Persuasion is aimed at attitude change.
Traditional Persuasion Research
| Experts are more persuasive than nonexperts. | |
| Messages that do not appear to be designed to change our attitudes are often more successful than ones that seem intended to manipulate us in their fashion. | |
| Attractive communicators are more effective in changing attitudes than unattractive ones. | |
| People are sometimes more susceptible to persuasion when they are distracted by some extraneous event than when they are paying full attention to what is being said (hecklers). | |
| Individuals relatively low in self-esteem are often easier to persuade than those who are high in self-esteem (audience's self-esteem). | |
| When an audience holds attitudes contrary to those of a would-be persuader, it is often more effective for the communicator to adopt a two-sided approach. | |
| People who speak rapidly are generally more persuasive than persons who speak more slowly. | |
| Persuasion can be enhanced by messages that arouse strong emotions in the audience, particularly when the message provides specific recommendations about how a change in attitudes or behavior will prevent the negative consequences described in the fear-provoking message. |
Traditional and Cognitive Perspective
Elaboration Likelihood Model
| The central and peripheral routes of cognition are characteristic of the elaboration likelihood mode. | |
| Central - such activities as evaluating the strength or rationality of the argument and deciding whether its content agrees or disagrees with current beliefs tend to occur. | |
| Peripheral - little cognitive work is performed, and attitude change, when it occurs, involves a seemingly automatic response to persuasion cues. | |
| Individuals will exert more cognitive effort in processing messages from liked than from disliked sources or from liked sources for which such liking has been made more accessible. | |
| In dealing with persuasive attempts, cognitive activities that focus on the rationality of an argument are characteristic of the central route of the elaboration likelihood model. | |
| Research reports that a person who is distracted from a message is more likely to be persuaded by that message. | |
| The elaboration likelihood model explains this by suggesting that distractions prevent people from engaging in central route processing of information. |
Cognitive Analysis and Involvement
| When a situation is personally involving, input occurs. | |
| When personal involvement is low, individuals rely on various heuristics to determine whether or not to change their attitudes. | |
| Heuristics are more likely to be influential in attitude change when personal involvement is low. | |
| High personal involvement is equivalent to having a vested interest. | |
| Heuristic models focus primarily on how attitude change is brought about through persuasion. | |
| Focuses on how attitude change is brought about through persuasion. |
Attractive Sources and Expert Sources
Cialdini, Green, and Rusch (1992) Experiment
Reactance
Persuasive Intent
Selective Avoidance
Cognitive Dissonance
Less-leads-to-more Effect
Ingratiation Attempts
"Foot-in-the-door" Method
"Door-in-the-face" Technique
"Foot-in-the-door" versus "Door-in-the-face"
"That's not all!"
| Burger's (1986) cookie-cupcake sale study |
Study by Alicke, Braun, Glor, Klots, Magee, and Siegle (1992)
| Complaints fall into global, obligations, and physical. |
In what situation would written communication be preferred to oral communication?
When the sender wants to convey complex information, written communication serves better than oral communication. Having the written document, the receiver can read it repeatedly until he/she understands the entire message.
Which of the following is the purposeful manipulation of information by the sender so the receiver will see the information more favorably?
A sender's manipulation of information so that it will be seen more favourably by the receiver, is known as filtering.
Which of the following is a relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information making use of heuristics?
The answer is E) automatic processing. Automatic processing does not rely on information or evidence when heuristics are high.
Which of the following describes communication apprehension?
Communication apprehension refers to the fear or anxiety people experience at the thought of being evaluated by others.