Two Routes of Persuasion (3)

Persuasion

• Process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

• At the heart of politics, marketing, dating, parenting, negotiation, religion, and courtroom debates

• Mindful vs. mindless (central vs. peripheral)

Central Route (Systematic) Persuasion

• A change in attitude brought upon an appeal to reason and logic

• Strong attitude and arguments

• Works when people are analytical or involved in the issue

Peripheral Route (Heuristic) Persuasion

• A change in attitude brought about by appeals to habit and emotion

• Incidental cues, such as celebrity endorsements are used

• Used when issues don’t engage systematic thinking

• People rely on shortcuts (heuristics) to make a decision

Elements of Persuasion

• Communicator

• Message

• How message communicated

• Audience

Characteristics of Communicator

• Credibility (more mindful)

- Believability

- Credible communicator is perceived as both expert and trustworthy

• Attractiveness

- Having qualities that appeal to an audience

- Appealing communicator is most persuasive on matters of subjective preference

Message Content

• Reason vs. emotion

• Thoughtful, involved audiences are more responsive to reasoned arguments

• When people’s initial attitudes are formed primarily through the peripheral route, they are more persuaded by emotional appeals, and vice versa For information based arguments and appeals

• Messages become more persuasive by enhancing positive thinking and linking good feelings with the message

Message Context (emotion)

• Playing on fear works best if a message leads people to fear and to perceive a solution and feel capable of implementing it

• Gain-framed messages focusing on the advantages of healthy behavior are more effective than those formed in terms of loss

• Fear-then-relief approach:

- Fear followed by relief increases compliance with subsequent requests

• Foot in the door phenomenon

• Door in the face phenomenon

Age Difference in Audience

• Life cycle explanation:

- Attitudes change as people grow older

• Generational explanation:

- Older people hold onto the attitudes they adopted when they were young

Thoughtfulness in Audience

• If a message summons favorable thoughts, it persuades individuals

• If a message provokes people to think of contrary arguments, they remain unpersuaded

Ways to Stimulate People’s Thinking

• Using rhetorical questions

• Presenting multiple speakers

• Making people feel responsible for evaluating or passing along the message

• Repeating the message

• Getting people’s undistracted attention

Two Routes to Persuasion in Therapy

• Peripheral cues, such as therapist credibility, may open the door for ideas that the therapist can now get the client to think about

- Success of hypnosis depends on persuadability

• Thoughtful central route to persuasion provides the most enduring attitude and behavior change

- Most clients entering therapy think deeply about their problems under the therapist’s guidance