Chapter 7: Persuasion Jim West/Alamy Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display

Persuasion Process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Paths Lead to Persuasion? 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 Focuses on cues that trigger automatic acceptance without much thinking Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Paths Lead to Persuasion? Different Paths for Different Purposes Peripheral route Superficial and temporary attitude change Central route More durable and more likely to influence behavior Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Central and Peripheral Routes to Persuasion The Hurdles of the Persuasion Process Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? Who Says? The Communicator Credibility Believability Sleeper effect Delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? Who Says? The Communicator Credibility Perceived expertise Speaking Style: Speak confidently and fluently Perceived trustworthiness Eye contact Arguing against own self-interest Speak quickly Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? Who Says? The Communicator Attractiveness and Liking Physical attractiveness Similarity Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? What Is Said? The Message Content Reason versus Emotion Effect of good feelings Effect of arousing fear Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? What Is Said? The Message Content Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request Low-ball technique 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 Used by some car dealers Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? What Is Said? The Message Content One-sided versus two-sided appeals Which one is more effective? Depends on whether the audience already agrees with the message; if the audience is unaware of opposing arguments, it is unlikely later to consider the opposition Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? What Is Said? The Message Content Primacy versus recency 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 Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? How Is It Said? The Channel of Communication Active experience or passive reception? Active experience strengthens attitudes Repetition and rhyming of a statement serves to increase its fluency and believability Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? How Is It Said? The Channel of Communication Personal versus media influence Media influence: The two-step flow Process by which media influence often occurs through opinion leaders, who in turn influence others Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? How Is It Said? The Channel of Communication Personal versus media influence Comparing media The more lifelike the medium, the more persuasive its message Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? To Whom Is It Said? The Audience How old are they? Life cycle explanation Attitudes change as people grow older Generational explanation Attitudes do not change; older people largely hold onto the attitudes they adopted when they were young Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? To Whom Is It Said? The Audience What are they thinking? Forewarned is forearmed—If you care enough to counterargue Distraction disarms counterarguing Words can promote candidate/product Visual images keep us occupied so we don’t analyze the words Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

What Are the Elements of Persuasion? To Whom Is It Said? The Audience What are they thinking? Uninvolved audiences use peripheral cues Ways to stimulate people’s thinking Use rhetorical questions Present multiple speakers Make people feel responsible Repeat the message Get people’s undistracted attention Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

How Can Persuasion Be Resisted? Strengthening Personal Commitment Challenging beliefs Developing counterarguments Attitude inoculation Exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

How Can Persuasion Be Resisted? Real-Life Applications: Inoculation Programs Inoculating children against: Peer pressure to smoke The influence of advertising Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.

How Can Persuasion Be Resisted? Prepare others to counter persuasive appeals An ineffective appeal can be worse than none A way to strengthen existing attitudes is to weakly challenge them Copyright 2016 © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission required for reproduction or display.