Com 318- Purdue Exam 2

What is the life-stages hypothesis?

Children and elderly are more likely to be persuaded than adults

What are individualism and collectivism?

Individualism- "I" perspective; "What's in it for me?"; stressed independence

Collectivism- "We" perspective; group needs; behavior is guided by duty and not pleasure

What is intelligence and cognitive complexity?

One's ability for nuanced thinking/how many constructs a person can use to describe or understand an idea or belief

Construct: perceptual category that we use to evaluate things (good/bad, strong/weak, popular/unpopular)

Lower intelligence = easier persuasion; higher intelligence = harder persuasion, high self esteem = harder persuasion

What is Self esteem?

People with moderate levels of self esteem are more likely to be persuaded

People with high self esteem may notice the messages but not be persuaded by it

People with low self esteem may assume the message is not geared toward them and ignore it

What is self-monitoring?

How much people observe and regulate their behaviors social contexts

High self-monitors are more responsive to social cues and acceptance/social rewards

Low self-monitors are less responsive to social cues, can come across as unaware or insensitive

What is ego involvement?

Strength of your attitude and how committed to that you are

More ego involvement means you have a larger latitude of rejection

If you are highly committed to an idea, you are more likely to reject anything that questions or tries to change

Smaller latitude of noncommitment which means the more important the issue is to you, the more you will have thought about it and the less persuadable you will be

What is social judgment theory? What are the latitudes of acceptance, noncommitment,and rejection? How do they work during persuasive attempts?

People don't just consider a persuasive message on its merits alone

They consider how it fits within their own perceptions and their perceptions serve as a filter for new information

Latitude of Acceptance- statements and ideas with which the listener agrees

Latitude of Noncommitment- statements and ideas with which the listener neither agrees or disagrees

Latitude of Rejection- statements and ideas with which the listener judges as objectionable/unacceptable

What is moral foundations theory? What are the moral foundations, and how are theyrelated to persuasion?

Proposed a new way to think about persuasion and politics (instead of just thinking about liberal or conservative ideologies, we can think about what might inform those ideologies)

Five Moral Foundations- care, fairness, loyalty, authority, purity

What is conformity? What influences conformity?

Adhering to or observing standards, rules, or laws.

Behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards

What variables influence group conformity?

Group size

Number of dissenters

Difficulty joining the group

Reference group

Communicator Characteristics

Conformity occurs when members choose the course of action that the majority favors

What is identification, and how does it influence conformity?

Includes experiencing shared meanings and goals

For persuasion to occur, one party must identify with another

Occurs through media when you feel an imaginary connection with an individual

Cognitive- I wondered if X was similar to me

Affective- Sometimes, I really loved X for what he/she did.

Behavioral- Occasionally, I said something to X

Negative Consequences with Identification:

Ethnocentrism: Assuming one's culture is the standard for judging other cultures

Groupthink: Tendency to engage in consensus seeking

Failure to question or challenge the groups opinion

Need for someone to play devil's advocate

What is social cognitive theory? How might it facilitate persuasion?

Is cognitive and behavioral

Can take place by observing a behavior and its consequences

Can translate into acting out the learned behavior

Interacts with cognition, behavior, and background characteristics

Deals with consequences- External(Fear of punishment) Internal(Questions of Morality)

Behaviors, Individual Differences, Environmental Influences

In order for this learning process to occur...

Attention

Retention

Reproduction

Motivation

What is social identity theory? How is it related to conformity?

Explains how we categorize ourselves and other people into desirable and undesirable groups

In group- The group we want to be apart of- Positive self esteem

Outgroup- The group we don't want to be apart of- Negative self esteem

We compare ourselves to others

We see a small social distance between ourselves and our family, friends, etc.

This social distance increases as the degree of separation increases

What is social proof? How is it associated with persuasive attempts?

Tendency to view behaviors as more appropriate or correct when a lot of people are doing it

Explains fads, trends, bandwagon

What is social loafing? What are the types of social loafing, and what explains social Loafing?

Reducing ones effort when working in a group

Explanations- Collective Effort Model - Get lazy if we don't think our ideas are valued

Free ride affect- we will do less if we can get away with it

Sucker effect- Matching the effort level of slack

Diligent Isolates- People who increase their efforts in order to save a group project

How do denotative and connotative meanings differ?

Denotative: Dictionary definition

Connotative- Feelings/emotions attached to a word such as home, baby, weasel

What are ultimate terms?

Words that share a connotative meaning with a large group (culture or society) - Very persuasive

What are aphorisms?

Expression of a general truth of people

Often handed down from generation to generation

Easy to remember, contain "truism"

"Life is short"

"Actions speak louder than words"

More effective with distracted listeners

What are Metaphors?

Equate one thing with another

Helps listeners visualize comparisons

"The president is the captain of the ship"

"Life is a rat race"

What are Euphemisms?

Mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt (often referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing)

Can be a face saving measure

Used vs. Pre owned

Cozy vs cramped

Between jobs vs unemployed

What is powerless language, and how does it influence persuasion?

A powerful, assertive style of communication is more persuasive

Powerless language can include:

Hesitations: "Well, uh, um"

Hedges: "Sort of, kind of, I guess"

Intensifiers: "Really, very"

Polite Forms: "If you wouldn't mind" "Could I please get you.."

Tag Questions: "Don't you think, isn't it?"

Disclaimers: "This may sound crazy but.."

What are the persuasion techniques politicians frequently use?

Euphemisms- "I didn't inhale" it vs. "I didn't get high"

Generalites- "America must do its best to preserve democracy"

Testimonial- Someone states their case for someone or something else

Plain folks- Ideas "for the people" "challenging" "cultural elite"

Transfer- Establishing a link to something prestigious (science, education, religion)

Bandwagon- Everyone else is doing it

Name calling- Finding a common "bad guy" and labeling it

Fear- What terrible things might happen

What is nonverbal communication?

Facial Expressions

Tone

Movement

Appearance

Eye contact

Gestures

Posture

Its powerful

The majority of the emotional meaning of a message is carried via the nonverbal channel

Its subtle

Food servers who touch customers gently on the shoulder can earn a higher tip

We use nonverbal communication to:

Shape impressions of ourselves

Enhance attractiveness, credibility, status

Establish relationships by building rapport, immediacy

Touch, smiling, eye contact

Model behavior (social proof)

~Putting on a seatbelt~

Signal Expectations

~Eye contact to signal turn taking~

What are kinesics?

The study of body movement

What are haptics?

study of touch

What are proxemics?

study of personal space

What are chronemics?

The study of time to communicate

By providing a limited time to purchase a product, people may be more persuaded to buy it

What are artifacts?

The physical features of the environment

The way in which the environment is structured (ex: is it tidy or are products placed in easily observable spots) affects persuasion

What is physical appearance?

First impressions are often based on nonverbal cues:

Clothing

Grooming

Hair length

Gadgets

Care

Piercings

Tattoos

Tall people (especially men) are more persuasive than short people (Height)

More physically attractive people are more persuasive than less physically attractive people (Attractiveness)

What are paralinguistics?

How we sound influences how persuasive we are

"Uhs" and "Ums" are viewed as less competent

Speaking clearly and at a past rate is viewed as more persuasive

Synthetic voices are just as persuasive as real human voices

Vocal fry is perceived as less competent, less trustworthy, and less attractive

What is the direct effects model of immediacy?

Model says there is a relationship between nonverbal behavior and social influence

Behaviors that demonstrate immediacy are associated with increased persuasiveness

Actions that conduct warmth, closeliness, friendliness

Associated with eye contact, nodding, leaning forward

It's related to persuasion because...

It's easier to comply with people we like

We tend to trust warm and friendly people

What is expectancy violation theory? How might it operate in a persuasive context?

When people violate our expectations of space, we become more alert and distracted

Our response to the violation depends on the "reward value" of the violator

Reward value goes up if person is more attractive, has power to reward, or likable