1. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Social Psychology by David G. Myers 9 th Edition Persuasion

2. Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Persuasion

3. Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Persuasion What is persuasion? –The process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. –Do you think that the media has the power to persuade people? –What are some of the messages the media sends to us? How can that alter our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors?

4. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. What Paths Lead to Persuasion? Central route to persuasion: occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts. –So, if the argument is strong and compelling, persuasion is likely.

5. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. What Paths Lead to Persuasion? Peripheral route to persuasion –Occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as the speaker’s attractiveness Different routes for different purposes –The goal of persuasion is to have a change in behavior –Petty (1195) noted that the central route leads to more enduring change

6. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Elements of Persuasion The communicator (who is saying something affects how the audience receives it) –Credibility: a credible speaker is seen as both an expert and trustworthy Source credibility diminishes after a month or so How do you become credible? –You start off by saying things the audience agrees with –You speak confidently Perceived Trustworthiness: –Looking straight in the eyes –Give the impression you are not trying to persuade –People who argue against their own self-interest are seen as sincere –Attractiveness: Physical appeal influences us –Liking: We tend to like people who are like us –Dove commercials

7. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Elements of Persuasion The message content –Reason versus emotion Depending on the audience, reason or emotion is more effective Good feelings, such as positive thinking enhance persuasion Fear can also be effective, such as in the case of smoking –Discrepancy: Only a highly credible communicator maintains effectiveness when arguing an extreme position

8. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Elements of Persuasion –One-sided versus two-sided appeals How do you deal with the opposing argument? –Acknowledging the other side can be very effective –Werner (2002) noted that when a sign that read “No Aluminum Cans Please!!!!” was changed and the line “It may be inconvenient, but its important” was added, recycling increased by 80% –Primacy versus recency: Primacy: information presented first has the most impact Recency: information presented last has the most impact When 2 persuasive messages are back to back and the audience responds some time later, the first message has the advantage When the two messages are separated in time and the audience responds after the second message, the second message has the advantage.

9. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Six Persuasion Principles

10. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Elements of Persuasion

11. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Elements of Persuasion

12. Persuasion Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Elements of Persuasion