persuasion

what are we trying to change

beliefs, attitudes, values, and eventually behavior

attitude-behavior consistency

the degree to which a person’s actions align with their beliefs or attitudes

persuasion is different from coercion because

it requires free will

persuasion

human communication designed to influence others by modifying their beliefs, values, or attitudes

persuasion involves

• sender intent

• communication

• free will

elaboration likelihood model

2 main routes to persuasion: central and peripheral

central listeners

engaged, interested, capable; logical evidence & strong argument; resist counter persuasion

peripheral listeners

unmotivated, passive, low ability; visual/emotional appeal & source credibility; temporary and continual reinforcement

cialdini’s principles of persuasion

• authority

• consistency

• contrast

• liking

• reciprocity

• scarcity

• social proof

social judgement theory

targets of persuasion compare the persuasive message to the position they already hold

topic/continuum of persuasion

range of possible positions on the topic

latitudes

• anchor

• latitude of acceptance

• latitude of noncommitment

• latitude of rejection

anchor

most acceptable position

latitude of acceptance

position around anchor, accepted but not favorited

latitude of noncommitment

neutral

latitude of rejection

against position

ego involvement

the degree of personal stake a person feels in the issue

contrast

mistake where people see messages they disagree with as more extreme than they really are; polarization effect

assimilation

mistake where people see messages they agree with as more similar to their own views than they really are; boomerang/rebound effect

theory of planned behavior

explains and predicts why people will behave in a certain way

4 types of behavior change

• accept a new behavior

• modify a current behavior

• abandon an undesirable behavior

• reject a potentially undesirable behavior

behavioral intention

people behave in certain ways because it’ll lead to a specific outcome

attitude

how one thinks/feels about something

attitude comes from

behavioral beliefs and evaluation of behavioral outcomes

behavioral beliefs

a belief is the acceptance that a statement is true; about consequences of a particular behavior

descriptive normative beliefs

how you think important people around you act when it comes to a certain behavior

injunctive normative beliefs

how you think important people around you want you to act

subjective norms come from

normative beliefs and motivation to comply

control beliefs (self-efficacy)

believing you have the ability to act on a behavior

inoculation theory

hearing weaker arguments first can make people more resistant to stronger attacks on their beliefs later