7: Chapter Persuasion Persuasion o The process by which people's minds are changed o Can occur consciously with our consent o It can also occur non-consciously, without our knowledge Most persuasion happens this way o There are two basic routes to persuasion Central Includes information on features (speed, hard-drive space for computer example) Better for thoughtful, involved audiences Peripheral Using appealing images and "hooks" Doesn't say anything about taste, price, just shows "cool" image All about an image and trying to get people to resonate to that image Better for disinterested audiences Can also have mixed cases, where both routes are being used Always consumers to engage in the rational and emotional side o Four influences on persuasion From Who (the source) A communicator's credibility is higher when he/she talks fast and directly, and makes eye contact Being thought an expert and being attractive also helps What (the message) Messages evoking good feelings or fear can help (content) Classical conditioning: by associating X and Y, feelings about X transfer Y to [pairing product to unconditioned response= consumer to react to product (ucs)] Acknowledging both sides works best if listener is initially opposed (starts out against your beliefs) Going first helps (a primacy effect) First things you hear you tend to remember better People going second have to deal with previous case and their own But, if there is a delay, going last can be better (a recency effect) Time in between the two messages, better to go last How (the channel) Channel of communication matters (written, audio, video, live) More lifelike/vivid channels tend to be more persuasive; more impact But written channel is best for complex messages (persuading people about something complicated, difficult to layout)
Medium-type interacts with message-difficulty to predict persuasion In real life almost all "main effects" (conformity stuff) are qualified by "interactions" To Whom (Audience) The young are more easily persuaded Distracted, uninterested, or unprepared audiences are easily persuaded Easy to say "no" when you know how you're going to respond