心理摩擦力: 為何人們抗拒改變？不是你不努力，是你不懂人性阻力

by David Schonthal, 張斐喬 (Translator), 大衛·尚塔爾

想要推動創新，都該先看這一本！
從科學和實務的角度清楚說明，
如何說服他人放下對現狀的執著。

★現代行銷學之父科特勒推薦必讀
★《逆思維》作者亞當‧格蘭特盛讚
★管理學奧斯卡Thinkers50—年度重大思想

你曾提出新點子，別人卻反應冷淡？
或是困惑「產品不錯，偏偏賣不動」？
身為主管想推新政策，員工卻很消極？

曾有一家新創公司想到一門好生意：何不讓客人打造自己的專屬沙發？
透過網站自由配置想要的沙發造型、尺寸到材質，甚至是沙發腳的形狀！
這個創新想法大受好評，人們忍不住長時間流連網站，創作一套完美的沙發。
奇怪的是，這些大量的潛在客戶來到最後一關時——按下「購買」鍵——竟然都憑空消失了？
不是因為價格，他們已比競品便宜75%。
不是因為服務，人們體驗後都超滿意。
原來，問題出在心理摩擦力！
——人們不知如何處理家中舊沙發！
不論新沙發多棒，只要顧客無法搞定舊沙發，「買下去」的決定便不會成真。

◤成功的解答，不總是創意和好處，
關鍵是「人性」天生的心理抗拒！◢

很多時候，問題不在於產品「不好」、說法「不漂亮」，更不是想推動的事情「不夠重要」，而是因為演化使人具有抗拒改變的傾向，也就是「心理摩擦力」。
如果沒有對症下藥，陷入「吸引力思維」的陷阱，誤以為不斷加碼就能打動別人，最後會發現不僅代價高昂，還成效不彰。

兩位作者深入研究人類行為的心理成因，並透過行為設計，促成200多項創新產品與服務的推行。他們認為「子彈鑲上黃金可以增加價值，但無法減少風阻」，若希望產品（子彈）精準擊中目標，必須降低風阻，也就是4種心理摩擦力：

1、慣性
想像你在荒島上，發現了香蕉和一種新奇的橘紅色水果，為了活下去，你會吃哪一種？
經過演化，人類成了習慣的動物，偏愛熟悉的事物，也影響了他們挑選產品的動力……

2、惰性
有56%的路人願意填寫一份5題的問卷，請猜猜看，如果問卷改成20題，會有多少比例的路人願意填？
一般人會猜32%，但實際上，只有11%的人會寫！
人類對省力的渴望，決定了消費者會被推向你的產品、還是推開！

3、情感阻力
Tinder如何打敗Match. com？
Match. com雖然是市場先行者，卻因為無法讓使用者跳脫最大的恐懼——被對方拒絕的可能——讓Tinder有了可趁之機，它訴求「輕鬆一滑，便能匹配」，確保對象對你一定有興趣。
該如何找出隱藏的情感阻力，以區隔出獨特的市場定位？

4、反彈
如果學校要寫email向校友募款，哪種訴求的效果最好？是利他、利己，還是「利他+利己」？
研究顯示，前兩種訴求都有加分，但若兩者湊在一起，卻會有反效果，因為推得太用力，讓人感覺被逼迫，就會引發反彈。
而誰能夠確定新產品會不會激起反彈？

Genres: Business, Psychology, Nonfiction, Leadership, Science, Audiobook, Personal Development

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2023

Reviews

[Niek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read on how it often works better to remove frictions when implementing new ideas than trying to convince people of their value. Some of the examples in The Human Element have been used ad nauseam, but overall it is a highly practical book, and I can imagine it being insightful and useful for many. It stands nicely between Cialdini's Pre-suasion and Klotz's Subtract.

[Grant Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book, but hardly original. Same ideas presented by Joseph Grenny et. al. in Influencer. Honestly, Grenny does it better and packs more insight per printed line. The case studies presented in this book are many familiar ones you’ve heard before and maybe one or two others that were new. A fine book, but many superior ones exist.

[Michelle N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found the content of the book insightful, but in my opinion, the narration of the audiobook version was robotic and flat.
Would consider getting the book to read it again and make notes on insights.

[Alfie Mosse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating research on approaches to innovation. I was particularly interested in the role ethnography played in identifying and reducing friction. I was not disappointed.

[anchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting reading

The book covers Fuel/Friction definitions and ways to address them. In many companies I have worked for, the Fuel strategy has been the norm, many times with expensive and frustrating results. The " we know better" attitude is common and problematic. The book provided evidence on why it happens and how to overcome it.

[Alan Thamthieng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invert, always invert.

The book reminded me of this bit of wisdom from German mathematician Carl Jacobi.

Often, when we want to influence other people and create change within an organization, we believe that heightening the appeal of the idea is the most effective way to go about doing this. For example, if we’re trying to persuade someone to quit smoking, we might attempt to do this by providing them with more evidence that this habit will eventually lead to lung cancer. Clearly that won’t work, just like how providing more evidence seldom convinced people to wear masks during COVID.

The book’s main point is that although fuel is important to initiate change, more often that not, it is actually the “friction” that is stopping people from taking action. So for the COVID example, it’s not that people don’t believe that masks work (although some don’t); it was that they felt like their freedom was being taken away from them. So the more that the media told them that they were stupid or inconsiderate for not wearing masks, the more obstinate they were to changing their behavior.

The book goes over 4 key sources of friction and how to overcome them. At the end, the author gives some case studies to show how solving for these friction points motivated change.

Overall, the book was concise and I learned a few things from it. Would recommend

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book pointing out that more than adding fuel to our efforts to induce change, e.g. by adding more arguments, we should be removing frictions instead, and then explaining how to do it. Applies not just to business life but also personal life, e.g. I found out that when I was trying to persuade some anti-vaxx in-laws to vaccinate, I basically went about it all wrong and probably made them even more entrenched in their views. That was one area where I would have liked more guidance or stories on how to do it right, but it felt pretty hard to extrapolate from their examples there.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful look at why it is often more important to overcome resistance to a new idea than it is to try to convince someone that the idea is worthy. The authors call this emphasizing overcoming friction instead of focusing on fuel.

The final two chapters are my favorite. The last one is three case studies that show how to apply what they reveal in the book. The penultimate chapter is about how to help others to persuade themselves on the merit of your offering. This idea alone is worth the cost of the book!

[Thejus Prabhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the striking features of this book is that the authors provide illustrations of examples how consumers in the very recent past(for instance during Covid) have reacted to new innovation of products in marketplace. This is very relatable to some of the products in IT field I have personally worked on in the software industry. There is a entire psychology of consumer that plays in customers mind that the authors have brilliantly touched upon and talks of innovative ways to mitigate any sort of reactance towards it.

[Kirk Visitacion · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book so far! It tackles different frameworks and real-life examples of how innovation happens and why it sometimes doesn’t. It's about identifying frictions when executing something.

I also love that this book was recently published (2021), providing examples that are very current. It includes some of the most niche laboratory examples, but they make sense. I still return to this book whenever I feel like executing an idea; it’s like a pre-execution guide for me, helping me navigate how to bring an idea to life by exploring the Whys, Hows, and Whats of it.

[Jeremy Parkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some really interesting and well thought out ideas here, and having heard the author on some podcasts, that's what I expected. Business books are a tough genre to score highly on writing, and it's a rare few that can include sufficient drama or novelty to really nail it. This book has well communicated and interesting ideas, but loses points for lacking drama, and for recycling too many well known anecdotes, studies and tropes from other books in the behavioral economics domain.

[Avi-Gil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great concept - rather than talk about the features and benefits of a product or new process, we need to overcome the 4 categories of friction that make adoption more difficult.
The case studies at the end give some good examples, but I wish they would have used this (and the scorecard they first introduce in the last chapter!) throughout the book. They lay out the theory well, but the connections to practice could have been more clear.

[Ashwin Krishnamurthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid read! This book offers a refreshing perspective on the importance of addressing friction, as much as fueling motivation to get an idea from concept to launch. As a product manager working for a large company, the book's concise explanations, practical strategies and case studies have helped me navigate the complexities of human behavior, and getting to a "yes" from a "no". A recommended addition to any product leader's library.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really worthwhile read for anyone in leadership. This book talks about how selling an idea often doesn't require more fuel (for instance, reiterating the idea's positive attributes), but rather dealing with the friction. There are four types of frictions, and they are all explained with excellent examples. I learned a lot reading this and will definitely use what I learned in both my professional and personal life.

[Kevin Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, from the opening bullet analogy straight through the case studies at the end. I love books that have wisdom that is counter-intuitive, and this book is one of them. Plus, it's told in a conversational, sometimes even humorous way. Taking lots of valuable insight from this one.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Friction. The idea of eliminating friction to smooth things out is such an interesting idea. This book was really thought provoking and provided so many practical examples of when friction has been eliminated in ways that were truly innovative. I listend to this book rather quickly, so I may need to re-read/listen to better absorb the concepts. But overall, I really enjoyed this!

[Mags Abeles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The easiest recommendation ever: read this to think completely different about how to solve any problem you’re facing in business or otherwise. Once you read it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t see it this way before. That’s the power of this well-written, story rich book — it spells out the common sense no one has but everyone could use to ask better questions and solve problems faster

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good framework for thinking about leading change. Lots of nice examples, less systematic evidence -- as a nerdy academic reader, I would have loved to see far more footnotes. But well-written, insightful, and enjoyable

[Carrie Funke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, insightful, and informative. My only complaint is about the examples in the Overcoming Reactance chapter. I understand why the examples which are used were chosen, but more industry-focused examples would facilitate stronger reader connection.

[Beth Filar Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting read I got some good pointers from it to use in my work now that I'm doing more marketing promotion. But I also found the psychology interesting just to understand people a little bit better

[Surya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book regurgitates a lot of writing in behavioural economics with examples that are also old.
Why 4 stars you ask:
It brings everything in one book replete with examples and 3 case studies
Good primer

[Caleb White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for people wanting to influence change, innovation, or growth. It looks at why great ideas are resisted and why people resist better options. Much of the advise is the opposite of common leadership advise like assuming everything is just a vision problem or a motivation problem.

[Drexler · Rating 5 out of 5]

After attending lectures from the co-author (Loran), I had to read this book. I am thoroughly enjoying the material. It is extremely well thought out. The lessons within these chapters are worth every hour spent reading.

[Geørge · Rating 4 out of 5]

ამ პერიოდის განმავლობაში ყველაზე მნიშვნელოვანი წიგნია, რაც წამიკითხავს. სწორი და მარტივი მაგალითებია მოყვანილი, სადაც კარგად ჩანს დიზაინის კომუნიკაციის ძალა. მნიშვნელოვანი ნამუშევარია, რომელიც ყოველდღიურობაში დასანერგია. კარგი მაგალითია დიზაინის ფიქრის მიმართულებით ცოდნის გაღრმავებაში.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about how to enact change. Provides practical steps about how to deal with the friction against new ideas.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-ins...

[Joseph L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/tryyU5nw08c

[Jeff Kuhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best business book I’ve read

[Jasmine J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was going to rate this a 4 but then asked myself “why not a 5?” 😉… I couldn’t answer so I decided a 5 it is.