Persuasion & Groups Notes PDF

PERSUASION  Persuasion Process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors Petty & Cacioppo (1986) ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL  Central Route to Persuasion When people are motivated and able to think about an issue, strong compelling arguments are...

PERSUASION  Persuasion Process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors Petty & Cacioppo (1986) ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL  Central Route to Persuasion When people are motivated and able to think about an issue, strong compelling arguments are necessary. Systematic, analytical, involved, thoughtful, non-superficial, durable, slower process  Peripheral Route to Persuasion If people are distracted, uninvolved, or busy then focus on creating a feeling... Heuristics, incidental cues, emotion, quick judgments  Who? >>> Says What? >>>By What Means?>>> To Whom Who Credibility Believability (Sleeper Effect) Perceived expertise  Speak confidently Perceived trustworthiness  Eye contact  Arguing against own self-interest  Speak quickly Attractiveness and liking  Physical attractiveness  Similarity Says What? Reason versus emotion Effect of good feelings Effect of arousing fear Discrepancy Depends on the communicator’s credibility One-sided versus two-sided appeals Which one is more effective? − Depends on whether the audience already agrees with the message; if the audience is unaware of opposing arguments, it is unlikely later to consider the opposition Primacy versus recency Primacy effect − Other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence Recency effect − Information presented last sometimes has the most influence. Recency effects are less common than primacy effects One vs Two Sided Arguments Primacy vs Recency  Cont… One-sided versus two-sided appeals Which one is more effective? − Depends on audience (agreement, awareness of opposing arguments, and likelihood to later consider) Primacy versus recency Primacy effect − Other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence Recency effect − Information presented last sometimes has the most influence. Recency effects are less common than primacy effects  By What Means? Active experience or passive reception? Active experience strengthens attitudes Repetition and rhyming of a statement serves to increase its fluency and believability Personal versus media influence Media influence: The two-step flow − Process by which media influence often occurs through opinion leaders, who in turn influence others Comparing media − The more lifelike the medium, the more persuasive its message  To Whom? Age Age? Life cycle explanation − Attitudes change as people grow older Generational explanation − Attitudes do not change; older people largely hold onto the attitudes they adopted when they were young Involvement  What are they thinking? Forewarned is forearmed—If you care enough to counterargue Distraction disarms counterarguing − Words can promote candidate/product − Visual images keep us occupied so we don’t analyze the words Uninvolved audiences use peripheral cues − Ways to stimulate people’s thinking – Use rhetorical questions – Present multiple speakers – Make people feel responsible – Repeat the message – Get people’s undistracted attention  Extreme Persuasion: How Do Cults Indoctrinate? Cult “New religious movement” Group typically characterized by Distinctive ritual and beliefs related to its devotion to a god or a person Isolation from the surrounding “evil” culture Charismatic leader  Extreme Persuasion: How Do Cults Indoctrinate? Attitudes Follow Behavior Compliance breeds acceptance Initiates become active members of the group Foot-in-the-door phenomenon Gradual induction Extreme Persuasion: How Do Cults Indoctrinate? Persuasive Elements Communicator Message Audience  Extreme Persuasion: How Do Cults Indoctrinate? Group Effects Social implosion Isolation of members with like minded groups − External ties weaken until the group collapses inward socially – Monasteries – Fraternities and sororities – Therapeutic communities for recovering drug and alcohol abusers  How Can Persuasion Be Resisted? Strengthening Personal Commitment Challenging beliefs Developing counterarguments Attitude inoculation − Exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available  How Can Persuasion Be Resisted? Real-Life Applications: Inoculation Programs Inoculating children against: Peer pressure to smoke The influence of advertising  How Can Persuasion Be Resisted? Prepare others to counter persuasive appeals An ineffective appeal can be worse than none A way to strengthen existing attitudes is to weakly challenge them Social Psychology Groups  Is this A Group Students walking closely together in the cold Waiting on Tires Catching the Number 9  group : Two or more people who interact with and influence one another. Interdependence is key in this definition  Groups Henry Ford Ford Motor Company’s assembly line Can groups outperform individuals? What does the story of Ford’s success with the assembly line exemplify about the social psychology of groups?  What Groups Are Groups are two or more people doing or being something together Groups feel similar to one another Presence of an outgroup  What Groups Do In human evolution Safety in numbers Help others find food Accomplish tasks that are too difficult for the individual  What Groups Do Cultural groups Preserve information and pass it along to future generations Use information to organize themselves Benefit from role differentiation and division of labor  Tradeoffs - Diversity in Groups Diversity involves tradeoffs Can be more creative and flexible Better chance of bringing in different information Can be harder to cooperate and work together  Groups, Roles and Selves Complementary roles produce better results than having each member do the same thing Human roles work in context of the large system where most people do other things Deindividuation refers to loss of self- awareness and of individual accountability in a group Characteristics of groups 1. Interaction 2. Structure 3. Goals 4. Groupness 5. Dynamic interdependency  Is this A Group  Students walking closely together in the cold  Waiting on Tires Catching the Number 9  Phenomena occurring in groups social loafing deindividuation risky shift group polarization social facilitation groupthink Social Loafing People reduce effort when working in a group Not individually identified or accountable Not wanting to be a ‘sucker’ Bad apple effect When one’s cooperation is unique to the group, less likely to loaf Free rider problem Deindividuation and Mob Violence Deindividuation can lead to antisocial behavior Being anonymous to outsiders makes people more willing to violate norms Stop worrying about what others think of them – more willing to behave badly Accountability is best predictor of aggression  Group Polarization and Risky Shift Risky shift Group is willing to take greater risks than individuals (on average) Group polarization effect Movement toward either extreme (risk or caution) resulting from group discussion  Groups Action Theory of social facilitation (Zajonc, 1965) Presence of others increases arousal Arousal increases dominant response Presence of others can improve people’s performance, especially familiar, easy tasks  Groups, Roles, and Selves Fascist movements Individual self-interest is subordinated to the interests of the group Roles are defined by the system; exist independent of the person in that role People need to be flexible to take on and drop roles  Groups, Roles, and Selves Optimal distinctiveness theory Tension between the need to be similar to group members and distinctive from them Identifying people in groups and holding them accountable produces better results  How Groups Think Brainstorming People enjoy the process and evaluate it favorably Output is lower than individuals working alone  How Groups Think Collective wisdom of group is better than individual experts People must act as independent members of a group and share their diverse information  Groupthink Signs of groupthink Pressure toward conformity Appearance of unanimous agreement Self-censorship Illusion of invulnerability Sense of moral superiority Tendency to overestimate opponents  Groupthink Tendency of group members to think alike Specifically group clings to shared but flawed view rather than being open to the truth (Janus, 1972, 1982) Roots in desire to get along  Groupthink Factors that encourage groupthink Fairly similar and cohesive group to start Strong, directive leader Group is isolated in some sense from others Group regards itself as superior  What Makes Us Human? Submerging the individual in the group often leads to bad outcomes Role differentiation and division of labor make human groups effective Humans gradually developed means of transferring power without violence Restricting power is one great achievement of human culture  Punishing Cheaters and Free Riders Altruistic punishment People will sometimes sacrifice their own gain, to benefit all, by punishing free riders May be considered guarding the culture Culture depends on a system; cheat the system, ruin it for all Shared Resources and the Commons Dilemma Costs of private ownership Inequality Ambition, greed Cost of communal ownership Lack of preserving care Commons dilemma Squandering of shared resources  Shared Resources and the Commons Dilemma Conflicts within commons dilemma Factors influencing commons dilemma Why Do People Love Teams? Many people believe teams Make better decisions Improve performance People enjoy working on teams Satisfies their need to belong Feel confident, effective, and superior  Transactive Memory Members of a small group remember different things Begins at learning stage where group can decide roles for learning different things  Foolish Committees Why aren’t committees effective? Group harmony stifles free exchange of information Focus on common knowledge rather than unique information people have Leadership Traits of successful leaders Humble and modest Extreme persistence Traits of people perceived as good leaders Decisive Competent at group tasks Possess integrity Honest and good moral character Have vision Power One person’s control over another Many powerful seek additional power Relation between power and belongingness Morgenthau (1963) Effects of Power on Leaders Five crucial effects Feels good Alters attention to rewards and punishment Changes the relationships between people Makes people rely more on automatic processing Removes inhibitions against taking action  Effects of Power on Followers Followers pay extra attention to the powerful person and try to understand him/her People with less power will be prone to fostering peace and harmony People low in power adapt to the expectations of high-power people Legitimate Leadership Maintenance of power is often dependent on legitimizing myth Explanation and justification of why powerful people deserve to be in power That’s it! 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