COMM475 Exam 1 Review Sheet What is Persuasion 1 What does it mean to say persuasion is pervasive and unavoidable a Pervasive we are bombarded by stimuli every day surrounded by influence b Unavoidable persuasive message everywhere you go 2 Studying persuasion serves 4 functions What are they a Knowledge function why people do what they do why are people i Enhance knowledge and awareness of a variety of persuasive attempts persuaded processes Instrumental function become better persuaders yourselves b c Defensive function to give you skills you can use to defend yourself against the persuasive attempts of other people d Debunking function to dispel myths about persuasion that are out there 3 What is the difference between pure cases and borderline cases of persuasion a Pure cases all criteria are met i Clear cut cases of persuasion on which most people would agree b Borderline cases some criteria are met i Not everyone would agree that these cases are persuasive 4 What are the criteria issues factors that go into a definition of persuasion intentionality free will change etc and what are their limitations to effectively defining persuasion Intentionality a i Some people may not realize how much of what they say or do influences others i e how parents influence their kids ii People do not always know what specific outcome they are seeking iii Unintended receivers i e a third party overhearing a conversation iv Difficult to ascertain another s intent there can be a difference between a persuader s stated intent versus his or her actual intent v Mutual influence whose intent counts i Has persuasion taken place if no one is actually persuaded ii A person can still be engaged in persuasion even if it ineffective iii Both parties may be simultaneously engaged in persuasion iv It is often difficult if not impossible to measure persuasive effects i Persuasion is more effective when there is a low level of awareness i A definition that limits persuasion to words and symbols leaves out too much there are more factors than just language and symbols ii The whole thing persuades not just the words b Change or effects persuasion c Choice free will d Symbolic actions e Number of people Interpersonal versus intrapersonal i ii Attempts at self persuasion are quite common i e rationalization iii Limit in saying that it only occurs between two or more people 5 Class definition of persuasion a The process of creating reinforcing modifying or eliminating beliefs attitudes intentions and or behaviors within a given context 6 The difference between persuasion and coercion social influence and compliance gaining a Coercion no choice b Social influence borderline cases of persuasion the power of persons or things to influence others c Compliance gaining happens in the context of interpersonal relationships getting people to get what you want them to do 7 The dual process models of persuasion a The Elaboration Likelihood Model ELM i How much we re willing to think about the messages leads to whether or not we are persuaded ii Deals with what happens in the mind iii Two routes to persuasion 1 Central route a Elaboration likelihood HIGH i More likely to think about the message and make a decision based on that thinking ii Attitude change based on careful evaluation of the quality of arguments in the message iii Attitudes formed through the central route are 1 Enduring 2 Resistant to change 3 Predictive of behavior 2 Peripheral route a Elaboration likelihood LOW i Less likely to think about the arguments in the ii Use factors or cues unrelated to actual merits of message the message 1 Liking the more we like someone the more we are persuaded by them 2 Authority people tend to obey authority figures 3 Social proof if everybody is doing it you will go along with it 4 Scarcity the perception of something being scarce persuades us to act 5 Consistency people like to be consistent in their attitudes beliefs and behaviors 6 Reciprocity the idea that if we are given something we want to give something back in return iv The route that you choose depends on motivation and ability to iii Less enduring attitude change process message 1 Motivation a Issue relevant involvement i High central route ii Low peripheral route b Need for cognition how much a person enjoys thinking i High need for cognition central route ii Low need for cognition peripheral route 2 Ability some people are more adept at grasping ideas understanding concepts and making sense of things some people have more knowledge and expertise on the topic a Distraction b Message repetition c Written vs audio presentation i Written is more effective d Person s knowledge about the subject v Criticisms 1 Relies too heavily on involvement as a predictor of route of persuasion 2 No multi channel processing a You either go down the central or peripheral route b The Heuristic Systematic Model i Systematic processing 1 Thoughtful and deliberate 2 Like the central route ii Heuristic processing 1 Relies on mental shortcuts or decision rules to figure out whether or not you will be persuaded 2 Like peripheral route iii Motivation and ability affect processing 1 Sufficiency principle people by nature like to think but not too much a People will think as much as they need to in order to get iv Allows for simultaneous processing the job done but no more 1 You can both systematically and heuristically process v Hypotheses 1 Additivity hypothesis the heuristic and systematic processing can work together to reinforce or compliment each other 2 Bias hypothesis a heuristic cue will bias or override systematic processing when the message is ambiguous i Your ability is compromised when you can t understand the message so you default to other cues heuristic 3 Attenuation hypothesis When systematic and heuristic processing are in opposition systematic processing will ultimately be the one you go with as long as you are sufficiently motivated and able to do so Attitudes and Behavior 1 Attitude defined know the factors that go into defining attitudes Fishbein Ajzen s definition and Eagly Chaiken definition a A learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward some attitude object Fishbein Ajzen b A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor Eagly Chaiken c Learned d Predisposition tendency i Tend to be consistent over time ii Relatively stable iii But we can change them e Evaluation good to bad