Persuasion Exam 3 Study Guide

Anticlimax Order (Message Order Effects)

Strongest arguments first

Pyramidal Order (Message Order Effects)

Strongest arguments in the middle

Climax Order (Message Order Effects)

Strongest arguments last

Key Takeaway (Message Order Effects)

Put strongest points first or last, not in the middle

Peak-End Rule (Message Order Effects)

We remember peaks (high points) and endings

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

1. Attention – Grab the audience’s focus.

2. Need – Present the problem.

3. Satisfaction – Offer a solution.

4. Visualization – Show the benefits of the solution.

5. Action – Call to act.

Explicit Conclusion

States the conclusion clearly, best for uninvolved or less knowledgable audiences. Good for complex topics.

Implicit Conclusion

Lets the audience infer the conclusion. Best for involved or motivated listeners. Encourages self persuasion, lowers pushback (reactance)

Gain-Framed Messages

Emphasizes potential benefits (You could get rich), works best on future minded people.

Loss-Framed Messages

Emphasizes potential risks/losses (you could lose everything), works better on present minded people and is more persuasive due to risk aversion.

Quality Argument

Best for high-involvement audiences (they care, they think critically)

Quantity Argument

Best for low-involvement audiences (less engaged, skim info)

Repetition and Mere Exposure Effect (MEE)

Familiarity breeds liking, repeated exposure increases preference. Enhances awareness, learning, and recall.

Pitbull Effect

Initial dislike can shift to acceptance with exposure

Primacy (Serial Position Effect)

First items remembered best (go first for delayed decisions)

Recency (Serial Position Effect)

Last items remembered best (go for last immediate decisions)

Inoculation Theory

Expose + Refute a mild version of opposing views. Works like a vaccine, builds resistance to persuasion.

Pre-Giving and Reciprocity

Giving first builds obligation to return the favor.

But You Are Free (BYAF)

Add freedom to request (“You’re free to say no”), decreases psychological reactance.

Foot-in-the-Door

Start small then request something bigger

Foot in the Mouth

Begin with friendly engagement (How are you today?), makes people more agreeable

Door in the Face

Ask for a large favor, expect rejection, follow with smaller request , smaller request more likely to be accepted

That’s Not All Tactic

Sweeten deal before rejection, adding more incentives or bonuses (free gift with purchase, etc.)

Lowballing and Bait and Switch

Initial offer sounds too good - revised after commitment (hidden strings, ad deception, etc.)

Disrupt-Then-Reframe

Disrupt default “no” with confusion then reframe the request. (300 pennies… a bargain!)

Hurt and Rescue/ Fear-Then-Relief

Create anxiety then offer relief (what would you do if you lost your job, inflated mechanic estimate, then “discount”)

Four Walls Technique

Get audience to say yes multiple times, agree to general truths = agree to the request

Dump and Chase

After rejection ask why then work through objections. Turns no into negotiation

Ray Oldenburg’s Third Place

Social gathering place, encourages community, connection, and belonging

Un-Theme

Theme that appears neutral with minimal design, suggests authenticity, builts trust.

Invariant Right

Shoppers instinctively turn right

Decompression Zone

Entry space where persuasion doesn’t land

Anchors

Big attractions spaced 600ft apart to drive traffic

Planograms

Visual shelf layout guides used to optimize product placement

Attitudinal Associations

Associating colors with brands or other cultural artifacts

Mood Associations

“feeling blue” “green with envy”

Music and Persuasion

Aids memory and brand recall, influences shopping pace and mood

Mere Exposure Effect

Repetition = liking

Vicary’s Coca-Cola Study (Subliminal Messaging)

Claimed flashing “Drink Coke” increased sales later debunked. 75% of Americans still believe in subliminal ads.

Embedded Images

Hidden or flashed visuals

Sub-audible

Below hearing threshold

Electronically altered

Backmasking, audio tricks

Subliminal Messaging

Below awareness threshold (questionable impact)

Supraliminal Messaging

consciously perceived but not deeply processed (product placement), also more supported than subliminal messaging

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

Psuedoscience, eye movements = internal processes, words can hypnotize or reprogram

Functions of Nonverbal Communication

Impression management, creates emotional bonds, aids or hinders comprehension, regulates conversations

Direct Effects Model of Immediacy

Direct, positive link between immediacy and persuasion

Eye Contact (Kinesics)

Conveys interest, warmth, attraction

Mirroring

Matching gestures, eye contact, body position; builds empathy, connection, and likability

Illustrators (Gestures)

clarify and emphasize

Emblems (Gestures)

boost memory

Adaptors (Gestures)

reduce persuasiveness

Touch (Haptics)

Enhances warmth, empathy, power, CONTEXT MATTERS

Proxemics

Closer = more compliance

Expectancy Violations Theory

We have unspoken rules for behaviors (elevators, lines)

Chronemics (Time)

Waiting time = power and status. Being late = less credibility

Halo Effect

Attractive people seen as more likeable, credible, and competent

Paralanguage

Voice matters, the more fluent and warm oyu are the more persuasive

Direct Effects Model of Immediacy

Immediacy = more persuasion

Common Pitch Structure

Hook/Problem/Reason

Denotative Definition

Literal/dictionary

Connotative Definition

Emotional/Personal

Shared Meaning

Langauge only works when communicator and audience share an understanding

God Terms

Highly positive (family values, children, modern)

Devil Terms

Highly negative (racist, communist, un-American)

Charismatic Terms

Abstract, mysterious (freedom, democracy)

Aphorisms

Common sayings act as peripheral cues (money doesn’t grow on trees)

Framing Theory

The presentation of information affects understanding and decisions (Vin Diesel vs. Mark Sinclair)

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Language shapes reality, words act as “terministic screens”

Power of Names and Labels

Names influence impressions, identity, and likability. Can reflect bias, branding, or power dynamics.

Sticky Messaging

To make ideas “stick” use simple, unexpected, concrete, CREDIBLE, emotional, stories

Euphemism

Softens or disguises the truth (passed away vs died)

Doublespeak

Language manipulation (enhanced interrogation vs torture)

Frank Luntz’s Persuasive Words

Imagine/Inspire, no excuses, I get it, you get it. Credited with climate change over global warming

Slang

Builds identity, culture, relatability

Profanity

Rarely persuasive, lowers credibility

Powerful Language

Clear, assertive, confident

Powerless Langauge

“this might be a dumb question”, less confident, less assertive

Reinforcement Theory

Intense Language works if the audience agrees

Vivid Language

memorable and persuasive (uses metaphors, imagery, strong verbs)

Synecdoche/Metonymy

Part for whole or symbolic representation (“Hollywood”, “Gray beard”

Apophasis

Brings up taboo while denying it (“I won’t call her a bimbo”)

Parallelism

Repeating structure (“Shall not, shall have, shall not”)

Anaphora

Repetition at the start (“We are people in… We are…”)

Epistrophe

Repetition at the end (“There is no problem.. no problem…”)

Antithesis

Opposites for impact (“Give me liberty or death”)

Antimetabole

Reverse Structure (“Ask not what your country can do for you… but what you can do for your country.”)

Compliance Gaining

Subset of persuasion, intentional planned influence. Involves tactic selection and building tactic taxonomies

Aversive Stimulation (Maxwell & Schmidt)

Punishment or annoyance until compliance (nagging someone until they agree)

Debt (Maxwell & Schmidt)

You owe me, appeal to reciprocity

Positive Altercasting (Maxwell & Schmidt)

“You’re the kind of person who would help”

Negative Altercasting (Maxwell & Schmidt)

“Don’t be like Terrence. He never helps anyone”

Altruism (Maxwell & Schmidt)

“Can you do it as a favor for me?”

Face

Public Image or Identity

Positive Face

Desire for approval, good self-image

Negative Face

Desire for freedom, no impositions

Positive Face Threat

signals disapproval

Negative Face Threat

Imposes on Freedom/autonomy

Most people don’t lie overtly instead they

Avoid the issue, are ignorant, omit key facts, pretend to forget

The “Big Lie”

repeat a big lie until it becomes “truth”