Persuasion - EXAM 1 Study Guide PDF

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Study Guide for exam 1 consisting of lecture notes, book notes, and other in class assignments. ...

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TEST DATE 2/1

Persuasion: Test 1 CHAPTER 1 Book Notes   Persuasion is pervasive. We are surrounded by influence attempts, both explicit and implicit, no matter where we are  It is difficult to say with any certainty what is and what is not persuasion  What constitutes persuasion, social influence, & compliance gaining  Persuasion is still as much an “art” as it is a “science”  “Think of how candidates for public office have spent fortunes campaigning, only to lose their elections”  understanding of persuasion is limited, therefore, its complicated to predict in advance which influence attempts will succeed and which will fail  Science of persuasion is still in its infancy  PT. Barnum’s axiom that “there is a sucker born every minute”, people are uncannily perspective at times  Persuasion has been scientifically studied since the 1940’s & written texts about persuasion date back to ancient Greece  Persuasion is NOT a dirty word - The study of persuasion has gotten some bad publicity over the years - Manipulation, deceit, brain washing - Sinister Side: Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Marshall Apple white, and Osama bin Laden, were all accomplished persuaders - Persuasion is the back bone of many of our communicative endeavors  Persuasion is our friend - Advertising executives, campaign managers, lawyers, lobbyists, mediators, media pundits, diplomats, etc. - Persuasion is the cornerstone of a number of positive, prosocial endeavors. Very little of the good that we see in the world could be accomplished without persuasion. - Powerful & Pro-Social force  The Pervasiveness of Persuasion: You can run but you cant hide - Persuasion is a central feature of every sphere of human communication - Various estimates suggest that the average person is exposed to anywhere from 300 to 3,000 messages per day - Americans comments on specific products and services 60 times per week – so word of mouth (WOM) generates 3.3 billion messages per day

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A message that spread via social networks can be highly effective Word of Mouth: operates largely through interpersonal channels (face 2 face, cellphone, email, IM, texting) Buzz is more effective than main stream media at reaching younger audiences Social media is so important that companies now specialize in sentiment tracking, a process of monitoring and measuring social media to gauge the publics mood in nearly real time Software can track how a person, brand, or issue is trending based not only on the number of tweets generated but also on how favorable, neutral, or negative those tweets are The software recognizes words related to feelings, emotions, and opinions and uses them to take the publics pulse on an issue Twitter has transformed the political landscape – played a role in ARAB Spring Movement & a Tunisian blogger named Lina Ben Mhenni was nominated for a Noble Peace Prize Key concepts and principles associated with buzz marketing were laid out by Malcolm Gladewell in his best seller “The Tipping Point (2000)” He likens WOM to a virus through which a message is spread until the whole society is “infected” Based on what he calls “the law of the few”, a small number of influential people can generate a groundswell of support for an idea, brand, or phenomenon. Once a message gains a certain amount of momentum, it reaches a tipping point and becomes “continuous” Malcolm Gladewell Tipping Points 1. The right people must be involved

 Gladewell identifies 3 types of people whop are essential to this process  Mavens: possess specialized expertise. They are in the know. They may be celebrity chefs, fashionistas, fitness gurus, tech geeks, or wine snobs. Mavens do not have to be rich or famous, but alpha consumers, the ones who hear about ideas and try out gadgets first. “One American in ten,” Keller and Barry (2003) maintain, “tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat, and what to buy”.  Connectors: they are carriers. They have large social networks. When connectors learn from the mavens what the “next big thing” is, they spread the word. Since social circles tend to be overlapping, forwarding messages spreads them increasingly outward from their epicenter.  Sales People: They receive the message from a connector and then talk it up within their own circle of friends. Salespeople tell their friends, “You

must see this movie”, “you’ve got to try this restaurant” or “you have to read this book”.

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2. Additional Conditions need to be satisfied for an idea to go viral Context is critical He idea must come at the right time and place Stickiness, which means that it, is inherently attractive. Without some sort of natural appeal, people will not gravitate toward the idea or pass it along (example. Yellow Live strong bracelets associated with the Lance Armstrong Foundation had stickiness) Scalability is another requirement: it must be easy to ramp up production of the idea, product, or message to meet demand Effortless Transfer is yet another ingredient in the recipe for an effective viral campaign. A viral campaign has to leverage free media. Ideas that can be spread by forwarding an email, including an attachment, or embedding a link are easy to disseminate. The more time, effort, or money it takes to spread the word, the less likely the idea will go viral. An example of a successful viral video was Volkswagen’s “Darth Vader Kid” commercial, which received more than 50 million, hits on you-tube. Despite the popularity of visual persuasion, the phenomenon itself isn’t that predictable or easy to manufacture Evidence for the effectiveness of tipping points is largely anecdotal The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMM) offers advice for conducting viral campaigns. The very concept of viral marketing, however, is something of an oxymoron. A virtual campaign appears to be unplanned. It is contrived to seem genuine. As consumers grow wise to the strategy, it becomes less effective. Examine three such contexts: gamificiation, the sciences, & the arts 1. Gamificiation - “Here comes the airplane” turn feeding little kids into a game - A modernized version of this approach, gamificiation, is being used to stimulate consumer interest and involvement - Gamificiation applies videogame methods to other contexts to increase consumer engagement. People like to play games. Hey enjoy the competition. Why else would individuals spend hours playing Angry Birds, Farmville, etc.? - Games can be a form of influence. For example, to encourage people to take the stairs rather than the elevator, a project sponsored by Volkswagen involved the redesign of a staircase to look like a piano keyboard and made noises with each step. 66% more people took the stairs as a result.

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Through points, badges, leaderboards, and other incentives, gamificiation keeps people coming back for more - This approach has been used to enhance education, improve workplace productivity, increase voter turnout, and promote awareness and participation in social causes. - “Explotationware” is a more accurate name for gamificiation’s true purpose  critics charge that earning badges and points trivializes activities such as learning, working, exercising, or participating in social causes. 2. Persuasion in the Sciences - Scientists are persuaders - Ongoing debate about climate change illustrates the persuasive challenge facing climatologists. Despite widespread agreement among evolutionary biologists that evolution is a fact rather than a theory, there is a continuing social controversy over the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in public school curriculum. - Persuasion plays a role in chemistry, math, and physics - Scientists employ techniques of persuasion in their efforts to establish the superiority of their own paradigms over those of their rivals - The notion of purely objective, uncommitted scientists is naïve. The best scientists not only has points of view but also defends them with gusto - Scientists must do more than conduct experiments and report their results. They also must persuade other scientists, funding agencies, and the public at large of the merits of their work 3. Persuasion in the Arts - Not all art is created “for arts sake” - Art serves more than an aesthetic or decorative function - Artists have strong opinions and they lend expression to their opinions in and through their work - Movies such as “Dead Poets Society” and “Schindler’s List” demonstrate the power of their camera to increase awareness, change attitudes, alter beliefs, and shape opinions. Other art forms have the ability to persuade as well. Playwrights, painters, dancers give voice to their political and social views through their art - Many of the famous works hanging in museums were created out of a sense of social conscience  using images rather than words, artists comment on social conditions, criticize society, and attempt to transform the social order - Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” offered a moral indictment of war and mans inhumanity to man **moral statement  Other Not-So-Obvious Contexts for Persuasion

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Social scientists have studied bumper stickers as a form of political expression and as an unobtrusive means of measuring attitudes - Scholars have examined the effects of intercessory prayer on recovery from illness - Studies have examined the military’s use of social influence - Other scholars have studied 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous Weird Persuasion - Example in the town of Dish, Texas (also known as Clark, Texas)  its citizens agreed to rename their town as part of an endorsement deal with Dish Network. In return, Dish Network agreed to provide all 125 residents free satellite TV service for 10 years. The town agreed to do so because of one word. BUZZ! - Pink Light example  no teens want their acne to be highlighted Persuasion in Interpersonal Settings - Despite all the $ spent on traditional advertising and the increasing amounts being spent on new media, most influence still take place in face-to-face settings. Ninety percent of word of mouth recommendations, for example, take place offline. - Interpersonal is more effective because it seems more genuine and less conspicuous - Most communication scholars agree that if you have a choice of mediums for persuasion, you should choose the interpersonal arena. - Kenneth Burke wrote that human beings are symbol-using beings. We are symbol users, and one of the principal functions of symbol usage is persuasion Four Benefits of Studying Persuasion - Instrumental function - Knowledge and Awareness function - Defensive function - Debunking function Instrumental Function o One good reason for learning about persuasion is so you can be a more effective persuader yourself o Persuasion serves as an instrument, or a means to an end o We view the ability to persuade others as an important aspect of communication competence o Communication competence = involves acting in ways that are perceived as effective and appropriate. Competent communicators possess the skills needed to achieve their objectives in fitting ways for the particular situation

o A competent persuader needs to know how to analyze an audience in order to adapt the message to the audience’s frame of reference. He needs to identify which strategies are appropriate and which will enjoy the greatest likelihood of success. He must also know how to organize and arrange a persuasive message for maximum benefit. o A competent persuader needs to be viewed as persuading in acceptable, appropriate ways. This means a persuader must be aware of social and cultural norms governing the persuasive situation. For example, a parent who publically berates his or her child during a soccer match may be seen by other parents in engaging in boorish behavior. 2. The Knowledge and Awareness function: inquiring minds want to know o Enhance knowledge and awareness of a variety of persuasive processes o Knowledge is power o Habitual Persuasion o Many people rely on habitual persuasion, even if it is not effective o They get comfortable with a few strategies and tactics that they use over and over again. A good deal of communication behavior is “mindless” as opposed to mindful, meaning we don’t pay much attention to how we communicate o Persuaders to maximize their effectiveness need to learn to adapt their methods to different audiences and situations o Persuasion is not a “one size fits all” form of communication 3. The Defensive Function: Duck and Cover o The study of persuasion serves as a defensive function  by studying how and why influence attempts succeed or fail, you can become a more discerning consumer of persuasive messages o It is worth noting that people tend to under estimate the influence of advertising on themselves and over estimate its effects on others, a phenomenon known as the third person effect. Thus, you may be more defenseless than you realize. 4. The Debunking function: Puh-Shaw o The study of human influence can aid in dispelling various “common sense” assumptions and “homespun” notions about persuasion. Traditional wisdom isn’t always right, and it is worth knowing when it is wrong. o Many people believe that subliminal messages are highly effective and operate in a manner similar to that of post-hypnotic suggestions. This belief is pure poppycock.

o Empirical findings that are counterintuitive in nature go against the grain of common sense. By learning about research findings on persuasion, the reader can learn to ferret out the true from the false, and the false from the fiction.  Two Criticisms of Persuasion 1. Does learning about persuasion foster manipulation? o Persuasion can be linked to a tool, like a hammer. Like any tool, persuasion can be put to good or bad use. o Persuaders motives determine whether a given influence attempt are good or bad, right or wrong, ethical or unethical. We maintain that the moral quality if a persuasive act is derived primarily from the ends of persuader seeks, and only secondarily from the means the persuader employs. Isn’t so much what strategies and tactics a persuader uses as why he or she uses them? o Fear appeals (teens vs. HIV example, terrorist vs. hostage example) can be good or bad. o The study of persuasion performs a defensive function insofar as it educates people to become more discriminating consumers of persuasive messages. For instance, we believe our “tips on buying an new or used car” are useful to any potential car buyer who wants to avoid being manipulated at a car lot. *Watch dog function o Anti-manipulation types are also attempting to persuade. The message that persuasion is manipulative or exploitative is itself a persuasive appeal that advocates a position regarding the “proper” study of communication 2. Are persuasion findings too inconsistent or confusing? o An additional complaint is that the study of persuasion has led to findings that are overly qualified, or contradictory in nature. Empirical investigations of persuasion, it is argued, have not yielded clear and consistent generalizations o No universal law when it comes to persuasion o First, the complaint that persuasion isn’t worth studying because the findings are often inconclusive or contradictory makes little sense. Quite the opposite: we believe that persuasion warrants study precisely because it is so elusive. Underlying this criticism is the expectation that reality is, or should be, simple and complicated. o Human beings are complex

o We rejoice in the fact that we aren’t an altogether gullible, predictable, or controllable species o A second response to this criticism is simply that persuasion research has revealed a number of significant, relevant generalizations. Newer techniques, such as meta-analysis, have made it possible to reconcile some of the previous inconsistencies in the literature.  Ethical Concerns About The Use Of Persuasion - Our position is that in learning how to become a more effective persuader, you should strive to be an ethical persuader as well  Summary - The capacity to persuade is one of the defining features of human kind - Learning about persuasion serves as an instrumental function, knowledge and awareness function, a defensive function, and a debunking function, we believe there is ample justification for studying this topic. Power Point Notes  Why study persuasion  Aims are academic and practical - Academic: examining how and why persuasion functions the way it does through looking at theories and findings by researchers - Practical: illustrates academic theories and findings with real-life examples of persuasion ^ Offers advice on how to become effective persuaders, how to resist influence attempts by others ** Are not separate, works together? Benefits to Studying Persuasion - Instrumental Function: becoming a more effective persuader ** Communication Competence - Knowledge and Awareness Function: learning the persuasive process ^ Habitual persuasion: use what is most comfortable to you & know situationally what needs to be used - Defensive Function: by understanding how persuasion occurs, you can become more discerning of persuasive messages ** How you take in/understand persuasive messages ^ Third-Person Effect: underestimate the effect of another person - Debunking Function: learning that often times the traditional way of thinking isn’t the right way ^ Counterintuitive Criticisms of Persuasion

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It fosters a manipulative approach to communication (depends on motives) * Neutral Tool The study of persuasion has led to findings that overly qualified, or contradictory in nature Overgeneralize persuasion (speaker examples: Hitler and Osama Bin Laden… Hitler = persuading, Osama Bin Laden = threats; and persuasion)

CHAPTER 2 Textbook notes   Pure Persuasion: clear cut cases of persuasion. Presidential debates, or a television commercial, or an attorney’s closing remarks to a jury are instances of persuasion. Such examples represent “paradigm cases” because they are at the core of what we think of when we envision persuasion at work.  Borderline Persuasion: less clear cut, more “iffy”.  There is no one definition of persuasion. A contemporary definition should take into account the rich complex of verbal, non-verbal, and contextual cues found in interpersonal encounters. A contemporary definition also should acknowledge the many subtle, implicit cues that accompany face-to-face influence attempts. By implicit cues we mean communication that occurs at a very low level of awareness or even unconsciously. As an example, cultural factors might influence a person’s choice of compliance gaining strategies, without a person even realizing it.  Limiting Criteria for Defining Persuasion o Intentionality: is persuasion conscious or purposeful? - Persuasion does involve a deliberate attempt to influence another person - Persuaders must intend to change another individual’s attitude or behavior and must be aware (at some level) that they are trying to accomplish this goal. Intentionality is the litmus test that distinguishes persuasion from social influence. - Pure persuasion would seem to be intentional. Borderline persuasion is believed that many influence attempts take place without any conscious awareness on the part of the persuader. - Parents quite commonly instill beliefs, impart values, and model behavior for their children, a phenomenon known as social modeling (Albert Bandura). Many of the lessons parents “teach” their children are completely unintended. Another form of unintentional influence involves socialization processes. From the moment children are born, they are socialized into their respective gender roles, cultural customs, religious

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practices, and socio-economic habits. Some socialization processes are mindful, but many or nut. People do not always know what outcome they are seeking. Face to face encounters, in particular, are laden with spontaneity. Social influence may arise in and through our interaction with others, r...