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

Chapter 5 Communicator Characteristics

Demographic Variables Age Education Gender Socio-economic status Political party affiliation Race/ethnicity Religion hobbit/Shutterstock.com

Demographic Variables Age: Some age groups are more susceptible to influence than others Children Aren’t as cognitively developed Less adept at resisting advertising More easily swayed by lures

DEMOGRAPHICS--continued Elderly Some seniors experience cognitive decline Some scammers target elderly Loneliness; eager for human interaction Savings: nest-egg is a tempting target Fixed incomes; looking for extra money children adults elderly gullibility life-stages hypothesis: curvilinear relationship between age and gullibility

GENDER Gender stereotypes Males are perceived as being more persuasive than females Double-bind for females Women who are direct, assertive, forceful may be perceived negatively Reinforcement expectancy theory Male MDs can use more negative strategies than female MDs Uber Images/shutterstock.com

GENDER Cross-Sex Effect People are more easily persuaded by the opposite sex Lisa F. Young/Shutterstock.com

Culture & ETHNICITY Individualistic cultures Collectivistic cultures “I” perspective independence individual autonomy direct strategies Collectivistic cultures “We” perspective interdependence group harmony getting along, fitting in indirect strategies

INTELLIGENCE In general, unintelligent people are more easily persuaded than intelligent people. Caveats and cautions unintelligent people may not comprehend the message unintelligent people may rely more on peripheral cues

SELF ESTEEM High esteem persons may be more receptive Low esteem person may be more likely to yield Person with moderate esteem are more likely to receive, and yield to, a message Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com

ANXIETY LEVEL Low anxiety individuals may be less vulnerable to anxiety arousing messages Highly anxious persons may be more vulnerable, but less receptive Anxiety increases a person’s motivation to be accurate or correct in processing a message tommaso79/Shutterstock.com

Preference for consistency High PFCs strive to be consistent in their attitudes and behaviors Low PFCs can tolerate contradictory attitudes and behaviors Inducing hypocrisy can cause cognitive dissonance Dissonance can change behavior

SELF MONITORING High self monitors are more responsive to social cues more likely to adjust appearances and behavior more likely to conform to social norms Low self monitors are more likely to “do their own thing” less sensitive to social cues can come across as clueless or insensitive HSMs are more responsive to acceptance, social rewards HSMs are more responsive to image-based advertising LSMs are more attentive to message content LSMs rely more on their own judgment

EGO-INVOLVEMENT People tend to avoid or ignore messages in their LOR High ego involvement and extreme attitudes go together Individual’s with high ego involvement have small LOAs and Large LORs Individuals with low ego involvement have large LOAs and small LORs People tend to avoid or ignore messages in their LOR High credibility can stretch one’s LOA

Social Judgment Theory large latitude of acceptance small latitude of rejection small latitude of acceptance large latitude of rejection Larry is mildly ego-involved on the issue of abortion Loretta is highly ego- involved on the issue of abortion

EGO-INVOLVEMENT assimilation/contrast phenomenon assimilation: incorporating a position contrast: polarization of a position

DOGMATISM & AUTHORITARIANISM Authoritarians tend to be conservative in their thinking exhibit closed- mindedness remain rigid in their beliefs see things as black or white, right or wrong be easily influenced by authority figures Dogmatics (high dogs) similar to authoritarians, but may be liberal or conservative Social vigilantes try to force their views onto others

NARCISSISM & COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY Narcissists are self- centered, self- absorbed Susceptible to messages that reinforce their ego Cognitive complexity refers to nuanced thinking need for cognition High NFCs rely more on central processing Low NFCs rely more on peripheral cues

Argumentativeness & verbal aggressiveness Argumentativeness refers to a constructive trait a form of assertiveness a willingness to disagree a focus on the issue(s), not personalities Verbal aggressiveness refers to a destructive trait a form of hostility an emphasis on insults, put downs the use of threats, ultimatums

AUDIENCE ADAPTATION Adapt your persuasive message to your listeners’ frame of reference tailor the message to the listeners’ attitudes and beliefs adjust your message based on age, culture, and gender consider personalities and other traits when designing the message Monkey Business Images/shutterstock.com