Persuasive Skills and Changing Attitudes PDF

PERSUASIVE MESSAGE & COMMUNICATION 2 3 PILLARS OF PERSUASIVE SKILLS • Ethos – Be Credible. By appealing to credibility, writers make their claims more believable. The writer builds on his or her ethos by writing with clarity. ... • Logos – Be Logical. By appealing to logic, writers persuade. ....

PERSUASIVE MESSAGE & COMMUNICATION 2 3 PILLARS OF PERSUASIVE SKILLS • Ethos – Be Credible. By appealing to credibility, writers make their claims more believable. The writer builds on his or her ethos by writing with clarity. ... • Logos – Be Logical. By appealing to logic, writers persuade. ... • Pathos – Appeal to Emotions. By appealing to emotions, writers persuade. 5 • What is the 3 Uses of persuasive text? • A persuasive text is any text where the main purpose is to present a point of view and seeks to persuade a reader. • A persuasive text can be an argument, exposition, discussion, review or even an advertisement TWO ROUTES TO PERSUASION • Central Route: Person thinks carefully about a message. • Influenced by the strength and quality of the message • Peripheral Route: A person does not think critically about the contents of a message. • Influenced by superficial cues THE CENTRAL ROUTE • Hovland et al.: Persuaded when we attend to, comprehend, and retain an argument in memory. • McGuire: Distinguished between the reception of a message and its later acceptance. • Greenwald: Elaboration is an important, intermediate step. THE PERIPHERAL ROUTE • People are persuaded on the basis of superficial, peripheral cues. • Message is evaluated through the use of simple-minded heuristics. • People are also influenced by attitude-irrelevant factors. TWO ROUTES TO PERSUASION WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE SOURCE? • Believable sources must be credible sources. • To be seen as credible, the source must have two distinct characteristics: • Competence or expertise • Trustworthiness WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE SOURCE? (CONT.) • How likable is the communicator? • Two factors influence a source’s likability: • The similarity between the source and the audience • The physical attractiveness of the source WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE MESSAGE? • How should the argument be presented to maximize its strength? • Are longer messages better? • If peripheral, the longer the message, the more valid it must be. • If central, message length is a two-edged sword. • Does presentation order matter? PEREPHERAL ROUTE • Instead of focusing on the facts and a product's quality, the peripheral route relies on association with positive characteristics such as positive emotions and celebrity endorsement. For example, having a popular athlete advertise athletic shoes is a common method used to encourage young adults to purchase the shoes. WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE MESSAGE? (CONT.) • How discrepant should the message be to have the greatest impact? • The most change is produced at moderate amounts of discrepancy. • An “upside-down U” relationship between discrepancy and persuasion. WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE MESSAGE? (CONT.) • Should the message use fear appeals or scare tactics? • How strong is the argument? • Does the message contain reassuring advice? • Are appeals to positive emotions effective? • People are “soft touches” when they are in a good mood. WHY MIGHT POSITIVE FEELINGS ACTIVATE THE PERIPHERAL ROUTE? • A positive emotional state is cognitively distracting, impairing ability to think critically. • When in a good mood, we assume all is well and become lazy processors of information. • When happy, we become motivated not to spoil the mood by thinking critically about new information. CULTURE AND PERSUASION • Culture plays a role in regard to persuasion • Collectivistic vs. individualistic • To be persuasive, message should appeal to the culturally shared values of the audience