Persuasion primer

Editorial Writing

J4420/7420 Missouri School of Journalism

Persuasion Opinion that moves opinion

Clyde Bentley, Ph.D., University of Missouri School of Journalism

Persuasion: Opinion that moves Opinion

Clyde Bentley, Ph.D.Univ. of Missouri

Fact of life:

Persuasion is now the great common denominator

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Natural persuasionWe use principles of persuasion everyday, either as receivers or deliverers of persuasive messages.

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Habits, Values, Beliefs• Habits: behaviors, unconscious, hard to verbalize

• Values: overarching goals• Beliefs: subjective information about actions or belief



Attitudes and Opinions• Attitudes: Learned, enduring, emotional evaluation that exerts a directive impact on social behavior

• Opinions: Cognitive judgment, focused. May be supported by observations.



Classical Definitions of PersuasionRhetoric: The legacy of early democracy

Ethos: An appeal to the authority or credibility of the presenter. I am qualified

Pathos: Appeal to the audiences emotions. Metaphors, similes, passionate delivery

Logos: A logical appeal. The facts support the claim.



Enthymeme

"Socrates is mortal because he's human.”Formal syllogism:

• All humans are mortal. (major premise - assumed)

• Socrates is human. (minor premise - stated)

• Therefore, Socrates is mortal. (conclusion - stated)

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An informally stated three-part deductive argument (syllogism).

Not quite air tight.



Greek Persuasion by the Numbers

Cicero’s five elements of persuasive speaking:

1.Evidence2.Organization3.Styling4.Memorizing5.Delivering

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Three Flavors of Persuasion

• Influence – The kinds of things and ways that alter a person's attitude or behaviors.

• Coercion – Uses some level of force—physical or psychological—to gain compliance.

• Propaganda – Uses some level of psychological pushing that convinces the population to believe, or act in accord with the sources’ suggestions.



Narrative TheoriesBased on premise that human beings are instinctually the tellers of stories.

Writer presents facts and opinions to get the reader to understand why something is right, wrong or somewhere in between.



Priming

• Either introduces new things or brings old thoughts close to the surface of the subconscious, making them more accessible.

• Priming has a limited effect as the thoughts fade back to the deeper subconscious. Typically, primed ideas are effective for around 24 hours.



Framing: Using facts, observations or habits to give perspective to a situation.

Example – A vacation to the mountains:Mr. A – a chance for exerciseMs. B – a chance to read in peaceMrs. C – relief from boredom

Editorial Writing

J4420/7420 Missouri School of Journalism

Get serious about PERSUASION

In theory, at least



Ultimate terms (red flag words)

• God terms carry blessings, demand sacrifice and obedience. E.g. progress, value.

• Devil terms are reviled and evoke disgust. E.g. fascist, pedophile.

• Charismatic Terms are not like God and Devil terms, which are associated with observable things. These terms are more intangible.(freedom, contribution, etc.)



The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Central information processing route• Reflective, takes mental effortPeripheral information processing route• Reflexive, mental shortcuts



SMCR Model of Persuasion• A source (S) (or persuader), who or which is the encoder of the message,

• A message (M), which is meant to convey the source's meaning through any of the codes,

• A channel (C), which carries the message and which might have distracting noise, and

• A receiver (R), who decodes the message, trying to sift out channel noise and adding his or her own interpretation.



Theory of Reasoned Action

• Persuasion is primarily passed on the central processing channel of the ELM.

• People are rational decision makers• People make use of the information given to them.

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Cognitive DissonanceAssumption: Humans are consistent . Produce tension via two conflicting thoughts at the same time.

Relieve by:•Change behavior.•Justify behavior by changing the conflicting cognition.•Justify behavior by adding new cognitions.



Information manipulationIn order to persuade or deceive, a person deliberately breaks one of the four conversational maxims:•Quantity: Information given will be full (as per expected by the listener) and without omission.•Quality: information given will be truthful and correct. •Relation: information will be relevant to the subject matter of the conversation in hand.•Manner: things will be presented in a way that enables others to understand and with aligned non-verbal language.

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Amplification strategy• Displaying certainty about an attitude when talking with another person will act to increase and harden that attitude.

• When the attitude displayed is more uncertain, then it will act to soften the attitude.

• Using an emotional attack on a cognitive attitude will increase resistance

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Amplification – more strategies• A cognitive attack is more effective.• To persuade another person, align your projected attitude with theirs. If you are non-aligned you will only act to create resistance.

• To put off a persuader, mis-match their attitudes. When they are logical, be emotional, and vice versa.

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Persuasion knowledge model

Persuasion is more effective when people on both sides know something about each other and the topic.

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Reciprocity NormWe fill obliged to return favors

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Scarcity Principle We want what is of limited availability.



Door In The Face (DITF) Cause rejection then make real offer. (Start high and go lower)

Foot In The Door (FITD)Make small offer then increase. (Start low and then go higher)



Forced Compliance: Obligation to obey. People will comply with perceived authority.

Sleeper Effect:

Persuasive messages increase effectiveness over time.



Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

The language we use creates the reality that we believe.

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Persuasion primer