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.

How is social proof different from peer pressure?

Peer pressure demands conformity; social proof provides information. Influencers use social proof to reduce uncertainty, not to coerce — showing 'here's what people like you have found valuable' instead of 'everyone is doing this, so you must.'

Does social proof work in expert audiences?

Yes, but the referents change. Experts ignore mass adoption and respond to adoption by specific credible peers. Influencers in expert contexts cite other experts, not the crowd.

If the group cited isn't actually similar or credible to the audience, social proof creates backlash. The fix is specificity — 'sales teams your size at companies like yours' beats 'most companies'.

Cialdini principle · Influence Profile

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Social Proof

You move people by showing them what respected others are already doing.

Kindred spirits

Seth Godin (built the concept of the tribe and idea diffusion)
Simon Sinek (amplifies what leaders are already saying to larger audiences)
Malcolm Gladwell (popularised tipping-point dynamics)

The tendency to influence others by demonstrating that respected peers, similar others, or large numbers have already chosen a particular path. Your instinct is to point at the crowd — the right crowd. You read which peers, customers, or experts a listener already trusts, and you put the proof in the room before you put the argument in the room. It is high-leverage when you do it specifically.

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