Social Psy Chapter 7 Notes: Persuasion PDF

Social Psy  Chapter 7 Notes: Persuasion Keywords Persuasion Campaigns Resistance  **1. Don\'t Mess With Texas Campaign** Don\'t Mess With Texas Campaign: A successful anti-littering campaign launched by the Texas Department of Transportation. - The campaign needed a motto that would resonate...

Social Psy  Chapter 7 Notes: Persuasion Keywords Persuasion Campaigns Resistance  **1. Don\'t Mess With Texas Campaign** Don\'t Mess With Texas Campaign: A successful anti-littering campaign launched by the Texas Department of Transportation. - The campaign needed a motto that would resonate with the target demographic. - The slogan \'Don\'t Mess With Texas\' was created. - The campaign capitalized on Texan pride. - Iconic Texan men were recruited to disseminate the message. - The campaign reduced litter by 72% within six years. **Explanation ** The campaign\'s success is attributed to its alignment with the sensibilities of the target demographic and the use of influential spokespersons. - 1. Members of the Dallas Cowboys, singers such as Willie Nelson and Lal Lovett, and actor Matthew McConaughey participated in the campaign.  2. These spokespersons did not plead; instead, they delivered the message with a stern demeanor. 3. This approach resonated with the target audience and reinforced the anti-littering message. - 1. A photo of workers removing a large ball of trash from the lawn of the Texas Capitol in Austin.  2. The ball of trash was used as a prop to launch new announcements as part of the campaign. 3. This visual representation reinforced the campaign\'s message and maintained its visibility. **2. Psychology of Persuasion** Psychology of Persuasion: The study of how to influence people\'s attitudes and behaviors. - Large numbers of people can be persuaded, as seen throughout history. - Charismatic leaders have brought about radical social change without significant institutional power or money. **Explanation ** The success of campaigns like \'Don\'t Mess With Texas\' and the Ice Bucket Challenge demonstrates the power of persuasion in influencing behavior. - 1. A promotional strategy aimed at combating ALS that became a worldwide craze in 2014.  2. The campaign raised awareness about ALS and persuaded people to donate. 3. It ultimately took in over \$115 million in support of ALS research. - 1. In 2020, Americans reported changing their behavior to adhere to COVID-19-related measures.  2. People wore masks, avoided mass transportation, and minimized non-household social interactions. 3. These changes were influenced by social distancing guidelines. **3. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)** Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): A model developed by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo to explain how people change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages. - There are two basic routes to persuasion: central and peripheral. - The central route involves careful and deliberate processing of the content of a persuasive message. - The peripheral route involves superficial processing of peripheral aspects of a message. - Motivation and ability determine which route is taken. **Explanation ** The central route is more effective for long-lasting attitude change, while the peripheral route is effective for influencing an audience that is not very motivated or attentive. - 1. Students were asked to consider a policy requiring all graduating seniors to take a comprehensive exam.  2. The study varied the strength of arguments, personal relevance, and source expertise. 3. High personal relevance led to persuasion by the strength of the arguments (central route). 4. Low personal relevance led to persuasion by the expertise of the source (peripheral route). - 1. Participants were subliminally presented with pleasant or unpleasant images before evaluating a target person.  2. Those exposed to positive images provided more favorable evaluations. 3. The study demonstrates the potential influence of subliminal messages on decisions and behaviors. **4. Central Route to Persuasion** Central Route to Persuasion: The central route to persuasion involves persuading people by engaging them in thoughtful consideration of the arguments and evidence presented. - Focuses on logical arguments and evidence. - Requires the audience to be motivated and able to process the information. - Leads to more enduring attitude change compared to peripheral route. **Explanation ** The central route to persuasion is effective when the audience is interested in the topic and willing to engage in deep processing of the information. This method relies on presenting strong, logical arguments and credible evidence to persuade the audience. It contrasts with the peripheral route, which relies on superficial cues such as the attractiveness of the speaker or the number of arguments presented. - 1. Imelda wants to persuade a group of people to donate to the local no-kill animal shelter.  2. Imelda should use strong, logical arguments to highlight the importance of the no-kill animal shelter. 3. She could present credible evidence, such as statistics on the number of animals saved and the positive impact on the community. 4. Imelda should ensure that her audience is motivated and capable of understanding the detailed information she provides. **5. Elements of Persuasion** Elements of Persuasion: The basic elements of persuasion include the source, content, and audience of a persuasive message. - Source characteristics: Attractiveness, credibility, and certainty. - Message characteristics: Quality, vividness, fear, and cultural relevance. - Audience characteristics: Need for cognition and mood. **Explanation ** Persuasion can occur via the peripheral or central route depending on the audience\'s motivation and ability to process the message. The source, content, and audience characteristics play a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of a persuasive message. - 1. Actor Matt Damon is co-founder of and spokesperson for Water.org, an organization devoted to providing clean water to impoverished countries.  2. Attractive communicators can promote attitude change through the peripheral route. 3. Attractive sources are particularly persuasive when the message isn\'t personally important to the audience and when the audience lacks knowledge in the domain. - 1. Martin Luther King Jr.\'s credibility as a leader of the civil rights movement undoubtedly served as a factor in persuading people to join the movement.  2. Credible sources are persuasive because they seem expert and trustworthy. 3. The credibility of a message\'s source can sway opinions under circumstances that promote the peripheral route to persuasion. - 1. People judge the credibility of eyewitnesses based on the confidence they express when they give their testimony.  2. Sources who express their views with certainty and confidence tend to be more persuasive. 3. People generally judge certain and confident sources to be more credible. - 1. High-quality messages are more persuasive in general, especially for people who are strong in motivation and ability.  2. Messages are stronger when they appeal to the audience\'s core values, are straightforward, clear, and logical. 3. More attitude change will result if the message makes its conclusions explicit. - 1. Participants read a vivid story about a long-term welfare recipient who exploited the system to live an easy life at the taxpayer\'s expense.  2. Vivid information can affect people\'s judgments even when it is known to be atypical and hence misleading. 3. Vivid messages are more effective when they make the thesis or central argument vivid. - 1. Participants who viewed a graphic film of the effects of lung cancer reduced their smoking more than those who just read the bland instructions.  2. Fear can be persuasive when paired with instructions on how to respond to the fear. 3. Fear-eliciting persuasive messages that provide actionable information can be highly effective. - 1. American ads emphasized benefits to the individual, whereas Korean ads focused on benefits to collectives.  2. It\'s important to tailor a message to fit the norms, values, and outlook of the cultural groups that make up the audience. 3. Individual-oriented ads are more effective with American participants, while collective-oriented ads are more effective with Korean participants. - 1. People with a high need for cognition are more persuaded by high-quality arguments and are relatively unmoved by peripheral cues of persuasion.  2. People differ in their need for cognition, which is the degree to which they like to think deeply about things. 3. Those with a strong need for cognition like to think, puzzle, ponder, and consider multiple perspectives on issues. - 1. Studies have found that people exposed to persuasive messages while eating delicious food or listening to beautiful music are more apt to change their attitudes.  2. It\'s easier to persuade when the person is in the right mood. 3. Creating a particular mood in an audience can make them more receptive to persuasive messages. **6. The Environment and the Climate Crisis** The Environment and the Climate Crisis: Using social psychology to overcome barriers to climate inaction. - Scientists have been warning about climate change for over half a century. - Public awareness and discourse about the climate crisis have intensified. - Progress on mitigating climate change remains slow, especially in the United States. - Political polarization is a significant barrier to climate legislation. **Explanation ** The discussion highlights the role of political polarization and party-over-policy thinking as major barriers to climate legislation. Social psychologists suggest that understanding these barriers can help in designing interventions to prompt action. - 1. The researchers surveyed respondents in 2014 and 2016 about their climate change beliefs and examined the influence of party-over-policy thinking on support for climate policies.  2. A majority of Republicans agreed that climate change exists, though Democrats showed stronger belief. 3. Respondents supported policies more when they thought their party supported them, regardless of the policy itself. 4. Participants exaggerated the party-over-policy leanings of their fellow party members, influencing their own policy support. **7. Mood and Persuasion** Mood and Persuasion: The effects of mood on the effectiveness of persuasive messages. - Persuasive efforts are more successful when the mood of the message matches the mood of the audience. - Pessimistic messages prompt greater processing in sad people, while optimistic messages do so in happy people. - Inducing guilt can increase compliance with persuasive appeals if the message offers a way to alleviate guilt. **Explanation ** The discussion covers how matching the mood of the message to the audience\'s mood can enhance persuasion. Additionally, inducing guilt can be effective if the message provides a solution to alleviate that guilt. - 1. An appeal to engage in pro-environment behavior can succeed if the message conveys how such behavior helps repair the environment.  2. The message needs to offer a clear way to alleviate the induced guilt. **8. Persuasion and Age** Persuasion and Age: Younger people are more likely to be persuaded by messages than older people. - Younger people are more malleable in their political allegiances. - This demographic can significantly influence political outcomes. **Explanation ** The discussion highlights the greater susceptibility of younger people to persuasive messages and their potential impact on political outcomes. - 1. Former President Reagan received overwhelming support from the 18-25 age group, as did President Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.  2. This age group can be quite malleable in their political allegiances. **9. Selective Attention and Exposure** Selective Attention and Exposure: The role of selective attention and exposure in resistance to persuasion. - People tend to attend selectively to information that confirms their original attitudes. - Selective attention forms the basis of algorithms that drive internet search results and social media feeds. **Explanation ** The discussion explains how selective attention and exposure contribute to resistance to persuasion by reinforcing existing attitudes and creating echo chambers. Study on marijuana legalization (Klein, Hesselink, and Edwards, 1975)  Students who supported or opposed marijuana legalization listened to a message advocating legalization, containing both strong and weak arguments.  Pro-legalization students focused on strong arguments, while anti-legalization students focused on weak arguments. **10. Fake News and Media Bias** Fake News and Media Bias: Identifying and resisting fake news and perceived media bias. - Fake news can be identified by cues such as anger-inducing content, conspiracy theories, and misspellings. - Perceived media bias contributes to increasing partisanship and resistance to persuasion. **Explanation ** The discussion provides strategies for identifying fake news and understanding how perceived media bias can influence public opinion and contribute to partisanship. - 1. Fox News anchors were required to give airtime to opposing views on climate change, leading viewers to believe experts were divided.  2. This practice contributed to a misleading perception of scientific consensus. **11. Selective Attention and Evaluation** Selective Attention and Evaluation: The phenomenon where individuals focus on information that supports their pre-existing beliefs and ignore information that contradicts them. - Selective attention online is not as widespread as previously thought. - A small proportion of people show significant bias and tend to be more politically active. - People evaluate information in ways that support their existing opinions. **Explanation ** Selective attention and evaluation are influenced by personal motivations and existing beliefs. People are more likely to scrutinize information that challenges their beliefs and accept information that supports them. - 1. Analysis of Twitter users\' ideological selectivity showed more than 50% overlap in the ideological content that liberals and conservatives exposed themselves to.  2. Researchers found that despite selective attention, there was significant overlap in the content consumed by different ideological groups. 3. A small group with significant bias tended to be more politically active, suggesting disproportionate influence. - 1. People who believe that the importance of climate change is exaggerated are likely to see more flaws in articles urging action to combat global warming.  2. Individuals evaluate the credibility of sources and arguments based on their pre-existing beliefs. 3. This selective evaluation extends to various domains, including personal health. - 1. Participants were given a test for a fictitious medical condition. In the deficiency condition, participants were told that if the paper remained yellow, they had the condition. The paper remained yellow for all participants.  2. Participants in the deficiency condition took longer to decide the test was finished, repeatedly dipping the paper in saliva. 3. This behavior illustrates the tendency to give more opportunities to evidence that could disprove an undesirable diagnosis. **12. Dual Process Approach to Persuasion** Dual Process Approach to Persuasion: The elaboration likelihood model hypothesizes two routes to persuasion: central and peripheral. - Central route involves careful and systematic consideration of the message content. - Peripheral route involves superficial cues such as attractiveness and credibility of the source. **Explanation ** The route taken depends on the individual\'s motivation and ability to process the message. High motivation and ability lead to the central route, while low motivation and ability lead to the peripheral route. **13. Elements of Persuasion** Elements of Persuasion: The key elements of a persuasive attempt are the source, the content, and the audience. - Attractive, credible, and confident sources are more persuasive. - Vivid messages and those that instill fear can be effective. - Audience characteristics such as need for cognition, mood, and age affect persuasiveness. **Explanation ** Persuasion effectiveness depends on the interplay between the source, message content, and audience characteristics. Different strategies may be needed for different audiences. **14. Media and Persuasion** Media and Persuasion: The media can shape opinions, tastes, and behavior through agenda control and the dissemination of information. - Documenting media effects is methodologically challenging. - The media can control what people think about by controlling the number and kinds of news stories presented. - The hostile media phenomenon is common, where people view the media as hostile to their beliefs. **Explanation ** The media\'s influence on persuasion is significant but complex. It can shape public opinion by controlling the narrative and framing of issues. **15. Resistance to Persuasion** Resistance to Persuasion: People resist persuasion due to pre-existing biases, commitments, and knowledge. - Selective attention and evaluation support original attitudes. - Public commitment to a position helps resist persuasion. - Knowledgeable individuals can counter-argue opposing messages. - Attitudes grounded in moral principles are more resistant to persuasion. - Attitude inoculation can encourage resistance by exposing people to weak arguments against their position. **Explanation ** Resistance to persuasion is strengthened by existing beliefs and knowledge. Techniques like attitude inoculation can further bolster resistance by preparing individuals to counter opposing views.