What is the Influence Gap Analysis?

The Influence Gap Analysis (IGA) is a free 5-minute assessment that measures your personal influence style across Dr. Robert Cialdini's seven universal principles of persuasion — reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity, and unity — plus contrast, the meta-principle that amplifies every other principle. You receive a signature combining your primary and secondary principles and can unlock a deeper Mastery quiz to test your knowledge of ethical influence.

How long does the Influence Gap Analysis take?

The basic Influence Gap Analysis takes about 5 minutes. It is a 24-question forced-choice test that produces your influence signature: a primary principle paired with a secondary principle, drawn from Cialdini's seven principles plus contrast.

What are Cialdini's seven principles of influence?

Dr. Cialdini's seven principles are reciprocity (we repay what we receive), commitment and consistency (we honor our prior choices), social proof (we follow what others do), authority (we defer to credible experts), liking (we say yes to people we like), scarcity (we want what is rare), and unity (we say yes to those we share an identity with). The Influence Gap Analysis also measures contrast — the amplifier that makes each of the seven land harder.

Is the Influence Gap Analysis free?

Yes. The basic Influence Gap Analysis is completely free and does not require an account or email to receive your signature. An optional paid Mastery quiz unlocks a deeper 64-question knowledge test plus a personalized influence report.

Is this the official Cialdini test?

Yes. The Influence Gap Analysis is built on the published research of Dr. Robert Cialdini, the Regents' Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and the world's most-cited social psychologist on persuasion. It uses Cialdini's seven principles plus contrast as its measurement framework.

What does my influence signature mean?

Your signature is a pairing of your primary influence principle (the lever you reach for first) and your secondary principle (the lever you use to back it up). For example, an Authority+Reciprocity signature describes someone who leads with credibility and reinforces it with generous gestures, while a Liking+Social-Proof signature describes someone who leads with warmth and reinforces it with what others are doing.

Can I share my Influence Gap Analysis result?

Yes. Every result has a unique share link and downloadable signature image, so you can compare results with colleagues, friends, or your team. Team accounts also produce an aggregate radar so you can see how a whole team's influence style is distributed.

How is the Influence Gap Analysis different from a personality test?

Personality tests like Myers-Briggs, Big Five, or DISC measure stable traits (e.g. introversion, conscientiousness). The Influence Gap Analysis measures something different: which of the seven Cialdini levers you naturally reach for when you want to persuade, negotiate, or lead. It is a behavioral influence-style assessment, not a personality test.

Is being a Connector the same as being a people-pleaser?

No. Connectors give strategically — the generosity is real, but it's also directional. People-pleasers give to avoid conflict; Connectors give to build trust and eventually request something meaningful in return.

Can reciprocity be used manipulatively?

Yes — and Dr. Cialdini's ethical framework is clear that it shouldn't be. The distinction is whether the gift creates real value or is engineered purely to generate obligation. Ethical Connectors give things the recipient genuinely benefits from.

How does a Connector's influence fail?

Usually by being too patient. Connectors can invest years in a relationship without ever making the request — turning their generosity into unreciprocated service. The fix is to ask more, earlier, and trust that the deposits have accrued.

Cialdini principle · Influence Profile

← All principles

Reciprocity

You build loyalty through generosity — giving freely before you ever ask.

Kindred spirits

Adam Grant (organizational psychologist, author of Give and Take)
Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn founder; famed for his 'generous introductions')
Oprah Winfrey (built loyalty through gifts and generosity at every level)

The tendency to influence others by giving first — offering value, help, or concessions before making requests. When you read a room, you reach for generosity before you reach for argument. The instinct is to plant something useful — an introduction, a piece of work, a small unrequested favour — and let the social contract take care of the return. It is the oldest persuasion lever, and you reach for it most.

Best at

Building trust in new relationships and cold outreach
Long-sales-cycle consulting, BD, and partnerships
Mentoring and retaining early-career talent

Watch-outs

Over-investing before asking — generosity without eventual request reads as mere niceness
Struggling to negotiate directly in time-boxed situations
Feeling exploited when reciprocity isn't returned (it often isn't in transactional contexts)

Tell-tale signs

You keep a mental list of people you'd like to help
Your calendar has more 'free advice' calls than you'd admit
You feel genuinely uncomfortable asking for a favour without having offered one first

Thrives in

Partnerships, long sales cycles, fundraising, alliance-building

Struggles with

Hard-stop deadlines, naming the price, saying no to favours

Related principles

Liking Unity Commitment & Consistency

Take the Assessment

Cialdini principle · Influence Profile

← All principles

Reciprocity

You build loyalty through generosity — giving freely before you ever ask.

Kindred spirits

Adam Grant (organizational psychologist, author of Give and Take)
Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn founder; famed for his 'generous introductions')
Oprah Winfrey (built loyalty through gifts and generosity at every level)

Best at

Building trust in new relationships and cold outreach
Long-sales-cycle consulting, BD, and partnerships
Mentoring and retaining early-career talent

Watch-outs

Over-investing before asking — generosity without eventual request reads as mere niceness
Struggling to negotiate directly in time-boxed situations
Feeling exploited when reciprocity isn't returned (it often isn't in transactional contexts)

Tell-tale signs

You keep a mental list of people you'd like to help
Your calendar has more 'free advice' calls than you'd admit
You feel genuinely uncomfortable asking for a favour without having offered one first

Thrives in

Partnerships, long sales cycles, fundraising, alliance-building

Struggles with

Hard-stop deadlines, naming the price, saying no to favours

Related principles

Liking Unity Commitment & Consistency

Take the Assessment

Reciprocity

Good things, in formation.

Reciprocity