Main Theories of Persuasion

PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION CHAPTER 6

PERSUASION, DEFINED

Persuasion = using deliberate and strategically designed messages intended to change beliefs, attitudes, and/or behaviors

DEGREES OF PERSUASION

Strongly

Opposed

Moderately Opposed

Slightly Opposed

Neutral Slightly in

Favor Moderately in Favor

Strongly in Favor

Persuasion involves any movement by a listener from left to right OR from right to left

PERSUASION

 Beliefs – an internal feeling that something is true or that

something exists

 Attitudes – positive or negative orientation toward something

 Values – a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's

judgment of what is important in life

 Behaviors – actions (often resulting from beliefs, attitudes, and

values)

PERSUASION

Beliefs Attitudes Values Behaviors

I believe that

recycling makes

a difference

I view recycling

and the “green”

movement

positively

I value

protecting

the

environment

I recycle! And I

am more likely to

be persuaded by

“green” messages

MAIN THEORIES OF PERSUASION

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

 Classical conditioning = the process of using messages

to pair a new concept with concepts that are already

liked.

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

New Stimulus

Old Stimulus

Positive

Response

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Soda

Well-liked

celebrity

Positive

Response

(Buy soda)

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

 Social judgment theory = people do not evaluate an argument solely

on the merits of what is said, but rather compare the argument with

what they already believe

 People evaluate persuasive statements to determine whether they fall into

their latitude of acceptance, their latitude of non-commitment, or

their latitude of rejection.

SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

 Social judgment theory posits that we all have a continuum of

possible evaluations for any message we hear:

Social Judgment Latitudes

Latitude of

Acceptance

Latitude of

Non-commitment

Latitude of

Rejection

SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

 Social judgment theory posits that we all have a continuum of

possible evaluations for any message we hear:

Social Judgment Latitudes

Latitude of

Acceptance

Latitude of

Non-commitment

Latitude of

Rejection

Arguments you

agree with

Arguments you do not

have a strong view

about yet

Arguments you believe

are objectionable

SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

Speakers should consider where listeners fall on the continuum

 Will listeners automatically reject the message?

 Are listeners so in favor that the message will not produce any meaningful attitude

or behavior change?

SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

 Latitude of rejection: the range of positions on a given issue that are unacceptable to the listener.

 For a college student with a lot of expenses, the claim that he/she should donate money to Relay for Life is most likely unacceptable.

 Latitude of acceptance: the range of positions on a given issue that are acceptable to them.

 However, for the same college student, the claim that he/she should participate in Relay for Life is likely more acceptable.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY

 Cognitive dissonance theory stresses that all people

desire consistency in their thoughts, feelings, and actions

 Dissonance is a feeling of discomfort caused by

inconsistency

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY

 High dissonance is likely to motivate attitude or behavioral

change; people want to reduce discomfort and restore

balance/consistency

 Low dissonance likely will not motivate a person toward

change

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY

 Persuaders attempt to generate cognitive dissonance in

the message receiver in order to motivate them to change

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY

 Persuaders attempt to resolve cognitive dissonance in the

message receiver in order to motivate them to change

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL

 Elaboration Likelihood Model = a dual-processing

model that explains both critical thinking internal

responses AND responses based on mental shortcuts

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL

 Central route = careful assessment and critical thinking of what is being said or presented  Typically how people evaluate and process messages about beliefs that are

important to them

 Peripheral route = responding to persuasive messages with little critical thinking

 Typically how people evaluate and process messages about less important beliefs

CIALDINI’S FIXED ACTION PATTERNS  Reciprocity – when you do something for another person, they feel an obligation to help you.

 Commitment & Consistency – uses commitment to gain compliance with larger requests

 Social Proof – assuming that what our friends (people we like) view as correct is actually correct

 Liking – people who are well-liked often are more successful in their persuasive attempts

 Authority – outward signs of power and authority have positive effects on gaining compliance

 Scarcity – people are more easily persuaded when something is limited or they have little time to make up their minds

NETWORKS OF INFLUENCE

 How have social media and online networks impacted persuasion?

NETWORKS OF INFLUENCE

 Going viral – messages are diffused rapidly through online & offline networks

 Most attempts to “go viral” fail

 Factors: content that is fun or shocking, a

network of people who like the content, and links

that make it easy to share

 Positive content is more likely to go viral than negative content

 Content that evokes intense emotions (shock/awe/anger)

NETWORKS OF INFLUENCE

 Online social influence = when one’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors are influenced by other people or groups in online contexts

 Influencers = people who affect the spread of messages and influence other people more than others in the network