Persuasion Unit 1
Platinum Rule
"Do unto others as they themselves would have done unto them." (With the golden, we run into situations where someone is like "Well I wouldn't mind if x,y,z so they shouldn't be so upset about it." So rather than focus on that, look instead to how others want to be treated.)
Golden Rule
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Define Persuasion
"the process of dramatic co-creation by sources and receivers of a state of identification through the use of verbal and/or visual symbols." (p. 20)
Channel
(C)hannel, carried message, might have distracting noise. --Prof keeps this generally, like TV, not like CNN
Message
(M)essage, mean to convey the source's meaning through codes
Receiver
(R)eceiver, one decoding the message --A linear model. You can't respond/give feedback. TV, voicemail, etc.
Characteristics of Propaganda
-- It is ideological (Shared, spoken ideas) -- It uses the mass media to deliberately spread its belief system -- It aims at uniformity of belief and behavior -- It usually circumvents the reasoning process and substitutes emotional argument and the hatred of stereotypes for totally illogical reasoning
Propaganda conceals one or more of the following:
-- The source of the message, -- The true goal of the source, -- The other side of the issue, -- The techniques being used to promote the message -- The result if the source reaches its goal
- Tools for Analyzing the Semantic Dimension (+ Burke's Dramatism)
--Ambiguity Burke's Dramatism - theory that maintains that the basic model used by humans to explain various situations is the narrative story or drama.
Power of English Language
--English ranks second only behind Chinese in number of native speakers. --English is used in most of the world's books, newspapers, magazines, scientific publications, and stored computer texts. --English has one of the world's richest vocabularies. --English is now the international language of science, business, politics, diplomacy, literature, tourism, pop culture, and air travel. --Non-native speakers report that English is the easiest second language to learn.
Elements of Ethical Responsibility
--Filling duties and obligation, of being accountable to other individuals and groups --Adhering to agreed-upon standards --Being accountable to one's own conscience --Sometimes something is against that law, but you feel it is right to do --Exercise of thoughtful and deliberate judgement
- Tools for Analyzing the Thematic Dimension
--Metaphorical Style --Sensory Language --God, Devil, and Charismatic Terms --Pragmatic Style --Unifying Style
Semantic Terms
--Signal Response --Extensional Devices --Indexing --Dating --Etc. --Quotation Marks
Langer also introduced three terms to be used when discussing meaning:
--Signification: a sign accompanying the thing that's being considered (swoosh along with the word Nike) --Denotation: Dictionary definition of a thing (concept, shared) --Connotation: Subjective interpretation of a thing (conception, individ)
- Tools for Analyzing the Functional Dimension
--Simple Sentences --Compound Sentences --Complex sentences --Nouns, adjectives, and adverbs --Syntax
- Tools for the Analysis of Metaphor
--Tenor and Vehicle --Mapping (go through and dismantle the construction of a metaphor, or language, to find all of the underlying meaning)
Burke's Dramatistic Approach (Pentad)
--The Act: or description of what takes place (what) --The Scene: provides background context (where/when) --The Agent: the person who performs the act (who) --Agency: means/instruments of accomplishing the act (how) --The Purpose: motive (why), often emphasized in court
Cicero's 5 Elements of persuasive speaking (Ripped off from Aristotle's Canons of Rhetoric):
1) Inventing or discovering evidence & arguments, 2) Organizing them, 3) Styling them artistically, 4) Memorizing them, and 5) Delivering them.
The three questions to analyze the power of a metaphoric statement:
1) Is the statement figurative instead of literal? 2) Is it an equation in which its two parts are being made equal? 3) Can it be expanded figuratively?
Most language theorists agree that metaphor is the most powerful and persuasive of all the figures of speech, and the most likely to require truly artistic language creativity. It has 2 components:
A good and persuasive metaphor is one in which the vehicle can be readily and repeatedly be "mapped" back to the tenor, and preferably on several dimensions. --Metaphors can be visual as well as verbal (the clown in It represents childhood trauma?) --Metaphors are always figurative (and not exact) - figurative can't be checked Aristotle likes metaphors, he thinks similes are lazy but metaphors are really useful. Audiences like metaphors more too, because it gives them more to do, more chance to create their own meaning.
Aristotle's Rhetoric
Adaptation to Context and Purpose Types of Proof: Ethos, Logos, Pathos
Langer's Approach to Language Use
All human communication and hence persuasion relies on concepts (shared meaning) and conceptions (individual). Concepts: Dog google search Conceptions: Dogs in camera roll/Your dog --Only you think of these specific dogs when asked dog
Socrates-- what does he hate?
Ancient Greek philosopher who hates writing, thinks it makes you dumb to write things down. All his teachings are written down by his pupils. Also thinks that you can't talk to a book or ask it questions, and Socrates' whole thing was asking questions (i.e. socratic method, why? why?). Thinks it goes from you brain to the paper, and it's out of your head.
Plato's most famous student is?
Aristotle. Aristotle becomes a teacher at Plato's school, the 1st rhetoric teacher there and the first rhetoric theorist ever.
What makes a proof Artistic?
Artistic proofs must exist within the speech itself to be artistic, the speaker must construct it just like any other art. So Aristotle only counts what is being verbalized, and the other necessary window-dressings to persuade are important but not artistic. (These three proofs can be pinpointed in a transcription of a speech)
Importance of Ethics
As receivers and senders of persuasion we have the responsibility to --uphold appropriate ethical standards for persuasion --encourage freedom of inquiry and expression, and --promote public debate as crucial to democratic decision making --understand that senders were once us and typically appeal to us, so we may be able to steer their ethical moves.
Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA):
Attitude toward act/behavior (individual) + subjective norm (social) = behavioral intention → behavior Whichever (ind v soc) is stronger will inform your intent and behavior more
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Central Route: think deeply and analyze/compare aspects before making decisions --(High Need for Cognition- people who must look up more info when possible) --Reading a book about a new subject, google things all the time Peripheral Route: using quick cues to make a decision, based on personal patterns --(Low Need for Cog individuals do not seek out more into.) These CANNOT be done simultaneously. Levels of Need for Cognition and Which Style of Processing can vary by person generally, but also just by topic. If you're uninterested in a class subject, you won't look into it further.
Issues of Ethics and Personal Character
Citizen-politician issue Private-public dimension Past-present dimension Once-pattern issue Dimension of trivial-serious
We receivers have to assemble, or ________ the persuasion
Co-create We make a larger story around the bits, (we see a logo and we remember everything we know about that company, etc)
Ethos needs 3 characteristics...
Credibility, how qualified is the speaker to discuss the topic? Character, do they have the best interest of the audience in mind, good person? Charisma, are they invested in the topic, engaging?
Biased information processing
Decision makers favor a certain position, and we interpret information from that position/opinion
Genres of Rhetoric (as defined by Aristotle)
Defined by past present and future tense, and the purpose of each - Deliberative - Epideictic - Judicial/Forensic
Scott's Epistemic Approach
Departure from Plate and Aristotle-- Although truth can be stable at times, according to Scott it cannot be static in an ever-changing, 24/7, multicultural world Rhetoric is a process of constant discovery in which truth is seen as moments in "human creative processes" Scott's perspective clearly shows us why simply learning a set of tactics of persuasion is not enough for students of communication We are not just searching for a truth, we are finding truths through language all the time and multiple truths simultaneously.
Inartistic Proofs
Exist outside of the speech itself, not part of the art of the speaker
Ethical Standards in Cyberspace
False information or profiles, etc can exist and these are problematic. All profiles can be misleading. People feel like they can't be held accountable for online communications.
Defensive Avoidance (Fear Appeal v. Danger Appeal)
Fear appeals are internal, you're scaring people but not inspiring them to act. (You're going to die in a terrorist attack! Ahh! So what do I do?!) Danger appeals are external, giving people a reason to act. (Someone is trying to break into your home! Get this security system and you'll be fine.)
Dimensions of Language
Functional: the jobs that words can do Semantic: the meanings for a word Thematic: the feel and texture of words
Ethical Perspectives - not all ethical situations are judged w/the same criteria
Human Nature Perspectives Political Situational Legal Dialogical
The Thematic dimension
In addition to having functional and semantic meanings, some words also have a feeling, a texture, or a theme to them. (based on sound, not meaning) A word, we hate. Irks us: Lover A word, we like. Makes us feel good: Articulate
Fear and Drive Reduction
Inducing fear continues to be one of the most studied tactics in persuasion research --Boomerang Effect --Defensive Avoidance (Fear Appeal v. Danger Appeal)
Rank's Model of Persuasion
Intensify a Message through... Repetition→ slogan, jingle, duplicate logo etc repeated can intensify message Association→ associate a feeling, emotion, way of life with a particular company/brand (can also associate with a person who represents an ideology) Composition→ Use a design to intensify a message (Victoria secret is the color pink)
Legal
Just because something is illegal, is it unethical? Smoking marijuana, federally illegal but not technically unethical if you're personally doing it & not hurting anyone. You can use legal ethics to interpret situations (ex- in a court case) or form your moral code, but just because something is legal doesn't mean it is truly ethical.
Burke's Approach to Language Use
Kenneth Burke defined persuasion as "the use of language as a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols." --He considers persuasion equal to identification (or Consubstantiation) According to Burke, identification develops through the linguistic sharing of what he called sub-stances. (The prefix Sub, meaning ''beneath,'' and Stances, meaning to ''grounding'' or ''places.")
Persuasion as protection in a deceptive, doublespeak and dangerous world
Knowing persuasive tactics helps you identify coercion
General Semantics and Language Use
Language appeals made by most persuaders, advocates, and propagandists, ARE only maps or inner perceptions of places, persons, or things and not true territories or realities. Masses of land are the realities Maps are what we use to understand them, inner perceptions Semantics deals with the study of words: We all carry thousands of such maps or connotative metaphors around in our heads that represent nonexistent, incorrect, or false territories.
Persuasion in a multicultural world
Need to keep multiple cultures in mind, and value their input in the process
Norms-based Models
Norms based approaches to behavior change have similarities to the expectancy values model, but they only focus on the normative force in the persuasive argument Past research results have been mixed in regard to the success of norms based campaigns This one takes away the individual attitudes & agency, that missing part is why it has mixed results (ex: millennial culture doesn't influence everyone in the same way)
SMCR model helps us decode uses of persuasion: Olay Ageless, Making a Murderer
Olay Ageless Commercial: Tells us to buy product, because it will make us Ageless. It tells us that our skin will get energized, firmer, and more elasticity. The commercial didn't even show skin in it, just spheres and roses. The message doesn't really make sense, in this way we can be critical of messages. Making a Murderer: Documentaries are a channel that try to make viewers believe a certain message (documentarians are a specific source with reasons to present a certain angle), and you can examine your role as receiver and recognize if you are easily swayed and how much information you're taking in and what's being left out.
(How to) Downplay
Omission→ just do not talk about the issue/bad thing. Temple not talking about Cosby. Diversion→ "look over there!" Trump talking about LeBron to distract from Mueller Confusion→ talk a lot of jargon, too much complex info.
3 Thematic Examples
Onomatopoeic, words sound like their meaning, "Pow, clang, tink, bang, boom" Assonance, or the repetition of vowels or vowel sounds, "I like Ike" Alliteration, or the repetition of consonants, "She sells sea shells"
Phaedras -- Plato accepts rhetoric, Socrates does not
Plato realizes that in his writings he has been using the power of persuasion to convince people rhetoric is bad, but this is contradictory/ hypocritical because he is basically using rhetoric. To fix this, he decides (through Socrates) that rhetoric is a techne, or an art, and he said that rhetoric is bad but can be good to persuade people for ethical reasons and ethically. Ex: convincing a sick someone to take their medicine. The ethical ones are true arts, while unethical are false arts. He writes a list of examples in the text.
Who was Socrates' most famous student? What texts did he write about Socrates + Rhetoric?
Plato! Wrote Gorgias and Phaedras
Message Effects
Primacy-Recency Effects Message Bias and Two-Sided Arguments Biased information processing
Primacy-Recency Effects
Primacy: Hit people w/most important information first Recency: Put important information LAST so it's the most recent in their minds
Extensional Devices -
Seek to change the emotional meaning of your message
Self-Efficacy and Efficacy
Self-efficacy can be defined as an individual believing she or he is capable of a successful performance --Whether or not you believe you can make a change --How, your agency. Self-efficacy is a sub-class of the more general category of efficacy, or effectiveness.
Semiotic Approach to Language Use
Semantics are the study of words Semiotics are the study of symbols (like emojis, images, etc) According to semiotic theory, all texts convey meaning through signs or signifiers --Signifieds are the things (events, rules, etc) to which the signifiers refer. These signifiers interact w/one another in meaningful and sophisticated, but not obvious, relationships, or sign systems, which make up the "language" or "Code" of text.
Message Bias and Two-Sided Arguments
Show both sides of an argument in your message, but show how your side is better/winning, refute
Metaphorical Archetypes and their Meanings
Sometimes, figures of speech can also produce a texture or theme at the same time they perform a function and carry a meaning. Winston Churchill, repeatedly used archetypal (universal) metaphors of "light" to characterize the British military and citizenry and "dark" ones for the enemy. We all experience day and night, so we all have universal impressions of day vs. night. Others: life vs. death, the stages of life, light vs. dark. Archetypal metaphors usually refer to common substances or events like light and dark, birth/death, and rite of passage.
The Power of Symbolic Expression
Symbolic expression affects emotions and/or the intellect, but it sometimes has actual physical effects It can be argued that language is symbolic action, and that may be an explanation of why words have almost magical possibilities Synecdoche is a type of symbolic speech...
Difference between Rhetoric and Persuasion
The Greeks considered persuasion and rhetoric the same thing but... Rhetoric-- defined by Aristotle as the art of finding the available means of persuasion in a particular situation. Definition of Persuasion from Text: "the process of dramatic co-creation by sources and receivers of a state of identification through the use of verbal and/or visual symbols." (p. 20)
Anchor Effects
The anchor is an internal reference point with which we compare other persons, issues, products, and so on that we encounter (like religious anchors or liberal) Every issue has an anchor at any given time (Latitude of acceptance for stealing depends on your anchor-- Robin Hood) An important question is how these anchors are established Anchors, however, may be manufactured by persuaders.
Aristotle's Definition of Persuasion
The ancient Greeks were among the 1st democracies to systematize the use of persuasion calling it "rhetoric" - Artistic and in-artistic proof - Ethos (credibility), pathos (emo, ASPCA ads), logos (logic, stats/graphs, etc) - Common ground enthymemes
The semantic dimension (Denotations/Connotations)
The semantic dimension explains the various shades of meaning given to language. Word choice also provides clues about the source's underlying intentions. Can learn about a person based on choice of words (if you call a poor person "trash" it shows how you view them and the issue of poverty") So when persuaders choose to use certain words, receivers need to examine them carefully, not only for what they do (their functional dimension) but for their various shades of meaning (their semantic dimension). The most semantic phrase is "hooking up," because it's so vague and subjective. It has many shades of meaning, and can be used to imply more than what happened or intentionally mislead / be ambiguous
Metaphors use tenors and vehicles. Ex: Love is a Battlefield
The tenor is the subject of the metaphor. The word we want to change the meaning/understanding of, make different. (Love) The vehicle is the means through which we change the tenor's meaning, the way to transmit our desired meaning. (Battlefield)
Socrates also hates Rhetoric. Why? What does he like?
Thinks Rhetoric is unethical because it tries to convince you that something is the truth, rather than searching for truth. He likes Dialectic, which is basically philosophy-- the search for Truth (big T truths, answers, thinks asking enough questions will bring us to the true answer). Dialectic is a "true art" while Rhetoric is a "false art"
Etc. -
This device is meant to indicate that we can never tell the whole story about any person, event, place, or thing. (Including reference to all groups in audience, so "Temple, Drexel, etc. PA Universities")
Scarcity Effect
Type of functional tactic: "While supplies last!" "Get this now!," encourage people to act quickly by presenting a limited amount of product available or limiting the time frame in which something is available (fomo)
Ethics of Racist/Sexist Language
Using this kind of derogatory language shapes our world in a way that constructs some human beings as less than other, and this has repercussions. --Black women getting harassed about their hair, or being "good for a black girl"
Our Changing Persuasive World
We are engulfed in a sea of information Overall message of persuasion comes in bits
Feminist View on Persuasion
We move from square tables to round tables, because square tables have a "head" at the table and these are usually men. --Invitational rhetoric. Idea that everyone has a seat at the table if they desire to participate. Dialogue.
Questions about Audience Adaptation
What are the ethics of adapting to the audience? To what degree is it ethical for persuaders to alter their ideas and proposals to adapt to the needs, capacities values, and expectations of their audience? Simply branding the same message for diff audiences is ethical. Focus on different aspects of it that relevant to the audience, adapt language to relate! (Some people are flip-floppers, and end up lying just to tell an audience what it wants to hear (whether or not it be true, even if you conflict). This is unethical, @ John Kerry)
New media—especially the internet and digital formats—have resulted in a whole new game of social "Monopoly."
With increase of persuasive messages, we are experiencing a crisis in personal and public ethics. We have recently faced almost unprecedented lying and unethical decision making.
The functional dimension
Words can do many things. They can: --Motivate action, --Identify causes and effects, and --Lay or deflect blame. (like, speaking in the passive, not attributing a source. "The dishes are done.") --Frame issues in certain ways, "found bread" v "looted a store" Gabby Gifford was shot by someone who saw that crosshairs ad. It basically says shooting is the solution to this problem, so you have to be careful when you use particular types of language
Lying and Deception-- Is it ever ethical to lie or be deceptive?
Yes. Lie to kids about Santa, Doctors deceive you that your prognosis may be better than honesty, lie to save your life if threatened.
Quotation Marks -
are a way to indicate that the sender is using those flag words in a particular way—their own way, which isn't necessarily the receiver's own way.
Similes
are figurative AND exact (use like, as.) --Smart as a fox. Unlike metaphors similes imply an approximate comparison not an exact one, and as a result similes always have the words "like" or "as" in them
Analogies
are literal, use something known to explain the unknown. --What's Cosi? Oh, it's like a Panera.
Synecdoche
boiling down of meaning of complex ideas into pithy phrases, and politicians frequently use it. Politicians do this a lot, they speak to a group of seniors, and they mean for that group to stand in for the whole population of seniors When a part stands in for a whole: "Nice wheels" refers to a car.
Indexing -
categorizing by adding specific information. Info to mitigate so "College students have no interpersonal skills because of technology, but not Temple students" to disarm us.
Once-pattern issue:
did it happen one time? Or repeatedly? See this with #MeToo
Signal Response -
having a reaction to a word as if it is the thing itself
An idiom
is not a metaphor, a tenor and vehicle can't be mapped in them
Mere Exposure
just seeing something over and over and being familiar with it, just being exposed to the message will make you look on it more favorably. The more you see it the more you like it. Product placement works like this. There is a saturation point: when mere exposure become over exposure, which means a marketing strategy must change because people end up hating the product/message.
Human Nature Perspectives
look at everyone involved as human beings. Do generally all human beings have this same standard? Like, don't eat other people.
Epideictic
present. Ceremony speech, praise/blame. Like eulogies, toasts, grad speeches, awards speeches. May be discussing past/future, but is part of a present celebration. Mostly praise-centered.
Unimodel
purports that cognitive processes are on a spectrum, it's one full model instead of two separated processes. But science does not find this to be true.
Toms Shoes in Rank's Model
repetition-- one for one (slogan), association-- giving back (emotion), composition-- that blue/white striped logo they put on all the shoes (design)
Dating -
setting up a timeframe. Saying the above about millenials and then "but you're Gen Z, so not you guys."
Political
the health of our political system, (democracy for us). Judge event by whether it contributes to the health of the democracy. So barring women from the vote was unethical. Is it ethical to not vote? Yes, in democracy you have choice to vote or not.
Situational
the situation at hand is judged on the current circumstances. "In this particular situation, ____ is okay." Like, cannibalism in survival situations.
The Automatic Activation of Attitudes
treats the mind like a library, you can automatically retrieve information like it's a book on a shelf. Persuaders are trying to get a message to cause you to automatically pull-out a particular attitude regarding their message/product See a commercial of people excited to see folks at Christmas time, this will spur that feeling in you and asking you to associate it with the product Somewhat similar to a Rorschach test, if the intended interpretation was more clear
Quintilian's Focus on Character
--Established public school of rhetoric in Rome in 1st century AD --Wrote Institutio Horatio, noted for focus on character of the speaker --When you have a new baby, here's how to raise it to have good character so it can become a good leader. (to combat shit leaders Rome has had) --As in the days of the Roman Empire, establishing believability is a critical burden of the persuader today and challenge to Quint's thesis.
Improve your ethical judgment
--What is the concrete grounding of the ethical judgement --Can i justify the reasonableness and relevancy of these standards for this particular case --Can i indicate clearly in what respects the communication being evaluated succeeds or fails in measuring up the the standards? --Who is the ethical responsibility owed to? Which individuals, groups, orgs, professions? --How do i feel about myself after this ethical choice? --Can ethicality of this comm be justified as a coherent reflection of the communicator;s personal character --If called to defend the decision in public could you? --Are there precedents of similar or previous cases you can turn to for guidance? --Have all other options been explored?
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB):
Attitude toward act/behavior + subjective norm + perceived behavioral control (do you believe you can change the behavior) = behavioral intention → behavior Sometimes self efficacy is the biggest determinant in your behavior (so you'd skip right to behavior)
Fisher's Narrative Approach
Developed the narrative paradigm (worldview, near impossible to change) as a synthesis of: --Argumentative AND aesthetic themes --Challenging the notion that persuasive communication must be argumentative in form and evaluated by standards of formal logic; thus --The narrative paradigm subsumes (includes) rather than denies the rational world paradigm The Narrative approach takes into consideration the way people actually make decisions, which incorporates emotion and desire rather than solely a cost/benefit analysis (rational, logos). We consider also the possible/probable in stories.
Dialogical
Dialogue, rather than monologue. Asks us to see an ethical situation from various perspectives/PoVs in order to understand the ethics involved
Aristotle's Artistic Proofs
Ethos -- Ethical appeals. The ethics of the speaker Pathos -- Emotional appeals Logos -- Logical appeals, necessary when like looking for corporate investors
Sophists
Group of traveling teachers that go around Athens etc. and teach people 'how to argue' and win any argument (arguments were big back in Athens). Socrates thinks this is unethical, winning an argument based on powerful speech/ strategy/technique alone but rather the merit of your argument & ethics. Sophists are like "we just want the money/win"
Plato's Dialogic Approach
Plato directly believed that humans do not see absolute truth directly, but only glean indirect images, glimpses, or shadows of the truth Plato used dialogue, or the dialectic method, to pursue these truths Dialogue is a form of discussion where the parties ask and respond to questions from the other parties involved Basically, asking questions and trying to address the concerns is the best way to flesh out an answer and chip away toward the truth.
Gorgias
Shows Plato hates rhetoric. Gorgias is a Sophist from the time and he would challenge people to argue with him, and he was the best debater. Plato/Socr not about it.
How is rhetoric viewed generally?
Since its beginning, rhetoric has had a negative connotation and still does to this day. So though Aristotle defined it, the Plato/Socrates skepticisms pervade (it being deceptive).
Power-Oriented Perspectives
Social Movement: a label to designate a critical mass of people coming together to address problematic actions Critical Theory: focuses on inequitable situations and injustices Radical Movements: the question of whether intimidation, harassment, force, and violence are justifiable has no easy answer (sometimes it is, though)
SPA
Socrates --> Plato --> Aristotle
Single Variable Perspective/Yale Comm Model
Source Effects Message effects Fear & Drive reduction Anchor effects Self-efficacy and efficacy
SMCR Model of Persuasion--
Source, Message, Channel, Receiver
Can use the pentad to understand situations--
Story of mother getting shot in woods, and she is being blamed for her death because Scene is emphasized (people think you should know what hunting areas are, and they're upset about over-development of hunting lands) (Documentaries undertake these varied emphases-- ratios.)
The Heuristic-Systematic Model (heuristic are cognitive shortcuts, cues. T means Temple)
Systematic Processing-- similar to central processing. Careful, thoughtful. Heuristic Processing-- similar to peripheral processing. Short-cuts. In this model, you can use heuristics to process systematically. You can do both processes at the same time. -- Combined: the color red may heuristically mean Temple, but then you use the systemic to examine what other possibilities there are (stop, anger, etc.) to make the right call/interpretation. [But like, if you're driving and you see a red light, you use only heuristic because you know it mean stop in the road context.]
The Power of Language
We tend to overlook the importance and the tremendous power of symbols like words and language choice in persuasion and elsewhere. Since words stand for or represent things, ideas, and feelings, we also tend to react to words as if they actually are the things they only represent. One reason we can infer much from how a person uses words/symbols to persuade is that the making of symbols is so highly ego-involving.
Source Effects
Yale researchers in the 60s conducted credibility studies in which the same message was attributed to persuaders having various kinds of reputations --Helped in Milgram Experiment, researchers in lab coats from prestigious Uni got more shocks that other A critical point found in these studies is that the effect of the speaker credibility may decline over time if the content of the message becomes separated from the source in the hearers' memory (Sleeper Effect) --Couple days after you hear a credible persuader speak, you remember the message but forget who you heard it from.
Enthymemes
assumption of common ground/beliefs/knowledge you have w/you audience (not a fallacy if true)
ELM - Two channels of processing (for both info & persuasion)
central information processing route: buying a laptop, examine all aspects of each model and compare options. Think deeply. -- Starbucks: looking up how to get the most points on the app, what is chai tea made of, how much caffeine is in a venti, what size is venti? peripheral information processing route: buying a food brand, see a sign and go yeah sure that. Think quickly. -- Companies want you to use peripheral. This is why they build brand loyalty and logo recognizability, so people see it, know it, buy it.
Past-present dimension:
determine whether something happened a long time ago and should be forgiven, or if it was recent and we're not over it yet. Also wonders if long ago things still deserve judgement, or how soon it takes to forgive.
Heuristics and peripheral can tend to be
emotion based decisions.
Deliberative
future. Purpose was to decide the future. Language of politics, using language of persuading and dissuading. Proposing laws to prevent/enable future actions etc
Boomerang Effect:
if you scare people too much then it stops being scary, and you'll no longer persuade them, they'll just be scared/upset/annoyed.
Theory of Reasoned Action
logical theory. When you take your own personal attitudes about a behavior (smoking, etc) and weigh them against society's beliefs about it-- then come up with your own behavior. If your belief is the stronger in your mind, you follow that. If societal approval is more important then you take up that behavior. If they match, then no behavior changes. If you think smoking is gross, but it's the coolest thing in society, you might try it
Judicial/Forensic
past. Use of laws, accuse of/defend (a past action).
Private-public dimension:
should people be judged the same in their private and public lives? Like, celebrities. Same judgment for their private life? Should jobs be able to judge you based off of your public social media (most think people should be allowed to have a private persona, that is separate from their public presentation)
Narrative Theories
use stories. Weigh what is possible and what's probable. Is this story possible? And is it probable? Someone tells you your boyfriend was making out with someone at a party the night before, but you say it's not possible because he was with you all night. If he wasn't, but he's very loyal, it's not probable he'd cheat. If you determine something is a possibility and that it's likely to happen, then you take that message to heart and adapt your behavior.
Dimension of trivial-serious:
was it something that wasn't that big of a deal (Justin Bieber egging a house), or just like a stupid thing someone did. Or did it seriously hurt anyone, or was deliberately malicious.
Citizen-politician issue:
we generally expect our politicians to act in a way that is more moral than the majority of us. Expect them not to have affairs, etc. Hold them to a higher standard
Communication in reality is more transactional,
where we are both active source and receiver. Despite not reflecting real interaction often, SMCR model helps us decode uses of persuasion.
Political Persuasion
--Do not intentionally use specious, unsupported, or illogical reasoning --Do not ask audience to link your idea to emotion-laden values, motives, or goals to which it actually is not related --Do not oversimplify complex, gradation-laden situations into simplistic two-valued, either/or, polar views or choices --Do not pretend certainty where tentativeness and degrees of probability would be more accurate (no promises you can't keep) --Do not advocate something in which you do not believe yourself.
Source
(S)ource, or persuader, who is the encoder of the message
Presentational
(occurs all at once, and doesn't change. Painting, the image presents its meaning all at once since it doesn't change appearance) Presentational: usually image-based
Discursive
(unfolding over time so meaning is revealed later, plot of a book not immediately evident what the meaning of the text is- plot twist) Discursive: usually word-based. In contrast to presentational...
Ambiguity and Vagueness: Specific purposes for which communications might believe that intentional ambiguity is ethically justified
--Heighten receiver attention through puzzlement (IHateStevenSinger ads) --To allow flexibility in interpretation of legal concepts --To allow for precise understanding and agreement on the primary issue by using ambiguity on secondary issues --Letting receivers create their own relevant meanings --Promote max latitude for revision of a position in later dealings w/opponents/constituents.
Commercial Advertising
--No false or misleading statements --Use accurate testimonials reflecting choices of individuals involved --Don't make price claims that are misleading --Claims should be sufficiently supported and not distorted --Do not be offensive to public decency or to minority segments of the population
