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Images in Advertising: And Now a Word from Our Sponsors

"Advertising is undoubtedly the most pervasive form of persuasion in our society." (Woodward & Denton) TV advertising consists primarily of images. Carl's Jr. and Victoria's Secret ads with sexy women

Implicit and Explicit Conclusions

"It is not sufficient to lead a horse to water; one must also push its head underneath to get him to drink." When are implicit conclusions more effective? -Receiver perceives the message to be personally relevant -Receiver has a lot of knowledge about the topic or product When are explicit conclusions more effective? -Receivers have little knowledge about the topic or product

Photojournalism as Persuasion

Historic Images: Marines raising flag on Iwo Jima. Kent State: student kneeling over dead student killed by National Guard. Shooting of North Vietnamese sympathizer. Naked Vietnamese girl running from napalm. Woman coated with ash after Twin Towers collapse.

Elephant Dung as Persuasion?

-Art can make people angry. -Art can offend people's sensitivities. -"Yo Mama's Supper" shocked and offended traditional values

Activist Art: I Must Protest

-Art is used by social activists. -Art is used to make the public aware of political and social issues. -This art may be odd, disturbing, or peculiar. -"Three Weeks in May" was a shocking illustration of the violence of rape -The AIDS Memorial Quilt dramatically illustrated the large number of people who died of AIDS -"The Scream" personified the angst of modern society

Anti-Ads: You Can't Fool Me

-Consumers are cynical. -Anti-Ads sell by mocking advertising. -Creates perception that the advertiser respects the viewer's intelligence. -Sprite ad: "Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. -Obey your thirst."

Powerless Language

-Early research indicated that speakers who came across as powerful, confident and sure of themselves were more persuasive than speakers who weren't. -Hesitations: "Could I, um, borrow five dollars?" -Hedges: "I sort of know what I'd like to major in." -Intensifiers: "I really really liked the movie." -Polite forms: "Excuse me, if you wouldn't mind, would you please close the door?" -Tag Questions: "It's a nice day, isn't it?" -Disclaimers: "I know this is a dumb idea, but we could try to have our party on a different date." -Deictic phrases: "That man over there can help you." Current research indicates that powerless language isn't always unpersuasive. -Polite language enhanced speaker credibility. -Professional hedges ("probably," "seem to") did not hurt persuasiveness. -High credibility speakers were more persuasive using Tag Questions. Low credibility speakers were less persuasive. -Females were more persuasive with men when using powerless speech, but more persuasive with women when using powerful speech.

Research Findings on Humor

-Enhances attitudes toward a brand and intent to purchase -Not superior to other emotional appeals (e.g., fear and pity) -Increases credibility of male, but not female, college teachers -Aggressive jokes, when told by male managers, considered more appropriate than when told by female managers What would you advise females about the use of humor? Be cautious Humor as Social Proof. "Laugh tracks" on TV shows enhance funniness of low to medium-quality jokes Parents use laughter after a toddler falls. Make toddler not cry

Quantity versus Quality of Arguments

-For some people, it is the quantity of arguments that counts; "kitchen sink" approach. -For other people it is the quality of arguments; "gourmet" approach. One type of peripheral cue may be the number of arguments a persuader uses. "He has a strong position on the issue! Look at the number of arguments he's making!" Research findings: Quality of arguments did not matter to what kind of people? Lowly ego-involved Peripheral processors What kind of people were not taken in by a lot of weak arguments? Highly ego-involved Central processors Implications: If your audience will scrutinize your message, use strong arguments. If your audience does not seem involved, a bunch of arguments may be all you need.

Ingratiation

-Ingratiation works, and works well. -Ingratiators receive more positive evaluations than non-ingratiators. -Ingratiation works even when the evaluator is aware of the ingratiator's motives. What are types of ingratiation? Other enhancement: Paying compliments or engaging in flattery Opinion conformity: Agreeing with the target's ideas and views Self-presentation: Referring to one's positive character features ("Gee, I'd love to play tennis with you, but I'm helping at the homeless center this weekend.")

Assertiveness

-Involves defending your rights and acting in your best interests, while at the same time, respecting the rights and interests of others.* -Not afraid to speak up, express feelings, and take the initiative. -Unlikely to be persuaded by unreasonable requests. -Likely to disagree with speakers who take stands they oppose.

Music Videos and Persuasion

-Music videos affect fashions, trends, slang, sexual mores, and model social behavior. -Music videos will continue to influence how teens construct and interpret what is hip, cool, and trendy.

Cautions about Using Music to Persuade

-Must match the listener's taste. -Must match the purpose for which it is used. -Shouldn't overpower content of the message. -In a sales environment, softer music allows more interaction. -Music will probably have little effect upon highly involved receivers.

Ambient Aromas and Social Influence

Aromas and Moods What did the Stolberg, 1994 study show about how fragrance affected patients undergoing MRI exams? Vanilla fragrance relaxed patients who were about to undergo MRIs What did Hanisch (1982) find about the effect of fragrance on arachnophobia? Pleasant fragrances lessened the fear of spiders What did Nagai (1992) find about the effect of fragrance on psychological stress and fatigue? Sweet fennel oil reduced stress and fatigue associated with doing math problems on a computer What conclusion can be drawn about the relationship between fragrances and mood? Smells affect people's moods, feelings, and emotions in significant ways

What Advertisers Really Do

Associate products with positive images and lifestyles. These associations occur at a very low level of consciousness. But they are in no sense subliminal.

Information Processing Theory

-We evaluate messages by comparing their position to our own position. -Intense language makes the source's position more extreme compared to your own position. -If the difference is in a direction that you favor, intense language helps persuasion. If the direction is one you do not favor, intense language hurts persuasion.

Language Expectancy Theory

-We have expectations of appropriate language. -When a speaker violates our expectations, these violations can help or hurt persuasion. When the violation is viewed positively, intense language helps. When the violation is viewed negatively, intense language hurts.

Background Music

Background Music and Shopping Pace Do shoppers and diners spend more when the background music is slow- or fast-paced (Milliman,1982)? Slow tempo music slows down shopping pace and increases sales Are shoppers and diners aware that their behavior is being regulated by background music? Probably not, since background music is processed peripherally

Demographic Variables and Persuasion: Ethnicity, Culture and Persuasion.

A major dimension of cultural variability is Individualism-Collectivism. What do Collectivistic cultures (e.g., parts of rural China) tend to value? -Harmony, concern for others, and goals of the group What do Individualistic cultures (e.g., the United States) tend to value? -Independence and goals of the individual Culture influences how people persuade. How do members of collectivistic cultures persuade? -Focus on social or group benefits How do people from individualistic cultures persuade? -Focus on benefits for people they are trying to persuade -Tend to ignore social or group benefits How do persuaders from a country such as Japan, that has both collectivistic and individualistic characteristics, persuade? Depending upon the situation, Japanese may use collectivistic or individualistic appeals Culture also influences the way messages are received. Some researchers argue that people are more susceptible to messages from someone of their own race. Rationale for this argument? -People of the same race are likely to have similar experiences, which lead to similar beliefs, attitudes and values -People may not be influence by speakers of another race because of racial prejudices Studies have been inconsistent regarding the effect of race on persuasion. What effect have non-white speakers had on white receivers? -They have been as persuasive, less persuasive, and more persuasive than white speakers What explanation has been offered to explain why white receivers were persuaded by minority speakers? -They didn't want to appear to be prejudiced

What is a Subliminal Message?

A message processed without conscious awareness. Are product placements in movies and TV shows subliminal messages? No. They are supraliminal messages Advertisers want viewers to see the product

Labeling

A person's name affects how people respond to the person. Percival, Isadore, Alfreda John, Michael, Karen A person's name affects how s/he acts. Younger persons leave bigger tips when the server addresses them by their first names. Older customers leave bigger tips when addressed as Mr. or Mrs. along with their last name. The power of labels extends beyond names. Broken homes vs. Single parent homes Men vs. Girls African American vs. Derogatory racist name

Persuasion and Aggression

Aggression is a concept from Aggression Theory (Infante). What are the four personality traits of the theory? Assertiveness: positive Argumentativeness: positive Hostility: negative Aggressiveness: negative

Anxiety and Persuasion

Anxiety may be related to persuasibility, although the relationship is not clear. How are anxious people likely to respond to a message? -May yield to a message to relieve anxiety -Anxiety may cause distraction. May not even receive the message How are non-anxious people likely to respond to a message? -May receive a message -May be less likely to be concerned enough to do something about it What is the current assumption about the level of anxiety that is most susceptible to persuasion? Moderately anxious people are most susceptible to persuasion What do IQ, self-esteem, and anxiety all have in common? All people think with moderate levels are most easily persuadable *on test

Dogmatism and Authoritarianism

Characteristics of High Authoritarians. -Respect authoritarian leadership; tend to follow authorities blindly. -Distrust human beings. -Condemn those who question and deviate from conventional norms. -Exhibit hostility toward out-group members. -Believe that power and rigid control are acceptable. -Likely to use physical punishment. Characteristics of High Dogmatics. Relationship to authoritarianism. -Dogmatism is a more general type of Authoritarianism. -While Authoritarianism is a characteristic of political conservatives, Dogmatism is a characteristic of both political conservatives and political liberals. -*Both high authoritarians and high dogmatics are deferential to authority. Qualities of High Dogmatics -Closed-minded. -Have difficulty being objective. -Tend to believe there is one right way of doing things (i.e., their way). -Difficult to persuade. How can High Authoritarians and High Dogmatics be persuaded? -By a perceived high-status authority -When receiving a message from an authority, they do not question the message regardless of its quality

Verbal Aggressiveness

Characterized primarily by attacking and demeaning someone's character and self-concept.* An aggressive speaker may also be hostile. But the two characteristics are not always connected. -A speaker could be aggressive without yelling and screaming. Coldly aggressive. -A speaker could be hostile (e.g., yell, scream and show anger) without attacking the other person's character and self-concept. Some research findings: -Violent marriages have high amounts of verbal aggressiveness. -Verbally aggressive people are less aggressive when arguing with verbally aggressive people. (Possible explanation: When dealing with aggressive partners, they may be somewhat frustrated with their inability to dominate, with this frustration being reflected in their less aggressive behavior.)

Psychological Traits and States: Classic View

Classical view of traits? Enduring and stable Exhibit themselves in a variety of situations and conditions Value of knowing a person's traits? Allows prediction of a person's behavior in a variety of situations; e.g. if you have a Machiavellian personality, you are Machiavellian in every situation

Cognitive Complexity and Need for Cognition.

Cognitive Complexity: Part of the theory of Constructivism. Constructs: Perceptual categories people use to make sense of the world; i.e., everything from professors, to textbooks, to music, to arguments, to food, etc. -Bipolar adjectives such as good-bad, strong-weak, honest-dishonest People differ in cognitive complexity: Cognitively simple people: -Use relatively few constructs Cognitively complex people: -Use many constructs that are intricately interrelated Who are better persuaders? Cognitively complex people Why? Can see things from listener's perspective. Can empathize with their receivers. Are able to adapt messages to their listeners. How do cognitively complex and cognitively simply people respond to persuasive messages? Cognitively complex people are better able to tolerate messages that are inconsistent with their positions

Comprehension vs. Mere Exposure

Comprehension View When a message is repeated, it increases the odds that it will be attended to and comprehended. A repeated message will be comprehended Comprehension is necessary for persuasion to occur Mere Exposure View Familiar objects and ideas are liked more than less familiar objects and ideas A repeated message will become familiar and liked Comprehension is not required

Ultimate Terms

Definition? Words and phrases that are revered, accepted and have special power. Examples: -God Terms Facts, family values, critical thinking. -Devil Terms Communist, socialist, fascist, racist, terrorist, child molester. -Charismatic Terms Freedom, democracy, capitalism, pursuit of happiness How stable are ultimate terms? Change over time. Example: How Politicians use language to persuade Death taxes vs. Inheritance taxes Department of Defense vs. Pentagon Tax relief vs. Tax cuts Climate change vs. Global warming Undocumented resident vs. Illegal alien.

Intelligence and Persuasion.

Early theory (1950s) For persuasion to be successful, a receiver must : -Attend -Comprehend -Yield Note: Step two suggests that high intelligence is necessary for persuasion to occur But intelligence is a two-edged sword. Example. Imagine that you're trying to persuade Albert Einstein and Forrest Gump. If persuasion were as simple as comprehending a message, who would be easier to persuade? Who would be harder? -Albert would be easier because he can understand the message -Forrest would be harder because he might not understand the message On the other hand, why might Albert be difficult to persuade? -He has the ability to critically evaluate a message, thereby making him less likely to yield than forest According current theory, what level of intelligence would be the easiest to persuade? Average intelligence Sufficient to comprehend Not high enough to attack Note: Little or no evidence on the persuasibility of the moderately intelligent people Most studies have compared the persuasibility of subjects with high versus low intelligence What have these studies indicated? People of low intelligence are easier to persuade than people of high intelligence

Ego-Involvement and Persuasion

Ego-involvement is a variable from Sherif's Social Judgment Theory. Essence of theory? When receivers listen to a speech, whether they accept or reject the position taken in the speech is determined by how near or far away it is from their own position Major terms: Most Acceptable position (MA) Latitude of Acceptance (A) Latitude of Noncommitment (NC) Latitude of Rejection (R ) High ego-involvement Low ego-involvement On any topic there are a variety of positions that a person might hold. How much attitude change can one expect for high and low ego-involved persons? -Attitudes of lowly ego-involved persons are relatively easy to change -Attitudes of highly ego-involved persons are very difficult to change Major proposition: "The higher the ego-involvement, the less the attitude change."

Types of Subliminals

Embedded Images What are embedded images? Words or images that are shown for a few hundreds or thousandths of a second What is the consensus of the literature on the effect of embedded images? No effect on consumer behavior Research studies: Champion and Turner (1959) Exposed participants to a film containing a subliminal message for Wonder rice. But the group that "saw" the subliminal image fared no better than a control group when asked to identify a bowl of rice by its brand name. Byrne (1959) Exposed subjects to a subliminal message to eat beef. When the Ss were later given an opportunity to choose a sandwich from among several types, those exposed to the subliminal message were no more likely to select beef than those in the control group. Vokay and Read (1985) Subjects exposed to ads with the word "sex" embedded were no more effective than ads containing nonsense syllables. Gable, Wikens and Harris (1987): No differences in preference for products that had an embedded sexual image. What kind of messages did Smith and Rogers (1994) find to be more effective than subliminal messages? Supraliminal messages

Euphemisms and Doublespeak

Euphemisms? Inoffensive terms used in place of offensive or taboo terms. Downsizing vs. Firing Previously owned vs. Used car Sanitation engineer vs. Garbage collector Passed away vs. Died Doublespeak Ambiguous or evasive language. Collateral damage vs. Civilians killed Water landings vs. Crashing in the ocean We'll see vs. No

Cinema as Persuasion Acting Out: How Movies Persuade

Export Western values. -Show freedom, human rights and equality. -Show promiscuity, violence and drug use. -Promote popular culture -Show fashions, hairstyles, habits, lifestyle and slang. Model behaviors -Show how to act in social and romantic situations. -Legitimize risky, unsafe or violent behaviors. Promote viewer identification -"Saving Private Ryan" and "Erin Brockovich" got viewers to identify with the characters in the movie and with the challenges they faced. Perpetuate stereotypes -Minorities, cultural groups, women and the elderly are given limited roles. -African-Americans, Hispanics, Middle Easterners and Asians often have been given negative roles. -Fortunately, these stereotypes are gradually changing.

Fear Appeals

How are fear appeals used in a persuasive message? The speaker threatens the receiver with a dire consequence The receiver can avoid the consequence by doing what the persuader tells him/her to do

Ambient Aromas and Consumer Behavior

How do fragrances affect shoppers' moods and the amount of time they spend shopping? (Spangenberg et al., 1996). Fragrances put shoppers in a better mood and extended the time they spent shopping What did Hirsch (1995) find about the relationship between scent and gambling? Gamblers put more money into slot machines in casinos with pleasant fragrances

Relatedness of Humor

Humor may be related or unrelated to the topic. Are both types effective? Yes, although related humor is more effective Humor and Credibility Humor has increased perceptions of certain factors of credibility. What are these factors? Trustworthiness Social Attractiveness Likeability Humor can have a negative effect upon credibility. What factor may be negatively affected? Competence

Reinforcement Theory

If the listener agrees with the speaker, intense language helps. If the listener disagrees with the speaker, intense language hurts.

What are the primary persuasive tools of TV, Internet and Billboard commercials?

Images Words are secondary

Indexicality: Seeing Is Believing

Images can document that something happened or that something took place. Footprints on the moon; collapsed buildings after an earthquake; oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico; fingerprints on a murder weapon Images can lie. Media events can be staged Demonstrators can be paid

How Images Persuade: Iconicity Bearing a Resemblance

Images function as Icons. -They resemble the things they represent. -They can stand for an idea or concept. Male and female stick figures that represent men's and women's restrooms Buckle Seat Belt signs on airplanes -Images can evoke emotional responses. Pictures and film of victims of an earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, genocide or starvation -Images can be selective. They can emphasize; they can de-emphasize. A hand lotion ad emphasizes the hands and de-emphasizes over parts of the body. -Images can violate reality. -An image can make something look real even though it isn't. Orkin commercial of a termite

Psychological Traits and States: Interactionist

Interactionist view of traits? Behavior is the result of both traits and situations State view of traits? There are no traits People are not consistent across situations People are not consistent within situations Every situation is unique Not capable of prediction or generalizability

Appeals to Pity and Guilt

Issue: Is it possible to engage in successful fund-raising without using pity or guilt? If the disabled are depicted as independent and self-reliant, as opposed to being objects of pity, the money may not continue to roll in Study on Charity Posters: Which types of portrayals produced the largest monetary contributions? Posters that evoked the most pity and guilt Persuaders seeking money for charities, must make sure that the disabilities of the people they are helping were what? Not brought about by the people themselves Child crossing poster study.

Self-Disparaging Humor

Issue: It might seem that the ability to poke fun at oneself would increase one's credibility. On the other hand, putting oneself down might lower one's credibility. Which is it? It depends on the dimension of credibility you're interested in. Results of a study of the effect of self-disparaging humor on credibility: Lower competence Higher ratings of liking Speaker had high initial credibility What would you advise speakers who have low credibility about using self-disparaging humor? Avoid What would you advise speakers who have moderate or high credibility about using self- disparaging humor? Making light of your frailties might make you more likable and less pretentious

Money

It can buy a house, but not a home. It can buy you a clock, but not time. It can buy you a book, but not knowledge. It can buy you a position, but not respect. It can buy you medicine, but not health. It can buy you sex, but not love. So, you see, the best things in life can't be bought. I tell you this because I am your friend. As your friend, I want to take away your pain and suffering. So send me all of your money and I will suffer for you!

Music as a Mnemonic Device

Jingles help the listener remember the product. Examples? Which kind of music facilitates brand recall better, original music or well-known songs? Original musical jingles written specifically for the product

Political Correctness

Language that is nonracist, nonageist, and nonsexist. Seiter study on raising money for people with disabilities. Disabled people described as "heroic" and "disabled" were viewed more positively than those described as "pathetic." Dilemma: Prior research has shown that potential donors give money if the disabled are unable to help themselves; e.g., "If you don't help, who will?" But the Seiter study indicates that disabled people described as "pathetic" are not viewed positively. The difficult challenge the fund raiser faces: Describing the disabled as incapable of helping themselves, yet at the same time as persons with dignity.

Caveats and Qualifications

Large variations in individual preferences for smells. Some findings can be attributed to placebo effect. Repetitive use of scent could lead to boomerang effects. Mild scents are more effective than heavy scents. There may be ethical and health concerns in using fragrances to influence people.

Extended Parallel Process Model of Fear Appeals (Witte)

Major variables? Vulnerability Perceived susceptibility to the threat Fear Control Attempting to control fear Danger Control Attempting to resolve the danger or threat Efficacy Response Efficacy Effectiveness of solution to avoid the threat Self-Efficacy Person's perception of his/her capability to enact the solution What form of control should a receiver utilize? Danger Control For Danger Control to be used by a receiver, what other variables must the receiver use? Response Efficacy Self-Efficacy Advice for persuaders using threat? Provide receiver a solution that is both effective (Response Efficacy) and practical (Self-Efficacy)

Visual Extravaganzas: Now You've Got My Attention

Media clutter is a major challenge to advertisers. Advertisers use novel and shocking means to capture attention. Using dead celebrities Audrey Hepburn, who died in 1993

Demographic Variables and Persuasion: Gender Differences and Persuasion.

Men and women persuade in different ways. Major differences? -Males more verbally aggressive -Males are more likely to use coercion and threats How do men and women compare when it comes to being persuaded? Early research? Women are persuadable Current research? No difference How can current findings be explained? -Persuasibility not caused by physical gender -Persuasibility determined by psychological variables; e.g., attitudes, values, personality, traits, etc. -Men and women are more similar in attitudes, values, etc. than when early research was conducted

How much repetition is needed to be persuasive?

Moderate Presenting a message once is not enough. Presenting a message 200 times is too much. What happens when a message is repeated too often? Once someone understands a message, continuously repeating it leads to tedium and a negative reaction What are optimum numbers of repetitions? Three to five

Music as a Form of Persuasion

Music facilitates product recall. One-half of all radio and TV ads have music. Two-thirds of all prime time TV commercials have music.

Other Appeals

Other appeals include Pride, Honor, Patriotism, Shame, Youth, Beauty and Freedom. What commonly used appeals are not in the list above? Hate Jealousy Lust

Need for Cognition (Elaboration Likelihood Theory).

People with a High Need for Cognition: Enjoy effortful thinking. Pay close attention to messages. Evaluate and scrutinize messages. Difficult to persuade, but once persuaded are likely to stay persuaded longer. People with a Low Need for Cognition: Do not enjoy effortful thinking. Do not pay close attention to messages. Likely to be influenced by peripheral cues. Relatively easy to persuade, but effects are not likely to be long-lasting.

Aroma and Persuasion

Perfumes, colognes and after shaves are a $4.4 billion dollar industry (Outrage and McCartney, 1994). Scent alone doesn't sell perfumes. Promise of romance Expensive bottles Exotic names such as "L'Eau d'Issey." Research studies: What did the study by Baron (1983) find regarding fragrances and attraction? Male undergraduates judged female undergraduates who wore perfume to be more attractive than those who didn't What did the study by DeBono (1992) demonstrate concerning the relationship between fragrances and thought processes? Subjects who smelled a perfume before being presented an ad for the perfume were more influenced by the spokesperson's looks. Ss who did not smell a perfume were more influenced by the spokesperson's content. Inference; fragrance promotes peripheral processing Do perfumes really promote attraction? It depends

Order Effects

Persuasive messages typically contain arguments that vary in strength. What are the ways arguments can be ordered? Strongest argument first (Anticlimax order) Strongest argument last (Climax order) Strongest argument in the middle (Pyramidal order) What does research recommend? Putting strongest argument first or last Some research suggests that the channel used should determine what order is used. Does order matter when information is presented visually (e.g., book)? No When information is presented in oral form (e.g., radio), what order is most effective? Anticlimax

Playing Tricks with the Camera

Photos give a point of view. Photojournalists decide what's worth capturing, distance, camera angle, shutter speed, cropping, editing, etc. Examples of deception: O.J. Simpson's face darkened on cover of TIME magazine

Syntactic Indeterminancy: Don't Look for Logic in Images

Pictures can't communicate precise relationships. Can't convey cause and effect "Before" and "After" pictures for a product can't prove that they "after" picture was caused by the product

Hostility

Primary characteristic? Anger (yelling, screaming, swearing, etc.)* Additional characteristics? Irritability, negativism, resentment, and suspicion. Antagonism toward authority, rules and conventions.

Language Intensity, Vividness and Offensiveness

Profanity In general, if you want to be perceived as attractive, credible and persuasive, you should clean up your language. Society's stance on swearing has become more relaxed over the last 15 to 20 years. Sherer study on profanity Speakers who used "damn" were more persuasive than those who didn't.

Image-Oriented Advertising

Purpose: to create positive associations between a company or product and idealized images or lifestyles. Chevron's "People Do" campaign. Common images: Social status and elitism Sex or romance Power, speed, and strength Youth culture Safety, security Sense of place, belonging

Shock Ads

Push the boundaries of taste and propriety. Aimed at 18 to 25 age range. Quizno's Subs. Ad showing a woman eating a $5.00 bill Do they work? They increase attention, benefit memory, and positively influence behavior of college students (Dahl et al.)

Flaws in Subliminal Research

Represents "junk science." What is the procedure that none of the studies have employed? Double-blind procedure How many of the reported studies have been successfully replicated? None

Aphorisms

Sayings that offer advice. Catchy, easy to remember, and come across as being true. "Love is fleeting. Herpes is forever." When are aphorisms persuasive? When people aren't motivated to critically evaluate a message. Act as persuasive peripheral cues.

Psychological Traits and States: Situationist

Situationist view of traits? Behavior varies from situation to situation (e.g., intimate, social, professional) but is consistent with a given situation How do these theorists feel about classical traits theorists' views? Question the capability of traits to predict behavior across different situations Behavior will differ in different situations Behavior will be consistent only within a given situation

Warmth Appeal

Some ads convey a warm, cozy feeling. Emphasize family, friends, and a sense of belonging. Make us feel sentimental or nostalgic. How do they work? Through association How should they be used? Mix with non-warmth ads (contrast effect)

Communication Accommodation Theory

Speakers using intense language are persuasive with listeners who use intense language, but are not persuasive with listeners who do not.

Argumentativeness

Tendency to defend and refute positions on controversial issues. Enjoy logical arguments.* How do assertive communicators differ from argumentative communicators? -Argumentative people are assertive, but assertive people may not have argumentative skills or tendencies. -Men tend to be more argumentative than women. (Women may be less argumentative because of a social desirability bias.)

Art as Persuasion: Mona Lisa Made Me Do It

The Paintbrush is Mightier Than the Sword The Catholic Church, the Soviet Union, and China under Mao used art to promote religious and political values. "Guernica" showed the horrors of Fascism during the Spanish Civil War. "The Scream" shows the anxiety, dread and alienation of modern society.

Logical & Emotional Appeals

The distinction may be artificial. Why? The distinction may have as much to do with the interpreter of the message as with the message itself. When people agree with a message, they see it as more logical and rational When people disagree with a message, they see it as emotional

Sex Appeals

The use of overt sexual appeals has increased considerably. Older ads alluded to sex. Modern ads contain overt, visually based sex appeals. How do sexual appeals work? As peripheral cues Through association Caveats and Cautions About Using Sexual Ads: Nontargeted audiences may become angered over sexually charged ads. A targeted audience may resent the use of sexual appeals. Many ads using sexual stimuli are aimed at women. If women perceive an ad as sexist, the ad may backfire by inhibiting purchases and damaging the advertiser's image. Sexual ads may function as a distraction, inhibiting receiver recall. Sexual ads may produce undesirable social consequences; e.g., female body shapes.

Appeals Can Be Used in Combination

Threat can be coupled with a reward. Guilt can be coupled with pity. "If you don't help, who will?" If one appeal in a combination doesn't work, the other might. What is the danger of combining appeals? The two appeals may appear contradictory or cancel each other out; e.g., combining humor and pity Why should one be careful about combining rational and emotional appeals? Emotional arousal may impair cognitive processing

Analyzing and Adapting to Audiences

To persuade other people, it helps to know as much as possible about them so you can appeal to their needs and wants, while, at the same time, avoid offending them. Pay attention to: Situational characteristics. Audience traits, states, goals and demographics.

Visual Persuasion: Too Often Overlooked

Traditionally, the study of persuasion has focused upon the persuasive impact of words: Language: e.g., opinionated language. Threat appeals, humor, appeals to pity and guilt, etc.

Vividness

Vivid language captures attention and excites imagination. "The glass crashed and shattered," vs. "The glass broke." Is vivid language persuasive? It depends. When the central theme of a message is presented vividly, it helps. When a secondary part of a message is presented vividly, it distracts and hurts persuasion.

Motivational Appeals

What are intrinsic appeals? Those that come from within What are extrinsic appeals? Those instilled by a communicator What kind of appeals are discussed in this chapter? Extrinsic What are motivational appeals? Extrinsic incentives for performing an action Emotional appeals

Self-Monitoring and Persuasion

What are the characteristics of low self-monitors? Insensitive to social cues and the effect of their behavior on others What are the characteristics of high self-monitors? Sensitive to social cues and the effect of their behavior on others How are high and low self-monitors persuaded? High self-monitors, because they to be viewed positively by others, are more influenced by reference groups than are low self-monitors What kind of advertising are high self-monitors influenced by? Image-based advertising What kind of advertising are low self-monitors influenced by? Product-quality advertising Are high self-monitors more likely to use national brands or private store labels? Explain. More likely to use national brands with high status Want to be perceived as having high status

Humorous Appeal

What are the three types of humorous appeals? Aggressive Sexual Nonsense How does humor persuade? Jokes don't directly persuade Operate in a roundabout manner, akin to the peripheral route

Music as a Central and Peripheral Cue

What aspect of music operates through central processing? Lyrics; e.g., "Nationwide is on your side" What aspect of music operates through peripheral processing? Melodies What do melodies affect? Moods and emotions

Background Music and Mood

What did the North et al, 1999 study demonstrate regarding the purchases of wine? When French music was playing customers bough more French wine What effect does background music have (Bruner, 1990)? Background music is most likely to help sales when people have high affective involvement and low cognitive involvement with the products Explain how high affective involvement and low cognitive involvement relate to impact on consumer purchasing behavior. Music works best for products such as perfume, jewelry, beer, trendy clothing and impulse purchases

Architecture: Building Blocks of Persuasion

What do buildings, monuments and statues symbolize? Power, authority, and greatness What are architectural examples showing the power of ancient civilizations? Parthenon, Coliseum, Pyramids, and the Great Wall What are architectural examples showing the power of modern civilizations? Skyscrapers, Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, and St. Peter's Cathedral

Self-Esteem and Persuasion

What does research show about the persuasibility of people with low versus high self-esteem? -People with both high and low self-esteem are difficult to persuade Explanation? -People with low self-esteem: May be too concerned with their appearance and behavior to attend to and comprehend a persuasive message May not want to look like "pushovers" -People with high self-esteem: Confident of their views Reject messages that challenge their views What is the current assumption about the level of self-esteem that is most persuasible? People with moderate self-esteem are easier to persuade than people with either high or low self-esteem

Backward Masking and Electronic Alterations:

What happened in Sparks, Nevada in 1990? Two teenagers listened to Judas Priest's "Beyond the Realms of Death," and committed suicide. The boys' parents sued. The court decided for the defendants. Although recognizing that there were backward-masked lyrics saying "Do it" present, the judge ruled that there were more likely psychological explanations for the boys' suicide. Research study by Vokay and Read (1985): Asked undergraduates to listen to backward-masked recording while performing a variety of tasks. Students couldn't make out any of the words. No effects on the students' behavior.

Symbols, Meaning, and Persuasion

What is a symbol? Something that stands for something else. Words are symbols. Key feature of a symbol? No necessary connection between a symbol and what it represents. Kinds of meaning? Denotation Dictionary definition Connotation Personal thoughts and emotions connected to a word.

Language Intensity

What is intense language? Language that shows the speaker's attitude toward the topic. It shows the speaker's bias or departure from neutrality. "The lumber industry is raping our forests," vs. "The lumber industry is cutting down large numbers of trees." Is intense language persuasive? It depends.

Assimilation Effect

What is the Assimilation Effect? Receiver misperceiving the position of the message by seeing it as closer to his stand than it really is When does assimilation occur? When a message falls within the receiver's latitude of acceptance Why do receivers assimilate a message? To justify accepting the message

Contrast Effect

What is the Contrast Effect? Receiver misperceiving the position of the message by seeing it as farther from his own stand than it really is When does contrast occur? When a message falls into a receiver's latitude of rejection Why do receivers contrast a message? To just rejecting the message How can one change the attitude of a highly ego-involved person? Requires a series of messages Involves taking a position next to the receiver's MA position and gradually increasing the discrepancy from that position

Discrepancy Issue

What is the Discrepancy Issue? Distance between position advocated in the message and MA position of the receiver How is it related to persuasibility? -If the receiver perceives the message as being in his/her latitude of rejection, s/he will reject the message -If the receiver perceives the message as being in his/her latitude of acceptance or non-commitment, s/he will likely accept the message

Primacy and Recency

What is the Primacy and Recency issue? Is it better to speak first or last? What are the results of primacy and recency research? Results are mixed Primacy Effect Most Likely First message Second message ---Time delay--> Measurement of Effect Recency Effect Most Likely First message --Time delay--> Second message Measurement of Effect Neither Primacy Nor Recency Favored First message --Time delay--> Second message --Time delay--> Measurement of Effect Relationship of material to primacy and recency effects. Material that is uninvolving tends to produce what kind of effect? Recency effect Material that is involving tends to produce what kind of effect? Primacy effect

Subaudible Messages

What is the consensus of every controlled study to date? No evidence that subliminal self-improvement tapes work How are results of audiotapes with subaudible messages explained? Placebo effect Research studies: Greenwald et al. (1991) Volunteers were given one of two types of self- help tapes: one that claimed to improve memory or one that claimed to improve self-esteem. However, the researchers switched the labels. A strong placebo effect was noticed for the effect that the subject thought the tape dealt with. Merikle (1988) Did an acoustic analysis of tapes. Found no evidence of speech insertions. Found insertions of crickets, birds, surf, etc.

Background Music and Task Performance

What is the effect of music on perceived exertion levels of women riding exercise bikes (Boutcher and Transke, 1990)? Women exercise longer when upbeat music is playing What is the effect of music on student performance on verbal and nonverbal tasks (Miller and Schyb, 1989)? Background music facilitated task performance of female college students. Pop music and disco proved to be more effective What is the effect of tempo (up-tempo vs. slow tempo) on productivity (Mayfield and Moss, 1989)? Up-tempo music increased performance in a stock-market environment and on a line-tracing task

Inoculation Theory

What is the focus of the theory? Making receivers resistant to counter-arguments Inoculation Theory uses a biological analogy. What does this mean? If you are exposed to a small dose of a disease virus, your body is better able to defend itself against the virus later. A dose too small to give you the disease often stimulates your body's defenses What are the two forms of inoculation? General Telling the receiver that s/he is going to be exposed to a persuasive attack Specific Mentioning content of the attack How strong should inoculation be? Strong enough to stimulate defense, but not strong enough to overwhelm Can inoculation prevent persuasion? Yes. Both general and specific inoculation can prevent persuasion What are current research findings? A combination of general and specific inoculation (along with supportive arguments is more effective than either one alone) What kinds of people does innoculation work best on? Highly ego-involved

The Mere Exposure Hypothesis

What is the hypothesis? Repeated exposure to a stimulus increases liking for the stimulus How would you employ this hypothesis? If an ad includes a popular song or a likable jingle, repeat airing of the ad will facilitate liking for that product What would you have to be careful about? Overexposure results in annoyance

One-Sided versus Two-Sided Messages

What is the one-sided vs. two-sided messages issue? Is it best to address or ignore your opposition? What is a two-sided message? A message that acknowledges weaknesses or criticisms that have been made about your position What were the results of early research? Effectiveness depended on two factors: Education level and Initial attitude Educated people more persuaded by two-sided message People opposed to a message more persuaded by two-sided message People in favor of a message more persuaded by one-sided message Recent research distinguished between mentioning opposing arguments versus refuting opposing arguments. What are results of this research? Refutational messages are more effective than messages that merely acknowledge weaknesses or criticisms When two-sided messages are not refutational, how effective are they? Less persuasive than one-sided messages Rank-order the effectiveness of two-sided refutational, two-sided non-refutational, and one-sided messages on enhancing perceptions of credibility: Two-sided refutational messages One-sided messages Two-sided non-refutational messages

Forewarning Messages (identical to inoculation)

What is the purpose of forewarning messages? Making receivers resistant to a message that tries to change their position on an issue Types of forewarning messages? Simply warning people that they will hear a message intended to change their views Telling them what the topic is and the position taken in the message Note: The points above are identical to those of Inoculation Theory How effective are both tactics? Moderately effective in inducing resistance to persuasion When people are warned and given time before hearing a message, what are people able to do? Think of counterarguments Is counterarguing necessary to induce resistance to persuasion? Research findings are unclear What theory may explain resistance without the necessity of counterarguing? Psychological Reactance

Aromas and Task Performance

What kind of fragrances have been shown to mprove the speed, accuracy, and efficiency with which people complete tasks? Mild aromas can improve the speed, accuracy and efficiency with which people complete tasks What did Baron and Bronfen (1994) find about the effect of fragrance on solving word problems? Subjects did better on solving word problems when placed in a room with a pleasant air freshener What did Baron (1997) find about the relationship between fragrance and shopper tendencies to help strangers? People in a mall were more than twice as likely to help a stranger in the presence of pleasant aromas (roasting coffee or baking cookies)

Subliminal Persuasion: Hidden Messages or Hokum?

What percentage of Americans believe in subliminal persuasion? 75 to 80 percent Public belief in subliminal persuasion dates back to the James Vicary report in 1957: What did the report claim? Vicary claimed that he used subliminal stimuli to increase popcorn and Coca-Cola sales at a movie theater What are problems with the report? No control group The movie "Picnic" contained scenes with food Attempts to replicate his findings have failed Yet the public belief lives on. In the 1970s and 1980s, what did Wilson Brian Key report in his books that led to a renewed interest in subliminal persuasion? Key claims to have found phallic symbols in ads for Tanqueray and Chivas Regal, vulgar words in Ritz crackers and female genitalia in an ad for Betty Crocker cake mix More recently, why has the Walt Disney company come under fire? The movies "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "The Little Mermaid" contained x-rated and phallic symbols

Language

What persuasive effects are influenced by language? Perceptions Attitudes Beliefs Emotions Conceptions of reality

Humor and Gender

Which type of humor is enjoyed more, female-disparaging humor or male-disparaging humor? Female-disparaging humor The tendency to enjoy female-disparaging humor is more pronounced for certain kinds of people. What kinds of people? People with traditional sex roles Less pronounced for people with non- traditional sex roles

Communicator

Who is the "Communicator" in the title of the chapter? All interactants in a persuasive encounter (e.g., sender and receiver) What was the initial goal of research on communicator characteristics? To identify a single underlying factor that makes people persuadable Has this goal been attained? No

Demographic Variables and Persuasion: Age and Persuasion

Young children? Susceptible to persuasion Uncritical Older people? Two sets of findings: Susceptible to persuasion. -Some have diminished mental ability -Some are lonely -Some are wealthy and are targets of unscrupulous manipulators Not susceptible to persuasion. -Beliefs, attitudes and values are ingrained and very difficult to change