psychology, persuasion and digital communication

Psychology, Persuasion and Digital Communication

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Ricardo Fonsecaricardo.fonseca@comon.pt

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Persuasion does not mean to oblige anyone to do something.

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P E R S U A S I O N

P E R S U A S I O N

Persuasion is the act of changing an attitude through arguments.

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Information Reception

Information Processing

Judgment Formation

Judgment Output

PERSUASION

U S E R ’ S M E N T A L E X P E R I E N C E

P E R S U A S I O N

Resources(“To be able”)Motivation

(“To wanr”)

IF motivation and resources, THEN, System 2 ativated

Arguments quality is the key to persuadePeople want strong arguments

Geeks!Personal involvement!

Attention focus!Not disctrated in the context!

P E R S U A S I O N

Resources(“To be able”)Motivation

(“To wanr”)

IF no motivation or resources, THEN, System 1 ativated

Heurisitics are the key to persuadePeople don’t think about arguments

Irrelevant categories!!

Distracted!

P E R S U A S I O N

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw

1. R E C I P R O C I TY

“There is a social obligation to help someone who helped us”

“The Rule of Reciprocity firmly states that we are all bound — even driven — to repay debts of all kinds. Someone does something for you. Then you feel obligated to repay. It's

an almost automatic reaction.”

More efficient :

•  To first person to offer something (e.g. Just think about Jesus)•  When the other person is not expecting•  If the “gift” is truly useful in your daily life (e.g. free-deliveries)•  If the “gift” has a personal touch (e.g. deliveries with the employee’s name or photo)

1. R E C I P R O C I TY

2. S C A R C I T Y

“The less available, the more we want it”

“Because you happened to be client number100, today and only today you can get the service for more than half the price” (from 600 to

280€)

“there is only 3 hours left”

“We avoid losses at all costs. We rather not win something that loose something. This is called the Aversion Principle”.

…. Because we simply don’t like to loose our sense of ownership.

2. S C A R C I T Y

“Don’t miss out on that $5 discount” VS “get a $5 discount”.

2. S C A R C I T Y

“If you switch now, you save 38,22 annually”! “If you don’t switch now, you wont save 38,22 annually”!

3. A U T H O R I TY

“We expect experts to lead the way”

More efficient:

•  When one uses grpahs, stratistics, technical terms – data = truth•  The more fast the speech is, the more we believe it is true.

“Experts are trustworthy because they studied a lot. Those who knows the facts usually are right”.

…. Because frequently we consider who says it, not what’s being said.

3. A U T H O R I TY

4. C O N S I S T E N C Y

“We try to act in a way that is consistent with our beliefs”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoT13m8-Kxo!

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People are more likely to act in a certain way if they perceive their behavior is consistent with what is socially correct

“We avoid being in states of cognitive dissonance at all costs because we need balance (homeostasis principle). Consistência é um motivador básico do comportamento humano.

…. Because consistency is seen as a social trait much appreciated by society = those who are consistent are also seen as having more integrity.

4. C O N S I S T E N C Y

“Commitment brings consistency. Commitments are most effective when they are active, public, effortful, and are seen as not coerced and internally motivated”

5. L I K I N G

“The more we like someone, the more we want to say YES to them”

Attractive people are also perceived as nicer and…

•  We tend to agree more with them

•  We believe they are right more often

•  Are recruited more often than non-attractive people

•  We forgive them more easily

5. L I K I N G

“People are more likely to buy from people like themselves, from friends, and from people they know and relate to. It’s the Halo Effect”.

We assume good looking people have traits like Kindness, Honesty and Talent.We assume people “just like us” are trustworthy.

5. L I K I N G

6. C O N S E N S U S

“Our own behaviour is based on the observation of the behaviour of others”

“When people are unsure of which decision to make, they will likely go with what the majority is having”

“The majority of guest reuses their towels” ↑33%

“We donated instead of we will donate” ↑45%

“Help us help the planet” = %

“You will save 20% energy per year” ↑5 %

“You are spending more energy than your neighbors” ↑35%

When we are trying to persuade our users:

•  How can we surprise them with meaningful “favors”?

•  How can we frame a message so that it conveys a sense of loss?

•  What cues can we use to convey authority or expertise?

•  How can we establish public commitments with the user?

•  How can we be more relatable to the user?

•  How do we use social consensus in our persuasion attempts?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT