PERSUASION SOCIAL INFLUENCE COMPLIANCE GAINING Robert H Gass

PERSUASION SOCIAL INFLUENCE & COMPLIANCE GAINING Robert H. Gass & John S. Seiter

Chapter 2 What constitutes persuasion?

PURE VS BORDERLINE PERSUASION Pure Persuasion paradigm cases of persuasion include – television commercials – presidential debates – sales presentations – attorney crossexamination Borderline Persuasion less obvious cases of persuasion include – involuntary behavior; blinking, blushing, stomach growling – overheard conversations, eavesdropping – traffic calming measures; speed bumps, roundabouts

LIMITING CRITERIA ▪ Intentionality – Is persuasion always conscious, purposeful? – Can persuasion be unplanned or accidental? – social modeling of behavior – socialization processes; gender norms, cultural conventions – unintended receiver effect – Determining intentions can be difficult.

INTENTIONALITY--continued Effects emphasis entails a linear view of persuasion sender receiver Process view implies mutual, two-way influence sender receiver sender

EFFECTS Is unsuccessful persuasion still persuasion? – Persuasion as a product or outcome: ▪ “I’m not persuaded. ” – Persuasion as a process or activity ▪ “I’m selling Jane on my new idea. ” – analogous to dancing, protesting, campaigning

EFFECTS--CONTINUED ▪ Difficulty of measuring persuasive effects – Persuasion effects may be two -way, reciprocal – Multiple audiences may be involved – Mixed results; persuasion is often a matter of degree – Sensitivity of outcome measure – Lag time; effects may be delayed

FREE WILL AND CONSCIOUS AWARENESS ▪ Persuasion often includes some degree of coercion – implied reprisals – collateral damage – relational consequences ▪ Not all choices are completely free – Degree of conscious awareness – Persuadability differs among people

SYMBOLIC ACTION Persuasion involves more than words nonverbal cues tone of voice societal and cultural norms Examples of non-linguistic influence poker tells restaurant ambience head fake in sports background music

INTERPERSONAL VS INTRAPERSONAL Does persuasion require two or more people? Self-persuasion is quite common positive thinking New Year’s resolutions life mottos Much of persuasion research is “inside people’s heads. ” attitudes beliefs intentions

GASS & SEITER MODEL

GASS & SEITER MODEL

GASS & SEITER MODEL

GASS & SEITER DEFINITION “persuasion involves one or more persons who are engaged in the activity of creating, reinforcing, modifying, or extinguishing beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, and/or behaviors within the constraints of a given communication context”

DUAL PROCESS MODELS Two different modes of information processing § Fast vs slow thinking § Reflexive vs reflective thinking § Mental shortcuts vs thoughtful deliberation

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL ELM Central route: – cognitive elaboration – message scrutiny – examining evidence and reasoning ▪ More likely with – high issue involvement – motivation to process message – ability to process message Peripheral route – fast, expedient – mental shortcuts – attractiveness cues – eye candy ▪ More likely with – Low issue involvement – Low motivation to process message – Lack of ability to process message

EXAMPLE OF CENTRAL PROCESSING ▪ Lulu is shopping for a new car ▪ She looks up car reviews online ▪ She compares, safety, reliability, mileage, performance, customer satisfaction, and depreciation ▪ She scrutinizes the information before test driving any cars Brian A Jackson/shutterstock. com

EXAMPLE OF PERIPHERAL PROCESSING ▪ Sylvia and Ned are celebrating their 3 rd anniversary. ▪ Neither is choosy about wine. ▪ They are on a budget, so they pick the cheapest cabernet on the wine list.

UNIMODEL • No distinction between types of information processing • The amount of processing is what counts • More processing • Less processing