Persuasion - Ch 7 - Social Psychology

Persuasion

the process by which a message– the process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

Central Route Persuasion

persuasion that results when people focus on the arguments and respond favorably

Peripheral Route Persuasion

persuasion that results when people focus on incidental or associated cues

Credibility

perceptions of expertise and trustworthiness
of a communicator

Increasing Credibility

agree w/ the audience, confident voice, rapid speech, and energetic confident voice,

Credibility Changes over Time

we remember the message but forget the source (Sleeper Effect)

Attractiveness

attractive communicators are more
persuasive on subjective topics

Similarity as Attraction

similar others are more persuasive on subjective topics

Reasoning vs. Emotional Messages

Rational messages appeal to educated, analytical, and interested audiences (Central Route)

Evoking Emotions

disinterested audiences are persuaded by
emotional content (Peripheral Route)

Evoking Fear

strong fear arousing messages work best when
combined with solutions

One-sided vs. Two-sided Appeals

one-sided arguments work best for an audience who initially agrees with the argument

Primacy effect

information present first is more persuasive if the arguments are presented back-to-back

Recency effect

information presented last is more persuasive when the two arguments are separated by time

Message Context

situational factors that surround
messages influence persuasion

Fear-then-Relief

emotional swings make people more
vulnerable to persuasion

Foot-in-the-Door

agreeing to a small request increasing the likelihood of agreeing to a larger request

Lowball Technique

people agreeing to an initial
request will still agree when the “costs” are increased

Door-in-the-Face Technique

large requests followed
by smaller requests increases compliance

Message Channel

how the message is delivered

Passive Transmission

repetition influences passive appeals
(Election ads)

Active Transmission

attitudes that result from active
experience are stronger

Two-Step Flow of Communication

media influences
opinion leaders who influence the general public

Realism

The more lifelike the media the more
persuasive (mostly)

Self-esteem

high and low S.E. makes persuasion harder

Age - why do political and social attitudes differ depending on age?

Life Cycle Explanation – attitudes change as people age

Generational Explanation – attitudes are constant, but the generation gap contributes to differences

(Most research supports the generational explanation)

Audience Thinking – how do they respond to the
message?

• Forewarning makes persuasion more difficult

• Persuasion is more difficult as audience significance and
  familiarity increase

• Distraction weakens counter-arguments

• Uninvolved people focus on peripheral cues

Need for Cognition

central route is more effective on those who enjoy analytical thinking

Strengthening Personal Commitment

making public commitments decreases susceptibility

Attitude Inoculation

exposure to weak attitude attacks
can strengthen resistance to persuasion (Counteragruments)