Motivational Appeals

Learning Objectives
After reading the chapter, you should be able to: 1. Understand the role of motivational appeals in persuasion 2. Identify particular emotions and how persuaders use them 3. Describe Maslows hierarchy of needs and how they apply to persuasion 4. Define values and ways persuaders use values to persuade audience members

Key Terms
Motivational appeal
Emotions Value

Instrumental values
Terminal values

Motivational Appeals
Persuaders know our feelings influence decisions

and create message to maximize this appeal Pathos Aristotles name for this type of persuasive strategy Motivational appeals the variety of affective concepts, including psychological needs and values as well as emotion, that is studied today

The Power of Motivational Appeals

We often think that when feelings are involved in

decision making, we make faulty decisions The most effective and valid persuasion uses credibility, logic, and motivational appeals
1. Motivational appeals motivate us to act on the

persuaders message 2. Feelings help us make moral decisions

The Power of Motivational Appeals

Craig Waddell (1990) when we use reason alone

we may draw faulty conclusions Emotions allow individuals to make qualitative judgments about moral decisions At times feelings have adverse effect on decision making e.g., prejudice, racism, dogmatism

Emotion
One school of thought says emotions are comprised

of two elements
1. Physiological arousal a rush or high experienced

when facing something exciting or dangerous or pleasurable 2. Cognitive state how physiological arousal is perceived or described

Defining Emotion
Emotions belief systems or schemas that guide

how we understand our feelings and how we organize our responses to those feelings Averil (1980) argues we also learn to respond to emotions based on our interactions with others in our culture parents, siblings, television characters
Syndrome emotions are a set of learned response

behaviors, not an essence or single underlying force Social role socially prescribed responses to a given situation, learned from others

Defining Emotion
Gerard Hauser (2002) emotions involve our self-

esteem because we learn what our culture thinks are the appropriate emotional responses and behaviors in given situations Emotions affect how we see our world and give it meaning Smith and Hyde (1991) emotions help us see, interpret and become involved with the world in meaningful ways

Defining Emotion
Fear most studied emotion A fear appeal involves three dimensions 1. Describes a threat 2. Indicates that audience members are likely to experience the threat 3. Indicates that one way to avoid the threat is by adopting the message of the persuader

Defining Emotion
Fear research is confusing and contradictory Fear may inhibit persuasion, but additional fear appeals are likely to make the message more persuasive Fear appeals exert a stronger influence on low-anxiety audience members than on high-anxiety audience members Fear has a stronger persuasive appeal on older audiences than on younger audiences

Defining Emotion
Fear Mongeau (1998) reaffirms support for four

critical components of a fear appeal

1. Severity of threat 2. Probability of occurrence 3. Efficacy of coping response 4. Ability to enact solution

Aristotles Emotional Appeals

Emotion Definition Anger Appeal Desire for retaliation We cannot let terrorists inflict their because of a slight directed, will upon innocent victims around the without justification, against world. oneself or others A settling down and quieting Now is not the time to harbor feelings of anger of anger against each other; now is the time to come together as a united party to win the general election. A sort of agitation derived from the imagination of a future destructive or painful evil Purchasing a cellular telephone is good insurance against being stranded in you car in a winter snowstorm.

Calmnes s

Fear

Aristotles Emotional Appeals

Emotion Definition Shame A class of evils that brings person into disrespect A pain that happens to one who does not deserve it Appeal Your children deserve the best. Dont settle for anything less than the nutrition of Gerber foods. Help the less fortunate in our city by donating to the local food bank. Pity Envy

Distress at apparent Nothing says style and success like success on the part of ones a Lincoln Navigator. peers

Needs
Abraham Maslows (1943) theory of needs:

we cannot achieve higher-level needs until we have achieved lower-level needs

Physiological needs food, drink, sleep, and sex Safety needs protection from wild animals,

temperature extremes, and criminals Love needs love, affection, and belongingness Esteem needs stable, firmly based, high evaluation of ourselves, from ourselves and others Self-actualization realize our potential

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

Needs
If lower-level needs are not met, higher-level needs

become nonexistent or are pushed into the background Love not only seek to receive love and attention, but also to show it to others Esteem receiving esteem from others provides sense of self-confidence, worth, strength, capability, and adequacy Persuaders try to disrupt our sense of self-esteem Advertisers promote self-actualization through consumption of consumer goods

Values
Value a criterion or standard of preference that

guides our actions, develops attitudes toward objects, and allows moral judgment of ourselves and others (Robin Williams, 1979) Values are learned Values developed through experiences with others

Values
Cultural values Maintained through hegemony and patriarchy Transformed by variety of forces

Economic Demographic Through communication of persuaders

Individual values Parents, siblings, and peers along with institutions influence our values Media creates ideas about what is important/not important

Values
Rokeach (1968) identifies two types of individual

values
1. Instrumental values means by which we live 2. Terminal values goals for our lives

Prioritization of values into hierarchies accounts for

individuals different value orientations Persuaders use value appeals to achieve identification Values also serve to anchor our perceptions, filtering persuasion through an individuals value hierarchy

Rokeachs Individual Values

Terminal Values A comfortable life An exciting life A sense of accomplishment A world at peace Inner harmony Mature love National security Pleasure Instrumental Values Ambitious Broad-minded Capable Cheerful Imaginative Independent Intellectual Logical

A world of beauty Equality

Family security Freedom Happiness

Salvation Self-respect
Social recognition True friendship Wisdom

Clean Courageous
Forgiving Helpful Honest

Loving Obedient
Polite Responsible Self-controlled

The Nature of Motivational Appeals

Motivational appeals are designed to elicit feeling in

an audience that will result in some kind of socially constructed response from the audience Motivational appeals are linked to the experience of time; appeal to future or past emotion Time plays a crucial role in developing the audiences emotional state Persuaders use personal relationships to call upon the audiences emotions Emotions are linked to relationship building

Narrative Form
Narratives evoke images of time and place
Narratives bring emotion closer to the audience in

time and space Narratives evoke greater emotional response from the audience

Humor
Humor brings about emotions such as happiness,

contentment, and pride Persuaders can use humor to develop higher-level needs in Maslows hierarchy Puns play on words Satire disparaging comment made in order to bring about changes in person or topic Farce employs exaggerated characters and situations

Visual Communication
Resemblance to reality makes visual communication

capable of creating physiological arousal in an audience Facial expressions communicate a great deal of emotion

Media
Media influence not only physiological component of

emotions, but how we socially construct emotions as well Image size affects viewers state of arousal more life-sized images are perceived as more of a threat to the viewer Moving pictures increase the arousal level of audience members Moving images amplify audience members positive or negative feelings toward the image compared with a still image

The Social Construction of Affect

Age five children correctly identify facial

expressions of happiness, sadness, anger, and fear Older children can distinguish similar emotional syndrome, i.e., happiness and pride Children learn stereotyped attitudes about others, aggressive behaviors and cooperation from watching television Adults continue to develop socially constructed beliefs about emotions, needs, and values