U3 Communication: Features of persuasive communication Flashcards
What does persuasion involve?
Persuasion involves attempting to change someone’s beliefs, feelings and behaviour
What is persuasion most associated with?
Advertising and attitude change
What are the variables in the context in which persuasion takes place?
- Source of the message (who the person presenting the message is)
- Contents of the message (what form the message is in: talking, texting, advertising, etc)
- Audience/reciever of the message (who the message is being sent to)
What did Petty and Cacioppo do?
- Developed the elaboration-likelihood model of persuasion
- Where people think about the argument being made when they receive a message
- And persuasion follows one of two processes/routes depending on the amount of elaboration required
What are the two routes to persuasion in the elaboration-likelihood model of persuasion?
- Central route to persuasion
- Peripheral route to persuasion
What is the central route to persuasion in the elaboration-likelihood model of persuasion?
The route that occurs when the receiver:
- gives thoughtful consideration to the content of the message
- is an active participant in the process of persuasion - is both motivated and able to think about the message
Attitudes changed through the central route are considered carefully and have longer lasting effects
What is the peripheral route to persuasion in the elaboration-likelihood model of persuasion?
The route that occurs when the receiver:
- decides to agree or disagree with a message based on cues other than the content of the message (shortcuts)
- lacks the motivation or ability to process the message as they don’t care about or understand the topic
Peripheral processing is quick and doesn’t require much cognitive effect
What are the components of persuasive communication?
- Source of the message
- Nature of the communication
- Characteristics of the audience
What is “source of the message” as a component of persuasive communication?
Who the person presenting the message is
People are more likely to be persuaded by people that:
- Are likeable
- Appear trustworthy
- Are similar to them
- Have high status (are perceived as experts in certain fields)
- Talk fast (causes listeners to assume the speaker is knowledgeable and makes it harder for listeners to properly evaluate the content )
What is “nature of the communication” as a component of persuasive communication?
The content (what) and medium (how: speaking, writing, texting) used for communicating a message, which also includes tone (formal/informal, polite/rude)
- Written information in printed advertisements is comprehended and understood more often than information spoken and presented on TV so companies using TV for ads tend to keep their ads simple
- Sometimes fear is used to create anxiety to convince people to submit to a message, without causing too much anxiety to the point where the message is missed
What is “characteristics of the audience” as a component of persuasive communication?
The attributes of who the message is being sent to (intended audience) which affect the content and communication style of the message
Characteristics: age, gender, relationship to presenter, personality, level of education, culture
Need for cognition
- People with a high need for cognition are unmoved by weak arguments and may be persuaded by strong arguments
- People with a low need for cognition are persuaded by peripheral factors (perceived expertise or trustworthiness)
Culture
- People from Western cultures are likely to be persuaded by logic alone
- People from Asian cultures are likely to be persuaded when both logic and emotion are used
