PERSUASION SOCIAL INFLUENCE & COMPLIANCE GAINING Robert H. Gass & John S. Seiter

Chapter 1 Why Study Persuasion?

Persuasion is pervasive The average person is exposed to anywhere from 300 to 5,000 messages per day The average child watches 16,000 30 second commercials per year An average of $540 per person is spent on advertising in the U.S. each year. Rosseli, F., Skelly, J. J., & Mackie, D. M. (1995). Processing rational and emotional messages: The cognitive and affective mediation of persuasion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31, 163–190. Statistics Brain, Dec 7, 2013 Berger, A. A. (2011). Ads, fads, and consumer culture (4th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Jones, J. P. (2004). Fables, fashions, and facts about advertising. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. travelview / Shutterstock.com

Persuasion is an art and a science The scientific study of persuasion began in the 1940s Much is known about how to persuade people Yet, people can be difficult to persuade Dollars spent on failed political campaigns Advertising campaigns for products that flop Public health awareness campaigns that fail

Persuasion is not a dirty word Negative associations with persuasion manipulation deception brainwashing political spin Positive side of persuasion negotiating peace accords charities and philanthropic activities public safety campaigns marches and demonstrations

Going Viral: Tipping Points Malcolm Gladwell: A small number of people can create a chain reaction of social influence Mavens possess specialized expertise (fashionistas, tech gurus, celebrity chefs, wine aficionados) Connecters have large social circles to connect with (Tweeters, bloggers, podcasters, celebrities) Salespeople talk up ideas in interpersonal settings (“You gotta see this movie,” You have to try this restaurant”)

Tipping Points--continued Context: an idea must occur at the right place and time Stickiness: an idea must be inherently attractive Scalability: an idea must be easy to amplify or reproduce Effortless transfer: an idea must be easy to share or circulate rassco/Shutterstock.com

NUDGES Thaler & Sunstein, how choices are presented can affect behavior Offering children sliced, rather than whole apples Green footprints leading to a recycling container Listing sugar amounts on food packages Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com Royalty free clip art

Digital and online influence Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) creating social media buzz Sponsored content: paid endorsements for mentioning a brand or product Native advertising: ads posing as news stories Opinion mining and sentiment tracking: identifying trending topics via number of tweets, likes, shares

Digital and online influence--continued Gamification: using game theory to make a boring task into a game or competition Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding: enlisting help of others to raise money or complete a task Persuasive technology: smartwatches, fitness apps Trueffelpix/Shutterstock.com

Other Contexts for Persuasion Scientists as persuaders: influencing public opinion on climate change, childhood vaccines, GMOs Artists as persuaders: painting, cinema, photography, music can be highly influential Nonobvious persuasion: prayer, 12 step programs, panhandling Weird persuasion: lighting, background music, hand washing

Interpersonal: The most effective context Face-to-face influence is the most effective arena mass media has large reach, but low impact full range of verbal and nonverbal cues ability to adapt the message on the spot harder to say “No” in person YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/shutterstock.com

Benefits of studying persuasion Instrumental function Knowledge and awareness function Defensive function Debunking function Well-being and self worth

Instrumental function Communication competence includes Effectiveness: Becoming a more effective communicator Appropriateness: communicating in acceptable, appropriate ways El Nariz/shutterstock.com

Knowledge and awareness function Knowing how persuasion works is useful habitual persuasion is often ineffective being mindful of persuasive strategies is beneficial

Defensive function Identifying deceptive, unethical strategies Resisting influence attempts Third-person effect: underestimating persuasion’s effect on oneself overestimating persuasion’s effect on others

Debunking function Debunking bad advice regarding persuasion “Common sense” assumptions about persuasion may be mistaken Persuasion findings are often counterintuitive

Well-being and self-worth function The ability to persuade others enhances one’s own esteem Influencing others is important in building and maintaining relationships

Common criticisms of persuasion Is persuasion unethical or manipulative? Tool analogy of persuasion A tool, like a hammer, is neither good nor bad The purpose for which the tool is used is what matters A persuader’s motives can be ethical or unethical Persuasion is neutral

Common criticisms of persuasion--continued Are persuasion findings inconsistent or contradictory? Persuasion is complex Lots of moderating variables (e.g., “it depends…”) Generalizations regarding persuasion are usually qualified Meta-analysis has revealed generalizable results

Ethics and persuasion The use of persuasion is fraught with ethical concerns fear mongering hate speech fake news false advertising scams and con artists mudslinging and political attack ads Not studying persuasion won’t make hucksters and charlatans go away Studying persuasion is the best way to expose unethical influence