Persuasion is the force exerted to influence behavior that includes a reflected
change in attitude. Everyday we are bombarded with messages from people who wish
to influence our behavior and attitudes. Persuasion can be used to accomplish
good as well as bad, though, in my paper I will refrain from making value
judgements and only report the factual aspects. I will discuss the two basic
routes to persuasion, the elements involved, and ways to protect current
attitudes and behaviors from change. When trying to persuade someone, there are
two different methods from which to choose-the central and peripheral routes.
The central route persuades by using direct arguments and pertinent information.
The peripheral route persuades people by association with incidental cues that
are pleasing to the senses. The central route is used to reach people who are
more motivated and analytical, while people who are less analytical and less
involved aremore likely to be influenced by the peripheral route. In advertising
a combination of the two is common and effective. Computer ads relyprimarily on
the central route, because their target audiences are perceived as highly
analytical. Promotion for alcohol and tobacco products employ the peripheral
route because they wish to draw attention away from thepossible negative effects
that they are, in reality, associated with. To truly understand the effects of
persuasion it is necessary to break the actdown to its smaller components. The
for elements of persuasion are 1.) The communicator, 2.) The message content,
3.) How it is communicated, and4.) The receiver of the message. The content of
the message is important but also whoever gives the message has an effect on
people¹s acceptance ofit. The major determinant of the communicator¹s success
are his/herperceived credibility and attractiveness. Credibility, or
believability isdetermined by the communicator¹s appearance as an expert or as
someone who can be trusted. Expertise is established when the communicator is
introduced as someone who has a great deal of knowledge concerning the topic of
conversation. When the communicator relays viewpoints that areidentical to the
audience she/he will be perceived as smart. Also, to project animage of
expertise it is necessary to speak confidently and withouthesitating.
Trustworthiness of the communicator is assumed if direct eye contact is used and
speech is rapid. If the speaker is seen as not trying toinfluence or is arguing
a position that is against their personal interest theywill be considered
trustworthy. An attractive communicator has certain qualities, like physical
appeal and similarity, that draw in theaudience. If the arguments of the
attractive speaker are more readily accepted, central route persuasion has
occurred or if we are persuaded by the unconnected positive association between
the communicator and theproduct there has been peripheral route persuasion. When
statements are made toa group by someone from the same ethnic background, the
group is morewilling to listen. It appears true, the belief that we like people
who aresimilar to us- and if we like someone we are more open to their
suggestions. The second element of persuasion, the content of the message, deals
with the specific type of messages that work best to convince. Emotional
messages are most effective on less educated people, while rational appeals
tendto score better with analytical or well educated people. Discrepancybetween
the message and receiver opinion often effects whether persuasionoccurs. A
credible communicator is most effective when arguing an extreme position and
someone who is not viewed as credible is best off giving a viewpoint where there
is a moderate discrepancy. Communicators must decidewhether to put forth a
one-sided or two-sided appeal. One-sided appeals work bestwith those who already
agree. Two-sided appeals work best with people who are initially opposed to your
idea. Also message acceptance is effected bywhen it is heard and when the
argument against that message is heard. Primacy affect states ³Other things
being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence.²(1)
The primacy effect works only whenboth messages are heard at once, with a period
of time passing before responding. In a situation where a message is given
followed by alengthy period of time, and then the second message is given, the
response is usually to accept the second message. This is recency effect.³Information
presented last sometimes has the most influence. Recency effects areless common
than primacy effects.²(2) How the message is communicated, thethird element to
persuade, stresses the importance of message delivery. ³Communication is the
most important and complex thing we do. It canshape our careers, our lives, and
our world... You can control the outcome of your important interactions if you
control your communication style.²(3) The studies have shown that interpersonal
contact influences behaviorand attitudes much more than the media. Of course
media still has great influence. It has also been shown that the more realistic
thecommunication method the more likely it is to persuade, though complex
messages arebest understood and remembered if they are written. Simpler messages
from the media that are live or videotaped are most likely to persuade. Less
persuasive are audiotaped and written communication methods. The fourth element
of persuasion is the audience, or receiver of the message. Ageof the audience
matters greatly because many attitudes are directlyrelated to how old the person
is. There are two ways to explain the relationship between age and attitude. The
life-cycle explanation states that when people get older their attitudes change.
The generational explanation, which is supported by more evidence, states that
each generation adoptsan attitude that is different from other generations, and
does not changewith time. The state of mind of the message receiver plays an
important on whether they are persuaded. When people feel they are about to
bepersuaded to do something they will build arguments against it and be less
likelyto be persuaded. A distracted state of mind often doesn¹t have the
abilityto argue against persuasive messages, and therefore is more likely
toaccept them. Audiences that are image conscious and unconcerned with the
truthare more apt to be persuaded by the communicator¹s attractiveness and
other peripheral cues. Analytical people who are more concerned with beingright,
are more influenced by central route communication. Now I¹d like todiscuss some
ways for people to safeguard their beliefs and resist outside influence. One of
the best ways to prevent an unwanted attitudepersuasion is to make public your
commitment to your conviction. ³Once we havemade a choice or taken a stand we
will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with
that commitmant.²(4) Because inconsistency is viewed as a bad personality trait
and consistentattitudes and behavior equate to logic, stability, and honesty,
people willrarely be persuaded once they have made a strong commitment. Keep in
mind,however, that this persuasion resisting technique can be forced on you by
othersas seen in the cases of ³brain washing² of American POW¹s during the
Korean war. The POW¹s were asked to repeat mildly anti-American orpro-communist
statements. Once they willingly complied, prisoners were asked to make a list of
problems in America, which they had to discuss in a group. Thenext step was to
write an essay about the problems in America and have them broadcast on the
radio. Many POW¹s stayed in China once granted freedom because they had
committed to their ant-American attitudes. Thisprevious example also illustrates
the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. Small requests were made (the mildly
anti-American statements) which opened the way for larger, more substantial
suggestions. Attitude inoculation is believedto be the best way for people to
avoid persuasion. It is defined as³Exposing people to weak attacks upon their
attitudes so that when strongerattacks come they will have refutations
available.²(5) Attitude inoculation was found to increase commitment to an
attitude in addition to developing counterarguemnts. One application of the
positive effects of attitude inoculation was conducted by Alfred McAlister on a
class of seventhgraders that had them commit to anti-smoking attitudes.
Role-Playing was used to strengthen commitment to non-smoking by public
declaration and therepeated dialogue stimulated counterarguements. To truly
understand the effectsof persuasion on people you need to be familiar with the
structure behind a persuasive message. It is important to identify which route
is beingused (central or peripheral) and understand the effect of the
communicator,the content of the message, the method of communication, and the
reaction by the audience. Counterarguements in making a public commitment
strengthen out resistance to persuasion.Persuasion is the force exerted to
influence behavior that includes a reflected change in attitude. Everyday we are
bombarded with messagesfrom people who wish to influence our behavior and
attitudes. Persuasion canbe used to accomplish good as well as bad, though, in
my paper I willrefrain from making value judgements and only report the factual
aspects. I will discuss the two basic routes to persuasion, the elements
involved, andways to protect current attitudes and behaviors from change. When
trying to persuade someone, there are two different methods from which to
choose-the central and peripheral routes. The central route persuades by
usingdirect arguments and pertinent information. The peripheral route
persuadespeople by association with incidental cues that are pleasing to the
senses. The central route is used to reach people who are more motivated and
analytical, while people who are less analytical and less involved aremore
likely to be influenced by the peripheral route. In advertising a combination of
the two is common and effective. Computer ads relyprimarily on the central
route, because their target audiences are perceived as highly analytical.
Promotion for alcohol and tobacco products employ the peripheral route because
they wish to draw attention away from thepossible negative effects that they
are, in reality, associated with. To truly understand the effects of persuasion
it is necessary to break the actdown to its smaller components. The for elements
of persuasion are 1.) The communicator, 2.) The message content, 3.) How it is
communicated, and4.) The receiver of the message. The content of the message is
important but also whoever gives the message has an effect on people¹s
acceptance ofit. The major determinant of the communicator¹s success are his/herperceived
credibility and attractiveness. Credibility, or believability isdetermined by
the communicator¹s appearance as an expert or as someone who can be trusted.
Expertise is established when the communicator is introduced as someone who has
a great deal of knowledge concerning the topic of conversation. When the
communicator relays viewpoints that areidentical to the audience she/he will be
perceived as smart. Also, to project animage of expertise it is necessary to
speak confidently and withouthesitating. Trustworthiness of the communicator is
assumed if direct eye contact is used and speech is rapid. If the speaker is
seen as not trying toinfluence or is arguing a position that is against their
personal interest theywill be considered trustworthy. An attractive communicator
has certain qualities, like physical appeal and similarity, that draw in
theaudience. If the arguments of the attractive speaker are more readily
accepted, central route persuasion has occurred or if we are persuaded by the
unconnected positive association between the communicator and theproduct there
has been peripheral route persuasion. When statements are made toa group by
someone from the same ethnic background, the group is morewilling to listen. It
appears true, the belief that we like people who aresimilar to us- and if we
like someone we are more open to their suggestions. The second element of
persuasion, the content of the message, deals with the specific type of messages
that work best to convince. Emotional messages are most effective on less
educated people, while rational appeals tendto score better with analytical or
well educated people. Discrepancybetween the message and receiver opinion often
effects whether persuasionoccurs. A credible communicator is most effective when
arguing an extreme position and someone who is not viewed as credible is best
off giving a viewpoint where there is a moderate discrepancy. Communicators must
decidewhether to put forth a one-sided or two-sided appeal. One-sided appeals
work bestwith those who already agree. Two-sided appeals work best with people
who are initially opposed to your idea. Also message acceptance is effected
bywhen it is heard and when the argument against that message is heard. Primacy
affect states ³Other things being equal, information presented first usually
has the most influence.²(1) The primacy effect works only whenboth messages are
heard at once, with a period of time passing before responding. In a situation
where a message is given followed by alengthy period of time, and then the
second message is given, the response is usually to accept the second message.
This is recency effect.³Information presented last sometimes has the most
influence. Recency effects areless common than primacy effects.²(2) How the
message is communicated, thethird element to persuade, stresses the importance
of message delivery. ³Communication is the most important and complex thing we
do. It canshape our careers, our lives, and our world... You can control the
outcome of your important interactions if you control your communication style.²(3)
The studies have shown that interpersonal contact influences behaviorand
attitudes much more than the media. Of course media still has great influence.
It has also been shown that the more realistic thecommunication method the more
likely it is to persuade, though complex messages arebest understood and
remembered if they are written. Simpler messages from the media that are live or
videotaped are most likely to persuade. Less persuasive are audiotaped and
written communication methods. The fourth element of persuasion is the audience,
or receiver of the message. Ageof the audience matters greatly because many
attitudes are directlyrelated to how old the person is. There are two ways to
explain the relationship between age and attitude. The life-cycle explanation
states that when people get older their attitudes change. The generational
explanation, which is supported by more evidence, states that each generation
adoptsan attitude that is different from other generations, and does not
changewith time. The state of mind of the message receiver plays an important on
whether they are persuaded. When people feel they are about to bepersuaded to do
something they will build arguments against it and be less likelyto be
persuaded. A distracted state of mind often doesn¹t have the abilityto argue
against persuasive messages, and therefore is more likely toaccept them.
Audiences that are image conscious and unconcerned with the truthare more apt to
be persuaded by the communicator¹s attractiveness and other peripheral cues.
Analytical people who are more concerned with beingright, are more influenced by
central route communication. Now I¹d like todiscuss some ways for people to
safeguard their beliefs and resist outside influence. One of the best ways to
prevent an unwanted attitudepersuasion is to make public your commitment to your
conviction. ³Once we havemade a choice or taken a stand we will encounter
personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that
commitmant.²(4) Because inconsistency is viewed as a bad personality trait and
consistentattitudes and behavior equate to logic, stability, and honesty, people
willrarely be persuaded once they have made a strong commitment. Keep in
mind,however, that this persuasion resisting technique can be forced on you by
othersas seen in the cases of ³brain washing² of American POW¹s during the
Korean war. The POW¹s were asked to repeat mildly anti-American orpro-communist
statements. Once they willingly complied, prisoners were asked to make a list of
problems in America, which they had to discuss in a group. Thenext step was to
write an essay about the problems in America and have them broadcast on the
radio. Many POW¹s stayed in China once granted freedom because they had
committed to their ant-American attitudes. Thisprevious example also illustrates
the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. Small requests were made (the mildly
anti-American statements) which opened the way for larger, more substantial
suggestions. Attitude inoculation is believedto be the best way for people to
avoid persuasion. It is defined as³Exposing people to weak attacks upon their
attitudes so that when strongerattacks come they will have refutations
available.²(5) Attitude inoculation was found to increase commitment to an
attitude in addition to developing counterarguemnts. One application of the
positive effects of attitude inoculation was conducted by Alfred McAlister on a
class of seventhgraders that had them commit to anti-smoking attitudes.
Role-Playing was used to strengthen commitment to non-smoking by public
declaration and therepeated dialogue stimulated counterarguements. To truly
understand the effectsof persuasion on people you need to be familiar with the
structure behind a persuasive message. It is important to identify which route
is beingused (central or peripheral) and understand the effect of the
communicator,the content of the message, the method of communication, and the
reaction by the audience. Counterarguements in making a public commitment
strengthen out resistance to persuasion.