Persuasion Flashcards
(30 cards)
What was the primary goal of the Yale Communication and Attitude Change Programme?
Developed during WWII to use propaganda to boost soldiers’ morale and convince them the war would last a long time
Developed in the 1940’s during WWII by Yale University psychologists, led by Carl Hovland and commissioned by the US War Department.
Describe Hovland, Lumsdaine and Sheffield’s (1949) experiment
Aim: Investigate attitude change in military trainees
Procedure:
1) Soldiers were shown different radio programmes
2) One Sided Argument- Emphasized that war would be long, requiring perseverance
3) Two-Sided Argument- Acknowledged views that the war might end quickly but refuted them, arguing instead that it would last long
4) Control- No persuasive message
Results:
*Both one and two-sided messages were effective overall
*One sided message worked best for less educated soldiers and those who already believed the war would be long
*Two sided messages were more effective for educated soldiers and those initially sceptical
Conclusion: Education and prior beliefs shape how people receive persuasive messages
One-Sided emphasized that war would be long, while Two-Sided acknowledged opposing views but refuted them.
What are the 5 components of persuasion proposed by Hovland and Lasswell?
1) Source factors (who)
2) Message factors (what)
3) Audience factors (to whom)
4) Channel factors (how)
5) Outcome factors (to what effect)
It was more effective for those who already believed the war would be long.
Describe source factors as a component of persuasion?
Persuasive sources have certain qualities
*Attractiveness and Popularity: Communicators are more persuasive when they are liked, admired or similar to the audience (explained by identification)
*Expertise: Messages from knowledgeable sources are more persuasive (explained by internalisation)
*Credibility and Trustworthiness: Especially effective when the communicator argues against their own interests
Describe message factors as a component of persuasion?
Persuasive messages are influenced by
*Argument Strength: Strong Factual arguments are more persuasive
*Fear Appeals: Low fear is effective for some things, whereas high fear is more effective for others, moderate fear may be most effective overall
*One vs Two Sided Argument: Two sided messages are better for educated or sceptical people, whereas One sided messages are better when the audience already agrees
Describe audience factors as a component of persuasion?
Characteristics of audience affects persuasion
*Education: It can increase critical thinking and openness
*Self Esteem: Moderate self-esteem = most persuadable, whereas low and high self-esteem = less persuadable
*Age: Younger people are more open to persuasion, but older people have more fixed attitudes due to accumulated experience
Describe channel factors as a component of persuasion?
*Face to Face Communication is better for complex messages
*Mass Media is more effective for simple messages and wide reach (e.g. TV, radio, social media)
Describe outcome factors as a component of persuasion?
*Research measures immediate attitude change
*Long term change is harder to measure and achieve
*Two sided messages and fear appeals with solutions tend to be more durable
*Fear without clear solutions is likely to result in short term change only
What does the Elaboration Likelihood Model by Petty, Cacioppo and Goldman (1981) purpose?
*A dual process model explaining how people are persuaded
*It suggests a central and peripheral route
What is the central route according to the elaboration likelihood model?
*Involves careful attention, cognitive elaboration and systematic processing of the message content
*Requires motivation and ability to process the message content
*Persuasion here depends on the quality of arguments
*Activated when the issue is personally relevant
What is the peripheral route according to the elaboration likelihood model?
*Involves minimal cognitive effort
*Relied in superficial cues such as the source’s attractiveness, credibility or emotional appeal
*Activated when the topic is not personally relevant
Explain the research to support the elaborative likelihood model
*Participants- University Students
*Message- New exam policy
Manipulations:
1)Personal Relevance- Told policy would apply immediately (high relevance) vs in 10 years (low relevance)
2) Message Quality- Strong vs weak arguments
3) Source- High expertise (Princeton education committee) vs low expertise (high school students)
Findings:
*High Personal Relevance- Participants used the central route and message quality mattered most
*Low Personal Relevance- Participants used the peripheral route and source expertise influence persuasion
What does the Heuristic Systematic Model by Chaiken (1980) propose?
Proposed 2 types of processing:
1) Systematic Processing- Similar to central route, careful thought and elaboration
2) Heuristic Processing- Similar to peripheral route, mental shortcuts
What are the factors influencing route choice?
*Confidence in Own Attitudes: Low confidence uses systematic processing, whereas high confidence uses heuristic cues (less likely to engage deeply)
*Mood: Positive mood is more likely to use heuristic cues (less critical scrutiny), but negative mood encourages systematic processing
*Fear Appeals: High fear messages use heuristic/peripheral processing due to emotional overload or disengagement, whereas low/moderate fear use central/systematic route
According to McGuire (1964) what is the Inoculation Theory?
*Resistance to persuasion can be built through exposure to weak counterarguments
*People become motivated to defend their initial beliefs and learn how to refute opposition, making them less vulnerable/more resistant to persuasion in the future
*This teaches people to combat misinformation and avoid fake news or conspiracy theories
Describe research to support the Inoculation Theory by McGuire & Papageorgis (1961)?
Procedure:
1) They studied students acceptance of common health truisms
2) All participants strongly agreed with truisms (15/15 rating) at the start
3) Inoculation Defense Condition- Exposed to weak counterarguments, then shown how to refute them
4) Supportive Defense Condition- Given additional arguments supporting the truism (no counterarguments)
5) Control- No attack, they received no arguments
6) Control- Strong attack, received only strong counterarguments against the truism
Findings:
*Control (no attack)- Beliefs remained unchanged (highest acceptance)
*Inoculated Group- Most resistant to future persuasion, beliefs were well defended
*Supportive Defense- Moderately resistant
*Control (strong attack)- Least resistant
Conclusion: Inoculation is a strong defense against persuasion
What are compliance techniques? What are the 3 techniques?
*These techniques show how to structure requests to increase likelihood that someone will say yes
1) Foot in the Door Technique
2) Door in the Face Technique
3) Low Ball Technique
What is the Foot in Door technique? What is the research to support and contradict? Provide a real life example
*A strategy where a small initial request is made, followed by a larger target request
Mechanism:
*Based on the principle of commitment and consistency, people want to see themselves as consistent
*Once someone agrees to a small request, they feel more inclined to agree to the next larger one
Research to Support:
1) Participants were first asked to answer a short telephone survey about household soap
2) A week later, they were asked to give a full home inventory
3) Those who agreed to the small request were significantly more likely to comply with the larger one
Contradict: Goldman et al argues that people are more likely to comply when requests are gradually increased, rather than jumping from small to larger
Real World Example: Skincare companies provide free samples to initiate small commitments, leading to larger purchases
What is the Door in Face technique? What is the research to support? Provide a real life example
*A strategy where a large request is made first (expected to be refused), followed by the smaller request which is what the requester wanted all along
Mechanism:
*Principle of Reciprocity: People feel socially obligated to agree to a compromise
*Contrast Effect: The smaller request seems more reasonable in contrast to the larger one
Research to Support:
1) Participants were first asked to be a youth counsellor for 2 years
2) Then they were asked to take a group of young offenders to the zoo for only 1 afternoon
3) 17% agreed to the zoo trip when asked outright
4) When preceded by the 2-year counselling request, compliance increased to 50%
Real World Example: Sales offer a very expensive item first, the show a cheaper alternative, which seems like a great deal
What is the Low Ball technique? What is the research to support? Provide a real life example
*A strategy where an individual agrees to a favorable deal, which is later revealed to be less attractive, yet they still comply
Mechanism:
*Desire for consistency
*To reduce cognitive dissonance (staying committed to earlier decisions)
Research to Support:
1) Group 1- Asked to participate in a 7AM experiment up front, 31% agreed
2) Group 2- Asked to participate without mention of time, then told it was at 7AM, 56% agreed
Real World Example: Ticket is cheap initially, but later you pay for seats and baggage
What are the limitations of traditional persuasion research?
While these techniques are widely researched, the traditional experimental approach often:
*Treats people as passive recipients of persuasive messages
*Assumes attitudes are changed by external stimuli, such as the structure of the message
*Searches for universal, context independent variables that work across settings
What are the strengths of shifting to contextual persuasion research?
*Methodologies Used: Conversation analysis, discursive psychology, rhetorical analysis
*People construct their own views as factual or truthful through interaction
*They use specific interactional practices to persuade others
*Persuasive conduct is highly context dependent, not universal
What do rhetorical strategies in real-world persuasion aim to achieve?
They aim to make accounts appear credible, objective, and reasonable
This is particularly important in contexts like paranormal experiences or politics where skepticism is prevalent.
How do individuals reporting paranormal experiences use strategic discourse?
1) “I was just doing X when Y” construction
o Purpose- Grounds the experience in mundane routine, creating a sense of objectivity and normalcy
o Counters assumptions that the person is irrational
2)Reported speech adds credibility
o E.g. Cassandra said she’d never seen such a thing
o Implies shared perception and external validation
This includes framing their experiences within mundane contexts.
