Summary
The Dynamics of Persuasion Summary
- Course
- Institution
- Book
Summary Dynamics of Persuasion by Perloff
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
All Articles for the course Marketing and Persuasive Communication
-
Lectures for the course Marketing and persuasive communication
2 reviews
By: margheritatoselli • 2 year ago
By: linxiye • 6 year ago
Seller
Followdc_MelanieMaarel
Reviews received
Content preview
Perloff, The Dynamics of PersuasionChapter 1 Introduction to Persuasion
Persuasion is the study of attitudes and how to change them.
The study and practice of persuasion are not new (the Old Testament). Contemporary
persuasion differs from the past in the following five ways:
- The sheer number of persuasive communications has grown exponentially
- Persuasive messages travel faster than ever before
- Persuasion has become institutionalized
- Persuasive communication has become more subtle and devious
- Persuasive communication is more complex and impersonal
Defining Persuasion
“A symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their
attitudes or behavior regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an
atmosphere of free choice.”
- Persuasion is a symbolic process
- Persuasion involves an attempt to influence: persuasion represents a conscious
attempt to influence the other party, along with an accompanying awareness that the
persuadee has a mental state that is susceptible to change.
- People persuade themselves to change attitudes or behavior; communicators provide
the arguments
- Persuasion involves the transmission of a message
- Persuasion requires free choice: a person is free when he has the ability to act
otherwise, to do other than the persuader suggest
Persuasion Versus Coercion
Coercion: a technique for forcing people to act as the coercer wants them to act – presumably
contrary to their preferences. It usually employs a threat of some dire consequence if the actor
does not do what the coercer demands. When individuals perceive that they have no choice
but to comply, the influence attempt is better viewed as coercive.
The point to remember is that persuasion and coercion are not polar opposites, but rather
overlapping concepts.
We can say that coercion occurs when the influence agent:
a. delivers a threat of some consequence
b. attempts to induce the individual to act contrary to her preferences
c. deprives the individual of some measure of freedom or autonomy
Persuasion, by contrast, occurs in an atmosphere of free choice: it assumes the individual is
capable of resisting an influence attempt or of willingly persuading herself to change her mind
about an issue.
The Bad Boy of Persuasion
Propaganda overlaps with persuasion, as both are invoked to describe powerful instances of
social influence. However, there are key differences between the terms.
1. Propaganda is typically invoked to describe mass influence through mass media.
Persuasion, by contrast, occurs in mediated settings, but also in interpersonal and
organizational contexts.
1
, 2. Propaganda is covert.
3. Propaganda refers to instances in which a group has total control over the
transmission of information.
4. Propaganda has a negative connotation. Persuasion is viewed as a more positive
force, one that can produce beneficial outcomes.
We use the term propaganda to refer to a persuasive communication with which one
disagrees and to which the individual attributes hostile intent.
Understanding Persuasive Communication Effects
Miller (1980) proposed that communications exert in three different persuasive effects:
- Shaping associations
- Reinforcing it’s hard to change one’s opinion, so marketers rather reinforce a
position that people already hold
- Changing persuasive communications can influence attitudes and social behavior
Origins of the Social Scientific Approach
Carl Hovland combined experimental research methodology with the ideas of an old
persuasion sage, the first scientist of persuasion: Aristotle. He and his colleagues took
concepts invented by Aristotle (ethos, pathos, logos) and systematically examined their
effects, using newly refined techniques of scientific experimentation.
From an historical perspective, the distinctive element of the persuasion approach that began
in the mid 20th century and continues today is its empirical foundation.
Scolarly activity continued apace from the 1960s onward, producing a wealth of persuasion
concepts far from surpassing those put forth by Aristotle and classical rhetoricians. These
terms include attitude, belief, cognitive processing, cognitive dissonance, social judgements
and interpersonal compliance.
Persuasion and Ethics
Persuasion can be used for good or bad purposes, with ethical and unethical intentions.
Persuasive communications must be judged by the consequences of the act, the intentions of
the persuader, the morality of the message and the context in which persuasion occurs.
Chapter 2 Attitudes
The Concept of Attitude
According to scholars, an attitude is:
- an association between a give object and a given evaluation (Fazio)
- a learned predisposition to respond in an consistently favorable or unfavorable manner
with respect to a given object (Fishbein & Ajzen)
- a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some
degree of favor or disfavor (Eagly & Chaiken)
- a more ore less permanently enduring state of readiness of mental organization which
predisposes an individual to react in a characteristic way to any object or situation with
which it it related (Cantril)
Combining these definitions and emphasizing commonalities, one arrives at the following
definition of attitude: a learned, global evaluation of an object (/entity, person, place or issue)
that influences thought and action.
An attitude is not a behavior, though it may consist of acquired patterns of reacting to social
stimuli. It is not pure affect, though it is most assuredly emotional. It is a predisposition, a
2
, tendency, a state of readiness that guides and steers behavior in certain predictable, though
not always rational ways.
Characteristics of Attitudes
Attitudes are learned
People acquire attitudes over the course of socialization in childhood and adolescence.
They are not born with attitudes.
At present, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that attitudes have a genetic
foundation.
Individuals do not have an attitude until they first encounter the attitude object (or
information about it) and respond evaluatively to it.
Attitudes are Global, Typically Emotional, Evaluations
Attitudes are evaluations. Affect usually plays an important part in how attitudes are formed or
experienced. Some attitudes may develop more intellectually, by absorbing information, while
others are acquired through reward and punishment of previous behavior.
Attitudes encompass beliefs, feelings, intentions to behave and behavior itself.
Values and Beliefs
Like attitudes, values and belies are learned and shape the way we interpret information.
Values are desirable end states or behaviors that transcend specific situations, guide selection
or evaluation of behavior and events, and are ordered by relative importance. Even more than
attitudes, values strike to the core of our self-concepts.
In contrast, beliefs are more specific and cognitive. Beliefs are more cognitive than values or
attitudes. Beliefs can be patently and unequivocally false. Beliefs can be categorized into
different subtypes:
- descriptive beliefs: perceptions or hypotheses about the world that people carry around
in their heads.
- prescriptive beliefs: “ought” or “should” statements that express conceptions of
preferred end-states.
Structure of Attitudes
Expectancy-Value Approach
The expectancy-value perspective asserts that attitude have two components: cognition and
affect (or head and heart). Your attitude is a combination of what you believe or expect of a
certain object and how you feel about these expectations. This theory was developed by
Fishbein and Ajzen in 1975. According to them, attitude is a multiplicative combination of (a)
strength of beliefs that an object has certain attributes and (b) evaluations of these attributes.
The prediction is represented by the following mathematical formula: A = sum b(i) x e(i).
Where b(i) = each belief and e(i) = each evaluation.
Affect, Symbols and Ideologies
A second perspective on attitude structure places emotion and symbols at center stage.
According to the symbolic approach, attitudes (particularly political ones) are characterized by
emotional reactions, sweeping sentiments and powerful prejudices. As a result of early
learning experiences, people develop strong attitudes toward their country, as well as religious
values, ethnic loyalties and racial prejudices. These “symbolic predispositions” lie at the core
of people’s attitudes toward social issues.
The Role of Ideology
A third view of attitude organization emphasizes ideology, or worldview. As a general rule,
ideologues view social and political issues differently than ordinary citizens do. Unlike many
people, who respond to issues primarily on the basis of simple symbolic predispositions,
ideologues begin with an ideologues, and their attitudes flow from this. The ideological
3
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller dc_MelanieMaarel. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.89. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
62890 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now