What would be sick if we got snowed in
for like four days
and everyone's vlog camera broke except mine
the crazier you guys get
like in the snowstorm, the happier I get
You guys are just eating away at each other and I'm like yeahhhhhhh
Gabby what do I do? I just put it down
David! Gabby!!!
It was a prank.
This is the only thing he lives for is to get a rise out of people
And everyone was like, this is fake. This is scripted
And it's not. None of it is fake None of it is scripted
He flew 6 hours to Hawaii to sht me
Oh my god David!
People think that your friends are just acting for the sake of the videos
Actually everyone is f_ insane!
WATCH OUT!
Welcome to Psych IRL. My name is Donna
First and foremost, this video is sponsored by Audible
Go to audible.com/psychirl
or text PSYCHIRL to 500 500
to get a free book, 2 audible originals, and a free 30 day trial
Oh yeah and I'm wearing this beanie because I forgot my straightener in the hotel room
so this is great
Before you David Dobrik stans kil me, I don't necessarily mean manipulation in a bad way
I just mean that he has a certain charm about him that helps him get his way
some of his friends have even admitted this
David will never let the night end
and its pretty funny. He can basically convince anyone
to do anything
So this is a positive video about David Dobrik
Today we're gonna examine the way
David Dobrik uses the art of persuasion
so we're gonna need to get into the mind of David Dobrik
Welcome to David's vlogs
I'm not gonna lie, I didn't have a very positive impression of David's vlogs at first
I thought he was another obnoxious frat boy to say the least
but as I watched his videos more and more
I realized how entertaining and addicting they are
and if you examine them closer, they're actually very carefully crafted and unique
for example his vlog style videos are all 4 minutes and 20 seconds long
which is an obvious marijuana joke
now if you're familiar with editing videos,
you'll know how challenging it is to fit a narrative in a certain time constraint
without ruining the plot. David manages to do this flawlessly
In fact, the fast pacing and short jokes
set his content apart from other vlogs on YouTube
David would you make out with me? No!
I would.
Thanks Corinna
Would you really? But, I'd make out with anybody!
What makes these videos so special is that
while other youtubers are concerned about getting past the 10 minute mark
including myself
for better watch time and extra ads, David sticks to his format
all for the sake of the joke
his vlogs aren't formatted the typical way either
David's claim to fame first started on vine
where the creator had seven seconds to make an entertaining video
You think I can throw this egg into that jar without it cracking?
no
Oh sh_ you're right
His current content reflects that
where there's a setup and then there's a punchline
Do you have a brother? uhhhh yeah
What does he do?
He just works out a lot
Oh he's a body builder
No, he's in prison
You're going to stay here and see Todd's P_
And you're going to report back to us
Alright Josh, Scott, let's go!
Do I really have to do this? You actually have to show him your p_
I have a son. I see it all the time
Eww.
Wyatt's is huge
My son's is like bigger than mine
What? I don't want to do this anymore
These bits are then put together to make an entire vlog
Now over the years his stunts have grown crazier and crazier
so, how does he get his friends to say yes to them?
one of David's biggest powers of persuasion is Authority
with over 11 million subscribers and having met several celebrities from mainstream media
What's your biggest regret in show business?
Really this.
David has clearly found success
His friends are also in agreement that he is one of the most successful in their friend group
he has become an authority of virality on YouTube
because of this his friends trust his judgment on what antics will do well
in these online videos
in this bit for example, David wants his friend Jason to be bitten by a snake
Do we really need it for the video? yeah we do!
Because it's like a nice wrapping thing. Because we saw an aggressive snake
People are going to be like, well this is foreshadowing
Someone getting bit, but no one got bit
You want blood? There's blood
Okay we got it! Let's go!
No no no! Well he's bleeding!
Great. He's bleeding
it has to be someone that the audience can relate to, they see every day and that's you
Yeah you. They love you more
and after some coaxing Jason does it there
Ahhhh GET IT OFF ME!
DAVID GET IT OFF
DAVID DAVID! PLEASE GET IT OFF
PLEASE GET IT OFF
DAVID GET IT OFF
JAY JAY GET IT OFF MY ARM
GET IT OFF MY ARM
JAY!
JAY!!
JAY PLEASE PLEASE! PLEASE JAY
GET IT OFF DAVID! DAVID GET IT OFF
there's a lot of truth in David's authority
though he surpasses most of his friends by views and subscribers
them being in his videos have helped
propel their numbers upwards so it's a win-win for both parties
his friends agree to do his crazy ideas while they get exposed to
his new audience, driving their own numbers up
in combination with Authority,
David also uses social proof for persuasion
the principle of social proof
is that when one is unsure of what to do in a certain situation
they will look to others for the correct behavior
they are supposed to be doing
after a late show and dinner ending at around midnight, the crew has to be up at about 5am
the wisest thing is for them to go to bed
but David does not want the night to end
and convinces everyone to stay out
I don't need to go to bed. I just can't do it
and then I'll be groggy with my kids tomorrow
okay. I didn't want to have to do this, but how many fingers do I have behind my back?
Scott's going to guess it. I'm going to keep it at 1
and if you guess it wrong Scott,
you all have to come for 20 minutes 17 fingers! no
how many fingers do I have?
3!
You guys can go.
Dave. I'm coming!
You are? YEAHHHHH! Oh my god!
This is my life.
NO! It's mutiny.
Considering how much authority Dobrik has on the virality of videos
some of his friends choose to leave the bus instead of returning to the hotel
those who don't really seek viewership for monetary reasons
seem to be looking at their colleagues for the correct behavior to model off of
this is why most people leave the bus, despite it being detrimental to them in the long run
I literally just came out to take a picture
Oh you did? I was not going to go out
Why are we all going out?
Now, no one knows how much or if his friends are being paid to do some of the stunts in his videos
for the sake of this video, we'll just assume that they do
but what makes them say yes to things outside their job description?
or things that just seem too dangerous to say yes to?
AHHHHHHHH!
You almost got my nail
another way Dobrik gets his friends to be involved in his stunts is reciprocity
essentially you're more likely to do something for someone if they've done something for you first
that's not as bad as it sounds. Think about it
you wouldn't be friends with someone who always kept asking you for money and favors
and when you ask something of them, they don't return the help
Natalie, Dobrik's assistant
is asked to go on Hollywood Boulevard to play the drums using paint buckets
It's definitely an embarrassing task and not really in her job description as an assistant
Tomorrow, I want you to go on Hollywood Blvd.
and drum on these buckets
You're my assistant. You have to. No I don't.
Yes you do. I'll let you keep 20% of the proceeds.
Whoa! I'm not going to get on Hollywood Blvd. and drum on an orange Home Depot bucket
You think white's better?
Prior to asking her to do the drum task,
he had gotten her a car
making her more inclined to say yes to this task
in a more obvious example to reciprocity, some of his friends are paid so that he can surprise them
by shting them with a paintball gn whenever he wants
you can tell David Dobrik has really mastered the art of persuasion
and there are actually books that go into detail of how to master this art
one of my favorites and it's actually one that has helped me in my life
is called "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini
I like it a lot because unlike those other self-help guru books, this is actually based on scienctific evidence
Basically the book is about the six universal principles of persuasion
I went over some in the video but, the book of course
goes into detail more about them and it's obviously not as evil as it sounds
you can use it to help you in your life, your relationships, school, businesses
I for example used the reciprocity principle to help me work with people
I wouldn't have otherwise been able to work with
When I had about 300 subscribers on YouTube, I really wanted to work with this bigger psychology channel
now obviously 300 subscribers isn't really anything to offer numbers-wise
but I did have a degree in psychology at that time
and I knew how to edit and produce videos
So, I said you know what I'll work for you guys for free, so I offer that
and eventually that free work turned into paid work.
It's a really good book and you can listen to it for free
by going to audible.com/psychirl or texting PSYCHIRL to 500 500
and if for some reason this book doesn't interest you
audible has the largest selection of audiobooks on the planet
and overall it's just an easy way to learn something
you can listen to an audio book while you're in traffic, doing laundry, or doing whatever
but honestly a big thank you to the people at audible for supporting a small channel such as mine
the final principle of persuasion David uses is likability
we tend to listen to people that carry qualities we like
if you think about your own friends or people that hang out together,
they're all very similar. David's friends are the same way
I would go even as far to say, the viewers he attracts are somewhat similar to him
To best illustrate this principle of persuasion, let's look at someone who creates similar content to David
but is perceived by the YouTube community as unlikable
Jake Paul had a similar start to Dobrik on the platform
beginning his career on vine as well as transitioning on to YouTube,
Oh! You touched it last. You got to put it away now!
Some of his content involves him pranking many of his friends
What are you doing?
Good morning honey!
David of course does the same.
David! David!
Jason Jason!
It just says... It's a cake
but Paul is perceived as a villain, while Dobrik is perceived as entertaining
In my opinion a lot of this is attributed to the principle of likability.
Dobrik has the quality of humbleness about him while Paul does not
In addition, the cast on both channels are very different
Paul has gathered social media influencers under one roof
whom he sees potential growth
This means it started off as a business relationship
so there isn't that likability that happens naturally between friends
this is why I think you see a number of crew members
leaving the team 10 house
Dobrik's crew members met when they were all still struggling to grow on vine
they became friends because of a shared interest rather than a business relationship
and friendships of course are built on the back of likability
because of this Dobrik has the persuasion of likability while Paul does not
Persuasion is a powerful tool
some people seem to naturally have
many take it as an evil manipulative practice used for ill intent,
but it doesn't have to be
Dobrik has used it to boost himself and his friends up while entertaining the viewer as well
Okay David Dobrik stans
see that wasn't so bad
this video was entirely positive
so, please don't @ me
this video was actually suggested to me by Josh Belda
He says that David Dobrik has sociopthic tendencies
but i'm not so sure about that
from what i've seen in these videos
i just feel like he's really great at persuading people
You know ultimately it's YouTube. A lot of people put on this character of
ooo do anything for the views and all that so,
I don't know about sociopths
that's the end of the video
What do you guys think? Do you think David Dobrik is a sociopth?
and have you used these principles in your life before I'll see you guys next time
hopefully I find my straightener by then or maybe I get a new one
stay psyched