Persuasion

CHAPTER 1

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large

Persuasion involves one or more persons who are engaged in the activity of creating, reinforcing, modifying, or extinguishing beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, an/or behaviors within the constraints of a given communication context

Persuasion is a positive social force

Marketing campaigns are a part of persuasion

5 benefits of persuasion:
1. Instrumental function of persuasion

2. Knowledge and awareness function

3. Defensive function

4. Debunking function

5. Well-being and self-worth

More eye contact = lying??

The scientific study of persuasion dates back to the 1940s and 1950s, when Carl Hovland founded the Yale Attitude Research Program as part of the war effort. The government wanted to know how to counter enemy propaganda that could affect the morale of troops and how susceptible POWs were to brainwashing.
Aristotle’s work Rhetoric is one such text that has survived the test of time. Written in the fourth century BCE, Aristotle’s work has had a lasting influence on our understanding of persuasion. Many of his insights and observations are considered valid even today.
Note that with the exception of Hitler, these charismatic leaders enjoyed a limited following. The rest of us weren’t taken in by their claims, suggesting that people, in general, aren’t that gullible after all.
A New York Times article (Story, 2007) sets daily ad exposure at up to 5,000 ads per day. Rosseli, Skelly, and Mackie (1995) state, “even by conservative estimates, the average person is exposed to 300–400 persuasive messages a day from the mass media alone” (p. 163). Jones (2004) pegs the number of advertising messages at 300 to 1,500 per day, but indicates that some estimates are as high as 3,000 per day—a number Jones labels fanciful (p. 12). Marshall (2015) reports that digital marketing experts say Americans are exposed to 4,000–10,000 messages per day. We are suspicious of such estimates, however, because they may simply represent “unknowable” statistics. At the very least, estimates of the number of persuasive messages to which the average person is exposed involve extrapolations, and the criteria upon which the extrapolations are based aren’t always provided.
We don’t have sufficient space to devote to this topic here, but suffice it to say that the traditional notion of scientific realism is under siege from the anti-realism camp (see Kourany, 1998). The antirealists argue that science is neither purely objective nor impartial but heavily value laden (see also Laudan, 1984; Longino, 1990).
Meta-analysis refers to a statistical technique that allows a researcher to combine the results of many separate investigations and examine them as if they were one big super-study. A meta-analysis is capable of revealing trends across a number of studies and resolving apparent inconsistencies among studies.

CHAPTER 2

Pure persuasion VS borderline persuasion

Pure:

Obvious, clear cut cases of persuasion
Intentional
Measured in effectiveness

Borderline:

Less clear cut cases of influence (appearance. Ex. someone looks sketchy, crosses the street)
May or may not be intentional
May or may not produce the intended effect

Litmus tests for defining persuasion:

Intentional vs unintentional
Effective vs ineffective
Free will and conscious awareness vs coercion and/or lack of awareness
Symbolic action vs non-symbolic behavior
Interpersonal versus intrapersonal

2. Effects

Has persuasion occurred if nothing changes?

Persuasion as a product or outcome vs persuasion as a process or activity

3. Free will and conscious awareness

Is free, voluntary choice required?
Few decisions ever involve completely free choice?

4. Symbolic action

Much of persuasion is visual
Much of persuasion is nonverbal
Someone who watches a commercial with sound off can still be persuaded

All 5 things have to be used to be persuasive

Intrapersonal/interpersonal
symbolic/non symbolic
noncoercive/coercive
effects/no effects
unintentional/intentional

The communication context shapes how persuasion occurs

Number of communicators
Synchronous vs asynchronous
Ratio of verbal vs non verbal cues
Mediation/media
Participants goals affect how persuasion functions
Socio-cultural factors affect message processing

Elaboration likelihood model:

Two basic routes to persuasion: central and peripheral
They represent qualitatively different modes of information processing

Central processing:

Central route is reflective, requires mental effort, and relies on cognitive elaboration
Motivation
Ability
Need for cognition

Peripheral processing:

The peripheral route is reflexive, based on mental shortcuts
Credibility, appearance, cues
Heuristic cues: rules for simplifying the thought process

Central route = more long lasting

CHAPTER 3

Attitude: an attitude is a “psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor”

Social Desirability Bias: Respondents may provide the “socially correct” response

Non-Attitudes: Respondents may make up opinions so as not to appear uninformed

Mindfulness: Respondents may not be aware of their own attitudes

Beliefs and attitudes about the behavior

Normative beliefs

Perceived behavioral control

Intention (readiness to perform the behavior)

Behavior

Attitude models:

Attitude towards the object model:

Ranking things that are important to you and giving them a rating and percentage

Reasoned action approach:

Attitude, normative, perceived behavior —> Intended behavior —> behavior

Associative networks:

Web of networks

(Heineken beer association)

Reducing cognitive dissonance:

Rationalizing
Selective exposure
Polarization of alternatives

CHAPTER 4

Credibility defined: judgements made by a perceiver concerning the believability of a communicator

Approximately 1 in 4 ads and 1 in 5 commercials feature a famous person

Match-up hypothesis:

A good fit between the endorser and the brand is essential

Characteristics of credibility:

Credibility is a receiver-based phenomenon
Credibility is a multi-dimensional construct
Credibility is situational
Credibility is dynamic

Primary dimensions of credibility:

Expertise (competence)
Trustworthiness
Goodwill (perceived caring)
Unbiased?

Secondary dimensions of credibility:

Extroversion (energetic, enthusiastic)
Composure (poise)
Sociability (likeability)

Credibility typically functions as a peripheral cue in persuasion

Maple Leaf meat situation:

Founder released a video to show sympathy and get back rapport for the brand

Strategies for enhancing credibility:

Never “wing it” be prepared thoroughly
Cite evidence and source qualifications
Cite your own background and expertise
Build trust by identifying with your audience
Display goodwill by showing that you care
Demonstrate your objectivity
Improve your likability
Adapt your language style to your audience
Emphasize your similarity to your listeners
Increase listener involvement to promote central processing
Have a credible source introduce or endorse you

CHAPTER 5

CHILDREN

“Young children – younger than 8 years – are cognitively and psychologically defenseless against advertising”

The average child sees 40,000 commercials per year

Advertisers take advantage of children’s naivety
Factors that decrease children’s vulnerability

ELDERLY

Age alone does not make people more gullible although…
Politeness reduces some seniors’ willingness to hang up on telemarketers. Cognitive impairments (dementia, Alzheimer's) make some seniors more vulnerable. Loneliness, isolation make some seniors more vulnerable
Common scams target the elderly
Telemarketing scams. Lottery and sweepstakes scams, bank/taxes cons

GENDER AND PERSUASION

Gender stereotypes affect persuasion more than actual gender differences
Women are more easily persuaded by males, and vice versa (cross-sex effect)

CULTURE AND ETHNICITY

Individualistic cultures value personal autonomy
Direct, assertive, rational persuasion strategies
Collectivistic cultures emphasize fitting in
In direct, cooperative persuasion strategies

INTELLIGENCE

Albert einstein vs Forrest Gump
Intelligence is not synonymous with knowledge or education on a topic
Less intelligent people may have more difficulty comprehending the message

PSYCHOGRAPHIC/PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

State - varies from situation to situation
Trait - characteristics presumed to be relatively stable across situations
Self esteem
Anxiety
Preference for consistency
Self monitoring
High self-monitors
Low self-monitors
Ego involvement (ego involved people tend to have narrower views)
Issue involvement (high and low)
Authoritarian personalities are close-minded and conservative
Social vigilantism
Narcissism (more likely to buy high vs low distinctive merchandise. More likely to buy when there is a virtual mirror vs model)
Cognitive complexity
Need for cognition
Verbal aggressiveness/argumentativeness

Social judgment theory*

ANALYZING AND ADAPTING TO AUDIENCES

Know your audience
Pay attention to situational cues

CHAPTER 7:

Words have power:

Words are on of the most powerful tools in persuasion
Words affect perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions
Language evolves
Verbal language - sales, spoken copy, branded podcasts
Written language - headlines, written copy, emails, websites, captions, hashtags
Marketing creates terms

Symbols:

Symbols are arbitrary words, images, or behavior that stand for or represent something else
Symbols in marketing could be advertising, social media, other promotions, helps with peripheral processing
Denotative meaning: a word’s strict dictionary definition (ex. Animal names like alligator, elk, hen, bison, hamster, etc)
Connotative meaning: emotional associations surrounding a word. References surrounding a word (ex. Fox, dog, cougar, tiger, cow, etc)

Richard Weaver’s ultimate terms:

God terms (family values, peace, truth)
Devil terms (deadbeat dad, sexual predator, sweatshop, hate crime)
Charismatic terms (empowerment, natural, freedom, democracy)

Aphorisms, familiar or catch phrases:

Famous sayings, proverbs, and folk wisdom can facilitate persuasion
Such truisms function as peripheral cues
(rome wasn’t built in a day, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, don’t judge a book by its cover)
Students heard a persuasive message that included familiar phrases (some students were distracted, some were not) the distracted students were more persuaded than the ones who paid full attention

Similes and metaphors:

Figures of speech that compare two things

The power of names and labeling:

People’s names influence impressions (food servers who used patrons names received higher tips)
Labels reflect attitudes (female - lady, girly-girl, male - bro, dick)
Prescription drug names (branding companies typically earn between $50,000 and $250,000 for coming up with unique names for a prescription drug)
Names that sound scientific with an “X” or “Z” are popular (Xanax, Nexium, Zoloft)

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis:

Language shapes the way we think
Language can facilitate or inhibit certain types of thinking
More precise language enables more focused thought
The average Jo or Jill might call a specific colour off-white
A painter of clothing designer might differentiate between subtle shades

The power of renaming:

Progressive vs liberal
Death panels vs health insurance
Troop reduction vs cut and run
Peer-to-peer file sharing vs internet piracy
Pre-owned vs used

Euphemisms and double-speak:

Euphemism - using an inoffensive term/phrase to substitute an offensive one
Commercial sex worker vs prostitute or whore
Downsizing vs being fired
Euphemisms can help people save face
Euphemisms can convey tact, sensitivity

Language intensity, vividness, and offensiveness:

Profanity is rarely a persuader’s friend
Profanity lowers perceived credibility
Perceptions of profanity are topic, audience, and situation specific

Political correctness and evolution of language:

Evolving terms for different ethnicities (coloured vs person of colour, bi-racial, multi racial)
The control of language entails the control of social reality
The power of naming shapes perceptions and confers power
The language of disability (saying wheelchair bound emphasizes disability first, saying person with a disability emphasizes the person first)
The language of gender
The language of other groups (homeless, unhoused, etc)

Language intensity:

Language intensity - the quality of language which indicates the degree to which the speaker's attitude deviates from neutrality
Intense language demonstrates a source’s bias on a topic or issue
“Humans have no more value than slugs”
Reinforcement theory: intense language facilitates persuasion with a friendly audience, intense language can alienate a hostile audience
Language expectancy theory: violations perceived positively or negatively facilitate persuasion
How a violation is perceived depends on the status and reward power of the violator
Information processing theory: intense language persuades via message discrepancy
A previously unthinkable position becomes more unthinkable
Intense language may also backfire based on the contrast effect
Communication accommodation theory: persuaders who match the language style of their audience are more effective
Intense language users prefer intense speakers
Non-intense language users prefer non-intense speakers

Vividness:

Vivid language is more memorable than pallid language
colourful , picturesque language increases attention and retention
Pallid language is boring
Using vivid language to highlight irrelevant features decreases persuasiveness

Powerful vs powerless language:

Powerful, assertive language is generally more persuasive
Powerful language conveys confidence, credibility
Powerful language requires good arguments and evidence

POWERLESS LANGUAGE

Signifies low status, low credibility
Types of powerless language (hedges: kind of, sort of. Hesitations: uh, uhm, like, you know. Intensifiers: very, really. Polite forms: if it's ok, id appreciate it if. Tag questions: don’t you think. Disclaimers: you’ll probably say no but…. Deictic phrases: outside the speaker's vicinity.

Enthusiastic language:

Breathtaking, groundbreaking, astonishing
Other exaggeratory terms

CHAPTER 8:

Nonverbal influence

Professor Mehrabian’s rule of nonverbal communications:

Communication is only 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal
The non-verbal component was made up of body language (55%) and tone of voice (38%)

Importance of nonverbal communication:

We use nonverbal communication to:

Shape impressions of ourselves
Establish intimacy, rapport, immediacy
Facilitate or inhibit attention
Model behavior (social proof)
Signal expectations
Violate others’ expectations

The direct effects model of immediacy:

Immediacy behaviors are warm, friendly, and involving and enhance the persuasiveness of a message
It's easier to comply with those we like
We tend to trust warm, friendly people

Types of non-verbal communication:

Kinesics
Haptics
Proxemics
Chronemics
Artifacts
Physical appearance

Kinesics: eye contact

Common expressions about eye contact (shifty eyes, lying eyes, wild-eyed, kind eyes, evil eye, glazed over, etc)
Eye contrast conveys: interest, attention, attraction, liking, warmth, immediacy
Eye contact usually enhances persuasion
Gaze avoidance (strangers are less likely to comply with a gaze avoiding requester) (rude, less believable)

About face:

Smiling is an immediacy behavior
Smiling conveys: warmth, attraction, liking, sincerity
Food servers who smile receive larger tips
Job applicants who smile are rates more favourable
Cheaters who smiled received more lenient treatment
Excessive smiling may backfire

Mirroring:

Mirroring involves matching or mimicking another's behavior (eye contact, posture, stance)
Mirroring conveys: similarity, empathy, familiarity
Mirroring facilitates persuasion (speed daters who used mirroring were rated more highly)
Mirroring negative nonverbal cues may be counterproductive

Emblems and illustrators:

Leaning in
Open body language
Emblems correspond with specific words or phrases
Illustrators accompany speech

Adaptors:

Unintentional self-touching cues
Lip biting, nail biting, hand wringing, hair twirling
Adaptors: the exception to the general rule: self-touching behaviors tend to inhibit persuasion, adaptors signify nervousness, anxiety, boredom, stress, etc

Haptics (touch)

Common expressions regarding touch (being touchy, staying in touch, a touching gesture)
Types of touch (cuddle, grope, hug, feel, kiss, brush, poke, push, scratch, shove, etc)
Touch generally facilitates compliance gaining
Touch can: convey positive or negative affect, foster a favourable impression, provide reassurance, empathy
Touch must be perceived as appropriate in location, duration, intensity (friendly vs sexual vs flirty)
Context is key (cultural considerations, gender differences, situation or setting, hand or arm touching is best)

Handshakes:

In western cultures handshakes influence impressions
Higher status people are more likely to initiate handshakes
Interviewees who offered firm handshakes were rated more highly

Proxemics

Geographical closeness increases liking, attraction
Personal space: standing closer tends to facilitate compliance gaining

Expectancy violations theory:

People have expectations about what constitutes appropriate behavior in social situations
Violations of expectations are perceived positively or negatively depending upon status, attractiveness, evaluation of interpreted act

Chronemics

Time spent waiting confers power, status
Tardiness can negatively impact credibility
Psychological reactance

Time consciousness varies by culture:

Western culture: M-time emphasizes precise schedules, promptness, time as a commodity
Other cultures: P-time cultures don’t value punctuality as highly, don’t emphasize precise schedules

Chronemics in marketing:

Temporal effects as a situational influence in consumer behavior (must act now, limited offer, hurry, only a few left)

Time as a sales strategy:

Urgency as a sales tactic
Non-urgency as a sales strategy

Artifacts and physical environment

Artifacts:

Material objects as an extension of the self
Uniforms and compliance gaining
Location of office, furniture, tidiness of office
Home staging

Attractiveness and social influence

Looks matter: attractiveness is an asset in persuasion
Attractive people are perceived as having other positive traits
Handsome defendants were twice as likely to avoid a jail sentence
Both sexes were more likely to comply with a request for assistance if the requester was attractive
Body shapes influence perceptions: muscular, athletic forms indicate athletic and adventurous. Thin and lean bodies indicate tense, pessimistic and quiet. Full and round bodies indicate warm and agreeable.
Facial appearance affects impressions (mature face people are perceived as more serious, having more expertise, baby faced women are perceived as more attractive, but less mature)
Numerous stereotypes around hair colour (men with beards are perceived less attractive but more trustworthy)
Height matters (half of CEO’s are above 6’) (taller women made more money, but still less than men)

Paralinguistics:

It's how you say it: fluency facilitates persuasion, speaking faster generally increases credibility, pitch variation generally increases persuasiveness