Persuasion

Historically interesting attempts to persuade based on psychological theories:

1) motivational research

2) subliminal stimulation

3) brainwashing

Motivational Research - attempts to use psychoanalytic concepts in ad campaigns; what are the motives for buying (consumer behavior)

Vance Packard - “The Hidden Persuaders” (1957) surveyed the use of mass psychoanalysis in ads.

Subliminal Stimulation - our senses measure more than we consciously perceive, so whatever doesn’t get to us on the conscious level may hit us unconsciously (just on the threshold of perception);

Brainwashing - relies on brute force and creation of emotional dependency on the brainwasher (the brainwasher becomes the sole source of every satisfaction); debility, dependency, dread (abuse, fatigue, isolation); returning victim to an earlier childlike state of total dependency making his attitudes non-functional and new attitudes more functional; dissonance reduction

Newscasting - what they decide to report can influence our opinions

Education - education or propaganda - think of examples that are used

Elaboration Liklihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)

Two routes to persuasion: central (think about the issue) and peripheral (little thought, surface characteristics focus)

Chaiken (1980) half of the Ss expected to be interviewed on aa topic (religion in the public schools); half did not. For Ss in the expectancy condition _______________

most affected their attitudes; for Ss in the non-expectancy condition __________________ most affected their attitudes

Petty & Cacioppo - manipulated the number of arguments (3, 6, 12) and the personal relevance of the issue (high or low). Under _________ condition would the number of arguments be effective.

Heuristic Model of Persuasion (Chaiken, 1987) when a situation is personally involving systematic processing of input occurs; when involvement is low heuristic processing occurs (such as ?)

Eagly (1967) presented Ss with information about themselves or about others. The info was discrepant in either a favorable or unfavorable direction from initial attitudes. Which people changed the most? Why?

Hovland - A Situational approach to persuasion

In learning new attitudes 3 variables are important: attention, comprehension, acceptance

4 variables in communication: the source (who says it); the nature of the communication (how it is said); the audience (who it is said to)

The Source - expertise, trustworthiness, personal attractiveness (physical appeal), similarity, power over the recipient

An attributional analysis (Eagly, Chaiken, Wood, 1978) knowledge bias - expectations about the position the source will take; reporting bias - expectation that the source may be unwilling to communicate accurate info.

The content - primacy-recency issues; strawman , forewarning, and inoculation; logical vs. emotional appeals

The audience - fantasy ability, self-esteem, education level