Comm 318 (Persuasion)

MLA

"Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?" • Source = who • Message = what • Channel = medium • Receiver = to whom • Attitude change = what effect

MLA Assumptions

- A message receiver must learn the arguments presented in a message for change to occur - A message receiver must remember the arguments if change is to persist over time - Yielding to a persuasive argument is determined by incentives

Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM)

- Another dual-process message processing model - Key Assumption is that individuals are cognitive scrooges, they try and minimize thinking or cognitive activity

The Unimodel

- Argues against the dual process models - Persuasion: "a process during which beliefs are formed on the basis of appropriate evidence" - Evidence: "information relevant to a conclusion" o Heuristic and message arguments are evidence - If motivated and able, people will process whatever evidence is relevant

Persuasive appeal using guilt

- Arouse guilt by pointing out a violation (or potential violation) - Show that retributions may be made through adopting an attitude or behavior

Credibility

- It is perceived • What is credible to some, isn't to others • It can be fabricated - It is a situational • One can be credible source about some topics but not others - It is dynamic • Perceptions of source credibility can change over times - What perceptions make up credibility o Expertise o Trustworthiness

Negative Framing

- Loss-framed message o Emphasize attaining an undesirable outcome or not attaining a desirable outcome-both costly

Guilt serves three broad functions in social relationships

- MOTIVATES relationship-enhancing patterns - REDISTRIBUTES emotional distress within the dyad • aka: if I'm going to feel unhappy, so are you - OPERATES as an interpersonal influence technique

Trustworthiness

- Perception that a source will tell what he or she believes is the truth o Honesty and integrity

Components of EPPM

-Threat • Severity - How bad will this be? • Susceptibility - How likely is it to happen to me? • Some threat is necessary to motivate message processing • The threat motivates them to consider other parts of the model - Efficacy • Response efficacy Is there a response that will effectively mitigate the threat? • Self efficacy - Can I enact the recommended response? • Fear

Key Factors of Physical Attractiveness

1) Facial Appearance 2) Hair - Full head of hair 3) Height - Taller is better

Guilt in Persuasive Appeals

1) Negative state relief model 2) How people are persuaded 3) Using Guilt

3 Types of Guilt

1) Reactive guilt 2) Anticipatory Guilt 3) Existential guilt

Receiver factors

1) Sex Differences 2) Involvement

Two Types of Message Processing

1) Systematic processing 2) Heuristic Processing

Powerful Language

Audience members infer that the message source is confident from the language used in the message

Relative sleeper effect

Both messages become more ineffective over time

Anticipatory Guilt

Experienced as one contemplates a potential violation of internal standards

The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM)

Explains responses to fear appeals

Disassociation Model

High credibility source - Decay occurs over time in impact because source characteristics are disassociated with the message - Source is not forgotten, just disassociated with the message Low Credibility Source - Over time source is dissociated and the message becomes more influential

Message Framing

Message framing involves characterizing a risk in terms of gains and losses o Gains include achieving a positive outcome or avoiding an undesirable outcome o Losses include incurring a negative outcome or not achieving a desirable outcome

Absolute Sleeper effect

Message from a high credibility source loses effectiveness over time, whereas message from a low credibility source becomes more effective

What role do groups play in social epidemics?

Small, close-knit groups have the power to magnify the epidemic potential of a message or idea - Group magic number: 150 Rule of 150 - create many small movements first with all members

Narrative

Story or anecdote of a single individual's experience o Involving o Listeners suspend counterarguments o Facilitates identification with source

Translation

What Mavens and Connectors and Salesmen do to an idea in order to make it contagious is to alter it in such a way that extraneous details are dropped and others are exaggerated so that the message itself comes to acquire a deeper meaning. (p.203 from book)

A Caveat

When being an expert is not enough

Forgetting model

a. High credibility source produces more attitude change than low credibility source b. Over time, source is forgotten and attitude change decays Ex: "I forgot who told me this but..." c. High credibility condition incurs more decay over time

Systematic processing

o Careful scrutiny of message content o Similar to central processing in the ELM

Heuristic Processing

o Heuristics involve simple decision rules - Make it possible to evaluate a message (and recommendations) without scrutinizing the arguments made o "Mental shortcuts"

Message Learning Approach (MLA)

- Attitude change of Reponses o Attention to the persuasive message o Comprehension of its content o Acceptance or yielding to what is comprehended o Retention of the position agreed to

Examples of Heuristics

- Experts are correct o Teachers are trained in a certain area o Ex: Dr. Oz saying something is good because he is an expert, buy because Dr. Oz said it was good - Titles = qualifications o Use titles to see things as good

Positive Framing

- Gain-framed message o Emphasize attaining a desirable outcome or avoiding an undesirable outcome-both beneficial

Guilt vs. Shame

- Guilt occurs in response to external events o "guilt is something that happens between people rather than just inside them" - Shame results from internal events

Differences between HSM and ELM

- HSM allows for dual processing whereas the ELM does not o Only one route is possible in the ELM -Heuristics are defined in more specific terms in the HSM o Heuristics as "mental shortcuts" in the HSM - HSM starts with the assumption that people are cognitive misers

What Janis and Feshbach Found (Fear)

- High fear produced the least amount of conformity with message recommendations - Low fear produced the most conformity with recommendation

Expertise

- Perceptions that a source is well informed about a particular topic Example - Bochner and Inkso told student's how much sleep they needed • 8 hours or 1 hour - Source was identified as YMCA director or Nobel Prize winner • Participants were significantly more convinced that only 1 hour is necessary when the Nobel Prize winner was the source • But it didn't work when they were told they needed 0 hours of sleep

Physical Attractiveness

- Persuasive in unimportant situations - attractive speakers are more likely to be seen as friendly, likeable, outgoing

Value Relevant

- Reflects a concern about values that define one's self concept - Inhabits attitude change

Methods of eliciting guilt

- Role obligation • Ex. Yeah you can leave early, but it just depends on how professional you are - Relationship obligation • Ex. If you were a real friend you would - Nature of things • Ex. I thought you wanted to get better grades this semester, but all you do is go out - Sacrifice • Ex. I'll walk if you can't give me a ride it's okay its just a little rain - Debt • Ex. What about all the times I've changed my plans for you?

Source Cues

- What is it about some people that make them so persuasive to us? o Them having a higher power • Presidents or national leaders • Celebrities • Athletes - Name people who, just by being them, are persuasive o Morgan freeman o President Obama o LeBron James o Beyoncé o Doctors o Anderson cooper o Ronald Regan o Bill Clinton

Fear Appeal

A message that outlines the negative consequences of failing to comply with a particular recommendation

Existential guilt

A result of the awareness of a discrepancy between one's well being and the well being of others

Two-sided messages

Address supporting arguments while acknowledging (but not refuting) opposing viewpoints

The Sleeper Effect

Change in the effects of messages from high and low credibility sources may not be the same over time

Authority

Communicate that you are in authority or power

One-sided messages

Contain only supporting arguments

Liking

Correlates very highly with trustworthiness

How can perceptions of expertise be increased?

Credentials - Titles, experience, certification/education

Sex Differences

No compelling evidence to suggest that men and women respond differently to persuasive messages

Statistical Evidence

Numerical information • Represents information from a number of individuals • Can be disseminated quickly

Impression Relevant

Occurs when individuals are concerned about the social consequences of expressing an attitude

Negative state relief model

One explanation for the persuasive function of guilt

Sufficiency Principle

People strive to know as much as they need to in order to make a decision - but not more or less

Outcome Relevant

Reflects a concern about the outcome related to the persuasive message - Ex: concern about proposed tuition increase among those students who are not graduating

Reactive guilt

Response to an overt act of violating one's internalized standards of acceptable behavior

Guilt

The feeling that we are responsible for some wrongdoing Ex: Didn't do well on your test you feel like you let your parents down Ex: not donating to charity, feeling guilty that you didn't help out

Perceived similarity

The more similar to yourself the speaker appears, the greater their effectiveness

Involvement

Three Types: 1) Value Relevant 2) Outcome Relevant 3) Impression Relevant

Powerless Language

Undermines yourself as a speaker o Hedges: "sort of" "kinda" "I suppose" o Hesitations: "uh" "well..." "you know" o Intensifiers: "really" "very" "surely" o Polite forms: "if you don't mind" "I'd really appreciate it" o Tag questions: "...don't you think??" "...don't you agree?"

How people are persuaded

o They feel negative affect o There is no other way to reduce the negative affect o Complying will lead to feelings of relief from the negative affect

Prospect Theory

• Also called "gain-loss" theory • Makes predictions about responses to risk

Vividness

• Emotionally interesting • Concrete and imagery - provoking • Proximate in a sensory, temporal, or spatial way • Images provide concrete information

Kinds of similarity

• Membership similarity • Attitude similarity • Relevant vs. irrelevant similarities