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Theories of Persuasion
2 Theories of Persuasion
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Learning Objectives After reading the chapter, you should be able to:
List the five functions of communication theories Describe Aristotle’s theory of persuasion and the five canons of rhetoric Describe semiotics and the different ways that symbols have meaning.
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Learning Objectives Describe cognitive dissonance theory, the elaboration likelihood model, and problematic integration theory. Describe symbolic convergence theory. Describe various theories of media, including the two-step flow of information, uses and gratification research, cultivation analysis, and agenda setting.
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Key Terms Theory Deliberative speech Forensic speech Epideictic speech
Ethos Credibility Pathos Logos Inductive reasoning Deductive reasoning Style Metaphor Five “canons” of rhetoric Sign Semiotics Iconic sign Indexical sign Symbolic sign
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Key Terms Code Dissonance Central-route processing
Peripheral-route processing Fantasy Fantasy themes Fantasy types Rhetorical vision Agenda-setting theory
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Persuasion Theories Theories are human constructions, no one theory completely or accurately describes the concept it sets out to explain All theories presented contribute to explanations of persuasion in today’s mediated world A theory of persuasion is a set of statements designed to describe, explain, and/or predict persuasive communication
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Persuasion Theories Theories grouped according to focus:
Persuasive source Audience Message Medium
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Persuasion Theories Theory Focus Aristotle’s Theory of Persuasion
Message generation and source Five Canons of Rhetoric Message generation and presentation Semiotics Meaning Cognitive Dissonance Theory Audience reception and processing Problematic Integration Theory Elaboration Likelihood Model Symbolic Convergence Theory Social interaction and meaning Uses and Gratification Theory Media use Cultivation Analysis Media effects Agenda Setting
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Functions of Theories Explain data – clarify a confusing situation
Predict future events – identify patterns in events to determine their underlying causes; establish cause-effect relationships Expresses their ideas simply – theoretical statements should flow smoothly from each other Identify testable hypotheses – has the possibility of being proved wrong. There must be a way for future researchers to evaluate a theory Practical – useful to our lives in some way
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Early Rhetorical Theory
First theories of persuasion – focused on oratory in literate cultures, which we refer to as rhetoric Aristotle was among the first theorists to present a unified theory of persuasion and identified three types of persuasive speaking situations Deliberative speeches Forensic speeches Epideictic speeches
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Aristotle’s Rhetorical Theory
Type of speech Purpose Example Deliberative speech Designed to persuade that some future action should be taken Legislative deliberations Forensic speeches Attempt to prove that some past action occurred Courtroom speeches to prove (or dispute) a crime Epideictic speeches Praise or blame some person or event Eulogy Award ceremony
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Aristotle’s Rhetorical Theory
Persuaders use proof to persuade audiences Artistic proof – created or invented by persuader Ethos or character Pathos or emotion Logos or logic Inartistic proof – controlled by the situation; statistics, photographs, examples of past situations
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Key Aristotelian Concepts
Terminology Definition Example Types of persuasion Deliberative Determine future action Legislative debate Forensic Prove past action Court proceedings Epideictic Praise or blame a person or event Eulogy speech Artistic proof Ethos Proving the persuader’s credibility “I have the experience necessary to be your mayor.” Pathos Appealing to audience emotion “Purchase a cell phone to keep yourself safe when traveling.” Logos Using logical reasoning “Because wearing a condom can reduce the likelihood of getting a sexually transmitted disease, you should wear a condom.”
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Key Aristotelian Concepts
Ethos Audiences are persuaded not only by the argument presented, but by the speaker’s credibility as well Credibility – degree of character, competence, and trustworthiness audience perceives in persuader Ethos composed of three qualities Practical wisdom Virtue Goodwill
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Key Aristotelian Concepts
Pathos Form of proof that appeals to an audience’s emotions Effective speakers understand an audience’s emotions Emotions include anger, calmness, friendliness, enmity, fear, confidence, shame and shamelessness, kindliness, pity, indignation, envy, and emulation
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Key Aristotelian Concepts
Logos Use of logical argument One form of inductive reasoning is argument by example: reasoning from specific cases to a universal concept Deductive reasoning involves reasoning from generalizations to structurally certain conclusions
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Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory
Persuasion relies on commonplaces, or topoi Commonplace is a standard argument that can be used in a variety of persuasive situations: “If something is good, then more of it is better.” Arrangement of persuasive speeches – only two necessary components Stating the claim Demonstrating or proving it
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Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory
Style is the manner in which ideas are communicated – should “be clear” Metaphor – associates a new idea with an idea audience already understands Transition – links what was just discussed with what will be discussed next Signpost –words such as first, next, or finally signal that persuader is moving on to a new idea Previews – list ideas to be discussed Reviews – summarize what has been discussed
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Early Rhetorical Theory
Rhetorica ad Herennium Ancient book by anonymous author that identified the five “canons” of rhetoric First complete handbook of persuasion theory Five canons of rhetoric Invention Arrangement Style Delivery Memory
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The Five Canons of Rhetoric
Description Invention Creation of ideas around which a speech is based Arrangement Ordering of ideas so they will be persuasive to the audience Style Use of language to create an impression on the audience Delivery Use of voice and gesture in the presentation of the speech Memory Remembering the speech to maximize eye contact and credibility
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Semiotics Ancient theories assumed that words had more or less concrete meaning Words were not seen as ambiguous Years later theorists observed that words are more or less arbitrary – language system is symbolic Words are a type of sign – something that signifies some thing other than itself Semiotics – the theory of the meaning of signs and symbols
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Semiotics C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards – meaning does not depend on the word, but rather on the people who use the word Three dimensions of meaning Words, or symbols Thoughts, or references Objects, or referents Semantic triangle describes relationship between the three dimensions of meaning
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Ogden and Richards’s Semantic Triangle
Between the symbol and the thought there is a direct relationship; between the referent and the thought, there is also a direct relationship. Yet between the object and the symbol there is an indirect relationship.
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Semiotics Sign, symbol and word have distinct meanings
Sign – something that designates something other than itself Signals (natural signs) – footprints in the snow Symbols (more or less arbitrary signs) – a stop sign that symbolizes “halt”
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Semiotics Iconic signs – resemble what they represent
“Boom,” “splat,” “drip” Indexical signs – get their meaning from the association with another object Smoke signals fire Symbolic signs – ambiguous, purely arbitrary relationship with what they mean To make sense of symbols, we use codes, a set of rules enabling correlations between words and objects they represent
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Semiotics Arthur Asa Berber defines codes:
A system of conventions that enables one to detect meaning in signs E.g., dictionary is a codebook to decode meaning of words Language codes – understand words’ meanings Scientific codes – H2O, CO2 Insignia codes – flags, uniforms, shop signs Fashion codes – clothing style identifies wearer Ritual codes – weddings, funerals, graduations
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Audience-Oriented Theories
Cognitive dissonance theory Problematic integration theory Elaboration likelihood model
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Leon Festinger (1957) When we experience inconsistency between two beliefs, we find ways to restore balance Persuaders seek to disrupt that balance and then offer a way to restore it Irrelevant relationship – two ideas are unrelated and do not conflict Consonant relationship – two ideas support each other Dissonance – two ideas are inconsistent and need to be adjusted to restore balance
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Cognitive Dissonance Actions
Example Change one of the ideas “I have been persuaded that smoking is harmful, so I’ll stop smoking.” Seek more information “Another study found that smoking isn’t harmful, so I’ll continue to smoke.” Avoid contrary information “I’ll just stop reading the health section of the newspaper so I don’t have to read about new scientific studies.” Reduce the important of one of the cognitive elements “The chance that smoking will be harmful to me is so small that I’ll continue to smoke.” Introduce a third cognitive element to reconcile the two dissonant elements “Scientific studies are so confusing that you can’t really trust anything you read.”
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Problematic Integration Theory
Austin Babrow (1995) Problematic Integration (PI) – when we experience problems integrating two diverse ideas, we turn to communication to help resolve our discomfort Probabilistic judgment – a subjective judgment of the likelihood of an association between two objects of thought Evaluative judgment – evaluate the goodness or badness of a given object or relation between objects Divergence – evaluative and probabilistic judgments are at odds
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Problematic Integration Matrix
EVALUATION Positive Negative PROBABILITY High No problem integrating ideas Problematic integration (divergence) Low Problematic integration
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Problematic Integration Theory
Divergence – evaluative and probabilistic judgments are at odds Ambiguity – inability to make clear judgments about probability and evaluation Ambivalence – a single idea provokes opposing emotions Impossibility – desired resolution is impossible to achieve due to practical conflict
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Elaboration Likelihood Model
Richard E. Petty and John T. Cacioppo (1986) – ELM Persuasion occurs through two routes Central route processing – uses logic, produces more permanent persuasion Peripheral route processing – uses contextual cues, produces temporary attitude change
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Elaboration Likelihood Model
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The Social Construction of Reality
A group of theorists suggests that we create what we know of our world through the language we use to describe it What we know of reality is the result of our interactions with society and other individuals
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The Social Construction of Reality
Symbolic conversion theory – Ernest Bormann and colleagues People often create a dramatized fantasy—creative interpretation of past or future actions—to fulfill some need Stories allow group members to reduce tension or resolve conflict and create a shared culture Fantasy themes – contents of stories retold by group Fantasy types – particular fantasies with similar plots Rhetorical vision – common way of seeing the world
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Media Theories One-shot model Two-step flow of information
Uses and gratifications research Cultivation analysis Agenda setting
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One-Shot Model Assumes media have a powerful effect on their audiences
Initial assumptions about power of media were based on success of World War I and II propaganda
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Two-Step Flow of Information
1940s and 1950s researchers studied voting and found more complicated pattern than one-shot theory Media played minimal role in voter decisions Social and interpersonal factors were more persuasive than media Opinion leaders – learned about political leaders and shared information with others in the community Boster et al. (2011) – certain people more influential Well connected, very persuasive, highly expert
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Uses and Gratifications Research
Audience is not used by media Audiences actively select from various media to gratify their needs Motives for using media Surveillance – stay in touch Curiosity – learn something new Diversion – escape reality Personal identity – learn who we are Correlation – affirm knowledge and beliefs Cultural transmission – learn more about own culture
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Uses and Gratifications Research
Gratification sought Description Example Surveillance Staying in touch with current events Watching the news, monitoring news sites on smart phone Curiosity Learn something new about the world Watching reality-based television shows Diversion Need to escape reality of life Watching sitcom or dramatic television shows Personal identity Comparing ourselves with media characters to learn who we are Watching HGTV or Food Network to form opinions about likes and dislikes Correlation Finding information that confirms our beliefs Reading editorials with which we agree Cultural transmission Discovering what it means to be an American Reading fashion magazines
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Cultivation Analysis George Gerbner and the Cultural Indicators research project (1970s) Examines relationship between extent of television viewing and conception of reality Heavy viewers more likely to perceive the real world in ways that reflect the most stable and recurrent patterns or portrayals in the television world Theory interested in cumulative effects of mass media culture Heavy viewers do not get as wide a variety of world information as light viewers do Heavy viewers see world as meaner than light viewers Heavy viewers mistrust people more than light viewers
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Agenda Setting Agenda-setting theory – media may not be able to tell the public what to think, but media is effective at telling the public what to think about Gatekeepers – regulate flow of information to the public Three-part process Media agenda is set Public agenda created by the media agenda Policy agenda created by public agenda Difficult to determine whether media set or reflect public agenda
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