Lectures Flashcards
persuasion definition
a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behavior regarding an issue through the transmission of a message, in an atmosphere of free choice
application areas of persuasive communication
- corporate sphere 2. public sphere 2. individual sphere
halo effect
generally attractive people are seen as more intelligent, more successful, etc.)
Attractive people get more positive responses, more persuasive, better paid jobs, nicer partners, etc.
definition attitude
A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor
attitude function - knowledge function
Attitudes organize our thinking; make the world understandable/predictable
Attitudes help us predict situations/people
attitude function - instrumental function
Attitudes and associated behavior will help obtain positive outcomes
Usually result from learning processes (rewards/punishments)
attitude function - ego-defensive function
Attitudes help maintain a positive self-image
Ingroup versus outgroup; negative attitude towards other groups confirms own superiority
attitude function - value-expressive function
People want to express their identity
Attitudes help to express central values and obtain social approval
attitude function - social adjustment
People like others with similar beliefs
Expressing attitudes helps in forming or maintain (or blocking) relationships
expectancy-value approach
attitude = strengths of beliefs x evaluations of these beliefs
cognitive dissonance - spreading of alternatives
rating the alternative you didn’t choose more negatively than the option you did choose to decrease dissonance
concorde effect
sticking to loss making things
principle of compatibility
attitudes and behavior correlate more strongly when behavior and attitude are similarly specific
e.g., Contraception: correlation = .08
Oral contraception during the next 2 years: correlation = .57
principle of aggregation
attitudes and behavior correlate more strongly when one measures behavior with multiple items/attitudes with multiple items
e.g., combining scales
theory of reasoned action (TRA) - Fishbein & Azjan
Behavior predicted by: (1) attitude towards the behavior, (2) subjective norm, (3) behavioral intention
theory of planned behavior (TPB) -
How to change behavior (quit smoking): change attitude (you can do it), subjective norm (tell them you stink due to the smoke), !behavioral control! (your doctor can help you quit)
inoculation
Providing receiver with weak arguments against your own persuasive message
classical conditioning - higher order conditioning
association with a symbol (instead of food, sound, or electroshock)
Having a strong response to an object
E.g., Puking when you see a bus, because a person used to be carsick
classical conditioning - vicarious conditioning
(“second hand”) conditioning: perceiving an association in others
Developing stereotypes
E.g., your father is scared of a mouse, which makes you scared as well
operant conditioning
Operant (spontaneous) behavior is followed by punishment or reward
- Positive reinforcement: reward for positive behavior
- Negative reinforcement: removing a negative stimulus as a reward
- Positive punishment: “you didn’t clean up your room, so now you have to go to bed early”
- Negative punishment: “you didn’t clean up your room, now you don’t get a chocolate”
mere exposure
we like familiarity/similarity
Zajonc, 1968: exposure to stimuli leads to a more positive attitude towards those stimuli (works with both conscious and unconscious exposure)
paralinguistic - powerless speech
Qualifiers ‘I think’
Hesitation ‘uhm’
Tag questions ‘don’t you think so?’
Disclaimers ‘I don’t know much about this, but…’
sender characteristics
- charisma
- authority/expertise
- social attractiveness (likability/similarity)
social judgement theory - muzafer & sherif
Judging a message - 3 latitudes
- Rejection
- Non-commitment
- Acceptance