reflection essay(1-2pages)
Persuasion
What is persuasion?
Persuasion – any communication involving a message intended to change, shape, or reinforce the response of another.
Two components or forms of response:
Attitude (thought)
Behavior (action)
Persuasion v.s. Influence?
Persuasion is a more specifically defined attempt to achieve influence.
Attitudes can be defined as “a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular object with some degree of favor or disfavor” (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1...a really long but good book all about attitudes) – more on this in a few slides. Keep in mind throughout that ‘object’ can mean anything we respond to – a person, event, abstract idea, etc. it doesn’t always mean some tangible object when we refer to an attitude object (although obviously, we can have attitudes about actual ‘objects’ such as clothing, food, etc.)
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Persuasion Building Blocks
Two key constructs:
Behaviors
Tangible aspect
Directly observable
Attitudes
Cognitive aspect
Not directly observable
All persuasion goals, even those which nominally focus on attitudes, have behavioral correlates
Many people seek to change social attitudes; e.g., attitudes toward minorities, attitudes toward the gay community -- ultimately, we expect behaviors to change. Can you think to an example when your own attitudes differ from your actions?
Interesting study on the origins of attitudes show that, however, we can SAY one thing and act a totally different way – LaPiere, 1934. Available on google and although very dated, really explains how this stuff happens in the real world!
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Building Blocks: Attitudes
So what is an attitude?
– Relatively enduring organization of beliefs around an object (situation) predisposing one to respond in a preferential manner (Rockeach)
– Attitude towards a behavior is a function of the consequences of performing that behavior and the evaluation of those consequences (Fishbein & Azjen)
– Summary evaluations of objects, ranging along a dimension from positive to negative (Petty)
– Theoretical construction created by social scientists to explain the different reactions that people have towards similar objects or situations (Stiff)
Attitude researchers have their own nuanced ways to explain attitudes – no definition is necessarily ‘right’ or ‘wrong’
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Building Blocks: Attitudes
Why are attitudes important?
Help explain and predict behavior, although not perfectly
Typically, we cannot directly control or command others’ behavior
Refer to the theory of reasoned action, which predicts that:
Beliefs Attitudes + Subjective Norms Behavioral Intentions Behavior
Think back to the perception slides - how is our perception of the world formed? Attitude is a highly complex construct, and our attitudes we have learned through various socialization process inform how we perceive the world. Theory of reasoned action: we hold beliefs, which inform our overall attitudes toward certain objects. Subjective norms (what we think everyone else is doing/feeling) combine with our attitudes to determine what we intend to do in a certain situation. Ultimately, these predict behavior, but not perfectly – a positive attitude does not mean we will likely do some action if subjective norms suggest it is innappropriate to do so. For example: we may find someone attractive, but subjective norms suggest it is inappropriate hit on someone in a relationship, so ultimately, we decided against approaching said attractive person.
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Building Blocks: Attitudes
Challenges of using attitudes:
Must be inferred via self-report or through behavior
Complexity: Operate, prioritized, and formed subjectively
Combination of beliefs, evaluations etc.
Don’t always predict behavior:
ToRA: tied to intent, only part of the equation. Other factors (subjective norms, situational constraints) important
Persuasion sub-processes
Response-changing: message intended to alter an existing response
Typical persuasion
The terms attitude change and persuasion are often used interchangeably.
I.e., you want to change someone’s mind about something.
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Persuasion sub-processes
Response-shaping: message intended to create a desired response when there is no pre-existing response
Associated with situations that can be considered new in a relative sense
Attitudes form as implicit associations between two objects; we may not realize we have been conditioned to hold an attitude to a certain object - over time we may have differences in how we think we feel about the object (these are called explicit attitudes - how we think we feel about something, whether it is in line with our implicit attitude or not). This can be tricky material to get at first – don’t hesitate to ASK questions to clarify.
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Persuasion sub-processes
Response-reinforcing: communication intended to maintain or strengthen an existing response
Crucial, but often overlooked domain
Essential for many relational, practical, and commercial tasks
Inoculation theory predicts that we can form stronger attitudes when we here counter-attitudinal information in small doses, and are warned someone might try to persuade us. So, we have our own attitudes reinforced through the process of inoculation. For example, has anyone every told you, “They are gonna try and say such and such...?” before some interaction or even some altercation?
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Practical considerations
Levels of Persuasion
We can define two levels of persuasion:
Micro – interpersonal
Face to face, impression management
Macro – mass level
Advertising, Public health campaigns
Differences between the levels
Amount and type of information available
Ability to focus message
Ability to provide and respond to feedback
Effort and cost involved
Persuasion versus COMPLIANCE – persuasion often implies attitude change, whereas compliance implies doing the desired behavior
How idiosyncratic is the message? Can we counterargue with direct feedback or indirectly (i.e., boycotting)?
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Recall that…
Elements
Structure
Treatment
Content
Code
Seeing
Hearing
Touching
Smelling
Tasting
Comm. Skills
Attitude
Knowledge
Soc. System
Culture
Comm. Skills
Attitude
Knowledge
Soc. System
Culture
Source
Message
Channel
Receiver
S
M
C
R
Persuasion and SMCR characteristics - Source
Source
Source Characteristics are factors associated with the source of a message
Credibility is the primary source-based factor.
“Why should I believe you?”
Two key dimensions of credibility:
Expertise (topic centered) – knowledge or proficiency
Trustworthiness (source centered) – trust, perceived honesty, good intentions
Sociability (likeability), composure (delivery), extroversion (willingness/tendency to engage in comm) are additional dimensions
SMCR model? What did that stand for? :)
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Message
Message categorization
Message characteristics look at basic distinctions in persuasive messages
Emotional or rational appeal – is the message based on emotion or logic?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC5-1UXWJns
Source or receiver onus – who controls reward or punishment?
Sequential or single shot?
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Elaboration Likelihood Model
Message processing
Two persuasion routes:
Central route:
Scrutinizing message quality and evidence
More analytical, effortful, and comprehensive
Leads to more enduring, resistant attitude change
Predicts behavioral change
Peripheral route:
Focusing on peripheral cues (affect, attractiveness and credibility of the speaker, number of arguments, etc)
More economic, timely, faster decisions
Leads to more temporary, vulnerable attitude change
Does not necessarily predict behavior
Heuristic-systematic model of persuasion (HMP)
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion is a dual process theory describing the change of attitudes. The model aims to explain different ways of processing stimuli, why they are used, and their outcomes on attitude change. The ELM proposes two major routes to persuasion: the central route and the peripheral route.
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Message
Message processing
Models of persuasion (ELM) suggest two general modes of message processing:
Controlled – response based on thoughtful evaluation of available information.
Requires motivation and ability to process a message
Automatic/Heuristic – response based on cognitive shortcuts drawn from experience and socialization
Motivation or ability are lacking in peripheral route responses
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Message
Message Tactics: wide variety of possible tactics; efficacy often dependent on situation, implementation
Fear Appeals: invoking fear and crating the perception of threat；
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkSdM6p2G98
Gilt appeals: attempt to induce guilt and then provide a means to alleviate it
e.g., a charity that shows the deplorable conditions in a depressed part of a foreign country
Altercating: involves the association of a group membership or a particular role with a given attitude or behavior
e.g., “You are not like those other insincere, obsequious types who keep quiet when getting taken advantage of by management”
The most widely utilized categorization of persuasive messages involves a distinction between rational and emotional appeals or messages. Rational appeals are based on reason and argumentation and are designed to logically convince their targets to follow the recommendation contained in the messge. A commercial for a new car that attempts to get consumers to buy the vehicle by highlighting the factors like fuel economy, resale value, financing options.
Emotional appeals are based on the use of emotion and are designed to tap into or induce a certain mood or feeling. Excitement one might feel racing down the street emotional appeal.
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Cialdini’s Weapons of Influence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw&t=92s
Watch the video
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Cialdini's principles of persuasion
based on HEURISTICS we use or automatic processing – judgmental heuristics, mental shortcuts we use when making everyday judgments.
Reciprocity – deeply ingrained principle we should respond to the actions of others in kind
Key principle: Proactively doing something for someone implicitly obligates similar future repayment.
Consistency – once we make a choice or take a stand, we encounter pressure, both internal and social, to behave consistently with that commitment.
Key principle: We and others value consistency.
Liking – we prefer to say yes to individuals we know and like
Key principle: perceived similarity, physical attractiveness, similarity, and association with popular objects are all shortcuts that can lead to favorable reactions
Cialdini's principles of persuasion
Scarcity – People assign value to that which is not readily available, whether in limited quantities or fleeting opportunities
Key principle: Fear of loss is a powerful incentive in decision making
Social proof – when we face uncertainty, we often look to see what others are doing, especially if there seems to be broad consensus.
Key principle: Peer influence is powerful
Authority – deeply ingrained principle of respecting authority
Key principle: Authority is most influential when it is perceived as genuine and relevant
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Channel
Channel or Context
Contextual factors:
Modality – content vs. channel
Example: Complex message or textual format
Context – situational factors
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Receiver
Receiver Characteristics
Audience adaption – gaining and applying knowledge of a target
Receiver involvement
Individual differences are a major part of research into receiver characteristics of persuasion
What dispositions do we bring with us when processing a persuasive message?
How does our perception of the world influence how we respond to persuasive messages? We might, for example, have an agreeable disposition and thus are easily persuaded whereas a hard headed person will almost always react negatively to a persuasive attempt (a very simple example for what is otherwise a very complicated area in terms of predicting attitude change or behaviors)
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Tactics
Clearly determine your persuasive goal(s)
Long/short term; priority of goals
Analyze your target & relevant situational factors
Adjust & Adapt
Generate your persuasive message strategy in a deliberate manner
Planning is crucial, may be a long-term process
Clearly determine your persuasive goals
Long or short term?
Priority of goals?
Analyze your target and relevant situational factors
Adjust and adapt
Generate your persuasive message strategy in a deliberate manner
Planning is crucial
May be a long term process
Mindfully deliver your message
Be alert, adaptive, and responsive during the delivery
Evaluate your sources
Did you achieve your goals?
What is left to accomplish?
Did you learn from the experience?
Make adjustments or follow-up accordingly
Long term goals
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Tactics
Mindfully deliver your message
Be alert, adaptive, & responsive during delivery
Evaluate your success
To what extent did you achieve your goals? What might be left to accomplish? What can be learned from the experience?
Make adjustments or follow-up accordingly
Again, keep long term in mind
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Reflection Paper #4
Watch the video summarizing the ‘science of persuasion’ available on YouTube . This video summarized work by Robert Cialdini highlighting the six universal principles of persuasion. Obviously this has a lot to do with power and influence in organizations.
Your homework assignment is to choose 3 of the 6 principles of persuasion and describe a short, a fictitious scenario in an organization showing how each of these principles could be used. You may create a scenario for each or you may tell a story that encompasses all the principles you choose.
Use this word doc (single space, 12 pt. font, same margins, etc.) as a template for your assignment. Like all the writing assignments in this class, you should provide a short introduction paragraph in which you state your purpose for writing this document. Also include a brief conclusion paragraph.
video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw
Communication and Technology
Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master
The Impact of Technology on Communication
Researching information for a paper—Then:
Speaking of the impact of technology, always keep in mind, technology is a double edged sward. The impact of technology has both positive and negative sides.
Decades ago, if you need to a literature review for your assignment, you have to physically be in the library, climb up the bookshelf maybe, and look up in the books to find the information. But now, the only thing you have to do is to turn on your laptop, open a browser, and type up anything that you want to search.
The Impact of Technology on Communication
Researching information for a paper—Now:
The Impact of Technology on Communication
Staying in touch with friends & family—Then:
In terms of interpersonal communication, people basically rely on face-to-face communication to exchange information or express their feelings. However, with the development of technology, we turn to rely less on face-to-face com, instead, we communicate with each other through phone texts, email, instant message, and of cause, social media.
The Impact of Technology on Communication
Staying in touch with friends & family—Now:
Communication technologies serve for different purposes and satisfy different needs of us.
The Impact of Technology on Communication
Keeping track of grades
Collaborating on group projects
Making social plans
On one hand, the development of technology has dramatically improved our lifestyle. From the telephone, to the internet, each century is a new addition to the ever-growing list of means of communication. The first technological invention should be the telephone, at 1875, which had a massive hug impact on our daily life. Other subsequent inventions like internet, cell phone smart phone, further eased and changed the way we communicate.
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What Factors Drive the Evolution & Spread of Technology?
One of the most significant factors is communication:
Diffusion of innovation (Rogers)
Beliefs about technology acquired though mass media/interpersonal comm processes are key drivers of tech adoption
Diffusion of innovation theory, is one of the most traditional and basic theories which explain the spread of technology.
We define diffusion as the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over a period of time among the members of a social system.
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Four Main Elements in DOI
The innovation: an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption
Communication channels: the means by which messages get from one individual to another
Time: The innovation-decision period is the length of time required to pass through the innovation-decision process; Rate of adoption is the relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system (time influences all stages of the diffusion process)
Social system: a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal
Four main elements in DOI
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S-Shaped Curve
When social researchers first started looking at how innovations diffuse through social systems in the 1940s, they noticed that the pattern of spread of a new technique or idea was very similar to that described by epidemiologists in studies of how infections spread through populations. That is to say, the rate of spread starts off slowly, accelerates through the mid range of the graph, and then slows down and levels off, forming an S-shaped curve.
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Five categories of adopters TED: Simon Sinek
Innovation-Decision Process
Relative Advantage - The degree to which an innovation is seen as better than the idea, program, or product it replaces.
Compatibility - How consistent the innovation is with the values, experiences, and needs of the potential adopters.
Complexity - How difficult the innovation is to understand and/or use.
Triability - The extent to which the innovation can be tested or experimented with before a commitment to adopt is made.
Observability - The extent to which the innovation provides tangible results.
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What Factors Drive the Evolution & Spread of Technology?
Network effects—the growing value of a comm tech as the # of users increases
E.g.—if all your friends are using text messaging, it becomes more attractive/useful to you
The more people using it , the higher value the technology has
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What Factors Drive the Evolution & Spread of Technology?
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)—(Davis & Bagozzi).
Suggests 2 factors (both linked to communication) influence an individual’s intent to use tech
Perceived usefulness
Perceived ease of use
What Factors Drive the Evolution & Spread of Technology?
The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)—(Venkatesh et al)
Focuses on 4 factors:
1 & 2: Performance expectancy & effort expectancy—roughly analogous to the factors specified in the TAM
3: Social influence—the extent to which an individual believes meaningful others think they should use a technology
4:Facilitating conditions—beliefs about whether needed ‘infrastructure’ in place
Utility—How is the new comm tech useful? What value does it offer?
Substitutability—How does it substitute/replace other comm options?
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Understanding Technology: Impact
Two competing perspectives are often employed when assessing the impact of a technology:
Deterministic perspectives
Social-shaping perspectives
Understand the two perspectives
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Understanding Technology: Impact
Deterministic perspectives
(Technological determinism)
Technology is viewed as an independent social force which influences & shapes society
Focuses on the features (primarily the benefits) of a technology as determining its impact
Understanding Technology: Impact
Social shaping perspectives
(Social construction of technology)
Technology is seen as a mediated social force, whose particular impact is shaped by human action
Potential benefits may be unrealized, mitigated, or even enhanced
Focuses on how the impact of particular tech is influenced by the social world to which it is introduced