COMM475 Exam 1 Study Guide What is Persuasion What does it mean to say persuasion is pervasive and unavoidable Studying persuasion serves 4 functions What are they Knowledge function understand process better Defensive function to be able to ward off the bad people Debunking function dispelling myths about persuasion product placement subliminal Instrumental function so you can be a better persuader yourself messages etc What is the difference between pure cases of persuasion and borderline cases of persuasion Pure cases all 5 elements are present Borderline cases some elements are present What are the criteria issues factors which go into a definition of persuasion intentionality free will change etc and what are their limitations to effectively defining persuasion Intentionality goal Change or effects Choice free will Symbolic actions Number of people Class definition of persuasion o Words o Non verbal o Codified actions symbols that have commonly understood meanings The process of creating reinforcing modifying or eliminating beliefs attitudes intentions and or behaviors within a given context Gass and Seiter The difference between persuasion and coercion social influence and compliance gaining Coercion may or may not be considered persuasion Compliance Gaining most people consider to be persuasion limited to interpersonal contexts Social Influence borderline cases power of people and things to affect others The dual process models of persuasion The Elaboration Likelihood model ELM and the Hueristic Systematic Model know all the different concepts of each model and how all the parts fit together any researched discussed to support the models Elaboration Likelihood Model ELM Overview Integrates previous persuasion research When it was published it was the first of its kind Focus on the receiver of the message o How does someone process a message and then how does the processing lead them to o How much the receiver is to think about or elaborate about the arguments made about Two routes to persuasion these routes are an either or endeavor we do not take both at the be persuaded or not Elaboration likelihood mediates persuasion the message same time or one and then the other 1 o Elaboration likelihood is HIGH we are more willing to evaluate the arguments o Attitude change based on careful evaluation of the quality of arguments in the message o Attitudes formed through central route are o Central route o Peripheral route Central Route Enduring Resistant to change Predictive of behavior Peripheral Route o Elaboration likelihood is LOW not willing to evaluate the arguments Not willing to weigh pros and cons If were going to be persuaded its going to be via another way o Use factors or cues unrelated to the actual merits of the message Liking the more you like someone the more persuaded you are by them Authority conditioned to obey authority Social Proof peer pressure if everyone else is doing it you think it s a good enough reason to do it too Scarcity if we perceive that something is in limited supply we are more likely to want it Consistency people like to appear consistent Reciprocity we are conditioned that if someone gives us something we want to give them something in return o Less enduring attitude change Heuristic Systematic Model Systematic processing thoughtful and deliberate Heuristic Processing relies on mental shortcuts or decision rules o Heuristic cue something else that can persuade us Motivation and ability affect processing they need to in order to make a decision Allows for simultaneous processing Hypotheses o Sufficiency principle people are motivated to think but they will only think as much as o Additivity we can do systematic and heuristic processing at the same time and they o Bias heuristic cue will override the systematic processing most often occurs when will compliment each other message is ambiguous o Attenuation we are systematic processers thinking will always out way heuristic cues as long as the arguments are good ones How can we use ELM and or H S model to persuade Getting them to think about the message a lot o Provide strong arguments o Increase involvement by showing personal relevance o Use easy to understand arguments Getting them to focus on persuasive clues unrelated to the message o Credibility likability of the source o Reciprocity 2 o Scarcity o Social proof o Consistency o Etc Attitudes and Behavior Attitude defined know the factors that go into defining attitudes Fishbein Ajzen s definition and Eagly Chaiken definition A learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward some attitude object A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor How do attitudes differ from values beliefs and opinions Values emotional worth that develops over time more global than attitudes Beliefs thoughts or cognitions that we have about an attitude object Opinions closest to attitudes also evaluative but opinions are cognitively evaluative and based on beliefs gut reactions of liking or not liking Attitudes as associative networks discussed in class and in G S Attitudes values and beliefs are interconnected A change in one attitude may affect another component in the network Key element of persuasion is creating positive associations and breaking negative links between attitudes and an attitude object Critical element in understanding persuasion o Help predict explain and modify behavior o Key is to get a good measure of what an attitude is Measuring attitudes Likert Scales Semantic Differential Scales Visually oriented scales be able to identify the different types of scales and tell of the problems associated with attitude scales social desirability bias boundedness non attitudes etc o Images o Slogans o Sponsorship Why study attitudes Standardized self report scales o Likert o Semantic differential o Visually oriented Problems with attitude scales Social desirability bias We want to appear as socially desirable or likeable Bounded scales don t allow for true variability of attitudes Non attitudes we don t actually have an attitude but because we are asked we make something up Mindfulness we have to actually be aware of what our attitudes are Other ways of measuring attitudes and problems with those measures appearance association behavior physiological measures pupil dilation galvanic skin response etc Do attitudes predict behavior Previous research current view Important