Introduction

• Persuasion

  • The process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

  • When it is well-meaning it might be called mind control

2 Paths to Persuasion

• Central Route

  • Employs direct, relevant, logical messages

  • Rests on the assumption that the audience is motivated, will think carefully about what is presented, and will react on the basis of your arguments

  • Intended to produce enduring agreement

• Peripheral Route

  • Relies on peripheral cues that have little to do with logic

  • Salesman’s way of thinning

  • Requires a target who isn’t thinking carefully about what you are saying

  • Requires low effort from the target and often exploits rule-of-thumb heuristics that trigger mindless reactions

  • May be intended to persuade you to do something you do not want to do and might later be sorry you did

  • Common in the darkest of persuasion programs

Triggers and Fixed Action Patterns

• Fixed Action Patterns (FAPs)

  • Sequences of behavior that occur in exactly the same fashion, in exactly the same order, every time they’re elicited

  • Many of the activities we engage in while mentally on “auto-pilot”

    • These behaviors are so automatic that it is very difficult

  • Trigger Features or Releasers

    • A notable characteristic of FAPs is how they are activated

    • On or off switch may actually be controlled by a specific, minute detail of the situation – maybe a sound, shape, or patch of color

    • Hot buttons of the biological world

• The effectiveness of peripheral persuasion relies on our frequent reliance on these sorts of FAPs and trigger features

• Mindless, rule-of-thumb are generally effective shortcuts for coping with the overload of information we all must confront

• Serve as heuristics – mental shortcuts – that enable us to make decisions and solve problems quickly and efficiently

• Make us vulnerable to uninvited exploitation through the peripheral route of persuasion

The Source of Persuasion: The Triad of Trustworthiness

• Authority

  • From earliest childhood, we learn to rely on authority figures for sound decision making because their authority signifies status and power, as well as expertise

  • Authorities such as parents and teachers are not only primacy sources of wisdom while we grow up, but they control us and our access to the things we want

    • We have been taught to believe that respect for authority is a moral virtue

  • As adults, it is natural to transfer this respect to society’s designated authorities such as judges, doctors, bosses, and religious leaders

    • We assume their positions give them special access to information and power

    • Our willingness to defer to authorities becomes a convenient shortcut to sound decision making

    • Uncritical trust in authority may lead to bad decisions

      • Even if the source of the message is a legitimate, well-intentioned authority, they may not always be correct

      • When respect for authority becomes mindless, expertise in one domain may be confused with expertise in general

      • The authority may not be legitimate

Honesty

• The moral dimension of trustworthiness

• The real suggestion to convey is that the man manufacturing the product is an honest man, and the product is an honest product, to be preferred above all others

Likability

• The mix of qualities that make a person likable are complex and often do not generalize from one situation to another

• Physically attractive people tend to be liked more

  • We perceive attractive people as smarter, kinder, stronger, more successful, more socially skilled, better poised, better adjusted, more exciting, more nurturing, and most important, of higher moral character

  • Based on no other information than their physical appearance

Manipulating the Perception of Trustworthiness

• The perception of trustworthiness is highly susceptible to manipulation

• Testimonials and Endorsement

  • Employs someone who people already trust to testify about the product or message being sold

  • Goes back to earliest days of advertising

  • Celebrity endorsements are a frequent feature in commercials aimed at children but has aroused considerable ethical concern

• Presenting the Message as Education

  • The message may be framed as objective information

  • The implicit message is that being informed is in everyone’s best interest, because they are confident that when you understand what their product has to offer that you will conclude it is the best choice

• Word of Mouth

  • We turn to people around us for many decisions

  • Persuasion professionals may exploit these tendencies

    • They pay for the surveys

• The Maven

  • A Yiddish word meaning a person who’s an expert with a connoisseur

    • Know a lot of people

    • Communicate a great deal with people

    • More likely than others to be asked for their opinions

    • Enjoy spreading the word about what they know and think

    • They are trusted

  • Often targeted by persuasion professionals to help spread their message

• Other Tricks of Persuasion

  • “Free gifts” and reciprocity

  • Social proof

  • Getting a foot-in-the-door

  • Door-in-the-face

  • And “that’s not all”

  • Sunk cost trap

  • Scarcity and psychological reactance

Reciprocity

• We feel compelled to repay, in equitable value, what another person has given to us

• Appears in every culture

• Lays the basis for virtually every type of social relationship, from the legalities of business arrangements to the subtle exchanges within a romance

Social Proof

• If everyone is doing it, it must be right

• We compare our behavior to what others are doing, and, if there is a discrepancy between the other person and ourselves, we feel pressure to change

• Sometimes social cues are presented with such specificity that it is as if the target is being manipulated by a puppeteer

• People are particularly susceptible to social proof

  • When they are feeling uncertain

  • If the people in the comparison group seem to be similar to ourselves

Commitment and Consistency

• Once we have made an initial commitment, it is more likely that we will agree to subsequent commitments that follow from the first

  • Foot in the Door -> Slowly Escalating the Commitments

    • Clever persuasion artist might induce someone to agree to a difficult-to-refuse small request and follow this with progressively larger requests that were his target from the beginning

  • We are less likely to say “no” to a large request than we are to a small request when it follows this pattern

A Door in the Face

• The persuader begins with a large request they expect will be rejected. They wanted the door to be slammed in the face. Looking forlorn, they now follow this with a smaller request, which, unknown to the customer, was their target all along

And “That’s Not All!”

• Begins with the salesperson asking a high price followed by several seconds’ pause during which the customer is kept from responding then salesperson offers a better deal by either lowering the price or adding a bonus product

• Variation on door-in-the-face

• Gains its influence by putting the customer on the fence, allowing them to waver and hen offering them a comfortable way off

The Sunk Cost Trap

• Sunk Cost

  • Used in economics referring to nonrecoverable investments of time or money

  • Trap occurs when a person’s aversion to loss impels them to throw them good money after bad, because they don’t want to waste their earlier investment

• Vulnerable to manipulation

Scarcity and Psychological Reactance

• People tend to perceive things as more attractive when their availability is limited, or when they stand to lose the opportunity to acquire them on favorable terms

• Psychological Reactance

  • When a person seems too pushy, we get suspicious, annoyed, often angry, and yearn to retain our freedom of choice more than before

  • Most effective way to circumvent is to first get a foot in the door and then escalate the demands so gradually that there is seemingly nothing to react against

Defending Against Unwelcome Persuasion

• Inoculation Method

  • Most commonly used approach to help people defend against unwanted persuasion

  • People who are subjected to weak versions of a persuasive message are less vulnerable to stronger versions later on

• Stinging

  • Not only more likely to recognize the manipulativeness of deceptive advertisements; they were also less likely to be persuaded by them

• The most effective defense against unwanted persuasion is to accept just how vulnerable we are

• One must, first, accept that it is normal to be vulnerable and second, to learn to recognize the danger signs when we are falling prey

• To be forewarned is to forearmed