can you really change someone's mind?

douglas and sutton 2008

presented conspiracy theory messages

how did douglass and sutton 2008 present persuasive conpiracy theory messages

measured participants' attitudes 2 weeks before and immediately after the message and a control group

results of douglass and sutton 2008

p's were persuaded attitudes changed compared to two weeks earlier and control group

they didnt think they were persuaded they misrememberedd that theur previous attitudes were the same as now

but they were very accurate about much other people were persuaded

what is expection bias used in

fundamental shortcoming of our brains

perception bias

we underiestimate our own suspectibility thinking others are easily influenced but we're not

what is hidden influence

exposure to messages, information, people, media and our atttitudes and beliefs shift without awareness

exception bias

we dont keep a memory of our attitudes and beliefs over time therefore vulnerable of not noticing them change hence slow influence over time

the elaboration likelihood model ELM

theory identifying two ways to persuade: a central route and a peripheral route

Central Route (ELM)

when a person considers persuasive arguments carefully and thoughtfully

Peripheral Route (ELM)

ability and motivation to process a message is low; receiver focuses more on peripheral cues than on message content

which route in ELM is more effective and longer lasting than the other

central as it if more effective and longer lasting than peripheral

its easier to be persuaded by what kind of argument when you're distracted

weak argument

why is it easier to be persuaded by a weaker argument when distracted

you don't have conscious cognitive resources to invest in a message

motivation to process- what does it depend on

the topic

the personality

the situation

why is the topic important for motivation to process

more personally involved, more motivation

why is their personality important for motivation to process

'need for cognition' (maheswaran and chaiken 1991)

why is the situation important for motivation to process

being in a good mood (bruner 1990)

who did a study on whether being attractive helps persuade

eagly and chaiken

purpose of eagly and chaikens study

conventially attractive people vs unattractive people campaigning for petition signatures

results of eagly and chaiken

attractive 41% success rate

unattractive 32% success rate

not a huge difference

are people who think they are more attractive more persuasive

yes especially if their audience isn't motivated to process info, they seek more face to face contact and implicitly understand the power of peripheral cues

social identity theory

persuader more persuasive if they're mimicking their audience, language etc

ballenson et al 2008 social identity theory

politician wanted to be elected. P saw two versions of the politician, one normal photo and one morpher 60/40 to look like him. the one more similar to the P was more persuasive

repetition and the 'truth effect'

TV ads most effective when

-presented 2-3 times a week

-producer positive 1st impression

-statements seem more true when they're repeated

door-in-the-face technique

making a large, unrealistic request before making a smaller, more realistic request that is likely to be successful

related to 'reciprocity principle'

cialdini et al 1975 method

p's asked if they would like to supervice group of delinquent juvies on trip to zoo

cialdini et al 1975 results

83% said no

of those prev. asked to take part in 2 yr counselling programme with delinquents, 50% said yes

only works is same person makes both requests suggesting feelings of debt motivates layer agreement

who made foot in door technique

freedman and fraser

what is the foot in door techique

influencer asks for small favour eg can i borrow pen

then ask for a larger related favour straight after eg can i also borrow the whole pack

the persons already committed to the small request so they feel they need to say yes to the big request too

who made low ball tactic

cialdini

what is the low ball tactic cialdini

influencer adds unattractice conditions to comething after the personhas agreed to do it and as the persons alr comitted they're more likely to compy- think of hidden costs in attractive internet deals

reactance brehm 1966

people react strongly against blatant influence attempts bc they';re direct threats to personal freedom eg advertising, overly controlling health campaigns and strict parenting

'boomerang effect'

threats to personal freedom leading to defiant responses

counterargueing

ppl can actively resist persuasion attempts by addressing and arguing against attitude-incogruent arguments directly

p's thought more supporting arguments when exposed to a message that was consistent w. their pre-existing attitudes

attitude inoculation

presenting people with weak, attitude inconsistent arguments prior to a stronger persuasive attempt helps them reisst the message

who made attitude innoculation

mcguire

forewarning prior knowledge- cialdini and petty 1979

prior knowledge of a persuasion attempt that often renders the attempt less effective

misinformation

statement that is untrue/misleading

disinformation

statements that are untrue/misleading, made with intent to decieve/mislead

explain disinformation better with examples

like misinformation on purpose eg. politicians spreading untrue stuff, they know its not true but their only purpose is to spread it

what are AI swarms

can produce mass misinfo on cast scales

what do AI swarms pollute

'training data'- training AIs like GPT to believe its misinfo

prebunk

when you are told before a message that this message is unreliable

debunk

the ssame thing but you get it after the message

does debunking work

sometimes brashier et al 2021

brashier et al 2021 debunking

some evidence that debunking better than prebunking

effects lasted at least a week

but this study uses very minimal cue just the snopes fact check

psychological limitation of persuasion

its not always competitive

often cooperative

people often want to be persuaded

signals loyalty and commitment