Persuasive Communication
Notes
CHAPTER 1: INFLUENCE
Introduction
- people influence and are influenced by others on a day to day basis → parents, peers, friends
- to advertise = “to call attention to” or “to notify or warn” people of something
- the range of media through which information can be disseminated has expanded considerably
in recent years
- TV broadcasting is still the single most important advertising medium worldwide
- advertising and publicity have also become favourite topics for researchers approaching them
from a psychological, marketing or communications perspective
- we face a huge number of influence attempts
- we fail to even notice much of the information the parties behind the campaigns are seeking to
convey
- Owen Gibson → only recalled advertisements for products he was already interested in
- many professionals in the world of advertising and marketing are extremely sceptical about
the influence they have
- recognition is easier to achieve than recollection
History
- Greeks paid a lot of attention to eloquence and art of persuasion → the sophists
- Plato regarded them as nothing more than smooth talkers
- Aristotle generally regarded as the founder of argumentation studies → the power to persuade
others is determined by characteristics of the source of the information (the persuader), its
recipient and content
→ first to discern source, recipient, content as characteristics of persuasive communication
that affect its influence
Laswell’s model inspired by Aristotle
- industrial revolution = more products and services
- first research focused on the linguistics of the message, later it focused on the process of
persuasion (how people get persuaded)
- WWII = Allies needed ways to convince and mobilise the home front to donate and help the
war effort
• Harold Laswell
- who says what in which channel to whom with what effect
- attitude = an evaluative response (positive/negative)
• Howland
- inspired by Aristotle
- “the learning approach”
- Yale model of persuasion = a four step process model of persuasion
1) people must pay attention to the information in the message
2) the message must be presented in a way so that it is understood
3) then the recipient can accept it and modify their attitude accordingly
4) recipient must also retain their new attitude
→ attention, understanding, acceptance, retention
- the likelihood that the process will be completed depends on various factors →
content of the message should relate to things people consider important
, → information ppl regard as inconsequential will not be processed effectively, if at
all, and so have less impact
- existing attitudes influence the persuasive power of a new message; information that
corresponds with the ideas and attitudes a person already holds dear is more
persuasive than a message which contradicts them
- reliability and expertise of the source help to determine how a message affects the
recipient’s attitudes and behaviour
- the direct impact of a message often differs from its indirect or delayed effect
- this model gives the recipient of information a limited role
→ it asserts that only motivated ppl will take in information and does not state how
the process works
• McGuire
- inoculation theory = how ppl can arm themselves against information intended to
influence and change their opinion
§ inoculation = especially weak arguments might act as a “virus”, triggering a
cognitive reaction which actually protects, reinforces and helps maintain an
existing attitude
- 6 steps = presentation, attention, comprehension, yielding, retention, behaviour
• Greenwald
- cognitive response theory
- focuses on the processes involved in persuasion
Advertising and influence
- AIDA model = attention, interest, desire, action
- satisfaction was added to ensure the component of customer loyalty
- persuasion does not necessarily follow a sequential order
- regards the recipient as fairly passive
- widely used
Influence and ethics
- ppl are particularly scared of advertising messages they are not aware of = subconscious
influence
- rules and laws of specific countries are used to draw a Code of Advertising
- advertising regulators’ main purpose is to ensure that advertising complies with COA
- current frameworks are mostly country specific, thus ineffective in online environments
- ppl can be influenced without realizing it = “brainwashing”
- influence techniques can be used for good or evil
WEB LECTURE - Introduction to persuasive communication
Yale Model of Persuasion
• Carl Howland
, - we more often recognize messages rather than recall them
- information we see influences us subtly
Communication Persuasion Matrix
• William McGuire
- source (who says) + content (what) + recipient (to whom) + channel (via which medium) →
result (to what effect)
- results (output factors):
1. exposure to message
2. attention for message
3. attitude towards ad
4. interest in content
5. comprehension
6. generating own thoughts
7. attitude towards message content
8. storing attitude in memory
9. retrieving attitude from memory
10. behavioral intention
11. behaviour
12. evaluation of behavior
13. permanent behavioral change
MCGUIRE ARTICLE
Directive theories of the persuasion process → the communication/persuasion model
INPUT/OUTPUT MODEL
- inputs: components out of which one can construct the communication to change attitudes and
actions
- outputs: information-processing behavioral substeps communication evokes in receiver for the
persuasive effect to occur
Input variables
- independent variables
- can be manipulated
- Laswell’s interrogative model (who says what, via what medium, to whom, directed at what
kind of target) uses the same input categories; source, message, channel, receiver, and
destination
- components for constructing persuasive communication
1. source
= characteristics of the perceived communication to whom the message is attributed
- number, demographics, attractiveness, credibility
- e.g. it is not the creative department who produced the message
- awareness of the persuasive intent reduces persuasive impact by lowering the
source’s perceived trustworthiness
2. message
= delivery style (humor, speed of speech), types of appeal, inclusion and omissions
- type, appeal, type information, organization, repetitiveness
- faster talkers perceived as more knowledgeable and trustworthy
3. channel
= media through which persuasive messages are transmitted
- modality, directness, context
- audio / visual, written / spoken, verbal / non-verbal
- complex messages → more understood in print
, - simple message → tv
4. receiver
= audience characteristics
- demographics, ability, personality, lifestyle
- age, education, intelligence = capacity variables
- gender, ethnicity = demographic variables
- personality, etc.
5. destination
= type of target behaviour at which communication is aimed
- immediacy/delay, prevention/cessation, direct
• immediate/long term change
• change in existing belief
• input that produce greater immediate effects may be less effective in the long
run
• effect can last even when the message is no longer remembered
Output factors
1. Exposed to the communication
2. Attending to it
3. Liking, becoming interested in it
4. Comprehending it (learning what)
5. Skill acquisition (learning how)
6. Yielding to it (attitude change)
7. Memory storage of content and/or agreement
8. Information search and retrieval
9. Deciding on basis retrieval
10. Behaving in accord with decision (= the pay off output)
11. Reinforcement of desired acts
12. Post-behavioural consolidating
= a useful checklist for constructing and evaluating a communication campaign
Relevance of the matrix
• the matrix makes you aware of the cumulative effect of input factors and of how input factors
interact
AVOIDING COMMUNICATION ERRORS
• the attenuated effects fallacy
o the probability that the communicator will evoke each of the 12 steps is conditional
upon the occurrence of the preceding steps
o one should guard against exaggerated expectations regarding the likely size of one’s
persuasive impact
o why campaign designers often overestimate the effects of their campaigns; they forget
that there are many steps and only focus on the first one
o campaigns often have very small effect size
o successful influencing of each output step is dependent on the success at the previous
step
o conclusion = expect small effects
• the distant memory fallacy
o often a campaign is evaluated in term of the response step early in the chain → distant
for the “pay off” step number 10
o even when an ad succeeds at steps 1 or 2, it can bomb later
o if your goal is to sell, do not evaluate based on exposure
o match your campaign objectives and evaluation; if your goal is to sell, measure
additional sales that can be traced
o doesn’t matter how many ppl actually watched the ad