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 Unity different from Liking?

Liking is interpersonal — I like you. Unity is identity — we are the same kind of people. Liking persuades; unity removes the need for persuasion. Once someone feels they're 'one of us', cooperation is the default.

Isn't 'we' language manipulative?

Only when the 'we' is false. Ethical Chiefs say 'we' when the identity is real and inclusive. Unity becomes manipulation when it invokes a tribe the audience isn't actually part of.

How do Chiefs influence out-groups?

By building bridges of shared identity at a higher level. 'We're both parents.' 'We're both builders.' The Chief's skill is finding the right altitude of 'we' for the moment.

Cialdini principle · Influence Profile

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Unity

You lead through shared identity, making people feel part of something larger.

Kindred spirits

Martin Luther King Jr. (unity through shared moral identity)
Howard Schultz (built Starbucks as a shared-identity third place)
Steve Kerr (NBA coach; wins through identity-first cultures)

The tendency to influence others by invoking shared identity — we are the same kind of people, part of the same tribe, family, or community. Your instinct is to find or build the shared identity first — family, region, mission, formative experience. You understand that the listener processes claims from an in-group member differently from claims from an outsider, and you build the in-group before you make the claim.

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