Transcript Chapter 1

PERSUASION, SOCIAL INFLUENCE, &
COMPLIANCE GAINING, 5TH ed.
Prepared by Robert Gass & John Seiter
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AIMS AND GOALS
Understanding how persuasion function by
 learning about the how’s and why’s of persuasion
 learning about current theories and research on persuasion
 examining “real-life” illustrations of persuasion
Understanding that persuasion is both an art and science
 People can be stubborn, unpredictable
 Even the most well-funded, well-designed persuasive
campaigns may fail
Learning to become a more effective practitioner of
persuasion
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PERSUASION IS NOT A DIRTY WORD
Persuasion has gotten a bad rap
 Hucksters, charlatans, unethical advertisers, and unscrupulous
politicians have misused persuasion
 Persuasion is sometimes associated with manipulation, brainwashing,
deceit
 Non-obvious or accidental influence: social modeling of risk behaviors
in movies
Persuasion is an “art” and a science.
 People can be stubborn, unpredictable
 Even the most well-funded, well-designed persuasive campaigns may
fail
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PERSUASION IS OUR FRIEND
Persuasion is a positive social force
 persuasion helps open closed societies and make
government more transparent
“Always
wear your
helmet.”
 persuasion is essential for charities and relief efforts
 persuasive campaigns are used to promote public
health and safety
 Parents employ persuasion to urge their children to
stay safe, avoid danger
 Intimates use persuasion to negotiate relational rules
 coaches use persuasion to motivate underdog teams
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PERVASIVENESS OF PERSUASION
Persuasion is omnipresent
 The average person sees hundreds of ads
per day
Obvious and not so obvious forms of
persuasion
 buzz marketing generates free advertising
 word of mouth (WOM) appears more
genuine and authentic
 social media enables the use of webtracking and sentiment tracking
Image courtesy of www.freefoto.com
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TIPPING POINTS
Like a virus, word about a product or service
spreads from one consumer to another
Tipping point:
 the threshold or critical point at which an idea, product, or
message takes off
Viral theory of marketing:
 ideas and messages can be contagious, just like diseases
The law of the few
 Large numbers of people are not required to generate a trend
 A select few enjoy a disproportionate amount of influence over
others
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TIPPING POINTS: KEY INFLUENCERS
Mavens possess
information, expertise,
and seek to share it
 “Mavens are data
banks. They
provide the
message.”
(Gladwell)
 Mavens want to
educate more
than persuade or
sell
Connectors know
everybody, are
networkers, have
many contacts
 “Connectors are
social glue: they
spread it.” (Gladwell)
 They have large
social circles
 They are social
gadflies; they blog,
chat, text, twitter
Salespeople are active
advocates
 They are charismatic
 They are good at
building rapport.
 They often rely on
“soft” influence (not
the hard sell).
Note: All three types of
connectors are needed for
a phenomenon to take-off
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TIPPING POINTS: ADDITIONAL FACTORS
Power of context
 The idea, message, or
product must happen at
the right time and place
The stickiness factor
 The idea, message, or
product has to be “sticky”
or inherently attractive
Scalability

A message must be able to
go from very small to very
large without “gearing up.”
Effortless transfer
 the message must be easy
to disseminate
 “word of mouse”
 leveraging free media
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TIPPING POINTS--CAUTIONS AND CAVEATS
Momentum may not reach the tipping point
 No guarantee the initial “buzz” will become
contagious
 Difficult to orchestrate word of mouth
 Good ideas don’t always gain traction
 Trends come and go quickly
 Like a contagion, a trend can die out quickly or be
replaced by a new one
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GAMIFICATION
People naturally enjoy playing games
 Games are fun, challenging, rewarding
 The element of competition increases motivation
Gamification applies principles of game design to engage users
 Games capture and hold users’ attention
 Points, leaderboards, and badges can increase engagement
Persuaders use games to encourage consumer participation
 For example, Nike+ encourages runners to share and compare their
workouts
Drawbacks to gamification
 Overuse may lead to boredom, fatigue
 Some maintain the practice is exploitative
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PERVASIVENESS OF PERSUASION
Persuasion in the
Sciences

Scientists are actively
involved in persuasion

Over theories and
paradigms

Over methodologies
and research findings

Over grants and
funding
Persuasion in the Arts

Artists seek to shape
public opinion in and
through their work

Picasso’s Guernica
(1937) offers a
moral indictment of
war

Movies can change
attitudes, alter
beliefs, increase
awareness
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PERVASIVENESS OF PERSUASION
Non-obvious Contexts
for Persuasion
 Bumper stickers
 12 step programs
 Intercessory prayer (3rd
party)
 Plays and musicals
 Panhandling
This homeless person is using humor/satire
as a panhandling strategy (photo by John
Seiter)
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PERVASIVENESS OF PERSUASION
Weird Persuasion
 A town changed its name to Dish, Texas
as a buzz marketing ploy
 William Shatner’s kidney stone was
auctioned off on eBay
 Acne lights were installed to discourage
teen loitering
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PERVASIVENESS OF PERSUASION
Persuasion in interpersonal contexts
 Most influence attempts occur in the interpersonal
arena
 90% of word-of-mouth (WOM) occurs in offline
settings
 Persuasion is most effective in face-to-face contexts
 Less obvious or overt
 Harder to say “No” in person
 Easier to analyze, adapt to one’s audience
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INSTRUMENTAL FUNCTION OF PERSUASION
Improving one’s own persuasive abilities
Persuasion skill is a form of communication
competence
 Communication competence requires
effectiveness and appropriateness
 Like any skill-set, persuasive skills can be
improved through training and practice
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KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS FUNCTION
Gaining a better understanding of how persuasion
works
Overcoming habitual persuasion:
 Individuals are often unaware of their own habitual,
reflexive patterns of persuasion
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DEFENSIVE FUNCTION
 Becoming a more savvy, discerning consumer of
persuasive messages
 Third person effect; people underestimate the
effects of advertising on themselves
 They overestimate the effects of advertising on
others
 Being less likely to succumb to high pressure
sales tactics
 Exposing unethical strategies and tactics
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DEBUNKING FUNCTION
Dispelling folk-wisdom, false stereotypes, and
“common-sense” misconceptions about
persuasion
 gaze avoidance is not a reliable sign of deception
 Subliminal influence is ineffective
Learning about non-obvious, counter-intuitive
research findings
 The “logic” versus “emotion” distinction represents
a false dichotomy
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TWO CRITICISMS OF PERSUASION
1. Is teaching/learning about persuasion
manipulative?
 The study of persuasion is fraught with ethical
concerns
 Little of the good in the world could be accomplished
without persuasion
 Not studying persuasion, won’t make persuasion go
away
 People who claim that persuasion is manipulative are
themselves taking a persuasive stance
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TWO CRITICISMS OF PERSUASION
2. Are persuasion findings inconsistent or
confusing?
 Persuasion deserves study because it is
complicated
 A number of reliable generalizations have been
uncovered
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