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

2. Chapter 1
Why Study Persuasion?

3. Persuasion is pervasive
The average person is exposed to anywhere from 300 to 5,000 messages per day
The average child watches 16, 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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”)

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

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

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

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

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

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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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