving a concession (reciprication leading them to offer you something) and by lowering from a higher value you are invoking contrast (the second request doesn't look as high next to the first one).
Commitment and Consistency	Commitments are honored	If you can generate a promise of some sort, there will be a strong desire to fulfil it - no matter how much effort it takes or under what circumstances the promise was given.
Commitment and Consistency	Consistency is highly valued	Once you commit, your interpretation of inputs tend to support that committed view.
Automaticity	Desire not to think	If it requires thinking and they can back down to a simple rule of behavior, they will try to do so.
Automaticity	Strong desire not to rethink	If it requires rethinking, it introduces self-doubt and will be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
Automaticity	Default decision process	Logic is only used if there is a desire and ability to analyze the situation, otherwise, pattern matching to known social behavioral patterns is used.
Commitment and Consistency	Small commitments lead to big ones	Self-image is raised through making and keeping to commitments and as a result, larger and larger commitments are made over time.
Commitment and Consistency	Active commitments are better than passive ones	Commitments where you do something are far more effective at gaining subbsequent compliance than those which are passive promises.
Commitment and Consistency	Public image leads to self image	Written statements are given more credence than oral ones - both by author and reader, there is a higher tendency to do something if you write it down, public commitments are more often kept than private ones.
Commitment and Consistency	Increased complicance with investment	Invested time and effort (sunk costs) forms increased commitment; more pain involved increases commitment level (loyalty from hazing, more pain more gain), less external return forces more internalization of value (ownership and commitment follow), low-balling works (get a commitment, create other supports for the decision, then remove the original motivation and the commitment remains).
Commitment and Consistency	Consistency causes decisions	Even when remaining consistent seems foolish, people will choose new reasons to stay with a decision because to do otherwise would cause you to have to admit you were wrong and rethink your previous commitments.
Social Proof	We interpret based on how others interpret	Laugh tracks work even if we know they are in use. Seeded collection boxes cause increased donations. Popularity is taken as goodness, even if known to be wrong.
Social Proof	Social proof replaces hard proof in uncertainty	Fear is reduced by watching others like you not fear it. Create uncertainty and generate social proof. Social proof works better when they are like you.
Liking	We like saying 'yes' to people we like	Twice as likely to say yet to people we like, referals from friends increase likelihood of succes in sales, MCI 'friends and family' is 90% effective because it 'does a friend a favor' to switch.
Liking	Physical attraction increases liking	We are more likely to like someone we are physically attracted to and likely to dislike someone we are not physically attracted to.
Liking	Similarity breeds liking	Similar dress, color, background, behaviors, accents, lifestyle, interest, age, religion, pllitics, and names are all examples of how similarities increase liking and differences decrease liking, even when known to be falsehoods.
Liking	Compliments increase liking	Even when compliments are known to be deceptions, people still like those who give them - unless they go 'too far'.
Liking	More contact increases liking	Familiarity improves likeing unless the experience is unpleasant.
Liking	Groups working together bond	Common cause increases liking and friendship between group members and groups.
Liking	Groups in competition breeds enemies	Competition creates hostility and personal dislike.
Liking	Messages are attributed to messengers	When a message is unpleasant, the messenger is disliked, while good messages cause mesengers to be liked. The attributes of the message are attributed to the mesenger by association.
Liking	Association enhances liking or disliking	People are more receptive to compliance after a good meal. People associate to their nation, city, race, etc. and like it when the things they associate with succeed.
Liking	People tend to associate with things that enhance their self-image	If they like themselves, they choose to associate to things that are successful through the similarities to themselves. If they have a negative self-image they tend to associate with things that fail by seeking similarities with themselves.
Authority	Duty to authority is deeply embedded in culture	Higher authority overrides lower ones, appearance of authority replaced real authority, titles lead to the appearance of authority, higher deference to known authorities.
Authority	Appearances imply authority	Higher position appears to be taller, taller as more important, importance seen as larger, larger size implies more strength. clotinh and accoutraments imply authority (as a function of situation), other trappings imply authority.
Scarcity	Perceived scarcity increases perceived value	Similar to Shannon's information theory in which less frequently used syntax elements have higher informaiton content. Scarce quantity, time, availability all make things more attractive.
Scarcity	Loss is higher value than gain	In trading a loss against an identical valued gain, the loss is more highly valued.
Scarcity	Desire to have what is restricted	Especially effective against teenagers and young children, but also quite effective against people of all ages. More effective if more restrictive. Exclusivity yield desire to have.
Scarcity	Desire to have it "our way"	Even if 'our way' is actually not 'our way', the fact of choice increases desirability.
Scarcity	Exclusive information is more valued	Secrets, information that others do not have, restricted information, all seem to make the information more valuable. Exclusive information about a shortage has more effect on driving up perceived value that the shortage itself.
Scarcity	Drops from abundance to scarcity increase value	More value is attributed to something if it is first possessed then lost. For example, revolutions are far more likely after some political gains followed by retrenchment.
Automaticity	automaticity can be enhanced	Incresed rush, stress, uncertainty, indifference, distraction, and fatigue all lead to less thoughtful and more automatic responses. Thus by adding to these elements, we increase the effectiveness of all of these techniques.

While Cialdini backs up this information with numerous studies, his work is largely done and largely cites western culture. Some of these elements are apparently culturally driven and care must be taken to assure that they are used in context. Similar studies for people interacting with and through computers have not been completed at this time as far as we can tell but they would clearly be helpful in understanding how people interact through and with computers.