Chapter 7: Persuasion

Question 1

What is “persuasion”?

Answer 1

The process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

Question 2

What is the different between “central route” and “peripheral route” persuasion? How are these routes most effective for persuasion?

Answer 2

Central route - occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

Peripheral route - occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness

When issues don’t engage systemic thinking, persuasion may occur through a faster, peripheral route, as people use heuristics or incidental cues to make snap judgements.

Central route persuasion is more thoughtful and less superficial, and is more durable and more likely to influence behavior

Question 3

What are factors that influence persuasion (e.g., the communicator, message content, etc.)?

Answer 3

The Communicator (who says it)
The Message (what is said)
How the message is communicated (how it is said)
The Audience (to whom it is said)

Question 4

What is meant by the “credibility” of the communicator?

Answer 4

Credibility = Believability

A credible communicator is perceived as both expert and trustworthy

Question 5

What is the “sleeper effect”?

Answer 5

A delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, such as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it.

Occurs when people remember the message better than the reason for originally discounting it.

Question 6

How does one influence the degree to which they are perceived as an expert?

Answer 6

Begin with saying something that the audience believes.

It also helps to be seen as knowledgable on the topic.

Question 7

What factors in the communicator are important for their ability to persuade?

Answer 7

• Perceived expertise: Communicators are more persuasive when they are perceived as expert users of the product
• Speaking style: Speaking confidently and fluently makes you appear more credible and thus, more persuasive
• Perceived trustworthiness: People are more willing to listen to a communicator they trust

Question 8

What factors in the message content are important in persuasive messaging?

Answer 8

Message content is important in persuasive communication

• Well-educated or analytical people are responsive to rational appeals
• Is a logical or emotional message more persuasive?
• How should you present your message?
• Should the message express your side only, or should it have a counterargument?
• If people are to present both sides, is there an advantage to going first?
• How much information should be included?

Question 9

What role do reason and emotion have in a persuasive message (i.e., in the content of the message)?

Answer 9

Messages can be more persuasive through association with good feelings, such as what often accompanies munching food or hearing pleasant music.
– A person’s initial attitudes are important as they are more persuaded by later peripheral, emotional appeals

Messages can be effective by evoking negative emotions such as fear

• • Think of the anti-smoking campaign showing cigarette smokers all the horrible things that happen
• • Playing on fear works best if a message leads people not only to fear the severity and the likelihood of an threatened event but also to perceive a solution and feel capable of implementing it

Question 10

What affect do positive feelings and fear have in altering the persuasiveness of a message?

Answer 10

Messages can be more persuasive through association with good feelings, such as what often accompanies munching food or hearing pleasant music.

Playing on fear works best if a message leads people not only to fear the severity and the likelihood of an threatened event but also to perceive a solution and feel capable of implementing it

Question 11

Is it better to have a one- or two-sided appeal in a persuasive message?

Answer 11

Showing both sides of an argument can be more persuasive if you were to debunk the
opposing side.

If the audience will be exposed to opposing views, it is best to offer a two-sided appeal.

Whether a one- or two-sided message is more persuasive depends on whether the audience already agrees with the message, is unaware of opposing arguments, and is unlikely later to consider the opposition.

Question 12

What is the difference between the “primacy effect” and the “recency effect?”

Answer 12

Primacy effect – Other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence.

Recency effect – information presented last sometimes has the most influence. Recency effects are less common than primacy effects.

When two sides of an issue are presented separately, the primacy effect often makes the first message more persuasive. If a time gap separates the presentations, the more likely result will be a recency effect in which the second message prevails.

Question 13

What factors affect the channel of communication in persuasiveness?

Answer 13

An important consideration is how the message is communicated.

Usually, face-to-face appeals work best.

Print media can be effective for complex messages.

The mass media can be effective when the issue is minor or unfamiliar, and when the media reach opinion leaders.

Question 14

Which is most powerful in persuading others - contact with people or the media?

Answer 14

Persuasion studies demonstrate that the major influence on us is not the media but our contact with people

Worth of mouth or seeing our friends do something can be more influential.

Question 15

What is the “two-step flow of communication?”

Answer 15

The process by which media influence often occurs through opinion leaders, who in turn influence others.

Question 16

What factors about the audience are important for a communication to be persuasive?

Answer 16

It matters who receives the message. The age of the audience makes a difference; young people’s attitudes are more subject to change. Uninvolved audiences using peripheral cues are more likely to be persuaded.

What does the audience think while receiving a message?
Do they think favorable thoughts?
Do they counter-argue?
Were they forewarned?

Question 17

What is the affect of forewarning an audience before they hear the message in its ability to persuade?

Answer 17

Knowing beforehand what someone may counter argue with can allow you to be less likely to be persuaded

Question 18

What is a “cult,” and how does that become so persuasive to would-be and current members?

Answer 18

• Cults are also referred to as new religious movements
• Many people guess that cult members are gullible, unbalanced people, but the social psychological principles of persuasion suggest that the same strategies used by politicians and advertisements, with larger consequences, in recruiting people to cults
• Potential converts are often at turning points in their lives, facing personal crises, or vacationing or living away from home

Question 19

What are the factors that make it more likely to resist persuasion?

Answer 19

Developing counter-arguments can help

A mild attack can also serve as inoculation, stimulating one to develop counterarguments that will then be available when a strong attack comes

This implies that one way to strengthen existing attitudes is to challenge them, although the challenge must not be so strong as to overwhelm them

Question 20

What is attitude inoculation?

Answer 20

Exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available

Question 21

The communicator (who says it)

Answer 21

How credible is the communicator?

Are they perceived as an expert?
– Begin by saying things the audience agrees with

What is their speaking style?

• • Do they speak confidently and fluently?
• • A balance between talking and listening is important

Perceived Trustworthiness

• • We are more likely to listen to someone we trust.
• • Trustworthiness is higher if the audience believes that the communicator is not trying to persuade them
• • Direct eye does NOT improve persuasion

Attractiveness and liking

• • We’re more likely to respond to those we like
• • Attractiveness and fame matter most people are making superficial judgments
• • We tend to like people who are like us

Question 22

The message (what is said)

Answer 22

Reason vs. Emotion

• • The effect of good feelings
• • The effect of arousing fear

Message context

One-sided vs. Two-sided appeals

Primacy vs. Recency

Question 23

How the message is communicated (how it is said)

Answer 23

Active experience or passive reception

Personal vs. Media influence

Media influence: The Two-Step Flow

Type of media

Question 24

The Audience (to whom it is said)

Answer 24

How old are they?

What are they thinking?

Are they forewarned?

Distraction disarms counter-arguing

Peripheral cues for uninvolved audiences

Question 25

Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon

Answer 25

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Question 26

Lowball technique

Answer 26

A tactic for getting people to agree to something. People who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the requester ups the ante. People who receive only the costly request are less likely to comply with it.

Question 27

Door-in-the-face technique

Answer 27

A strategy for gaining a concession. After someone first turns down a large request (the door-in-the-face), the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request