1. Part I
Concepts of Persuasion

2. Persuasion in Contemporary Society1
Persuasion in Contemporary Society

3. Learning Objectives After reading the chapter, you should be able to:
Trace the influence of media on culture and persuasion.
Explain various approaches to studying and defining persuasion.
Identify characteristics of persuasion in the media age.
Name the five objectives for persuaders.
Recognize the implications of contemporary persuasion for audience members.

4. Key Terms Mediated world Culture Postindustrial culture
Postmodern condition
Persuasion
Coproduction of meaning
Identification
Symbol
Commoditization

5. Media in Contemporary Society
Americans spend 12 hours per day consuming information
Television broadcasts dominate how we view the world
Social media connect individuals as never before
Contemporary culture presents complex web of influences

6. Media in Contemporary Society
Communication medium brings information
Nature of medium changes information
Source of information
Receiver of information
Medium determines culture in which information is transmitted
Mediated world – an environment in which media serve as intermediaries in the communication process, coming between audiences and persuaders and affecting the information that passes between the two

7. Media in Contemporary Society
Self-perceptions developed through interaction with media
Commoditization – a strategy used by persuaders to create value for their products or ideas
Advertising determines values assigned to commodities
Clothing
Food
Cars

8. Media and Consciousness
Walter Ong – the dominant communication medium in a given culture influences the consciousness of the people within that culture
Oral
Written
Electronic media – broadcasting
New media – interactive digital technology

9. Media and Consciousness
Oral culture’s consciousness is dependent on face-to-face communication
Communicators use memory aids
Oral communication lacks abstract thought
Oral communicators are redundant
Oral communicators know their audience

10. Media and Consciousness
The use of printing influences the consciousness of literate cultures
Sender and receiver are separated
Printed words create a linear logic
Abstract thought is possible
Communicators create logical relationships between evidence and claims

11. Media and Consciousness
Electronic media create yet a different type of consciousness
Sender and receiver have the sense that they are present with each other
Audiences are large and diverse
Audiences can control the communication situation
Electronic media alter their users’ sense of time and place
Electronic media allow us to have vicarious experiences

12. Media and Consciousness
New Media are means of electronic communication that provide for interactivity between sender and receiver
New Media allow sender and receiver to interact
New Media extend a user’s reach through time and space

13. Characteristics of Media Cultures
Sender-receiver relationship
Thinking style
Oral
Face to face
Immediate
Cannot conceive of ideas outside immediate thought and immediate experiences
Literate
Printing
Separated
Linear thought Abstract thought
Electronic
Television Radio
Sense of participation
Vicarious experience Participate via media
New media
Internet
Interactive
Nonlinear

14. Persuasion and Culture
Culture – a set of beliefs, values, and practices that sustains a particular people
Users of same medium share a culture
Media selects, emphasizes, encodes, and limits amount of conveyed information
Mediated communication creates a new kind of truth
Electronic culture creates only an illusion of closeness between persuader and audience
People are fragmented as never before

15. Media and Knowledge “The medium is the message.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1964)
Each medium alters content of a communicated experience
Ideas of truth change with how we communicate

16. Postman’s Observations about Media and Knowledge (1985)
Knowledge is fragmented – short, unrelated events fail to present logical, ordered world view
Knowledge appears in forms most suited to television – short and to the point; ignores complex ideas; flashy and theatrical become value standards
Knowledge requires specific processing skills – overload of information difficult to evaluate
Knowledge is produced by invisible technologies that are accepted without question

17. Postindustrial Culture and the Postmodern Condition
Postindustrial culture – society is fragmented as a result of economic, social, and technological changes that have accompanied its maturation from a manufacturing to a services orientation
Postmodern condition – breakdown in the accepted understanding of the world
Truth, knowledge and certainty all questioned
Electronic media allows many voices to be heard
Persuaders struggle for power by controlling meaning of events, images, and symbols through media presentation

18. Defining Persuasion
Focus on persuader – early teachers of rhetoric such as Aristotle were concerned about how various speaking tools can bring about persuasive effects in an audience.
Proof
Use of emotion
Focus on audience – Wallace Fotheringham (1966) focused on how the receiver’s motives and attitudes affect the success of a persuasive message. Shifted focus from producers to receivers
Organization
Style

19. Defining Persuasion
Focus on strategies, effects, and symbols: a systemic approach – Kenneth Burke
“… the use of symbols by one symbol-using entity to induce action in another…”
—Kenneth Burke (1969), A Rhetoric of Motives
Persuasion – the coproduction of meaning created when individuals use language strategies or other symbols to make an audience identify with those individuals

20. Definition of Persuasion
In our definition of persuasion, the persuader uses verbal and visual symbols of culture—as well as audience analysis—to affect the attitudes of an audience member. The result of persuasion is a state of identification between persuader and audience member.

21. Identification Strategies
Persuaders show common ground, association, and connection with audience to create identification
Antithesis (us-versus-them) – persuaders identify with audience by demonizing others
Use of subtle linguistic cues – “we” – or shared experience creates identification

22. Persuasion in the Media Age
Characteristic
Example
Persuasion is audience oriented.
Websites allow users to navigate in ways of their own choosing.
Persuasive effects are overdetermined.
The success of The Bachelor can’t be explained by any single factor.
Much is left unsaid.
Advertisements rely on audience members to know certain pieces of information.
Persuasion is ubiquitous but invisible.
People are surrounded by the Nike logo but don’t always realize its power.
Persuasion variables are reflexive.
We are persuaded to accept standards of credibility by credible persuaders.

23. Persuasion in the Media Age
Our model includes two more persuaders to indicate the presence of multiple persuaders in contemporary persuasive situations. The shaded circle represents the influence of the mediated environment in persuasive situations.

24. Objectives for Persuaders
Example
Forming relationships
Websites are able to customize their appearance and appeals to your preferences.
Repetition
Brand logos are placed wherever possible, so that people are constantly surrounded by them.
Electronic eloquence
Politicians speak in ways that will attract media coverage.
Commoditization
Wearing designer brands has more value than wearing generic brands.
Telling stories
Politicians use extended examples of real people and real events to persuade audiences to support their position.

25. Steve Jobs Unveils the iPhone
Watch a video of Steve Jobs’ iPhone introduction speech. How does he use the elements of persuasion described in this section?

26. Implications for Audience Members
Evaluate information – acquire and evaluate information necessary to make important decisions
Understand the persuasive process – understand the nature of influence and how persuasive sources seek to influence us
Self-concept and persuasion – think carefully about how persuaders influence how we think about ourselves and others