Persuasion: Source, Message, and Audience

Defining Persuasion

• Persuasion involves a message altering one's attitudes or behavior.
• Radicalization and advertising represent the negative side of persuasive messaging.
• Health messaging and RSA campaigns illustrate the positive applications of persuasion.
• Successful persuasion is dependent on undefined characteristics.
• Susceptibility to certain messaging types are dependent on individual characteristics.

Yale Approach to Communication and Persuasion

• The Yale approach takes into account the source, message, and audience in considering persuasion
• The source is the person trying to persuade.
• The message is the content being conveyed, including how it is presented.
• The target is the recipient of the message.

Source: Attractiveness, Likeability, Similarity

• Attractive sources are more persuasive than unattractive sources; celebrities in advertising, for example.
• Individuals are more receptive to persuasion from those they find similar and likeable.
• People are more easily persuaded by "in-group" members because they recall the messages better.
• Mackie et al. found that individuals are more convinced by a speaker from their own university as opposed to an outsider.
• Persuasion relies on familiarity, which is strongest within groups but weaker between groups.
• People who act in a similar manner are more convincing.

Source: Perceived Expertise and Trustworthiness

• "Expert sources" are more persuasive than non-experts.
• Those viewed as qualified to comment on a product or issue are more likely to be believed.
• Distrust occurs upon perceiving an "ulterior motive."
• According to Miller et al (1976), fast-talkers tend to elicit more trust.
• Tormala & Clarkson (2007) found that recent exposure to non-credible messages heightens susceptibility to credible sources.

Source: Perceived Credibility

• A source's perceived credibility impacts the likelihood of persuasion.
• Repeated exposure to a source/persuader boosts their perceived credibility, thus increasing chances of successful persuasion.
• Repetition of a message enhances it's validity/truth.
• Repeating a message enhances brand recognition and credibility.

Sleeper Effect

• The sleeper effect refers to a message that becomes persuasive over time, even if it lacked initial impact due to source credibility concerns.
• Over time, attribution of message and source becomes harder to recall, therefore persuasion is less influenced by the source.
• In the absence of source details, persuasion hinges more on message features.
• Hovland and Weiss discovered the sleeper effect in 1951
• After reading an article on submarine safety from credible and uncredible sources, students were more convinced by the credible source initially.
• After 4 weeks, students were more convinced, but in the non-credible condition the effectiveness of the source was as convincing as the credible.

Message: Length

• Message length on its own does not guarantee a more convincing argument; relationships between length and impact are complex.
• Lenghty messages are more beneficial if "strong", but become less beneficial if "weak."
• A "strong" message has objective facts relevant to the issue at hand.
• A "weak" message has information peripheral to the issue.
• Concise messages with key points are more persuasive than lengthy messages where crucial details get lost.

Message Consistency

• The consistency between a persuasive message and the target's pre-existing attitude significantly predicts persuasiveness.
• Messages too different from the audience's existing beliefs are usually dismissed.
• Liberman and Chaiken (1992) found coffee drinkers are more likely to dismiss messaging about health risks relating to caffeine vs non coffee drinkers.
• This rejection of incongruent messaging amplifies existing attitudes and behaviors.
• Only engaging with like-minded individuals causes attitudes to become more extreme.
• Reinforcement of initial attitudes can occur if disconfirming messaging still involves frequent contact with like-minded people and confirmatory information.

Message consistency: Lord, Ross and Lepper (1979)

• Participants held views for or against the death penalty.
• Participants read the results of fake studies, one of which showed that the death penalty lowers homicides, while the other showed that they have no impact.
• The results showed that those against the penalty at baseline became more opposed to it at the end of the study.
• Those supporting the death penalty became more in favor of it after reading the "findings".
• The participants' article "convincingness ratings" tracked to their attitudes on the topic.
• Viewing both sides of an argument does not make people more impartial.

Message: Repetition

• Repetition is useful for memory consolidation.
• Advertisements are most impactful when shown twice or thrice weekly (Tellis, 1987).
• Straightforward information is seen as more factual and true through simple repetition (Arkes et al., 1991).
• Repetition and credibility variables are not that simple.
• Repetition works best when individuals already have familiarity and positive views on the product advertised (Campbell and Keller, 2003).
• Advertising begins to "wear off" if there is repeated exposure.
• Repetition works better is varied (such as edits or different versions).

Message: Fear Arousal

• Arousing fear in the message is useful, especially in health messaging.
• Aronson (1997) stated that fear is ineffective because people may go into a state of denial if the issue isn't solvable.
• Tangible solutions prevent such a denial; an example is quitting smoking, and providing resources alongside communication.
• A moderate degree of fear ideally influences attitudinal change.
• Messages that are not threatening receives too little fear and prevent processing for non-threatening messages.
• Excessive fear can lead people to go into the same state of denial; similar to Goldilocks and the 3 bears.

Message: Scarcity

• High value is placed on items with naturally occuring scarcity to increase its attractiveness to the target.
• Worchel, Lee & Adewole had participants rate chocolate chip cookies and rated it on scales.
• Some participants received the cookies from a jar with two cookies, while others received the cookies from a jar of 10.
• The cookies coming from the jar with 2 were rated as more desirable.

Factual vs. Emotional Appeals

• Factual advertising utilizes objective facts to persuade the consumer.
• Evaluative advertising is focused on opinions and evaluations.
• Both appeals are effective for different targets.
• Analytical and well-educated people are more convinced from rational appeals.
• People who are disinterested are swayed on how they feel about a message (Chaiken, 1980).
• Attitude gained via fact causes a susceptibility to factual appeals, and vice versa for emotion based appeals.

Message: Method

• The method in which the message is sent influences its persuasiveness.
• By presenting both the "for" and "against" sides of an argument, the persuasive method has added benefit.
• Providing counter arguments in the message makes the persuasive attempt even more successful
• E.g. In court, defense appears more credible if it includes information the prosecution will give.
• Damage can be controlled when conflicting info is presented before it can do damage; "stealing the thunder."

Message: Framing

• The manner of framing influences meaning and thus how it is received.
• An example is "reverse discrimination" which is more appealing an "equal opportunities".
• Companies should advertise "equal opportunities" rather than have a "quota place" for a specific minority group.
• Gain based messages are better than negative messages: "smoother, healthier skin in 4 weeks!" is better than "look less old and tired in 4 weeks!"

Message: Primary and Recency Effects

• Items presented first are remembered more easily and therefore are more persuasive - the primacy effect.
• Practical implications for this effect include being agreeable with first arguments in speech, and candidates listed first on a ballet sheet getting voted more.
• First impressions are also important since Primacy effects are important in informing our impressions.
• Recency effects are when the persuasion takes place from the last of information presented.

Message: The Channel

• The mode of presenting information such as video, text, or face-to-face alters persuasive effects.
• Images are more powerful than text due to how the brain processes stimuli.
• Written information is the most convincing for more complex information (Charles and Eagly, 1976).
• Visual advertising is best for attitudinal change.
• Complex information works better via written presentation.

The Target or Audience

• Individual differences alter how a message is perceived.
• Persuasion depends on the target.

Target: Gender

• Research says women are more susceptible to persuasion than men due to social factors.
• Women are more sold by face-to-face vs other forms of messenging.
• Gender differences rely on how salient gender roles are.
• By priming sex roles, reduced attitude strength and openness occurs in women.
• Nature of the persuader and the audience also affect how persuasion works.
• Female speaker can be more tentative to persuade males.

Target: Age

• Later adolescents and young adults are more susceptible to persuasion due to having fewer attitudes and less authority resistance.
• Visser and Krosnick (1998) said early to late adulthood were more receptive, and added that susceptibility decreases with aging.
• Core attitudes tend have resistance through a persons life or change span.

Differences in personality

• Need for cognition measures whether individuals can enjoy thinking.
• The likelihood that they'll be sold relies on how strong messenging is.
• Need for cognitive closure measures an individuals desire to have quick answers.
• Persuasion works less overall in these individuals.
• They close mindedly make conclusions early by disposition.

Target: Mood State

• Elevated mood states can promote persuasion to enhance positive thinking and impulsive decisions.
• Enhanced positive emotions associate with the messaging to enhance persuasion.
• Low moods can make people reach accurate answers when they're included.
• Participants that were in a low state with counter messaging would be affected more overall.

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

• Persuasion results depend on how likely people will elaborate an argument or think about it
• Persuasion happens through two routes, depending on the features/cues they attend to.
• Central Cues are a key component.
• Central cues need effort to process.
• Influenced by central cues means to be influenced through the central route.
• Messaging follows what the audience is able to comprehend and attend to when the ability and desire to carefully attend is there.

ELM: Peripheral route

• Peripheral cues include models, slogans, and jingles that don't need processing.
• It is when people don't have the ability to care carefully, and are persuaded through peripheral cues that there is lower elaboration.

Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM)

• People who are methodical may be more inclined to believe a persuasive message compared to others.
• People who are more prone to using heuristics might accept the message due to cognitive shortcuts and shortcuts.

Factors to process routes

• High focus helps to be persuaded due to distractions, and can't concentrate in central cues from persuasion.
• People with fewer focus may be exposed to peripheral cues.
• Undistracted participants are better with fees for higher education if listening to strong prompts rather than weak.
• Distracted will be indifferent to strong/weak groups.
• Those conditioned to increase heartrate will be better at processing persuasive messaging vs. those told to be in a standing position, and lying can lead to increased persuasion due to hindering neg responses.

More processing factors

• Involvement is necessary for processing to persuade, it's what increases central/ systematic processing.
• Individuals can be affected with systematic routes of persuasion.
• Credibility, relevance, and messaging, each have involvement in message and are considered overall.
• Mood may influence persuasion by how and if the message can process.
• More peripheral is good for sad mood that encourages processing depending on ambiguity.
• A good mood may also be a nice boost for those who have central route messaging.

Central vs Systematic vs Peripherical v. Heuristic processing.

• Both groups in the routes are effective and may result in different situations.
• The processing relies heavily on skill and many other factors with different groups along the way.
• The persuasions aren't too effective vs central/systematic route that is a major help to behavior changes in the long term.
• Persuasion can result from the routes and lead to changing opinions vs longer changes.

Interpersonal persuasion

• Used to convince/persuade certain people for the right reasons.
• Ingratiation is very important to relate to their feelings before persuasion.
• It may backfire if overly obvious.
• You can use a persuasive trick with "doing you a favor" that is an attempt for them/you to get something for yourself.

More techniques

• Door in the face happens with persuaders making requests that aren't realistic are likely to be successful.
• It is more effective to turn things around after getting rejected to help with small things.
• Both offers must be given around the same time.
• That isn't all makes you pressure people by adding in tricks to get someone to come through.

Yet more techniques

• Making the best deal to receive some support.
• This always only happens when you instinctively get offered a deal.
• A small request helps the person that does the request in small or unobtrusive amounts.
• Helps boost how you do persuasion as they're more likely to succeed and the persuasion will go in their favor.

More on persuasion

• The technique is still one of the very unique ways to try getting donations after getting someone to take one sign, so you may get them as a donor.
• The process sometimes doesn't go as well or is broken when asking about the request, as a lot many steps may not hold themselves as something real.
• That may be built depending on the way the chain of requests you want to make may go, especially with charities if you want a good way to use.

The Lowball Tactic

• Its used to let the person think in that moment if their decision is the right one, may help you see.
• Power and this trick all are brought to test to bring results about it during certain interactions of each other.

Resistance to Persuasion

• Reactions and certain attitudes are always a negative influence on the subject.
• It may increase/decrease the persuasions.
• Certain individuals can see and be affected too.
• It is a very important part to consider.

Knowledge about persuasion

• Persuasion when attempting the topic is less useful.
• We know about the act of trying and we have the capability to be protected when someone tries to persuade us and be more "protected" vs having a chance with the message.

Counterarguing

• Resists the ways arguments have come.
• Defuse by attempting messaging that is also very less effective.
• It is also important to have pro life/choice types of options in messaging.
• Also very consistent and can affect and support messaging.

Staying Protected: Attitude Inoculation

• This is used with a very different type of messaging and a certain chance.
• It has it's own unique message and all factors must apply.

Getting around persuasion

• Filtering information is very popular and helps with the messaging you may see again.
• Some messaging is helpful to make you feel more like you may want again with something in the future.
• The more information you look at, the better the thought and stability will be for all individuals.

More Resistance

• Certain things may affect the brain more, or with biases.
• How someone feels can be very important.