Comm475 We study 08 29 2012 Sender characteristics e g credibility Receiver characteristics e g need for cognition Characteristics of the message e g order of arguments emotions The channel aural vs visual how do we persuade with written word and visual form How do all these factors affect beliefs attitudes and behaviors 08 29 2012 Why should we study persuasion Pervasive and unavoidable nature Serves four functions o Knowledge function better understanding of the persuasive process what strategies work o Instrumental function o Defensive function o Debunking function everyone has common beliefs about persuasion some aren t accurate Scopes of definitions o Pure cases o Borderline cases Criteria for defining persuasion o Intentionality Source oriented definition o Problems May be accidental or unconscious Persuaders aren t always aware of their intentions Unintended receivers may be influenced Intra audience effects Linear view of persuasion Receiver oriented view only limited persuasion rests o Change or effects in mind of perceiver o Problems Persuasion is a process not an outcome or product Difficulties with measuring persuasive effects The success of an influence attempt depends on the point of view of the receiver o Choice or free will o Problems coercion o Symbolic Actions o Problems Difficult to differentiate between persuasion and Coercion is sometimes in the eye of the beholder Use of words and or clearly codified symbols Excludes many non symbolic that carry persuasive potential e g non verbals behaviors images colors o Number of People 2 or more people o Problems Basic persuasion theories e g consistency theories Intra personal persuasion well documented focus on cognitive processing Persuasion o Is a process o Is dynamic o Takes place in a context 08 29 2012 Persuasion Is a process Is dynamic Takes place in a context Persuasion defined The process of creating reinforcing modifying or eliminating beliefs attitudes intentions and or behaviors Gass and Seiter Persuasion Coercion Compliance Gaining or Social Influence Coercion o Choice vs no choice Compliance Gaining o Getting someone to do something or act in a particular way Social influence Source sends message o The power of persons or things to affect others Receiver Perceives Intent With intent without intent Yes persuasion social influence No attempted persuasion or deception communication behavior SEE CHART IN NOTES Persuasion as a Process Dual Process Models Elaboration likelihood Model ELM o Petty and Cacioppo 1986 Heuristic Systematic Model HSM o Eagly and Chaiken ELM Overview Integrates pervious research on the effects of source message receiver and context on persuasion Focus is on receiver of a message A message can change attitudes or create resistance to change by o Getting people to think about the message central route Or o Introducing person to focus on cues external to message Peripheral Route Central Route to Persuasion o Sees persuasion as a cognitive process o Attitude change based on careful evaluation of the quality of arguments in the message Elaboration extent person thinks about the issue relevant arguments in a message Strong arguments positive message relevant thoughts greater persuasion Attitudes formed through central route are Enduring Resistant to change Predictive of behavior Peripheral Route o Non cognitive process not thinking about the message thinking about something else o Use factors or cues un related to actual merits of the message Liking harder to say no to someone we like attractiveness Authority there an expert I will believe them Social proof if everyone is doing it I will do it too Scarcity want things others can t have Consistency like to appear consistent once someone agrees they are more likely to do it restaurants with reservation ask people to call to cancel Reciprocity if you get something you want to give something in return o Less enduring attitude change Central or Peripheral Route Depends on Motivation and Ability to process message Motivation to Process o Involvement High message perceived as personally relevant Low message not personally relevant diffusion of o When able to process message one should engage in issue responsibility o Need for cognition Inherent characteristic NFC 1 Involvement 1 Ability to Process Message relevant thinking Factors Affected Ability o Distraction o Message repetition o Written vs audio presentation o Person s knowledge about subject If both motivation and ability are HIGH likely to take Central Route If motivation and or ability are LOW likely to take peripheral route to Persuasion to persuasion Criticisms of ELM Conceptualizing argument Unclear what constitutes central and peripheral variables Multi channel processing Methodologically difficult to distinguish between the routes Heuristic Systematic Model Eagly and Chaiken 1993 Systematic Processing o Thoughtful and deliberate o Analytical o Central route Heuristic processing o Relies on mental shortcuts or decision rules o Peripheral route Agree that motivation and ability affect processing sufficiency principle think enough but not too much HSM allows for simultaneous processing Additivity hypothesis two processes reinforce or complement each Bias hypothesis a heuristic cue may bias systematic processing if other the message is ambiguous Attenuation hypothesis if H and S are in opposition S overrides H Unimodel Kruglanski and Thompson 1999 One route to persuasion different routes to persuasion How does this relate to you In ELM and HSM different routes reflect different messages NOT Attitudes Attitude defined 08 29 2012 o A learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward some attitude object Fishebein and Ajzen 1975 o A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor Eagly and Chaiken 1993 What about attitudes o Learned not born with attitudes o Predisposition tendency stable but changeable o Evaluation o Directed toward attitude object How do attitudes differ from related terms o Values More global than attitudes ideals Values as core elements in a person s system of attitudes and beliefs Cognitions or thoughts people have about attitude o Beliefs object o opinions difficult to differentiate from attitudes opinions are cognitive judgments whereas attitudes have an affective component o attitudes as associative networks attitudes values and beliefs are interconnected a change in one attitude may