Persuasion Notes

Persuasion, Social Influence, & Compliance Gaining

Why Study Persuasion?

  • Persuasion is both an art and a science.
  • The scientific study of persuasion began in the 1940s.
  • Much is known about how to persuade people.
  • People can be difficult to persuade, leading to failures in:
    • Political campaigns
    • Advertising campaigns
    • Public health awareness campaigns

Persuasion Is Not a Dirty Word

  • Negative associations with persuasion include:
    • Manipulation
    • Deception
    • Brainwashing
    • Political spin
  • The positive side of persuasion includes:
    • Negotiating peace accords
    • Charities and philanthropic activities
    • Public safety campaigns
    • Marches and demonstrations

Persuasion Is Pervasive

  • The average person is exposed to 300 to 5,000 messages per day.
  • The average American spends 7 hours and 11 minutes looking at a screen every day.
  • U.S. children may view between 20,000 - 40,000 commercials each year.

Online Influence

  • Americans spend an average of 5.4 hours per day on mobile phones and tablets.
  • Texting, tweeting, posting, sharing, commenting, and blogging are national pastimes.

Social Media Influencers (SMIs)

  • SMIs have a direct connection with their followers.
  • SMIs enjoy perceived authenticity.
  • Types of SMIs:
    • Mega-influencers:
      • Have huge followings.
      • Rely on sponsored content (endorsements).
    • Micro-influencers:
      • Followers are more engaged.
      • Occupy a niche area.

Downsides to SMIs

  • Followers may not realize that brand mentions are paid promotions.
  • SMIs may offer bad advice because fame does not guarantee expertise.
  • SMIs may be controversial due to gaffes, scandals, or legal problems.

Going Viral: Tipping Points

  • Malcolm Gladwell: A small number of people can create a chain reaction of social influence.
  • Key roles in creating tipping points:
    • Mavens: Possess specialized expertise (e.g., fashionistas, tech gurus).
    • Connecters: Have large social circles to connect with (e.g., Tweeters, bloggers).
    • Salespeople: Talk up ideas in interpersonal settings.

Tipping Points - Continued

  • Context: An idea must occur at the right place and time.
  • Stickiness: An idea must be inherently attractive.
  • Scalability: An idea must be easy to amplify or reproduce.
  • Effortless transfer: An idea must be easy to share or circulate.

Nudges

  • Thaler & Sunstein: How choices are presented can affect behavior.
  • Examples:
    • Offering children sliced, rather than whole apples.
    • Green footprints leading to a recycling container.
    • Listing sugar amounts on food packages.

Digital and Online Influence

  • Electronic word of mouth (eWOM): Creating social media buzz.
  • Sponsored content: Endorsements for mentioning a brand or product.
  • Native advertising: Ads posing as news stories.
  • Opinion mining and sentiment tracking: Identifying trending topics via number of tweets, likes, shares.

Digital and Online Influence - Continued

  • Gamification: Using game theory to make a boring task into a game or competition.
  • Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding: Enlisting help of others to raise money or complete a task.
  • Persuasive technology: Smartwatches, fitness apps.

Other Contexts for Persuasion

  • Scientists as persuaders: Influencing public opinion on climate change, childhood vaccines, GMOs.
  • Artists as persuaders: Painting, cinema, photography, music can be highly influential.
  • Nonobvious persuasion: Prayer, 12-step programs, panhandling.
  • "Weird" persuasion: Lighting, background music, hand washing.

Interpersonal: The Most Effective Context

  • Face-to-face influence is the most effective arena.
  • Mass media has large reach but low impact.
  • This is due to the availability of a full range of verbal and nonverbal cues.
  • And the ability to adapt the message on the spot.
  • It's harder to say "No" in person.

Benefits of Studying Persuasion

  1. Instrumental function
  2. Knowledge and awareness function
  3. Defensive function
  4. Debunking function
  5. Well-being and self-worth

Instrumental Function

  • Communication competence includes:
    • Effectiveness: Becoming a more effective communicator.
    • Appropriateness: Communicating in acceptable, appropriate ways.

Knowledge and Awareness Function

  • Knowing how persuasion works is useful.
  • Habitual persuasion is often ineffective.
  • Being mindful of persuasive strategies is beneficial.

Defensive Function

  • Identifying deceptive, unethical strategies.
  • Resisting influence attempts.
  • Third-person effect:
    • Underestimating persuasion's effect on oneself.
    • Overestimating persuasion's effect on others.

Debunking Function

  • Debunking bad advice regarding persuasion.
  • "Common sense" assumptions about persuasion may be mistaken.
  • Persuasion findings are often counterintuitive.

Well-Being and Self-Worth Function

  • The ability to persuade others enhances one's own esteem.
  • Influencing others is important in building and maintaining relationships.

Common Criticisms of Persuasion

  • Is persuasion unethical or manipulative?
    • Tool analogy of persuasion:
      • A tool, like a hammer, is neither good nor bad.
      • The purpose for which the tool is used is what matters.
      • A persuader's motives can be ethical or unethical.
      • Persuasion is neutral.

Common Criticisms of Persuasion - Continued

  • Are persuasion findings inconsistent or contradictory?
    • Persuasion is complex.
    • Lots of moderating variables (e.g., "it depends…").
    • Generalizations regarding persuasion are usually qualified.
    • Meta-analysis has revealed generalizable results.

Ethics and Persuasion

  • The use of persuasion is fraught with ethical concerns:
    • Fear mongering
    • Hate speech
    • Fake news
    • False advertising
    • Scams and con artists
    • Mudslinging and political attack ads
  • Not studying persuasion won't make hucksters and charlatans go away.
  • Studying persuasion is the best way to expose unethical influence.