Just Saying No to Gifts From Drug Makers. And remember my new motto - just say no to Nexium. Gifts work, that is why they are used. Robert Cialdini has studied the psychology of influence and written widely on the subject - Influence: How And Why People Agree To Things by Robert Cialdini. The link gives a summary of his findings. The first method used in obtaining influence is reciprocity . When we accept gifts from the drug rep, and we are confronted with choosing between 2 or 3 equivalent drugs, we just might use their drug - this represents reciprocity. This factor does not rule our decision making - rather it influences it. That is what the drug companies want. That is why we gain when we say no. The pharmaceutical industry understands it - and their new rules should level the playing field. They will divert their moneys to direct to patient advertising (in my opinion) and try to influence us that way.