ADPR 3850 1nd Edition Lecture 14 Outline of Previous Lecture I Communication Outline of Current Lecture I II Public Opinion and Persuasion a Theories Persuasion Theories of Public Opinion Spiral of Silence Assumptions Society threatens to isolate those who violate moral consensus We fear this isolation and try to prevent it from happening Therefore we constantly monitor our environment and have developed a quasistatistical sense of the climate of public opinion We share our opinions when we believe they are the dominant opinion or the opinion on the rise like the bandwagon effect bandwagoners The media often gives a platform to the loudest voices even though they may represent a minority opinion All of this results in the spiral of silence So what is public opinion the collection of views or opinions held by people about issues concerning them Also can be opinions on controversial issues that one can express in public without isolating oneself Self interest plays a role in public opinion including making opinions resistant to change Major events can have dramatic impacts on public opinion Opinion Leaders are Important as they are Catalysts How sociologists describe opinion leaders Highly interested in a subject or issue Better informed on an issue than the average person Avid consumers of mass media Early adopters of new ideas Good organizers who can get other people to take action How public opinion perceives opinion leaders Active in the community and often college educated Higher income These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Active participants with media and in recreational activities Concerned environmentalists The Multi step Flow Model Information Media Message Opinion Leaders Attentive Publics Less Attentive Publics The media play a key role in influencing opinion as they are a crucial source for information Agenda Setting theory the media don t tell us what to think only tell us what to think about PR specialists however are responsible for anywhere from 50 60 of media content Theories of Public Opinion Framing A muddled concept that is defined many ways by different people Some refer to framing as the selection of specific facts or pieces of information that journalists use in news story An example of this is how media frame the debate over health care and the role of insurance More rigid definitions focus on the presentation of equivalent information in communication Framing as Heuristics The Pictures in Our Heads Frames are not about offering new facts rather they differ in how they present issues Estate tax versus death tax Drill for oil v Explore for energy They are important tools for audiences in determining why an issue is important like secondhand smoke as a health issue or a rights issue People efficiently process new information by connecting it to what we already know We try to impact public opinion through persuasion techniques Persuasion is used to 1 change or neutralize hostile opinions 2 crystallize latent opinions and positive attitudes 3 conserve favorable opinions How to persuade persuasion is focused specifically on the communicator by factors such as credibility attractiveness of the messenger Factors such as expertise of the communicator charisma sincerity and genuineness in their speaking Keys to Persuasion Audience Analysis know who you ll be communicating with Who is your audience What group of people are you speaking to What do they think Source Credibility Meaning who can we have deliver our message Recall those attributes we just discussed expertise sincerity and charisma Making Appeals to Self Interest structure the message to appeal to the target audience People are driven by altruism Ensure the Clarity of your Message make the message accessible have a clear action to call Work in audience participation major growth in user generated content Participating reinforces their beliefs and adds credibility to the message Carefully Determine the Content and Structure of your Message Are statistics uses Exemplars Appeals to logic or emotion Testimonials Celebrity endorsements Limits to Persuasion 1 Problems with Message Penetration it s impossible to ensure the message reaches those it targets 2 Standing out in a competitive information environment will people pay attention How will they process your message 3 Self Selection We live in an information age and it does not make sense to most of us to Attend to all messages that come our way Process those messages Develop in depth attitude or understanding of the issue in question 4 Selective Perception We all process information through various perceptual filters including religious beliefs trust and political ideology Any given fact may mean different things to different people Ethics of persuasion DON T use false evidence use specious reasoning falsely represent yourself use irrelevant appeals make false links cover up consequences use baseless appeals oversimplify feign certainty advocate what you don t believe yourself Conceal your purpose