Persuasion Exam Review

Vocabulary flashcards for persuasion exam review.

Contrast Effect

When a message is perceived to be farther away from a person's anchor position than it really is, leading to rejection of the message.

Assimilation Effect

Message is perceived to be closer to anchor position, leading to successful persuasion.

Credibility

Judgements made by a receiver concerning the believability of a persuader; receiver-based, situational, dynamic, and multidimensional.

Expertise/Competence

The persuader's knowledge and experience on a topic.

Trustworthiness/Character

How truthful or honest we perceive the persuader to be, having good moral character and judgement.

Goodwill/Perceived Caring

A person takes a genuine interest in you; we are persuaded by people who care about us.

Dynamism

The enthusiasm and energy exhibited by the persuader.

Composure/Poise

The appropriateness of displaying composure depends on the context; keeping cool.

Sociability

Likeability; the persuader is friendly, warm, and charming. We are persuaded by people we like!

Ethos

Speaker's credibility.

Pathos

Emotional appeals.

Logos

Logical reasoning and argument.

Ego-involvement

How close something is to your self concept, and you have a small lat of acceptance & noncommitment, large lat of rejection

High Anxiety

Easier to persuade but less likely to receive a message

High Preference for Consistency

More likely to change negative attitudes than low PFC

Low Self-Monitoring

Less sensitive to social cues

Dogmatism/Authoritarianism

Easily persuaded

High Narcissism

Hard to persuade/unlikely to change

High Cognitive Complexity/Need for Cognition

More easily persuaded / central processing

High Ego Involvement

Difficult to persuade

Central Route (ELM)

High involvement/cognitive elaboration/audience must have motivation and ability to listen + process messages centrally

Peripheral Route (ELM)

Low involvement based on heuristic cues (ex physical attractiveness)

Parallel Processing

Using both routes at once

Systematic Processing (HSM)

Thoughtful/deliberate

Heuristic Processing (HSM)

Mental shortcuts

Rhetorical Situation

Creates a moment suitable for a rhetorical response; includes exigence, audience, and constraints.

Exigence

Something waiting to be done; an imperfection marked by urgency.

Identification

Creating common ground and shared interests between the persuader and the persuadee

Attitude

Psychological tendency that's expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor

Halo Effect

Bias where our perception of a person's traits influences how we view their entire personality; we are likely to have broader opinions of people we like.

Reasoned Action Approach (TRA)

Views intention as best predictor of behaviors; a “rational” model of persuasion.

Rational Argument

Making your case by persuading audiences using evidence, reasoning, and logic (Aristotle's "logos").

Deductive Reasoning

General to specific, rule to example. If A=B and B=C, then A=C

Inductive Reasoning

Specific to general, example to rule.

Causal Reasoning

Form of inductive reasoning; establishes a relationship between a cause and an effect (if/then).

Sign Reasoning

Drawing conclusions based on events that precede or co-exist with, but do not cause, a subsequent event.

Reasoning by Analogy

What is true in one set of circumstances will be true in another.

Syllogisms

Classical argument with a major premise (global assumption), a minor premise (specific claim), and a conclusion.

Enthymemes

A syllogism without stating either the major or minor premise (it is implied).

Contrast Principle/Perceptual Contrast

Perceptions don't exist without comparison to other perceptions; we notice the difference between things, not absolute measures.

Facework

People engage in facework to manage their own and others identities; includes positive and negative face.

Politeness Theory

Explains how people deal with “face threats.”

Positive face threats

Conveys disapproval

Negative face threats

Constrain freedom or autonomy

Psychological Reactance

When someone feels threatened, they react; when we feel like we lose choice, we dig in and resist.

Linguistic Framing

When you frame with language.

Power of Labeling

People's names can influence the impressions they make; they construct identity.

Presupposition

Implies assumptions.

Consistency Theory and Cognitive Dissonance

People desire consistency and prefer a state of harmony among their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors; inconsistency causes psychological discomfort.

Denial

Ignoring the inconsistency.

Bolstering

Trying to reach a psychological compromise.

Differentiation

Distinguishing between the conflicting and non-conflicting elements.

Transcendence

Looking at the larger picture

Emotional Appeals

An appeal to the audience's emotions, values, or needs; key to attitude change

Motivational Appeals

External inducements, often of an emotional nature, that are designed to increase an individual's drive to undertake some course of action.

Warmth

putting puppies or babies in a commercial or slogans like “when youre here youre family

Guilt

Evoking feelings of guilt in another person can facilitate compliance

Humor

Uses the peripheral route to persuasion, can persuade by capturing attention, increasing knowledge, serving as a distraction, serving as a form of social proof, affect perceptions of a source, and can enhance memory of information

Sex

Often objectifying women, can backlash, distract, and cause resentment

Ingratiation

Flattery as motivational inducement, like “youre the best!” or agreeing with others statements

Nostalgia

A sentimental longing for the past, an affection for days long ago

Direct Effects Model of Immediacy

Anything that's connecting, that creates a sense of immediacy, is persuasive; there is a direct effect between immediacy (rapport) and persuasion.

Indoctrination

The more difficult the indoctrination, the more group conformity; it increases group cohesion.

Social Proof

The tendency to view behaviors as more appropriate or correct when a lot of other people are engaging in such behaviors.

Sequential Strategies

Based on perceptual contrast; we never evaluate something by itself, we always evaluate in comparison to other things.

But You Are Free (BYAF)

First make an initial request then evoke freedom by saying something like “feel free to say no”

Foot in the Door (FITD)

Start with a small request that's easy to say yes to, then follow up with a larger target request (the one you want)

Foot in the Mouth

Asking someone how they are or establishing small talk before making a request

Door in the Face

Making a request that is so large that it is turned down, and following it with a smaller request. The prior lage request makes the small one look better

That's Not All Tactic (Sweetening the Deal)

The addition of incentives to the original offer; the free extras add perceived value to an offer.

Lowballing and Bait and Switch

Making an offer that sounds too good to be true; there may be outright deception or hidden strings attached.

Disrupt then Reframe

A diversionary tactic; using confusion to unfreeze the default no response.

Legitimizing Paltry Contributions

Preempts potential objections, includes guilt of the target declines. “Every penny will help!”

Hurt and Rescue/Fear then Relief

The idea is a drowning person will grab at anything, so metaphorically push them in the water and throw them a life line. “Do you have these 5 risk factors? Here's how we can help”

Dump and Chase

Ask for something and when they refuse ask why or why not, then turn the discussion into a negotiation by removing the reasons for them not agreeing with you or otherwise

Reciprocity

Favor and gifts create a sense of indebtedness; returning favors is culturally universal.

Gain Framed vs. Loss Framed

How we frame things matters; include gains and losses.

Fear Appeals

A message designed to elicit fear in an attempt to persuade.

Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM)

When a person encounters a fear-arousing message, the person can respond in 1 of 3 ways: nothing, danger control, fear control

Simple Denial (Image Restoration)

The act did not occur, or the accused didn't do it

Shift the Blame (Image Restoration)

Claim someone else is responsible

Provocation (Image Restoration)

Response to someone else's actions

Crisis

A serious threat that can disrupt organizational operations and/or has the potential to create a negative outcome.

Social Movements

An organization with minimal organization; they are not institutionalized, don't start with power, are significantly large in scope, and propose or oppose programs for change in societal norms, values, or both

Grievance (Social Movements)

Perceived wrong that is not addressed by politics

Frame (Social Movements)

Define the issues, identity an opportunity

Initiating event (Social Movements)

There needs to be a spark, something that launched it

Confrontation

Persuasive strategy used when adaptive persuasion is not an option; it functions to both internal and external audiences.

Subliminal

Below (sub) the threshold (limen) of human perception; very few studies have documented any lasting effects from subliminal stimuli.

Supraliminal

A message that is consciously recognized and processed, but often not noticed, like a product placement.

Lesley Stahl's parable

No one believes what you say, they believe what their eyes see. To persuade someone you have to show them, not just tell them

Optics

The way a situation is perceived by the general public; how an event, course of action, etc. ‘looks’ to others

Iconicity

Images can represent, or sum up, ideas and concepts

Indexicality

Images can document or serve a proof

Syntactic indeterminacy

A visual enthymeme, visuals can make arguments

Picture superiority effect

pictures are more readily recognized and remembered than words

Inoculation theory

when a communicator exposes their audiences to a “weak dose” of an opponent's arguments and then refutes it, makes audience resistant to persuasion (like a vaccine makes people resistant to a virus)

Refutational arguments

the persuader must directly refute, not merely acknowledge, opposing arguments