Psychology--Ch.12.3

Imagine that you work for an advertising agency, and you've been tasked with developing an advertising campaign to increase sales of Bliss Soda. How would you develop an advertisement for this product that uses a central route of persuasion? How would you develop an ad using a peripheral route of persuasion?

Although potential answers will vary, advertisements using the central route of persuasion might involve a doctor listing logical reasons for drinking this product. For example, the doctor might cite research suggesting that the soda is better than alternatives because of its reduced calorie content, lack of adverse health consequences, etc. An advertisement using a peripheral route of persuasion might show very attractive people consuming the product while spending time on a beautiful, sunny beach.

Give an example (one not used in class or your text) of cognitive dissonance and how an individual might resolve this.

One example is choosing which college to attend—the public school close to home or the Ivy League school out of state. Since both schools are desirable, the student is likely to experience cognitive dissonance in making this decision. In order to justify choosing the public school close to home, the student could change her cognition about Ivy League school, asserting that it is too expensive and the quality of education at the public school is just as good. She could change her attitude toward the Ivy League school and determine that the students there are too stuffy and wouldn't make good classmates.

In order for the central route to persuasion to be effective, the audience must be ________ and ________.

analytical; motivated

Cognitive dissonance causes discomfort because it disrupts our sense of ________.

consistency

Attitudes describe our ________ of people, objects, and ideas.

evaluations

attitude

evaluations of or feelings toward a person, idea, or object that are typically positive or negative

Examples of cues used in peripheral route persuasion include all of the following except ________.

factual information

central route persuasion

logic-driven arguments using data and facts to convince people of an argument's worthiness

peripheral route persuasion

one person persuades another person; an indirect route that relies on association of peripheral cues (such as positive emotions and celebrity endorsement) to associate positivity with a message

foot-in-the-door technique

persuasion of one person by another person, encouraging a person to agree to a small favor, or to buy a small item, only to later request a larger favor or purchase of a larger item

persuasion

process of changing our attitude toward something based on some form of communication

cognitive dissonance

psychological discomfort that arises from a conflict in a person's behaviors, attitudes, or beliefs that runs counter to one's positive self-perception