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Week 6: Language, Persuasion, & Activism

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* Language shapes reality
* The words that we use allow us to make sense of the world. How something is described affects
how it is interpreted.
* Think of how much controversy exists in our society over the use of language and words.
* For example, the “ban bossy” campaign. This is a campaign to stop the use of the word “bossy” in
reference to little girls. The idea is that little boys are referred to as leaders for displaying the
same traits that cause little girls to be labeled as “bossy.” The negative use of the term is often
seen as one of the reasons that women are less likely to seek out leadership roles and more likely
to be viewed critically when they do hold these positions.
* Reality is socially constructed—it is through social interactions (i.e., talking) with other people
that we make sense of the world. Our understanding of reality is shaped and changed through
social interactions.
* Words are subjective. The nature of the audience determines how the word will be
interpreted.
* Words change meaning depending on when or where they are used.
* Every word has a connotative & denotative function
* Denotative: the explicit definition; can be found in the dictionary
* Connotative: thoughts and emotions associated with the word.
* Example: The definition of “moist” is “slightly damp.” But is this a neutral word? There is a good
chance that you hate this word. So when we come in from walking in the rain, we do not really
want to describe ourselves as “moist.” Because, yuck.
* In order to be successful, activists must adapt their language to the thoughts and
emotions of their audience.
* But who is their audience? Different audiences react to language in different ways.
* Activism creates solidarity among peoples creating “A People” (a unified group seeing their
interests as the same). But activism also creates divisions. Understanding who will be
attracted to the language of the movement and who will be repelled is a key element of
success.
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* Messages must resonate with pre-existing attitudes of your audience.
* Who is the audience? Successful activists need to divide up their audience
according to goals. It is likely that they will have different goals and therefore
different persuasion strategies depending on who their audience is.
* Must figure out what their audience values already. Then relate the message to
those pre-existing values.
* Anchors are a way to ensure that the message resonates with your
audience.
* Anchors are beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors, and group norms already
accepted by the group an activist is targeting.
* Use these to anchor their message. Message is linked to these pre-existing
beliefs and values.
* Example: in the United States, freedom would be considered an anchor. Think of how
often freedom is used to persuade US citizens. The concept of freedom is used by
Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians in the US. It can be used to sell cars,
motorcycles, alcohol, vacations, clothing, etc.
* Think how often this anchor is used in activism. Pro-choice activists talk about
freedom. Civil rights protesters who disobeyed segregation on busses and trains were
called “Freedom Riders.” Gun rights activists talk about the freedom to bear arms; gun
control activists talk about the freedom to live in safety from mass shootings and
crime.
* An anchor should be something that seems like common sense to a group.
Everyone agrees that it is a good thing (although people might disagree on what
exactly that anchor means).
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* Look at the images of these protest signs.

* Many are using anchors—they are trying to tie their message to something that their target
audience already values.
* Common anchors used in US protests.
* Democracy
* Equality
* Justice
* Life
* Change
* Remember, the anchor is not the message or the goal of the campaign. The anchor is what
the audience *already* desires. Successful activists will make people believe that their
message is consistent with what the audience already wants.
* Anchors are intended for specific audiences. Activists focusing on audiences in different
cultures will likely want to use anchors that resonate in those contexts.
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* The three classical modes of persuasion are ethos (the character and
reputation of the persuader), pathos (emotional appeals), and logos
(logic-based appeals).
* Language can be used as methods of logos or pathos and to establish
ethos.
* Language makes you think or feel and can create, support, or destroy
credibility.
* Sometimes logos and pathos can be used at the same time (audiences are
able to think logically about an issue that also has an emotional
component), but sometimes it better (more persuasive) to emphasize one
over the other.
* Activists need to determine if their audiences are going to be persuaded
primarily through logic or emotion.
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* Symbol: basic units of human communication
* Symbols can be images or words—anything that refers to a larger concept.
* The word “cat” is a symbol for the live creature that we know as a cat.
* A cognitive symbol allows for a mental representation; affects the mind to help a
person see things more clearly.
* An affective symbol targets the heart. It makes people *feel* more profoundly.
* Example: Let’s say that you saw someone light their tee shirt on fire. Weird, but who cares?
Now you see someone light the US flag on fire. Flags, like tee shirts, are just cloth. But you
probably feel a very different emotion when you see the US flag on fire. It is an affective
symbol. It refers to something much bigger than what it literally is (cloth).
* People can use symbols to define/redefine a situation (frame/reframe)
* Referential symbols have low emotion
* What do you think about:
* Enhanced Interrogation Methods
* Protective reaction strikes
* The medical procedure “intact dilation and extraction”
* Condensational symbols have high emotion
* What do you think about:
* Torture (aka enhanced interrogation methods)
* Bombing raids (aka protective reaction strikes)
* Partial birth abortion (intact dilation & extraction)
* Remember, framing is power. Whichever frame becomes more widely used is the frame
that has “won.”
* Think about the storming of the Capitol Building on January 6th. Now think about the language
that we use to describe it. Was it an insurrection? An act of domestic terrorism? A protest? A
riot? The words that become more commonly engrained in our head shape the way that we
think of this event.
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* Framing: Attributes of an issue
emphasized in media directly influence
public opinion
* Promote particular interpretation,
evaluation, and/or solution
* A frame includes:
* Problem definition Look at the word
* Hypothesized cause choice in the
* Moral evaluation headlines.
Especially:
* Proposed remedy • Use of the word “rare”
* Framing & Activism •
•
Specification of amount
Undocumented vs.
* Protesters and counter-protesters illegal
(those against the movement or in • Use of word “student”
support of the status quo) “wrestle”
over frames. They try to get their
frame accepted by the mass public.
* Whichever side wins the framing battle
is able to shape public opinion.
* Watch this clip of Frank Luntz, a
Republican campaign strategist who is
especially skilled at shaping public
opinion with words.
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* Frames vs. Counterframes
* The counterframe is the opposing
frame in a framing battle
* Which will resonate? Not always
clear
* Examples:
* Affirmative action vs. reverse
discrimination
* Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter
* Pro-choice vs. pro-life
* Frames more likely to work when:
* Consistent with audiences’ core
values and beliefs
* Use anchors
* When the issue is new or novel and
people are still learning about it
* When the audience does not have
strong beliefs
* When there is a lack of competitive
counterframes
* Labeling describes the process of naming the movement.
* A label should be memorable, simple, and educational.
* Like frames, they should also depict good and bad, just and unjust.
* But remember, activism unifies as well as divides. And activists need to worry
about the following:
1. Mainstream media coverage
* Recall—issues that are more dramatic and more controversial get more media coverage.
More dramatic labels can lead to more coverage. But is it the coverage activists want?
2. Persuading potential supporters
* Labels that are too controversial might deter some people or create counter movements.
3. Affecting public opinion
* Activists want active supporters but it is also helpful to affect general public opinion. This
then changes the culture.
* Controversial labels might communicate the wrong idea to people who then do not do the
additional work necessary to learn more the issue.
* For example, many activists in support of police reform have criticized the term “defund the police”
since the policy is really about reallocation of police. But does “reallocate the police” have the same
emotional resonance? Maybe fewer people would be actively opposed to this but fewer people might
also have heard the term or care.
4. Persuading elites, policymakers, or those with power in society
* Persuasive labels can then be adopted by those in power as part of their own campaigns.

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* Slogans: a term, phrase, or expression, fittingly worded, which

suggests action, loyalty, or inspires people to decide on and to fight for
the realization of some principle or decisive issue.
* Longer than labels but still must be short, memorable, and simple.
* Also helpful if they are fun and sound good chanted.
* Slogans involving anchors are more likely to resonate.
* Spontaneous slogans: original, created at the spur of the moment
during a protest or activist event.
* “Say her/his name!” “This is what democracy looks like.”
* Sanctioned slogans: official slogans of social movement organizations
and often appear in movement-produced materials.
* “Protecting life in America since 1968” “To ensure the political, educational,
social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial
hatred and racial discrimination.”
* Advertising slogans: found on merchandise affiliated with the
movement such as tee shirts or bumper stickers.
* “I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.” “This is
what a feminist looks like.”
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* Labels & slogans are meant to capture people’s attention & interests.
* Once they have that, they must communicate their messages in a way that persuades
people to provide additional support.
* Should activists use evidence making a reasonable argument? Or should they try to target
people’s emotions by using narratives or story-telling?
* Evidential claims—using statistics, facts, or science to persuade an audience
* Pros:
* Less subjective, more applicable to wider variety of situations
* Good at convincing people who are already interested in the issue and have the ability to understand
* Language should still be simplistic enough for a casual audience. Avoid overly technical complicated jargon or
terms.
* Cons:
* Harder to remember
* People struggle to comprehend large numbers. If you are using a large statistic (example: 16 million people
died in WWI), it is not likely to have much impact.
* Narrative claims—using a story to persuade an audience
* Pros:
* Easier to remember stories over facts
* Good at making people feel strong emotions as they more easily identify with one person over a number.
* Cons:
* More subjective. Easier for people to ignore as being unique to that particular situation (“It doesn’t affect me”)
* Easy to counter with other narratives. There are plenty of contradictory stories out there.
* One is not necessarily better than the other. Activists must know their audience in order to
successfully persuade.
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* Why do we believe some people and not others?
* The ability to persuade is a form of power. Some people have much more power over
persuasion than others. These people are seen as more credible.
* More persuasive movements are lead by individuals or organizations that possess at
least one of the following:
* Legitimate authority based on experience, expertise, and support of followers.
* Whether authority is viewed as legitimate or not often has to do with one of the following
factors.
* Charisma: usually a single person, who has certain type of charm, or magnetic quality
that makes you want to go along with them.
* People think of charisma as an inherently good thing. It can be—MLK, Nelson Mandela, and
Mahatma Gandhi all had charisma and inspired movements that accomplished great things.
* However, charismatic people are not always good. Cult leaders have charisma (Charles Manson
had oodles of it!). Adolph Hitler also had charisma. Good people and bad people can have
charisma in equal quantities so if I say someone is charismatic in this course, it is not
necessarily a compliment.
* Credibility: judgements made on the believability of communicator
* Sources of credibility:
* Trustworthiness—the leader is someone who supporters feel they can trust.
* Expertise—the leader or organization is knowledgeable about the subject or has excessive education or
experience in a related area.
* Goodwill—the leader or organization demonstrates strong ability or desire to help followers or the targets of
the movement.
* Likability—the leader or organization is very likable (humor is a good way to establish this).
* Similarity—the leader or organization is or has the appearance of similar relevant traits to supporters or
targets of the movements.