SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER 7:
increases over time.
PERSUASION
PERSUASION
• the process by which a message induces change in
beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors
• its power enables us to promote health or to sell
addiction, to advance peace or stir up hate, to
enlighten or deceiving
WHAT PATHS LEAD TO PERSUASION?
CENTRAL ROUTE TO PERSUASION
• occurs when interested people focus on the
arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
• System I (controlled)
➡ Ex: After hearing a political debate, you may
decide to vote for a candidate because you
found the candidate’s views and arguments very
convincing.
PERIPHERAL ROUTE TO PERSUASION
• occurs when people are influenced by incidental
cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness
• System II (automatic)
➡ Ex: After reading a political debate, you may
decide to vote for a candidate because you like
the sound of the person's voice, or the person
went to the same university as you did.
**Central route persuasion, being more thoughtful and
less superficial, is more durable and more likely to
influence behavior.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF
PERSUASION?
FOUR INGREDIENTS OF PERSUASION:
1. THE COMMUNICATOR
• CREDIBILITY: beliavability; a credible
communicator is perceived as both expert
and trustworthy.
• SLEEPER EFFECT: a delayed impact of a
message that occurs when an initially
discounted message becomes more
effective, such as we remember the
message, but forget the reason for
discounting it
➡ The power of the persuasive message
➡ Ex: We may remember a story, but not
who we got it from.
• PERCEIVED EXPERTISE: A message
about toothbrushing from “Dr. James
Rundle of the Canadian Dental Association”
is more convincing than the same message
from “Jim Rundle, a local high school
student who did a project with some of his
classmates on dental hygiene.”
• SPEAKING STYLE: Another way to appear
credible is to speak confidently and fluently.
➡ Avoid saying “you know” or “uh.”
• P E R C E I V E D T R U S T W O RT H I N E S S :
Trustworthiness is higher if the audience
believes the communicator is not trying to
persuade them.
➡ One thing that surprisingly does NOT
improve persuasion is direct eye
contact between the communicator
and the audience.
SIX PERSUASION PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLE APPLICATION
Establish your expertise;
AUTHORITY: People defer to identify problems you have
credible experts. solved and people you have
served.
Win friends and influence
LIKING: People respond
people. Create bonds based
more affirmatively to those
on similar interest, praise
they like.
freely.
SOCIAL PROOF: People
Use “peer power” — have
allow the example of others
respected others lead the
to validate how to think, feel,
way.
and act.
RECIPROCITY: People feel Be generous with your time
obligated to repay in kind and resources. What goes
what they’ve received. around, comes around.
Instead of telling restaurant
reservation callers, “Please
CONSISTENCY: People tend
call if you change your
to honor their public
plans,” ask, “Will you call if
commitments.
you change your plans?” and
no-shows will drop.
SCARCITY: People prize Highlight genuinely exclusive
what’s scarce. information or opportunities.
 • ATTRACTIVENESS AND LIKING:
➡ ATTRACTIVENESS: Having qualities
that appeal to an audience
‣ An appealing communicator (often
someone similar to the audience) is
most persuasive on matters of
subjective preference.
‣ PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS:
Arguments, especially emotional
ones, are often more influential
when they come from people we
consider beautiful.
‣ SIMILARITY: We tend to like people
who are like us.
2. THE MESSAGE
• REASON VERSUS EMOTION:
➡ Involved audience: central route
➡ Uninvolved audience: peripheral route
• THE EFFECT OF GOOD FEELINGS: Good
feelings often enhance persuasion, partly
because people in a good mood view the
world through rose-colored glasses.
• THE EFFECT OF AROUSING FEAR:
➡ Ex: Graphic representations of the
hazards of smoking on each pack of
cigarettes made smoking seem less
attractive.
• MESSAGE CONTENT:
➡ FOOT-IN-THE-DOOR PHENOMENON:
The tendency for people who have first
agreed to a small request to comply later
with a larger request
• LOWBALL TECHNIQUE: A compliance
strategy which is used to persuade a person
to agree to a request by giving an irresistible
offer at first, but taking it out later on.
➡ Ex: Students were asked to donate $5
to a scholarship program for poor
students. In return, they would get a
coupon for a free smoothie at Jamba
Juice. Some agreed. If they agreed,
the caller would then say that they had
run out of coupons, but ask if the
students were still interested in
donating. Those who agreed still said
yes, but those who heard that there
were no more coupons left before they
could answer disagreed.
• DOOR-IN-THE-FACE TECHNIQUE: After
someone first turns down a large request,
the same requester counteroffers with a
more reasonable request.
➡ Ex: Friend 1: May I borrow $100?
Friend 2: Sorry, but I don’t have
that much.
Friend 1: May I borrow $10, then?
Friend 2: Yeah, sure.
• ONE-SIDED VERSUS TWO-SIDED
APPEALS: If your audience will be exposed
to opposing views, offer a two-sided appeal.
➡ Ex: Signs added to a wastebasket in a
university says, “No aluminium cans,
please!!! Use the recycler near the
entrance instead.” A final persuasive
argument followed this, saying, “It may
be inconvenient, but it is important!!!”
• PRIMACY VERSUS RECENCY:
➡ PRIMACY EFFECT: Other things
being equal, information presented
first usually has the most influence.
‣ Ex: Students who read positive
reviews of a restaurant before the
negative ones liked the restaurant
more than those who read the
negative reviews first.
‣ Ex: In political polls and in primary
election voting, candidates benefit
from being listed first on the ballot.
➡ RECENCY EFFECT: Information
presented last sometimes has the
most influence.
‣ Recency effects are less common
than primacy effects.
‣ Forgetting created the recency
effect when…
1. Enough time separates the
two messages.
2. The audience commits itself
soon after the second
message.
‣ Ex: When told to remember a list of
words dictated by your teacher, you
will remember more words at the
latter part.
 3. HOW THE MESSAGE IS COMMUNICATED
• CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION: the way
the message is delivered — whether face-t-
face, in writing, on films, or in some other
way
• MEDIA INFLUENCE: THE TWO-SET
FLOW: Those who personally influence our
opinions must get their ideas from some
source, and often their sources are the
media.
➡T W O - S T E P FLOW OF
COMMUNICATION: the process by
which media influence often occurs
through opinion leaders, who in turn
influence others
• COMPARING MEDIA: Messages are best
comprehended when written.
Comprehension is one of the first steps in
the persuasion process.

4. THE AUDIENCE
• HOW OLD ARE THEY?
➡ L I F E - C Y C L E E X P L A N AT I O N :
Attitudes change as people grow older.
➡ GENERATIONAL EXPLANATION:
Attitudes do not change; older people
largely hold onto the attitudes they
adopted when they were young.
• U N I N V O LV E D A U D I E N C E U S E
PERIPHERAL CUES:
➡ NEED FOR COGNITION: the
motivation to think and analyze.

HOW CAN PERSUASION BE RESISTED?

STRENGTHENING PERSONAL COMMITMENT:

• DEVELOPING COUNTERARGUMENTS:
➡ ATTITUDE INOCULATION: exposing
people to weak attacks upon their
attitudes so that when stronger attacks
come, they will have refutations
available
‣ One way to strengthen existing
attitudes is to challenge them,
although the challenge must not be
so strong as to overwhelm them.