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Samenvatting The Dynamics of Persuasion, ISBN: 9781138100336 Marketing And Persuasive Communication (MPC)
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Lectures and book summary: The Dynamics of Persuasion; Marketing & Persuasive Communication VU 2020
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Quiz questions MPC
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Marketing and persuasive communication LiteratureThe dynamics of persuasion communication and attitudes in the 21st century – Richard Perloff
Chapter 1 Introduction to persuasion
Key ways today’s persuasion differs from previous eras
1. Number of messages
2. Speed and brevity
3. Conducted via institutions and organizations
4. Subtlety
5. Complexity and mediation
6. Digitization
7. Exposure to a wealth of new, but also bias-confirming, information
Defining persuasion
A communication process in which the communicator seeks to elicit a desired response from
his receiver.
A conscious attempt by one individual to change the attitudes, beliefs, or behavior of another
individual or group of individuals through the transmission of some message.
A symbolic activity whose purpose is to effect the internalization or voluntary acceptance of
new cognitive stages or patterns of overt behavior through the exchange of messages.
A successful intentional effort at influencing another’s mental state through communication in
a circumstance in which the persuade has some measure of freedom.
Persuasion as a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change
their own attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an
atmosphere of free choice.
Five components of the definition:
1. Persuasion is a symbolic process
A symbol is a form of language in which one entity represents a concept or idea,
communicating rich psychological and cultural meaning. Symbols include words like
freedom, justice, and equality. Symbols are persuaders’ tools, harnessed to change attitudes
and mold opinions. Meanings, multiple and shifting, inhabiting the rich tableau of the human
mind: these are centerpieces of persuasion.
2. Persuasion involves an attempt to influence
Persuaders must intend to change another individual’s attitude or behavior and must be aware
that they are trying to accomplish this goal. Persuasion represents a conscious attempt to
influence the other party, along with an accompanying awareness that the persuade has a
mental state that is susceptible to change. It is a type of social influence: the broad process in
which the behavior of one person alters the thoughts or actions of another.
3. People persuade themselves
You can’t force people to be persuaded – you can only activate their desire and show them the
logic behind your ideas. You can’t move a string by pushing it, you have to pull it. People are
the same. Their devotion and total commitment to an idea come only when they fully
understand and by in with their total being.
4. Persuasion involves the transmission of a message
Persuasion is a communicative activity; thus, there must be a message for persuasion, as
opposed to other forms of social influence, to occur. For example: advertising, political
campaigns, and interpersonal sales. But also, novels, art, books, movies, plays and songs.
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, 5. Persuasion requires free choice
A person is free when he has the ability to act otherwise, to do other than what the persuader
suggests, or to reflect critically on his choices in a situation. It is important to remember that
people do not have absolute freedom, even in a democratic society that enshrines human
rights.
In the end, we persuade ourselves. We decide to change our own mind about issues, people, and ideas.
Persuaders transmit messages, call on their most attractive features, play word games, and even
manipulate verbal cues in hopes of convincing us to change our attitudes about an issue.
Persuasion versus coercion (dwang)
Persuasion deals with reason and verbal appeals, while coercion employs force, you suggest. Coercion
is 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 or a willingness to do harm to the message receiver.
Terrorism is unquestionably a coercive act: it employs threats of dire consequence and physical force
to compel individuals to behave as the coercer wants them to behave. But it also has persuasive goals.
Persuasion and coercion are sometimes inextricable, more difficult to unravel than is commonly
assumed.
Coercion occurs when the influence agent:
a. Delivers a believable threat of significant physical or emotional harm to those who refuse the
directive
b. Deprives the individual of some measure of freedom or autonomy
c. Attempts to induce the individual to act contrary to her preferences.
Propaganda and manipulation
Propaganda and persuasion overlap in that both use communication to powerfully influence attitudes.
Propaganda is defined as a form of communication in which the leaders of a ruling group have near or
total control over the transmission of information, mass or social media to reach target audience
members, using language and symbols in a deceptive and manipulative fashion. Differences between
propaganda and persuasion:
Propaganda refers to instances in which a group has near or total control over the transmission
of information and dissent is prohibited or forcibly discouraged. Persuasion involves a freer
flow information, where people have easy access to perspectives that challenge the
government or ruling groups.
Propaganda is deceptive, presenting only one sliver of the facts, the propagandists want people
to hear.
Propaganda typically involves the media, either the mass media, or interactive media like
YouTube that is accessible to millions across the world. Persuasion also can occur on-on-one.
Propaganda has come to acquire a negative connotation; it is associated with bad things or evil
forces. And persuasion is viewed as a more positive force.
Manipulation is a persuasion technique that occurs when a communicator hides his or her true
persuasive goals, hoping to mislead the recipient by delivering an overt message that disguises its true
intent. Because manipulation can be sneaky and has negative connotations, it is sometimes linked with
coercion, but it’s not the same. Manipulation assumes free choice, coercion occurs when choice and
freedom are compromised.
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,Chapter 2 Historical and ethical foundations
Persuasive communications have been studied for thusansd of years, beginning with the early Greeks.
The Greeks grappled with some of the same issues we discuss today. The Sophists defended the art of
persuasion, offering courses on oratory that usefully appealed to large numbers of criticized the
Sophists’ philosophy, charging that it placed superficial arguments and appearance over truth. Thanks
to Plato, we use the term sophistry to refer to persuasive arguments that are glib and favor style over
more substantive concerns.
Plato’s greatest contribution to persuasion, or rhetoric, may not have been the works he created but his
intellectual offspring – Aristotle. His treatise “Rhetoric” is regarded as the most significant work on
persuasion ever written. Plato was right that truth was important, and the Sophists were correct that
persuasive communication is a practical tool.
Aristotle proposed that persuasion had three main ingredients:
- Ethos (the nature of the communicator)
- Pathos (the emotional stat of the audience)
- Logos (message arguments)
Over the years, other rhetorical approaches were advanced, culminating in Kenneth Burke’s influential
mid-20th-century theory that emphasized the power of symbols and identification. Contemporary
perspectives have adopted a more critical and self-reflective on rhetoric. Building on these
perspectives and integrating them with scientific methods, the social science approach evolved,
offering a framework to articulate principles about persuasion. It focuses on the development of
theories, specific hypotheses, and research methods to test hypotheses in social settings.
Persuasion at its best, offers a civilized means to solve human dilemmas, one that prizes language,
argumentation, and the rough banter of verbal give and take. It assumes that people have free choice
and are responsible for the persuasive message they deliver.
Three statements:
1. Exploitation evokes negative images.
2. You can’t persuade people by merely scaring them
3. That physical appeal is the key to persuasion
At the heart of persuasion are ethical dilemmas. Persuasive communication can be used with great
effectiveness by both moral and immoral persuaders. This does not mean that persuasion is amoral, as
it sometimes believed. There is ethical and unethical persuasion.
Normative theories of ethics
To help adjudicate the ethics of persuasion, different normative or prescriptive theories have been
developed. Utilitarianism emphasizes that we should judge actions based on their consequences.
Utilitarianism offers a common-sense, explicit, and quantifiable series of principles to resolve moral
problems. However, it gives moral duty, intentions, and universal obligations short shrift.
Kantian deontological theory emphasized that the moral value of an act derives from the respect it
accords individuals as ends in and of themselves. It also places a premium on duty and the persuader’s
intention, according weight to good intentions in the calculus of moral behavior. However,
deontological theory can lead to rigid enforcement of obligations, underplaying instances where
exceptions should be made to serve an uplifting moral end.
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, Understanding persuasion ethics: primer on two philosophical theories
Utilitarianism judges ethics in terms of outcomes. The moral act is one that promotes the
greatest good for the greatest number of people.
A shortcoming of utilitarianism is that it does not consider the communicator’s intentions or
moral obligations.
Deontological theory emphasizes moral duty, moral obligation, and according respect to
individuals as ends in and of themselves, actions are judged based on their adherence to
obligations and universal moral rules.
A shortcoming of deontological thought is its rigidity. It does not allow for exceptions that
ought to be made in particular situations.
Utilitarianism and deontological thought provide helpful yardsticks to judge the morality of
persuasive communications.
In the end, there are many reasons to practice ethical persuasion, not least that it is one of the
requirements of being a good person and part of the curriculum of the good life. Calling on the respect
for moral oratory that infused the writings of classical rhetorical theorists, J. Michael Hogan (2013)
offers a ringing endorsement of how persuasion can be harnessed for positive purposes and the
enhance the common good. He calls for a healthy politics of persuasion in which reasoned arguments
prevails over appeals to fears or prejudices, and diverse perspectives and opinions are encouraged and
respected. It is a perspective that the classical rhetoricians, in their finest and most egalitarian
moments, would passionately embrace.
Chapter 3 Attitudes: definition and structure
Attitudes and their cousins (beliefs and values) are the stuff of persuasion – objects persuaders try to
change, possessions we cling to tenaciously, badges that define us, categories that organize us, and
constructs that marketers want to measure and manipulate.
Attitudes – emotional, evaluative, frequently formed at a young age – are a core dimension of
persuasion. Attitudes, after all, are the entities that communicators seek to shape, reinforce, mold, and
change. An attitude is defined as a learned, global evaluation of an object (person, place, or issue)
that influences thought and action.
According to scholars, an attitude is:
An association between a given object and a given evaluation (Fazio)
A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree
of favor or disfavor (Eagly & Chaiken)
A learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with
respect to a given object (Fishbein & Ajzen)
A more or 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 is related (Cantril)
Characteristics of attitudes
Attitudes are learned
Attitudes are global, typically emotional, evaluations
Attitudes influence thought and action
Values and beliefs
Values are ideals, guiding principles in one’s life, or overarching goals that people strive to obtain.
They are our views of the advantageous means and end-points of action. 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.
Beliefs are more cognitive than values or attitudes. Beliefs are cognitions about the world – subjective
probabilities that an object has a particular attribute or that an action will lead to a particular outcome.
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