Successful Persuasion:

Predicting Individual Response

Why examine audience traits? Source must adapt to interests and needs of the

audience Q: Who is the easiest to persuade?

– A) Children (ages 9-14)– B) Young adults (ages 15-20)– C) Adults (ages 21-30)

Audience Analysis can consist of Demographics, and aspects of the communication situation--but also psychographics

Our discussion relates primarily to psychographics (a.k.a: Individual Differences)

Although some group differences exist, understand that it isn’t this simple*.

Individual Differencesto be discussed…

Self-Esteem Intelligence Anxiety Dogmatism Authoritarianism McClelland’s 3 Needs Self-Monitoring

Self-Esteem Defined: The liking and respect on has for oneself Where does it come from?

– A comparison between “true” self and “ideal” self• If the discrepancy is large, results in low self-esteem• If small, results in high self-esteem

Two types: Chronic and Acute– Chronic = Constant, normal level– Acute = due to a major setback/inability to achieve a goal,

self-esteem is temporarily lowered• Given severe enough circumstances, this can result in permanent

deflation of the chronic self-esteem

Often used interchangeably with:– Self-regard, self-worth, self-acceptance

High Self-Esteem Person displays confidence, optimism, and

competence Few feelings of inadequacy, is not socially

inhibited, does not seem anxious Not easily created, nor maintained Parents of these individuals

– raised their children with acceptance and encouragement

– Set clearly articulated rules and goals for the children

– Set positive examples for them to emulate– Provide high levels of quality stimulation and

interaction

Low Self-Esteem

Tendency toward anxiety in decision making situations, pessimistic, may appear incompetent, may not be confident in social settings

Always consulting others before making decisions and taking a stand on a topic

Self-Esteem and “Ego Defenses”(Cohen, 1959) Based on the differences between low and

high self-esteem individuals’ general styles of interaction with the environment

High self-esteem: Avoidance defenses– Avoid unfavorable information, find excuses,

blame others

Low self-esteem: Expressive defenses– Seek advice, attend to what others do, seek

approval for correct decision

Self-Esteem and Group’s Expectations High self-esteem:

– Rated group’s expectations as important when the expectations/task were easy to follow/achieve

• When group expectations would reinforce: “I am successful”

– Ignored group pressure when task was difficult to achieve

• Again, this demonstrates the avoidance defense

Self-Esteem and Group’s Expectations (cont’d) Low Self-Esteem:

– Rated group expectations as more important when the task was difficult to achieve and failure was imminent

– Group pressure was less important when task was easy

– These individuals have a strong desire to have the approval of others

• Therefore, they continue to work harder in hopeless situations because they desperately seek approval from others

Self-Esteem and Influence

High self-esteemed individuals try to influence others more

High self-esteemed individuals are more resistant to influence

Receivers react differently to persuasive appeals– High: might comply to requests for easy-to-

achieve tasks– Low: might comply to immediate external

pressures (family, friends, etc.)

Intelligence

There is no consistent relationship between intelligence and susceptibility to persuasion

What about the impact of intelligence on ability to attend, comprehend and retain?– Difficulty is counterarguing

In general, High IQ receivers pay more attention to the quality of arguments– Hovland, Janis, Kelley’s finding: High IQ soldiers

were more persuaded by “Why we fight” propaganda film than those with Low IQ

Anxiety

Feelings of tension, apprehension, uncertainty, or panic in everyday situations

People with High-Anxiety: More resistant to persuasion– Too much anxiety prompts the receiver to

become defensive– Too little anxiety causes little incentive for

change

Anxiety-Arousal/Fear-Arousal Appeals

3 Conditions must exist for these strategies to work (Petty & Cacioppo, 1981)– Message should provide strong arguments

asserting that receiver will suffer extreme consequences unless action is taken

– Argument must be made that negative consequences will result if recommendations are not followed

– Message must provide strong assurance that if receiver adopts specific recommendations, he or she can eliminate the consequences

• Key: Specific Instructions on how to reduce anxiety

Dogmatism Most people just don’t give a damn for others

The highest form of government is a democracy, and the highest form of democracy is a gov’t run by those who are most intelligent

There are two kinds of people in this world—those who are for the truth and those who are against the truth

Most ideas that get printed nowadays are not worth the paper they are printed on

Idea: Negative view of human nature… people can not be trusted

Idea: Power and control should be given to trusted, intellectual experts

Idea: There is only one true way of doing things

Idea: New ideas are worthless; traditional values are preferred over new

Dogmatism = Closed-mindedness

Deals with ways in which people approach others, ideas, beliefs and messages

Fundamentally anxious individuals who reduce anxiety by trusting a few leaders and “dogmatically” adhering to traditional values, habits, stereotypes, etc.

These people also seek to reduce their anxiety through an emphasis on order (routine)– No longer need to worry about change

Dogmatic Behavior Categorical Thinking and resistance to change

– Once a decision has been made, it is difficult to undo Difficulty integrating new information

– Does not like to be exposed to controversial material Rejection of new ideas

– Does not want ads that recommend changing from status quo

Discounting of logical arguments– Disregard as rhetoric; believing the one fact instead (father

didn’t experience ill effects of smoking, therefore neither should they)

Dependence on Authority

Authoritarianism A belief in following a trusted authority

– Will attend to “who” is speaking more than the message Like a dogmatic, these people believe that there is

one true way to do something and should follow the leader– Disney’s Peter Pan (1953): Training for society??

Differences between dogmatics and authoritarians– Auth: Unquestioning obedience to authority– Auth: Use of out-groups as scapegoats for societal

problems, belief in “conspiracy” among political enemies

– Auth: Intolerance for out-groups/”deviants”

Authoritarianism 3 Dimensions (Altemeyer, 1996)

– Authoritarian Submission• People will accept unfair and even illegal acts by govt officials• Tolerate abuse of power• Are willing to give up freedoms to authority figures

– Authoritarian Aggression• People are hostile when they feel their attacks are sanctioned

by authority

– Conventionalism• Adherence to traditional sex roles• Conformity to group norms• Conformity to traditional practices

McClelland’s (1961) 3 Motivational Needs Need for Achievement (Nach)

– Seek more challenging job, accept responsibility for decision making and seek feedback to improve performance

– Middle class produces higher Nach Need for Power (Npower)

– Need for control over others/environment Need for Affiliation (Naff)

– Need for acceptance of social group– More susceptible to social influence based on desire for

inclusion Give me example ads in the media that address these

needs?

Self-Monitoring

I have considered being an entertainer I’m not always the person I appear to be I may deceive people by being friendly

when I really dislike them I can make impromptu speeches even

on topics about which I have almost no information

Self-Monitoring Dichotomous characterization: High, Low High:

– Is pragmatic and behaves strategically and appropriately in order to obtain desired outcomes

– Regulates self-presentation to influence public appearance

• Is a “Social Chameleon”

Low:– Behaves in accordance with their own attitudes and

values– “True to oneself”

Self-Monitoring and Persuasion When interacting with others, high people attend to

– Inferences concerning others’ intentions– Predictions about what others will do

High people display high levels of acting ability, flexibility and adaptability—skilled at impression management– Therefore rarely communicate private beliefs/attitudes

High = smooth conversationalists High people have “specialized” friends

– Like to participate in activities with experts, thereby comparing themselves with the expert’s performance

Self-Monitoring and Persuasion (cont’d) High’s like to spend time with other highs High males tend to closely examine physical

characteristics when dating High Self-Monitors are easy prey for “image

advertising”– Images of fun, status, excitement, glamour or sex

appeal– Low: focus on quality of the product or its being a

“good buy”

Successful Persuasion:

Predicting Group Responses

Why examine Group differences?

Four main reasons:– Ego-Involvement

• Commitment to a cause or purpose alters how individuals think about issues

– Members of a group tend to share similar values– Individuals who identify with a group, use that group

as a “reference group”• This serves as an anchor by providing standards for beliefs

and attitudes which the individual compares/measures their other beliefs and attittudes against

– Pressure to conform to the group norms often exists within these groups

Groups and Values (Rokeach, 1973) Two kinds of values

– Terminal (values dealing with end-states we hope to achieve)

• Family Security, equality, self-respect

– Instrumental (values used to guide behavior day in and day out)

• Being responsible, logical, courageous, polite

Rokeach found that different groups prioritized values differently– Two types of groups:

• Voluntary and Involuntary (demographics)

Reference Groups and Social Comparisons Recall: Reference Group is any group

that people relate their attitudes and beliefs with

Reference Group serves two functions:– Determines Appropriate Behavior– Is a Standard for making decisions

Groups can be positive and negative influences

Reference Groups and Social Comparisons (cont’d) Festinger suggested that individuals evaluate

their own opinions by comparing them with others and this leads to pressure toward uniformity

Importance and relevance of—and attraction to—a group affect this pressure

Social comparisons can enhance one’s view of the self (downward comparison)

We can also project an attitude onto the group and hold it as our own

Groups and Jury Duty

See book for length discussion…(p. 183)– Especially if you are considering becoming

a lawyer

Demographic Groups

Why do advertisers concentrate so heavily on demographics when we already know that individual differences are much more exact in their prediction of behavior/attitudes?

Children and Persuasion

Why would children ages 3-7 be especially vulnerable to commercials?– Hypothetical situation with the Flintstones?

• Children do not have the cognitive defenses• Ethically, consumers must be aware when they are being

influenced– To ensure compliance, this has been legally restricted

• When does it become an advertisement? When is it part of the show? Disney’s Blast

Generally, there have been few limitations placed on advertisers by legal means

How Children are Persuaded

They are most susceptible to celebrity or authority endorsements

Younger children (3-5) yrs old are more susceptible to blatant claims

Older children (5th grade) are more susceptible to social status appeals

Simple words and both written and audio messages are more effective

Ads for toys appeal to need for affiliation, and power

Ads for food use humorous and fun appeals

Cognitive Defenses As mentioned, young children do not have

sophisticated defense systems With few laws/restrictions, onus is placed on parents

– But none of the five parenting styles (authoritarian, rigid controlling, Permissive, Authoritative, Neglecting) prove effective in protecting children from manipulation

Children older than 13 can counterargue advertisements

Children younger than 7 may not be able to Children who are 9 or 10 can be trained to spot

deception and counterargue a commercial when they have knowledge and are reminded by a cue to do so

Aging Americans 15-20% of the population in the US

– May be a larger group than teenagers Americans become less susceptible to

persuasion as they age– Impressionable Years hypothesis: people develop

a number of their attitudes early in life Specific genres of commercials might be

more preferable to have older spokespersons Categorization Based on Age (Lazer):

– Young-old (55-64)– Middle-old (65-74)– Senior (75-85)– Very old (85+)

Gender and Persuasion

Much early research on gender differences suffered from “cross-gender influence effects” (the communicator was male)– This research found that women were more easily

persuaded than men

This effect can occur when:– The communicator is present– The receivers believe that the communicator may

learn their opinions

Gender and Persuasion (cont’d) Bem (1975) suggested that psychological sex is a

better predictor of persuasion than biological sex– Introduced “androgenous” scale (from the Greek words

“andras” for man, and “gyne” for woman)– Scale determined Sex-types:

• Traditional sex-typed male• Traditional sex-typed female• Androgenous male• Androgenous female

Other Considerations in message creation:– Age and career expectations– Women’s acceptance of “traditional” or “modern” roles

Social Class, Education, Occupation and Income Taxonomy of Social Classes:

– Upper (upper-upper 0.3%, lower-upper 1.2%, and upper-middle 12.5%)

– Middle (middle class 32% and working class 38%)– Lower (working poor 9-12% and lower-lower 7%)

Based on social class, individuals have different values– Discussion about car vs. food– You should adjust your persuasive message so that it

considers the values of the target social-class• Lower classes will be skeptical of lofty, non-practical, long-term gains• Upper classes will be more persuaded by appeals concerning

achievement, and personal appeals

Midterm Next Class! Multiple Choice Approximately 50 questions Some simple, some challenging Material will be drawn from the book chapters 1-7 Material will be drawn from lecture Roughly 80% of the material will be covered by both the

book and the notes The exam will take place during the first hour of

Wednesday’s class– Following the exam I will present the list of topics for your

papers/presentations– We will then continue lecture with chapter 8