Persuasion Exam 1 (Quiz Questions)

Which of the following slogans would be best suited for a collectivistic culture?

"Making friends everywhere."

Lucy, a doctor, is trying to get one of her dangerously obese patients to exercise more. According to Reinforcement Expectancy Theory, which of the following messages would be best for Lucy to use?

"Regular exercising will make you healthy and help you feel so good."

A problem with many physiological measures of attitude, such as GSR, EMG, and ERP is that they:

Are bidirectional indicators, and may signal positive or negative reactions.

Which statement best reflects Gass & Seiter's perspective on verbal aggression in political campaigns?

Attacks aimed at a politician's character, so long as they are truthful, are useful in helping voters make an informed choice.

Biff has just seen an ad in the paper for a new Nissan pickup truck for $15,000. He hurries to his local dealership but is disappointed to learn that the truck is already been sold. "Don't worry," the salesman tells him, "I can make you a terrific deal on a similar truck for only a few dollars more per month." Which of the following tactics is the salesman using?

Bait and Switch

Finding additional reasons for a bad decision, or providing rationalizations for a risky decision, involve:

Bolstering

You see two unsavory-looking characters standing near an ATM machine and decide to go elsewhere to make a cash withdrawal. Their threatening appearance best represents:

Borderline Persuasion

You have just eaten dinner at a very chic, expensive restaurant. Which theory predicts that the more you paid for the meal, the more you will convince yourself the meal was delicious?

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Gretchen is a public speaker who recognizes differences in perspectives among her audiences. She attempts to cater her messages to her listeners and, consequently is more successful at persuading. According to persuasion researchers, Gretchen can be considered:

Cognitively Complex

In a political debate, a politician who keeps a cool head even when attacked by an opponent or when asked a tough question by the moderator, is exhibiting:

Composure

All of the following are reasons why advertisers and marketers are relying increasingly on segmentation to target consumers except:

Consumers tend to have similar tastes and values because of globalization.

The fact that a source's credibility can change throughout a speech, a campaign, or even over a greater period of time reveals that:

Credibility is dynamic.

All of the following are true about credibility except:

Credibility is fixed and unchanging.

The dapper Tim Gunn, from Project Runway, may know a lot about fashion, but he knows nothing about how to operate a submarine. This best illustrates the fact that:

Credibility is situational or contextual.

Persuasion research often produces "counter-intuitive" findings, e.g., results that are contrary to what common sense would dictate. Such findings highlight the ________________ function performed by the study of persuasion.

Debunking

While visiting a friend's house, a delinquent teen takes several valuable baseball trading cards from a collection belonging to the friend's father. The teen tells himself, "I'm not stealing them, I'm just borrowing them for a while." The teen is engaging in:

Differentiation

What compliance-gaining strategy is the child using in the dialogue that follows? Child: "Mom, can I stay home from school today so we can go to Disneyland?" Parent: "No." Child, "Well, then can I at least go to a friend's house after school to play?" Parent: "O.K."

Door in the Face

A defining feature of attitudes is that they are:

Evaluative

The primary dimensions of credibility are:

Expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill.

Which of the following decreases children's vulnerability to being persuaded by television advertisements?

Family interaction that focuses on looking at ads critically.

Which of the following situations would tend to cause the most psychological inconsistency?

Fifi likes cats, Fifi's boyfriend is Tad, Tad dislikes cats.

Common greetings (e.g., "How are you today?") serve as the first step in which of the following sequential persuasion tactics?

Foot in the Mouth

Which credibility dimension is synonymous with perceived caring, that is, taking a genuine interest in the listener?

Goodwill

_______________ are more easily influenced by reference groups than ________________.

High Self Monitors; Low Self Monitors

Which strategy below is most advisable for increasing one's credibility?

Identify a source's qualifications prior to presenting information from that source.

One way to help ensure a persuasive message will have a lasting effect on receivers is to:

Increase their involvement in the issue.

One way to help ensure that a persuasive message will have a lasting effect on receivers is to:

Increase their involvement in the issue.

Babbs is trying to persuade her three friends, James, Peter, and Jacob, to change political parties. While James has always believed that he is inferior to other people, Peter has a healthy self-esteem. Jacob's self-esteem is somewhere in between, neither strong nor weak. According to what we know about self-esteem and persuasion, who should Babbs have the easiest time persuading?

Jacob

What type of attitude scale is depicted below? "Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal uses." ___ Strongly Agree ___ Moderately Agree ___ Neutral ___ Moderately Disagree ___ Strongly Disagree

Likert

On the first day of school, Professor Wilson gave every student a pencil and a bookmark. The students immediately favored him over other professors. Which explanation for his pregiving strategy is the most appropriate?

Liking Explanation

Credit card companies that offer a low, introductory "teaser" rate, and then up the interest rate dramatically a few months later, are guilty of using which strategy below?

Lowball Tactic

A preacher reminds his congregation that even though forgiving a sinner may not be easy, it is the Christian thing to do. This is an example of:

Reinforcing existing attitudes and beliefs.

Researchers have found that before buying a new car, consumers tend to look at ads for all makes and models of cars. However, once having purchased a car, consumers tend to read only ads for the kind of car they purchased. This tendency best illustrates the phenomenon known as:

Selective Exposure

Dave asks Jan if she likes imported cars. "Gee, I must," Jan answers. "My last three cars were made in Japan." That Jan inferred her attitude about cars from her past behavior is consistent with which of the following?

Self-Perception Theory

According to Gladwell's concept of Tipping Points, a product or idea can't take off unless it has inherent appeal. This is known as:

Stickiness

Which of the following groups of receivers would tend to rely less on credibility as a peripheral cue and more on the content or substance of a message?

Students at a college where a tuition hike was being considered.

Which of the following best describes segmentation analysis?

Tailoring a message to a specific sub-group or niche audience based on their unique characteristics.

According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, a person with high involvement in an issue would tend to be persuaded by:

The Central Route

Fatima is an opera singer. She is well known and popular among older folks. She has just been chosen as the celebrity endorser for a brand of menthol cough drops. Her selection is based upon:

The Match-Up Hypothesis

You advise a friend to enroll in Professor Windplenty's class because "he's an easy 'A.'" A stranger in the registration line overhears you and decides to sign up for the same professor. This is an example of:

The Unintended Receiver Effect

Which of the following is most true about the lapse of time between the first and second requests in the door in the face tactic?

The delay between both requests must be brief.

An individual tends to experience more cognitive dissonance when engaging in behavior that is contrary to his/her beliefs if:

The person does so on his/her own volition.

Which of the following statements about propaganda is most accurate?

The term "propaganda" has a negative connotation, and is usually used in a pejorative sense.

Which persuasion theory includes a "motivation to comply component"?

Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)

One reason why many companies have begun to rely on fictional spokespersons is that:

They won't become embroiled in a scandal.

Kevin wants to try to persuade Bubbles to do something but is not sure it's possible because Bubbles is so authoritarian. Based on what you know from the text, which type of influence tactic would work best on Bubbles?

Threaten Bubbles by telling him that something bad will happen if he doesn't comply.

Advertisements which display the "As Seen On TV" logo, or ads in the phone directory which display the Christian "Ichthys" symbol, are attempting to bolster which credibility dimension?

Trustworthiness

Which of the following statements about sequential strategies is most accurate?

Two doors in the face is better than one.

According to the most recent research by McCroskey & Teven (1999), there are ________________ primary dimensions of credibility.

3

Petty and Cacioppo's ELM postulates that there are two routes to persuasion:

A central route and a peripheral route.

Because Cari is very sensitive to how people perceive her, she pays close attention to others' behavior and is careful to act appropriately in a given situation. Cari can best be described as:

A high self-monitor.

When considering the situation, which of the following is true?

A persuader must adapt his/her message to the listener's frame of reference.

According to Gass & Seiter, persuasion is best thought of as:

A science and an art.

According to the "Tipping Point" theory, people who have lots of expertise and know-how are known as:

Mavens

The idea of commitments "growing legs" means:

People tend to remain committed to a decision, even if circumstances change.

Quincy wants to speak to his professor about his last paper. He intends to challenge the professor about his grade. Shortly into the conversation, Quincy realizes he misunderstood the assignment. Rather than challenge the grade, he decides to ask for a chance to rewrite the paper. This best reflects the notion that:

People's goals may change during a persuasive encounter.

The ________ explains why the door in the face tactic is effective.

Perceptual Contrast Effect

In the terms used in the Elaboration Likelihood Model, a person low in the need for cognition is more likely to be persuaded via the _________ route to persuasion.

Peripheral

In the terms used in the Elaboration Likelihood Model, a person low in the need for cognition is more likely to be persuaded via the _________ route to persuasion.

Peripheral

Based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, credibility generally functions as a ________________ in persuasion.

Peripheral Cue

When politicians are shown drinking a beer, shopping at Wal-Mart, eating at McDonald's, or going bowling, they are employing which propaganda technique?

Plain Folks Appeal

A boutique clothing store offers shoppers a glass of wine or a cup of coffee when they enter the store. This strategy is known as:

Pregiving

Hiroshi acts nice to potential customers in order to get them to buy his wares. This is an example of which sequential persuasion tactic?

Pregiving

The "norm of reciprocity" has been used to explain the effectiveness of which of the following sequential persuasion tactics?

Pregiving

Which of the following situations would tend to be the most psychologically comfortable?

Zack dislikes guns, Zack dislikes Morton, Morton owns a number of guns.