In this document you will find both the literature, micro lectures and teacher videos summarized for the persuasive communication exam. Good luck with studying!
UvA Persuasive Communication Note (Exam: 8, Overall grade: 8.1)
Summary The Psychology of Influence - Persuasive Communication
Psychology of Media and Communication Summary - Book "Psychology of Influence"
All for this textbook (8)
Written for
Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)
Communicatiewetenschap
Persuasieve Communicatie (77521502AY)
All documents for this subject (44)
Seller
Follow
lunawolters
Reviews received
Content preview
Week 1
Literature
Chapter 1. Influence: Definition, history and a model
Advertising stems from the Latin ad vertere which means ‘to turn towards/to change’.
This is exactly what influence agents try to achieve: they all seek to influence us, in the
hope of encouraging a specific type of behavior.
All of these agents deploy information in their efforts to influence people’s
thoughts and behavior.
While we might not recall many of the messages we see, we do often recognize them.
This suggests that the information is indeed internalized, perhaps in ways many times
subtler than we might suspect at first sight.
In Harold Lasswell’s view, the effectiveness of information is best understood by
asking ourselves ‘who says what in which channel from whom, with what effect?’ In
other words, it is important to look at the characteristics of the person issuing the
message (who), the content of the information being communicated (what), the medium
used to transmit it (which channel), the characteristics of the intended recipient (to
whom) and the extent to which their opinions or preferences are influenced as a result
(what effect).
An attitude describes an evaluative response – positive or negative – to a person, a
situation, a product, an idea or an organization.
,Hovland’s findings included the discovery that factors like the reliability and expertise of
the source help to determine how a message affects the recipient’s attitudes and
behavior.
Hovland and his colleagues soon realized that the direct impact of a message
often differs from its indirect or delayed effect.
Based on their findings concerning the dynamics of attitudinal and behavioral
change, Hovland’s team devised a four-step process model of persuasion.
1. Attention: first, people must pay attention to the information contained in a
message.
2. Understanding: Secondly, the message must be presented in such a way that
it is understood.
3. Acceptance: once it is, the recipient can accept it and modify their attitude
accordingly.
4. Retention: but for that change to influence their behavior permanently, the
recipient must also retain their new attitude.
Information that corresponds with the ideas and attitudes a person already holds dear is
more persuasive than a message which contradicts them. These findings are
summarized in the Yale model of persuasion.
The model asserts only that motivated people will take in information; it does not
state how exactly that process works or whether its machinations affect the
eventual outcome.
William McGuire’s inoculation theory sets out how people can arm themselves against
information intended to influence and change their opinion.
, He identifies six steps rather than four: presentation, attention, comprehension,
yielding, retention and, finally, behavior. In his view, the steps are more
dynamically related and can influence each other.
Anthony Greenwald further developed McGuire’s ideas in his cognitive response
theory.
His work examines the way in which information is processed and how that
affects attitudes.
In advertising and marketing, models were being developed to describe the steps that
can result in the recipient of a message being influenced. One of the earliest of these
was the AIDA model that stands for ‘Attention, Interest, Desire, Action’.
Key factors in influence:
, The various forms of processing can be presented as a continuum, as in Figure 1.5.
Based upon the amount of cognitive effort devoted to the process, this runs from more
or less automatic influence at one end of the scale to techniques at the other extreme
which assume that people will carefully and systematically consider the information they
are provided with.
Chapter 2. Theoretical Foundations of Campaigns
The most popular theory of how persuasive communication operates is sketched in the
input/output matrix displayed in Figure 2.1. The inputs (the column labels) include the
various components out of which one can construct the communication to change
attitudes and actions; the output steps (the rows) consist of the successive information-
processing behavioral substeps that the communication must evoke in the target person
for the persuasive impact to occur.
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 lunawolters. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $8.65. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
