Chapter 7: Persuasion

Question 1

Def: persuasion

Answer 1

change in a private attitude or belief as a result of receiving a message
This can be good (educational) or bad as in propaganda

Question 2

Name the 2 type of Dual Process Models of Persuasion

Answer 2

Dual process models of persuasion
Elaboration likelihood model

Question 3

Def: Dual process models of persuasion

Answer 3

a model that accounts for the 2 basic ways that attitude change happens - with & without much thought

Question 4

Def: Elaboration likelihood model

Answer 4

has 2 routes
Central route
The way people are persuaded whenever they focus on the quality of the arguments
Argument must be strong & compelling for this to work
Peripheral Route to Persuasion
The way ppl are persuaded whenever they focus on other factors like the amount of arguments
Strength of argument doesn’t matter
Works whenever we are distracted or uninvolved

Question 5

Dual Process Models of Persuasion: 2 Routes to Change

Answer 5

1. Motivation
   2 factors influence whether you will be motivated to process centrally
   Personal relevance of the topic
   Tendency to think hard abt any topic; needs cognition
2. Ability
   High V. low cognitive ability
   The situation
   Insufficient time

Question 6

What is the main goal of most persuaders?

Answer 6

To make you buy something
Make you do something
Make you give something

Question 7

Central V. Peripheral route

Answer 7

Central route:
More likely to change one’s behavior
Leads to a longer lasting change

Question 8

What are the elements of persuasion? & Explain each

Answer 8

Communication - Who said it?
Message content: What was said
The channel of communication: How was it said?
The audience : to whom was it said to?

Question 9

How does the communicator work?

Answer 9

1. Is credible:
   Communicator is seen as an expert & seems trustworthy
   Perceived expertise -> communicator’s knowledge
   How to be viewed as an expert - star by saying something to the audience that they agree with & then introduce as someone knowledgeable on the topic
   Speaking style has to be confident & fluent
   Perceived trustworthiness -> communicator’s honestly & lack of ias
   How they appear as trustworthy
   Eye contact
   Audience believes they aren’t trying to persuade them
   Argue against own self-interest
   Talks fast
   Empirical journal V. tabloid
   Has to be likeable
   Attractiveness increases the effectiveness of communicator
   Perceived similarly

Question 10

Def: Sleeper Effect

Answer 10

delayed persuasion whenever we remember a message but then forget why we initially discounted it before

Question 10

Communicator’s similarity V. Credibility:

Answer 10

1. Similarity important for personally value or taste
   Subjective preference
2. Dissimilar but credible important for judgements of facts
   Objective reality

Question 11

Explain the principle of persuasion

Answer 11

Authority - ppl defer to credible experts
Liking - ppl respond more affirmatively to those they life
Social proof - ppl allow the example of others to validate how to think, feel, & act
Reciprocity - ppl feel obliged to repay in kind what they’ve received
Consistency - ppl tend to honor their public commitments
Scarcity - ppl price what is scarce

Question 12

Explain Persuasion principles with application

Answer 12

Establishes expertise; identify issues you have solved and ppl you have served
Win friends & influence ppl; create bonds based on similar interest, prise freely
Use peer power - how respected others lead the way
Be generous with your time & resources; what goes around does actually come around
Instead of telling restraint reservation callers “please call if you change your plans” ask “will you call if you change your plans?” - no shows will drop

Question 13

Reasons V. Emotion - Which is more persuasive?

Answer 13

Depends on the audience
Highly educated audience is more responsive to rational appeals
Uninterested audience is more responsive to emotions
If initial attitude is:
Emotion based -> more responsible to emotional appeal
Information-based -> more responsive to rational appeal

Question 14

Explain how Good feelings enhance persuasion:

Answer 14

Positive thinking or eating during communication
May lead to impulsive decisions
If you cannot make a stronger argument; try putting your audience in a good mood

Question 15

How do sellers use fear arousal to persuade their audience?

Answer 15

Can persuade ppl to redue unhealthy/increase healthy behavior
More fear = greater persuasion
Works better for preventing a bad outcome V. promoting a good one
Could result in denial if solution isn’t provided in message

Question 16

Explain the foot-in-the-door technique:

Answer 16

Compliance with the initial request changes ppl’s self images
Audience will see themselves as helpful, public-spirited
In order to remain consistent, you have to comply with the other requests

Question 17

Explain the Low-Ball technique

Answer 17

Gaining commitment to an arrangement & then raising the cost of carrying out the arrangement
Surprisingly effective

Question 18

Explain the Door-in-the-face technique

Answer 18

Strategy for gaining a concession
Starts off with a large request then counteroffer a more reasonable request

Question 19

One-sided V. 2-sided appeals

Answer 19

Better or worse to present both sides of an argument?
Depends if the audience already agrees or not
2 sided is better if the audience is aware of the opposition argument

Question 20

Explain Primacy V. Recency

Answer 20

Better to make your case first or is it better to make it last?
Primacy V. recency effect

Question 21

Def: primacy effect

Answer 21

all the things being equal, info that’s presented first will be more persuasive

Question 22

Def: recency effect

Answer 22

info presented last can sometimes be more persuasive
Forgetting causes recency effect when time separates the 2 messages & audient commits soon after the 2nd one

Question 23

Examples of The Channel of Communication

Answer 23

Face to face, written, on TV, on the radio, etc

Question 24

Explain Passive appeals

Answer 24

Passive appeal is better than no appeal More political candidate familiar More repetition increases fluency & believability Less persuasive if the issue is familair & significant

Question 25

Experience based V. passively formed attitudes are more _____, confident & is ____ vulnerable

Answer 25

stable, less

Question 26

Word of mouth is ____ powerful than media

Answer 26

more

Question 27

Explain the media influence

Answer 27

2 step flow of communication: Media influence occur thru opinion leaders, who in turn influences others Ex: friend who is a tech geek is influenced by the internet reports on latest tech gadgets

Question 28

Media has big ______ effects

Answer 28

indirect

Question 29

The ____ life-like the medium, the more persuasive it is. It’s better live & videotaped then it is in written form. Unless it's _________ to comprehend, then written is better

Answer 29

more, difficult

Question 30

Explain why age matters in your audience

Answer 30

Life cycle: ppl become more conservative with age Generational: older ppl hold some attitudes as when they were younger; more evidence Most formative years - adolescence & young adulthood

Question 31

What makes ppl join cults?

Answer 31

Compliance breeds acceptance - new members quickly made active members Foot in the door phenomenon - start small & works up - dinner -> summer retreat -> permanent relocation Monetary offerings voluntary than mandatory Charismatic leader that’s perceived as a trustworthy expert Vivid emotional message of warmth & acceptance - this is often at turning point in their life Group influence 0 outside ties weaken as inside ties grow Lost access to counterarguments Like minded group

Question 32

How to resist persuasion?

Answer 32

Strengthen personal commitment Mildly attack person’s position Attitude inoculation Counterarguments Can be used to inculcate kids against peer pressure

Question 33

Implications of attitude inoculation:

Answer 33

Best way to build resistance is not stronger indoctrination Diverse views = more discerning & more likely to modify views in response to credible arguments

Question 34

Any factors that could help ppl clear the persuasion hurdles will ________ persuasion.

Answer 34

increase

Question 35

Def: Central Route of persuasion:

Answer 35

Created by Petty & Cacippo. This focuses on arguments if they were strong & compelling. This happens whenever ppl who are interested tend to focus on the arguments & will respond with favorable thoughts But if we’re not motivated or able to think critically, the strength of the arguments won’t necessarily matter

Question 36

Def: peripheral route to persuasion

Answer 36

Focuses on cues that could trigger our automatic acceptance that we can do without very much thinking. If the situation is easily understood, familiar statements would be more persuasive

Question 37

Central route processing often swiftly changes _______ attitudes

Answer 37

explicit

Question 38

Peripheral route processing more ______ builds implicit attitudes thru repeated associations between our _________ & our emotions

Answer 38

slowly, attitudes

Question 39

If ppl think _______ instead of superficially, any changed attitude will ______ likely persist, resist attack, & will influence behavior

Answer 39

deeper, more

Question 40

Deeper thinking involves _____ beliefs

Answer 40

moral

Question 41

We often take the peripheral route by using _________

Answer 41

heuristics

Question 42

_______ route appeals have become more common in the past decade.

Answer 42

Central

Question 43

Among the elements of persuasion explored by social psychologists are these 4:

Answer 43

The communicator The message How the message is communicated The audience

Question 44

Online reviews are _______ believable if the reviews of the products are seen as ___________

Answer 44

more, negative

Question 45

_________ arguments are more influential whenever they come from ppl who are considered good looking

Answer 45

Emotional

Question 46

Well-educated & _______ ppl are more responsive to rational appeals

Answer 46

analytical

Question 47

Good feelings _________ persuasion

Answer 47

enhances

Question 48

If a credible individual’s message is persuasive, the impact might _____ as its source is forgotten or ________ from the message.

Answer 48

fade, dissected

Question 49

Marketing researchers & salespeople have found that the _______ technique is effective even when we are aware of the profit motive.

Answer 49

lowball

Question 50

Forgetting creates the recency effect, how?

Answer 50

Whenever enough time separates the two messages whenever the audience commits itself soon after the 2nd message.

Question 51

If the 2 persuasive messages are back to back, the audience will respond at some ________________.

Answer 51

later time

Question 52

Def: Channel of communication

Answer 52

the way the message is delivered to the audience

Question 53

____________ psych places faith in the power of written words

Answer 53

Commonsense

Question 54

______________ are more powerful in persuasion than written words

Answer 54

Spoken words

Question 55

Repetition can also make statements __________

Answer 55

believable

Question 56

High-risk participants who were indulged in media appeals, the media actually _________ their health habits & had __________ their risk.

Answer 56

improved, decreased

Question 57

In the media, the _______ life-like the medium, the _______ persuasive the message is

Answer 57

more, more

Question 58

Ways to stimulate ppl’s thinking:

Answer 58

Use rhetorical questions Present multiple speakings & have each give one argument Make ppl feel responsible for evaluating or passing along the message Repeat the message Getting ppl’s undistracted attention

Question 59

Stimulating thinking makes strong messages _______ persuasive & weak messages are ______ persuasive A. less, less B. more, more C. more, less D. less, more

Answer 59

C

Question 60

We resist ___________

Answer 60

falsehoods

Question 61

McGuire found that participants who were “immunized” by writing an essay refuting a mild attack on a belief, that they were ________ able to resist a more powerful attack later

Answer 61

better

Question 62

Def: attitude inoculation

Answer 62

exposing ppl to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they are able to refute it