Persuasive communication
Eveliene Quaijtaal
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 2020-2021
Communicatie – en Informatiewetenschappen
Course goals
- To acquire knowledge of prominent theories of persuasive communication
- To learn how to analyse and critically review theoretical models of attitude change
- To acquire knowledge about the role of message design in persuasion
- To learn which methods are used in conducting research of persuasive
communication
- To analyse and assess examples of communicative messages and strategies
1.1 Why study persuasion
We are surrounded by influence attempts, both explicit and implicit, no matter where we are.
It is difficult to say with any certainty what is and is not persuasion. Where should we draw
the line between persuasion and other forms of communication?
The book focuses on the academic and practical sides.
Persuasion is still as much an art as it is a science. The science of persuasion is still in its
infancy, since humans are complex. They can be stubborn, unpredictable, and intractable. It
is tempting to believe that if one only knew the right button to push, one could persuade
anybody.
Persuasion is our friend
Most professional persuaders are engaged in socially acceptable, if not respectable,
careers. They include advertising, bloggers, campaign managers, journalists, lawyers,
lobbyists, recruiters etc. Very little of the good that we see in the world could be
accomplished without persuasion.
The pervasiveness of persuasion: you can run but you can’t hide
Persuasion is a central route of every sphere of human communication. We can’t avoid it.
The average person is exposed to anywhere from 300 to 5000 messages per day. With
social media coming, it can be even more.
Messages can be spread by WOM (Word-of-mouth). A small number of influential people
can generate support for ideas, brands, or phenomena. This happens in a few steps.
The right kind of people must be involved. Therefore, three types of people are involved.
1. Mavens: they don’t need to be famous or rich, but they must be ahead of the curve.
They are the early adopters, opinion leaders; alpha consumers, so they hear about
ideas or products first.
2. Connectors: they are the carriers. They have large social networks and spread the
word, once they hear from the mavens.
3. Salespeople: they receive the message and talk within their own circle of friends.
Context is also essential. The idea must come along at the right time and place. Scalability
and effortless transfer are also important. Scalability means it must be easy to expand
production of the idea, product, or message to meet the demand. Effortless transfer means
the time to spread the word has to be easy. The more time and effort it takes to spread the
word, the less likely the idea will go viral.
,The nature of persuasion is also illustrated by nudge theory. It states that subtle changes in
the way choices are presented to people can influence (nudge) them to behave in certain
ways. An example is a sticker in the men’s public restroom. They put a sticker in the urinal.
Results? All men were aiming at the sticker, which made sure the restroom stayed tidy and
clean.
New persuasion: digital and online influence
Social influence is an important tool for influence nowadays.
An example is eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth). People actively comment on brands,
companies, political issues, and public figures. eWOM operates largely through interpersonal
channels, which makes it more authentic. It is inexpensive and self-perpetuating. It is also
more affecting at reaching younger audiences.
Advertisers are also getting restless. Native advertising for example involves ads posing as
news stories. These can function as clickbait. Sponsored content includes promoted tweets
or Instagram posts. Both approaches are effective because many users have difficulty
distinguishing such content from genuine material.
Many companies also track the public’s mood by using algorithms. By analysing the post
from people sharing their attitudes, opinions, and values on social media, companies can
track how a person feels and reacts to certain posts.
Scientists are also persuaders. Scientists often have to convince others that their research
possesses scientific merit and social value. They also have to argue for the superiority of
their theories over rival theories.
The book offers five primary benefits of learning about persuasion:
- Instrumental function
You can become a more effective persuader yourself.
- The knowledge and awareness function
It will enhance your knowledge and awareness of a variety of persuasive processes
- The defensive function
Learning about persuasion operates is vital in our view; you can become a more discerning
consumer.
- Debunking function
The study of human influence can aid in common-sense assumptions. Traditional wisdom
isn’t always right and it’s worth knowing when it’s wrong.
- Well-being function
The ability to persuade others improves one’s subjective sense of well-being.
1.2 What constitutes persuasion? (p. 30-43)
In every discipline there will be different concepts and definitions of persuasion.
In social psychology persuasion is seen as attitude change:
,Persuasion refers to: any instance in which an active attempt is made to change a person’s
mind.
In communication studies persuasion is seen as identification:
The process of co-creation by sources and receivers of a state of identification through the
use of verbal and/or visual symbols.
Pure versus borderline cases of persuasion
The differences in various definitions can be clarified by focusing on two key considerations:
pure persuasion or borderline cases of persuasion.
- Pure: clear-cut cases of persuasion, like a presidential debate or a commercial
- Borderline: cases that not anyone would agree that is it’s persuasion.
A working definition of persuasion is: Persuasion involves
- One or more persons
- Who are engaged in the activity of creating, reinforcing, modifying, extinguishing,
- Beliefs, attitudes, attitudes, intentions, motivations, behaviours
- Within the constraints of a given communication context
Intentionality: is the person
acting purposely in persuading
the other?
Effects: is the persuasion
successful?
Freewill: Is the person aware
he/she is being persuaded?
Symbolic: does the message
contain symbolic elements?
Intrapersonal: is the person
persuading him/herself or is that
person being persuaded?
So what isn’t persuasion?
What matters is how persuasive a given communication situation is, not whether a
communication situation is persuasive. A good deal of human behaviour, we don’t consider
to be persuasive, unless and until some additional conditions are met. We don’t think
everything humans do is persuasive. For example, tripping over a rick, by itself, doesn't
seem like a persuasive act to us, although, under certain conditions it could be (such as
feigning clumsiness)
Dual processes of persuasion
The book presents two models of persuasion. Both are known as dual process models
because they postulate that persuasion operates via two basic paths.
- Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
When you reconcile data of the persuasion research, there’s two cognitive processes:
, 1. Central route: message elaboration; the path of cognitive processing that involves
scrutiny of message content. So, it is the extent to which a person carefully thinks
about issue-relevant arguments contained in a persuasive communication.
2. Peripheral route: A mental shortcut process that accepts or rejects a message based
on irrelevant cues as opposed to actively thinking about the issue.
The motivation to process depends again on your involvement (ego-involved) in the issue
and your personal characteristics. Some people have a need for cognitive clarity, regardless
of the issue.
Once people have shown an inclination to think about the content of a message (motivation),
the next issue is whether they are able to do so.
- The Heuristic Systematic of Persuasion (HSM)
The HSM operates on the assumption that individuals rely on two different modes of
information processes.
- Systematic processing: more thoughtful and deliberate
- Heuristic processing: relies on mental shortcuts. Heuristics processing is based on
the application of decision rules or heuristic cues that help simplify the thought
process.
Another concept that contributed to the HSM was the Sufficiency Principle. This principle
reflected widespread notions that people use limited cognitive resources, or use an
“economy-minded” approach to information processing when presented with persuasive
information. Based on this thought, early assumptions said people were at least partially
guided by the “principle of least effort.” This principle stated that in the interest of economy,
the mind would often process with the least amount of effort (heuristic), and for more
detailed information processing would use more effortful processing (systematic). This was
the major difference when compared with the ELM.
