Persuasion Week 4 Ch5 Flashcards
what is persuasion
trying to change someones attitudes/reasoning about some topic
the because heuristic
just based on hearing because, more likely to comply as you assume there is a thoughtful reason
we will process a message carefully when we are
motivated to do so
able to do so
the two routes to persuasion
central: carefully and deliberately look at the message (system 2) - substance of message is what is important
peripheral: attend to the simple, superficial cues (system 1) - communicator is important
which route to persuasion leads to more enduring attitude/thought change
central
what are the 4 factors that influence persuasion
the communicator (who says it)
the message content (what is said)
the channel of communication (how it is said)
the audience (to whom it is said)
what impacts the communicators persuasion
credibility
-perceived expertise
-perceived trustworthiness
attractiveness and liking
-visual and similarity to us
sleeper effect
when we forget the source/credibility of the source and just remember the message content
delayed persuasion is the result
how does reason/emotion affect message content persuasion
if audience initial attitude was formed by reason or emotion, responds more to that
good feelings make us more likely to accept new ideas - especially less reflexive judgements
fear arousing - more frightened people are the more they respond
-even better if they can take action toward a solution
how should discrepancy be handled when persuading others
depends on communicator credibility
if highly discrepant, needs to be highly credible
if people are really involved in the issue, they are less flexible and discrepancy should be narrower
what cases are one vs two sided appeals best for
One-sided most effective when the audience already agrees, and two-sided (acknowledge both arguments) more effective for those who disagree
Two-sided presentation is more persuasive and enduring if people are (or will be) aware of opposing arguments
primacy vs recency in message content
primacy: info presented first most effective, use this effect if messages are back to back
recency: info presented initially can fade away leaving more recent info as most persuasive
use when time/forgetting occurs between messages
best uses for the channels of communication
Usually face-to-face appeals work best. - more life like works best
Print media can be effective for complex messages - increase fluency/time to understand message
the mass media can be effective when the issue is minor or unfamiliar and when the media reach opinion leaders.
what about an audience influences how they are persuaded
age (younger more flexible)
what they are thinking while receiving a message
-bring forth favourable thoughts or arguments
-do they feel like you are trying to persuade them
-distraction disarms
-involved or uninvolved affects what cues they listen to
successes of cult recruitments come from strategies such as:
eliciting behavioural commitments (get increasingly extreme)
applying principles of effective persuasion (charismatic leader and warm group)
and isolating members in like-minded groups (cult becomes identity)
link of climate change to persuasion
rapid social and cultural change to protect the planet
public opinion on climate change is affected by
Vivid and recent experiences often overwhelm abstract statistics
Persuasive messages must first be understood
§ Mixed messages in the media can lead people to discount the threat
System justification
§ Don’t want to change our comfortable ways (eating, travelling and consuming)
Education matters
how can persuasion be resisted
attitude strength (stronger upholds more and affects processing, stability)
information processing biases
reactance - if we know someone is trying to persuade us
strengthening personal commitment - public commitment, commit more when beliefs are attacked, developing counter-arguments
inoculation programs
types of information processing biases
cognitive dissonance
selective exposure
selective attention
selective processing - more convinced by what we agree with
selective memory - recall what is congruent with our attitudes
attitude inoculation
§ Small dose of belief-threatening material to inoculate them against later persuasion - counter arguments
□ Better defense against a larger attack later
elements of classic persuasion/social influence techniques
reciprocity (door in face)
commitment/consistency (foot in the door)
social proof (others are a reference point)
liking
authority (comply with authority figures)
scarcity
