Persuasion You are feeling very sleeepy Bumper Stickers

Persuasion You are feeling very sleeepy…

Bumper Stickers - “I’ll give up my gun when they pry it from my cold, dead hands. ” Billboards - “Get U. S. out of the U. N. ” Magazine Ads - “Think different” Television Ads - “Got Milk? ” Radio Ads - “This program is brought to you by Exxon, working for a better environment” T- shirts - “No Nukes” Lawn Placards - “Vote for Kaine” Mailings, etc. 300 to 400 appeals/day from marketers alone

Martin Luther King, Jr.

National Rifle Association

What are attitudes? • ABCs of attitudes – Affective: evaluations are based on positive and negative emotions associated with a target – Behavioral: a behavioral tendency to act in a certain manner towards the attitude object – Cognitive: evaluations based on beliefs & facts

"Mmmmm. . . Gummi Beer. " Homer Simpson’s Attitudes Toward Beer Homer’s Attitude Toward Beer "Homer no function beer well without. " “To alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems. " Affective Evaluation Beer Behavior Regarding Beer Cognitions Regarding Beer "The other day, I was so desperate for a beer, I snuck into the football stadium and ate the dirt under the bleachers. "

Consistency in persuasion 1. Balance theory (Heider) - we are motivated to have harmony in our views and behaviors - we want to agree with people we like a disagree with those we don’t Think of someone you respect / like. What if they expressed an opinion you opposed? 1. Could change your feelings for the person 2. Could change your opinion on the issue

If you like Tiger, shouldn’t you like the car?

Balance Theory Balanced Situations + Michelle Teacher + Michelle + Teacher - Legalized abortion + - Michelle Teacher - - + - Legalized abortion

Balance Theory Imbalanced Situations Michelle Teacher + + Michelle + Teacher - Legalized abortion + - Michelle Teacher + - - - Legalized abortion

Consistency in persuasion 2. Cognitive dissonance theory - we will work to resolve inconsistencies in our beliefs and actions when they matter to us - changing a behavior can change an attitude (and vice versa) Changes in attitudes occur primarily when we perceive justification – e. g. , free will in determining our (inconsistent) actions

Ready to turn some pegs? ? • Students spent hour turning pegs in holes (really boring) • Paid either $1 or $20 • Who enjoyed the task more (when asked later)? • Why $1 people $20 was justification enough, $1 wasn’t – I must have really liked turning pegs! (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959)

Insufficient justification Attitude change happens when one freely performs an attitude-discrepant act for an inadequate reward.

Initiation Dissonance begins with: Amplification More dissonance arises when the action or decision: Motivation Reduction Dissonance is experienced as: reduced through: is seen as freely chosen. action or decision that conflicts w/ impt. aspect of self. Can’t be justified as due to strong reward or threat produces negative consequences that were foreseeable cannot be withdrawn unpleasant arousal. change designed to remove the unpleasant arousal.

What affects how consistent we are? • Arousal – Tranquilizers cause people to not change their opinions • Preference for consistency • Consequences – More impact of your behavior = more likely you will be to change your attitudes • Salience of inconsistency

Consistent with what? Individualist “me” focused Collectivist group focused

Persuasion change in private attitude or belief as a result of receiving a message Dual Process Model - takes into account two ways attitude change takes place - e. g. , central vs. peripheral processing, systematic vs. heuristic processing, etc. Certain information is processed more deeply than other info

Persuasion Attempt Audience Factors Processing Approach Persuasion Outcome High Deep processing, motivation focused on the quality and ability to of the message think about arguments. the message Lasting change that resists fading and counterattack Superficial processing, focused on surface features, e. g. : communicator’s attractiveness or number of arguments Temporary change that is susceptible to fading and counterattack Message Low motivation or ability to think about the message

“Retirement planning can be a way to stay ahead of the game. ” Cris Carter Schwab Investor Central or Peripheral?

Who says. . . What. . . By what means. . . To whom? Channel Communicator • spoken • Credibility • written • expertise • audio • trustworthiness • Video • Attractiveness Message content Audience • Reason vs. emotion • Need for Cognition • Discrepancy • One vs. two-sided

Who says? Communicator • Credibility • expertise • trustworthiness • Credibility: believability • Attractiveness • expertise: the amount of knowledge the source is assumed to have • trustworthiness: the perceived intention of the communicator to deceive. • Perceived expertise • Begin by saying things the audience agrees with • Be introduced as someone knowledgeable on the topic • Speak confidently (no stuttering), and quickly

Class Demonstration • Message on Phosphate containing detergents – Source • Government Agency • Soap Company

Who says? • Attractiveness: • having qualities that appeal to an audience • physical appeal • likeability • perceived similarity • surface characteristics (Dembroski and others, 1978) • attitudes & values • Persuasive on matters of subjective preference (e. g. , aspirin, soft drinks) • Communicator characteristics less relevant when the subject matter is important to participants

Agreement with the message Low personal relevance High personal relevance (Petty et al. , 1981)

The Sleeper Effect Expert source % attitude change Nonexpert source Time interval (Hovland & Weiss, 1951)

What is said? Message content • Reason vs. emotion • Discrepancy • One vs. two-sided 1. Is a carefully reasoned message more persuasive, or one that arouses emotion? 2. Will you be more persuasive by advocating an extreme point of view, or by advocating a moderate position? 3. Should your message be one-sided, or should it acknowledge two points of view?