The focus is on Cialdini's six fundamental psychological principles of influence--reciprocation, consistency, authority, social proof, liking, and scarcity. The psychology of influence is relevant to crisis management personnel since these personnel should realize the crisis subject's ability to process information in a systematic and controlled way is impaired. Crisis results when the subject's balance is affected by a loss or the threat of a loss. Disrupted balance leads to increased anxiety which interferes with flexible thinking and problem- solving ability. There is significant potential for crisis subjects to use an automatic type of responding in which single cues dictate appropriate behavior. The norm of reciprocity suggests that providing the subject with a valued resource can act as a cue for reciprocity. The norm of social commitment suggests that crisis management personnel should strive to obtain a commitment from the subject, while the norm of authority suggests that the more crisis management personnel appear to be credible, the greater the chances for triggering obedience in the subject. The principle of social proof recognizes that people in ambiguous situations are more likely to look to others to determine correct behaviors. The principle of liking suggests that positive feelings should be induced in the subject. Finally, the principle of scarcity indicates to crisis management personnel that the subject will use availability as a cue to value. 46 references