FREE ESSAY ON PAIN AND CREVECOEUR

PAIN AND CREVECOEUR

Persuasion is the force exerted to influence behavior that includes a reflected change in
attitude. Everyday we are
bombarded with messagesfrom people who wish to influence our behavior and attitudes.
Persuasion canbe used
to accomplish good as well as bad, though, in my paper I willrefrain from making value
judgements and only
report the factual aspects. I will discuss the two basic routes to persuasion, the
elements involved, andways to
protect current attitudes and behaviors from change. When trying to persuade someone,
there are two different
methods from which to choose-the central and peripheral routes. The central route
persuades by usingdirect
arguments and pertinent information. The peripheral route persuadespeople by association
with incidental cues
that are pleasing to the senses. The central route is used to reach people who are more
motivated and analytical,
while people who are less analytical and less involved aremore likely to be influenced by
the peripheral route. In
advertising a combination of the two is common and effective. Computer ads relyprimarily
on the central route,
because their target audiences are perceived as highly analytical. Promotion for alcohol
and tobacco products
employ the peripheral route because they wish to draw attention away from thepossible
negative effects that they
are, in reality, associated with. To truly understand the effects of persuasion it is
necessary to break the actdown
to its smaller components. The for elements of persuasion are 1.) The communicator, 2.)
The message content,
3.) How it is communicated, and4.) The receiver of the message. The content of the
message is important but
also whoever gives the message has an effect on people's acceptance ofit. The major
determinant of the
communicator's success are his/herperceived credibility and attractiveness. Credibility,
or believability
isdetermined by the communicator's appearance as an expert or as someone who can be
trusted. Expertise is
established when the communicator is introduced as someone who has a great deal of
knowledge concerning the
topic of conversation. When the communicator relays viewpoints that areidentical to the
audience she/he will be
perceived as smart. Also, to project animage of expertise it is necessary to speak
confidently and
withouthesitating. Trustworthiness of the communicator is assumed if direct eye contact
is used and speech is
rapid. If the speaker is seen as not trying toinfluence or is arguing a position that is
against their personal interest
theywill be considered trustworthy. An attractive communicator has certain qualities,
like physical appeal and
similarity, that draw in theaudience. If the arguments of the attractive speaker are more
readily accepted, central
route persuasion has occurred or if we are persuaded by the unconnected positive
association between the
communicator and theproduct there has been peripheral route persuasion. When statements
are made toa group
by someone from the same ethnic background, the group is morewilling to listen. It
appears true, the belief that
we like people who aresimilar to us- and if we like someone we are more open to their
suggestions. The second
element of persuasion, the content of the message, deals with the specific type of
messages that work best to
convince. Emotional messages are most effective on less educated people, while rational
appeals tendto score
better with analytical or well educated people. Discrepancybetween the message and
receiver opinion often
effects whether persuasionoccurs. A credible communicator is most effective when arguing
an extreme position
and someone who is not viewed as credible is best off giving a viewpoint where there is a
moderate discrepancy.
Communicators must decidewhether to put forth a one-sided or two-sided appeal. One-sided
appeals work
bestwith those who already agree. Two-sided appeals work best with people who are
initially opposed to your
idea. Also message acceptance is effected bywhen it is heard and when the argument
against that message is
heard. Primacy affect states ?Other things being equal, information presented first
usually has the most
influence.?(1) The primacy effect works only whenboth messages are heard at once, with a
period of time passing
before responding. In a situation where a message is given followed by alengthy period of
time, and then the
second message is given, the response is usually to accept the second message. This is
recency
effect.?Information presented last sometimes has the most influence. Recency effects
areless common than
primacy effects.?(2) How the message is communicated, thethird element to persuade,
stresses the importance of
message delivery. ?Communication is the most important and complex thing we do. It
canshape our careers, our
lives, and our world... You can control the outcome of your important interactions if you
control your
communication style.?(3) The studies have shown that interpersonal contact influences
behaviorand attitudes much
more than the media. Of course media still has great influence. It has also been shown
that the more realistic
thecommunication method the more likely it is to persuade, though complex messages
arebest understood and
remembered if they are written. Simpler messages from the media that are live or
videotaped are most likely to
persuade. Less persuasive are audiotaped and written communication methods. The fourth
element of persuasion
is the audience, or receiver of the message. Ageof the audience matters greatly because
many attitudes are
directlyrelated to how old the person is. There are two ways to explain the relationship
between age and attitude.
The life-cycle explanation states that when people get older their attitudes change. The
generational explanation,
which is supported by more evidence, states that each generation adoptsan attitude that
is different from other
generations, and does not changewith time. The state of mind of the message receiver
plays an important on
whether they are persuaded. When people feel they are about to bepersuaded to do
something they will build
arguments against it and be less likelyto be persuaded. A distracted state of mind often
doesn't have the abilityto
argue against persuasive messages, and therefore is more likely toaccept them. Audiences
that are image
conscious and unconcerned with the truthare more apt to be persuaded by the
communicator's attractiveness and
other peripheral cues. Analytical people who are more concerned with beingright, are more
influenced by central
route communication. Now I'd like todiscuss some ways for people to safeguard their
beliefs and resist outside
influence. One of the best ways to prevent an unwanted attitudepersuasion is to make
public your commitment to
your conviction. ?Once we havemade a choice or taken a stand we will encounter personal
and interpersonal
pressures to behave consistently with that commitmant.?(4) Because inconsistency is
viewed as a bad personality
trait and consistentattitudes and behavior equate to logic, stability, and honesty,
people willrarely be persuaded
once they have made a strong commitment. Keep in mind,however, that this persuasion
resisting technique can be
forced on you by othersas seen in the cases of ?brain washing? of American POW's during
the Korean war. The
POW's were asked to repeat mildly anti-American orpro-communist statements. Once they
willingly complied,
prisoners were asked to make a list of problems in America, which they had to discuss in
a group. Thenext step
was to write an essay about the problems in America and have them broadcast on the radio.
Many POW's
stayed in China once granted freedom because they had committed to their ant-American
attitudes. Thisprevious
example also illustrates the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. Small requests were made (the
mildly anti-American
statements) which opened the way for larger, more substantial suggestions. Attitude
inoculation is believedto be
the best way for people to avoid persuasion. It is defined as?Exposing people to weak
attacks upon their
attitudes so that when strongerattacks come they will have refutations available.?(5)
Attitude inoculation was
found to increase commitment to an attitude in addition to developing counterarguemnts.
One application of the
positive effects of attitude inoculation was conducted by Alfred McAlister on a class of
seventhgraders that had
them commit to anti-smoking attitudes. Role-Playing was used to strengthen commitment to
non-smoking by
public declaration and therepeated dialogue stimulated counterarguements. To truly
understand the effectsof
persuasion on people you need to be familiar with the structure behind a persuasive
message. It is important to
identify which route is beingused (central or peripheral) and understand the effect of
the communicator,the
content of the message, the method of communication, and the reaction by the audience.
Counterarguements in
making a public commitment strengthen out resistance to persuasion.