Chapters 5&6
Groups and Networks
Group influence is the most influential factor in which opinions we express when you are a part of a congruent social networks ( people with similar views), your attitude becomes more resistant to change because you have strong social support for that attitude; however if you in a heterogeneous social network with lots of people who have different views, you are less resistant to change. Affiliative social tuning hypothesis: individuals will adjust, or 'tune' their beliefs to the apparent beliefs of other people when they desire to get along with this person
How are the tactics of propaganda used on a mass scale?
Propagandists use a variety of techniques to persuade the masses. These include use of stereotypes, substitution of names, selection of facts, downright lying, repetition, assertion, pinpointing an enemy, appeals to authority, and glittering generalities.
Attitude
a mental state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive influence on one's responses to related objects and situations the social psychological measures of an attitude must be indirect attitude structures: cognitions, affective responses, behavioral intentions, and behaviors terminal values: refers to desired 'end states' ex) equality, freedom, a comfortable life, and salvation instrumental values: values such as being forgiving, broadminded, and responsible explicit attitudes: an attitude that operates on a conscious level via controlled processing implicit attitudes: an attitude that affects behavior automatically, without conscious thought and below the level of awareness via automatic processing Unobtrusive measures: a method of assessing attitudes such that the individuals whose attitudes you are measuring are not aware of your interest in them Mere exposure: the phenomenon that being exposed to a stimulus increases one's feelings, usually positive, toward that object; repeated exposure can lead to positive attitudes Operant conditioning: a method by which attitudes are acquired by rewarding a person for a given attitude in the hopes it will be maintained or strengthened Evaluative conditioning: a process in which you develop an attitude (positive or negative) towards something because a neutral stimulus is associated with a positive or negative stimulus - pairing a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus) with an emotional-arousing stimulus (unconditioned stimulus) associations formed via evaluative conditioning are more persistent than classically conditioned responses- evaluatively conditions are more resistant to extinction than classically conditioned responses Observational learning: attitude formation learned through watching what people do and whether they are rewarded or punished and then imitating that behavior
WHat is cognitive dissonance theory, and what are its main ideas?
cognitive dissonance theory proposes that people feel an uncomfortable tension when their attitudes or attitude and behavior, are inconsistent. This psychological discomfort is known as cognitive dissonance. According to the theory, people are motivated to reduce this tension, and attitude change is a likely outcome. Dissonance theory suggests that the less reward people receive for a behavior, the more compelled they feel to provide their own justification for it, especially if they believe they have freely chosen it. Similarly, the more they are rewarded, the more they infer that the behavior is suspect. The latter is known as the reverse-incentive effect. Additionally, the cognitive dissonance theory states that an individual will experience dissonance after making a decision between two mutually exclusive, equally attractive alternatives. This is known as postdecisional dissonance. Another, more recent view suggests that cognitive dissonance results not so much from inconsistency as from the feeling of personal responsibility that occurs when inconsistent actions produce negative consequences.
communicator credibility
credibility- the believability, genuineness, and authenticity of the person his or her credibility is affected by expertise and trustworthiness Perceived Expertise - knowledgeability and training in a particular field -- a person is much more convincing in an argument if he or she is in authority relevant to the issue being considered formal academic training may carry more weight than simply having experience National Academy of Sciences compared to the National Enquirer - which would you believe on their claims of life on other planets? - give a piece of information with which people agree first Style of presentation - straightforward versus hesitating -hesitating- viewed as stumbling and trying to find words which leads to belief that they aren't as educated with that Perceived trustworthiness of the individual: trustworthiness: the sense that the communicator is honest, and not attempting to manipulate or deceive the recipient of the argument - speech style affects this as well as it affects trustworthiness - looking straight in the eye = more trustworthy - rapid speaking is perceived as: knowledgeable, intelligent, sincere - slow speech is percieved as making it up as you go rapid= 190 words/ min slow= 110 words/min lack of intent to persuade - we are most persuaded by someone if we believe that they are not trying to convince us - meaning they are not invested in the outcome of whether we change our mind or not and therefore not engaging in manipulation or deception - information is eavesdropped - we are much more likely to take this to heart for this reason taking a position against one's own interest- trust that person's argument because they aren't trying to deceive us - oil industry vs. environmentalist - willing to suffer for one's views: unlikely that the person is doing it to deceive us, he or she must genuinely believe in the position being taken
Media
first-level agenda setting: the news media determine which stories are important enough to go on page one of the newspaper or lead the evening news second-level agenda setting: the news media try to tell us how to think about news related issues- which is done by presenting stories in a manner that alters our perceptions and emotions about events and people.
What is the impact of vividness on persuasion?
- overall the effect of vividness of a message on persuasion is not very strong. Studies show, however, that individuals exposed to vivid messages on an issue that was important to them felt the vivid message was effective. Vividness may be beneficial in political ads or in jury trials. For example, jurors awarded more money to a plaintiff when the evidence they heard was vivid compared to nonvivid. Vivid information has its greatest impact when a persuasive message requires few resources and a person is highly motivated to process the message. For a message with a highly motivated target that requires many resources, vividness does not have an effect on persuasion.
Yale Communication Model
A model of the persuasion process that stresses the role of the communicator (source of a message), the nature of the message, the audience, and the channel of communication. the most important factors compromising the communication process are expressed by the question: Who says what to whom by what means? who- refers to the communicator; the person making the persuasive message what- refers to the organization and content of the persuasive message whom- is the target of the persuasive message, the audience means- points to the importance of the channel or medium through which the message is conveyed ; such as TV, radio or interpersonal face-to-face communication these four factors provide input into 3 internal mediators: the attention, comprehension, and acceptance mediators persuasion according to the yale model will occur if the target of a persuasive message first attends to the message, then comprehends the content of the message, and finally accepts the content of the message Yale model proposes that persuasion is a function of controlled processing of the message; that is, a person who is persuaded actively attends to the message makes an effort to understand the content of the message , and finally decides to accept the message the 4 factors interact to create a persuasive effect.
What is self-affirmation theory?
Another alternative to cognitive dissonance, self-affirmation theory explains how people deal with the tension that dissonant thoughts or behaviors provoke. Self-affirmation theory suggests that people may not try to reduce dissonance if they can maintain their self-concept by proving that they are adequate in other ways- that is, by affirming an unrelated and positive part of the self.
The cognitive approach to persuasion
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): a cognitive model of persuasion suggesting that a target's attention, involvement, distraction, motivation, self-esteem, education, and intelligence all influence central and or peripheral processing of a persuasive message - primary emphasis on role of the audience, especially their emotions and motivations Central Route processing: in the ELM, information may be processed by effortful, controlled mechanisms involving attention to and understanding and careful processing of the content of a persuasive message - elaboration of the message by the listener; elaborate on the message by filling in the gaps with their own knowledge and beliefs - more resistant to change Peripheral Route Processing: in the ELM, information may be processed using cues peripheral or marginal to the content message - occurs when individuals do not have the motivation or interest to process effortfully. instead they rely on cues other than the merits of the message, such as the attractiveness of the communicator. whether a person uses central or peripheral route processing depends on a number of factors, including mood personal relevance, and use of language. The flexible correction model augments the elaboration likelihood model. it suggests that individuals using central route processing are influenced by biasing factors when they are not aware of the potential impact of those factors- for example: when they are in a good mood. Under these conditions, correction for biasing factors takes place.
What is psychological reactance?
Individuals may reduce psychological tension in another way as well. When people realize they have been coerced into doing or buying something against their will, they sometimes try to regain or reassert their freedom. This response is called psychological reactance. Reactance operates by activating thoughts related to the threat to freedom and anger.
What are the need for cognition and the need for affect?
Need for cognition (NC) is an individual difference variable mediating persuasion. Individuals who are high in the need for cognition will process persuasive information along the central route, regardless of the situation or the complexity of the message. Conversely, individuals low in the need for cognition pay more attention to peripheral cues (physical characteristics of the speaker) and are more likely to use peripheral route processing of a persuasive message. The need for affect (NA) is a person's tendency to approach or avoid emotional situations. Individuals who are high in NA are more persuaded by an emotion-based message than individuals high in NC.
What is self-perception theory?
One alternative to cognitive dissonance theory is self-perception theory, which argues that behavior and attitude change can be explained without assuming that people are motivated to reduce the tension supposedly produced by inconsistency Instead, self-perception assumes that people are not self-conscious processors of information. They simply observe their own behavior and assume that their attitudes must be consistent with that behavior.
Persuasion and Attitude Change
Persuasion- the use of rational or emotional arguments to change the attitudes or behavior of others - keep in mind that attitudes are considered schema - if the person you are trying to persuade has a rich or detailed schema, what are the chances you will change their minds- particularly if the new information is extremely different from theirs - the new information will either be rejected or it will be distorted to fit with the schema and then be accepted by the schema -persuasion is a highly difficult process a form of social influence- the process by which the behavior of others changes the attitudes or behavior of the individual - persuasion is the type of social influence in which a person or message in which directly, explicitly, or intentionally attempts to convince a person of a particular position - the person being persuaded is aware that they are trying to change their attitude other types that don't include the person changing his or her mind: compliance, and obedience Compliance- a direct request from someone to engage in a behavior Obedience- a form of compliance that is a direct request made by someone in a position of authority or status- a person engages in compliance because the requestor has power over them Conformity- modifying one's behavior in response to real or imagined pressure from others - pressure may be implicit: not result of direct compliance -which is explicit rational or emotional arguments rational argument- presents information, calls for the use of logic - emotional argument- emphasize the experience of emotions - may elicit positive emotions such as: humor, joy, happiness, excitement, love, or sympathy - or negative emotions such as: fear, anger, possibly even hate emotional appeals likely affect behavior because they generate non-conscious motivation to associate one's self with the point of view in order to continue to experience those types of emotions- rather than based on the effectiveness of the point of view ex- advertisements are forms of persuasion political campaign advertisement 1 political campaign advertisement 2
Attractiveness and Likeability
Physical attractiveness likeability- the degree to which an individual evokes positive emotions and is enjoyable to be around Attractiveness- the overall assessment of the desirability of seeking and maintaining contact with a person - likeability is a major factor influencing the attractiveness of a person physical attractiveness- substantially important factor equally true for men and women - physical attractiveness is especially important in emotional appeals similarity - status, race, ethnicity, locale those who are like us in these roles^ are more attractive to us. are more compelling because they are 'like us' - attractiveness produces positive feelings which become associated with the message being delivered- we develop positive feelings with the message and become convinced of its superiority
What is propaganda?
Propaganda is defined as a deliberate attempt to persuade people, by any available media, to think in a manner desired by the source. The internal characteristics of propaganda refer to the psychological makeup of the targets of propaganda. In order for propaganda to be effective, the propagandist must know which attitudes, sentiments, and behaviors can be easily manipulated. Deeply held beliefs are commonly left alone. The external characteristics of propaganda refer to the characteristics of the propaganda itself. In order for propaganda to be maximally effective, it must be organized and total.
What is the Heuristic and systematic information model of persuasion?
The heuristic and systematic information-processing model (HSM) focuses more heavily on the importance of heuristics or peripheral cues than does the elaboration likelihood model. This model notes that often issues are too complex or too numerous for effortful, systematic processing to be practical.
Heritability
an indicator of the degree to which genetics accounts for differences among people for any given behavior of characteristic there was a very high resemblance between the TV viewing of the children and that of the biological parents
The Yale Communication model (Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953)
a proposal that four factors influence the effectiveness of a persuasive argument (attributes)vvv 1. the communicator 2. the message 3. the audience 4. the channel of communication the four factors interact with one another- regarding their effect on nearly all persuasion attempts - the effect of one depends on the specifics of the other 1. the communicator- the person attempting to persuade others of a point of view - who delivers that message and what that person is like makes a difference with their respect to their effectiveness and changing minds - "when a government becomes oppressive, it is the right, it is the duty, of the people to abolish that government" - "Thrift should be the guiding principle in our government expenditure... Corruption and waste are very great crimes" The first statement is from the declaration of independence the second is from chairman Mao Zedong- early leader in in establishing the communist government in china - communism is considered a radical, extremest, and flawed form of government by people in the US since the beginning of the last century - the point is: makes a difference who argues a particular point of view - the characteristics of the communicator are in fact important: this is because the person has a reputation and characteristics that provide a context for understanding the meaning of the argument
Attitudes and Behavior
attitudes appeared to be, at best, only weak predictors of behavior Theory of planned behavior: a theory that explains attitude-behavior relationships, focusing on the relationship between the strength of our behavioral intentions and our performance of them attitude toward the behavior- (be careful: toward the the behavior, not the object.) ex) you like exercising, but hate sweating- exercising is the object here- theory says that your attitude toward the behavior, which includes sweating, is a better predictor of your actions than your attitude about exercise because it affects your intentions Subjective norms: refers to how you think your family and friends will evaluate your behavior ex) all my friends exercise and they will think it is appropriate that I do the same Perceived behavioral control: refers to a person's belief that the behavior he or she is considering is easy or hard to accomplish ex) a person is more likely to engage in health-related preventive behaviors such as dental hygiene, or breast self-examination if he or she believes that they can be easily done
The importance of conviction
attitudes held with conviction are central to the person holding them (they are like possessions) - ex) racial and gender equality, racism and sexism, patriotism, religious fundamentalism and occultism an attitude held with conviction is easily accessible: meaning that if you discuss with someone a subject about which they feel strongly, they will respond quickly and have a lot of ideas about it nonrational actor: a view that humans are not always rational in their behavior and their behavior can be inconsistent with their attitudes ex) dentist situation: you know flossing is good and should do it, but only when you run out and its 11 pm are you going to go get some? or stay home and not floss. - people usually behave habitually, unthinkingly, even mindlessly - they make active decisions only when they face new situations - meaning there is a good chance of inconsistencies between our attitudes and our behavior mindlessness- involves reduced attention and loss of active control in everyday activities, it occurs when we're engaging in behaviors that have been overlearned and routinized
Ideology and how we feel about those who think differently from us
ideology: a set of ideas, beliefs, or stance that determines a perspective with which to interpret social and political realities liberalism: an ideology emphasizing "an enthusiasm for freedom, toleration, individualism and reason, on the one hand, and a disapproval of power, authority and tradition, on the other" conservatism: an ideology that is more resistant to change than liberalism and roots change in what has worked in the past ^^ these play a big role in politics and discourse 3 processes are involved in the tendency to see more polarization than exists: 1. categorizing people as republican or democrats 2. the more strongly an individual identifies with a political party, the more polarization he or she is likely to see 3. those with extreme personal political attitudes are more likely to exaggerate the degree of political polarization individuals who perceive greater political polarization are more likely to engage in political action than those who see less polarization a person's ideology is also related to how that person thinks and his or her motivations for action Motivated social cognition means that a person adopts a way of thinking (ideology) because it serves some psychological need and relates to a person's needs and motivations naïve realism: the belief that we see the world objectively, while others are biased, and that if others do not see the world as we do, they are not rational NR has three processes: 1. the. belief that we are seeing the world objectively 2. the other people who are rational will also see the world as we do 3. if those others don't see the world as we do, then either they do not have the right information or they are not rational and harbor ulterior and bad motives cognitively sophisticated thinkers were more likely to show the bias blind spot than less sophisticated thinkers
what kind of message is most effective? the power of fear
need a good amount of fear, not too little not too much law of primacy: the law of persuasion stating that the first persuasive argument received is more persuasive than later persuasive arguments inoculation theory: the theory that if a communicator exposes an audience to a weakened version of an opposing argument, the audience will devise counterarguments to that weakened version and avoid persuasion by stronger arguments later inoculation works by: it motivates people to generate their own counterarguments and makes them more likely to believe the persuaders side of the issue the role of discrepancy: - high discrepancy: example of delivering pro-choice message to people with attitudes against abortion (message is too different from theirs, they will reject message without much thought) - low discrepancy: example of delivering pro-choice message to people with pro-choice attitudes (basically saying what the audience already believes, so there isn't much persuasive change) - both cases you wouldn't expect much persuasion The social judgement theory: an attitude theory suggesting that the degree of personal involvement with an issue determines how a target of persuasion will judge an attempt at persuasion. Latitude of acceptance: in social judgement theory, the region of an attitude into which messages that will accept fall (the set of positions the judgement categories, or latitude) latitude of rejection: in social judgement theory, the region of an attitude into which messages that one will reject fall (the set of arguments the audience would not accept.) latitude of noncommitment: in social judgement theory, the region of an attitude into which messages that one will neither accept nor reject fall (a neutral zone falling between the other two and including positions audience members do not accept or reject but will consider) The problem of multiple audiences: - Multiple audience problem: in persuasion, the problem that arises when a communicator directs the same message at two different audiences, wishing to communicate different meanings to each private key: background information we know about someone (we see these in political ads, especially those ads aimed at evoking stereotypes and emotional responses)
Credibility Vs. Attractiveness
it depends on the content of the message subjective preference - values (what we think is right or wrong, good or bad), taste (what we like or don't like), or lifestyle (the way that we prefer to live our lives) for issues related to subjective preference- similarity is most important ( more influential than credibility which has to do with the expertise of the individual objective reality - substantiation of facts (we want experts who know what they're talking about rather than those who are similar to us) - dissimilarity is more important 2. the message - the use of *reason* versus *emotion* - the communicator may use reason or emotion to convince the recipient effectiveness depends on the audience- in this case it depends on the people who are listening to the issue highly educated or analytic people - more responsive to rational appeals interested, involved audiences - more responsive to thoughtful, rational, arguments Influenced by the cognitive route involved elaboration likelihood model (Petty& Cacioppo 1986; Eagly & Chaiken (1993) - the audience actively processes information one-sided vs two -sided argument - depend on audience characteristics educated audience - two-sided arguments are more effective ; regardless of their initial opinions why? - well educated people will know both sides of the argument, if you only present one side they will think you are trying to manipulate them because they know that there is missing information - they may also resent that you are trying to draw conclusions for them less educated audience - depends on their initial opinion -- one-sided is better if already agree -- two-sided is better if do not agree
Credibility: expertise and trustworthiness
sleeper effect: a phenomenon of persuasion that occurs when a communication has more impact on attitude change after a long delay than when it is first heard 3 factors make it more likely that the sleeper effect will occur 1. there is a strong persuasive argument 2. there is a discounting cue, something that makes the receiver doubt the accuracy of the message, such as lack of communicator credibility or new information that contradicts the original message 3. enough time passes that the discounting cue and the message become disassociated and people forget which source said what 2 other factors were also relevant to the occurrence of the sleeper effect: 1st: the sleeper effect is most likely to occur if both the message and the credibility information are strong 2nd: the sleeper effect is stronger for individuals who are motivated to carefully process and think about the message and credibility information this suggests that the sleeper effect requires active, controlled processing of the message content and credibility information discounting cue: SE occurs most reliably when the receivers get the discounting cue after they hear the message and credibility information - if discounting cue comes before the message, the receiver doubts the message before it is even conveyed Efficacy: refers to the effectiveness of a communicator to bring about change High- successful Low: unsuccessful gender domain effect: - male communicator may be more persuasive for male-oriented issues - female communicator may be more persuasive for female-oriented issues