Social Psychology - Chapter 7: Persuasion

persuasion • Chapter 7 Persuasion processes How do we process persuasive messages? Elaboration likelihood model (ELM): People focus on different aspects of a persuasive message as a function of their involvement in the message content. There are two distinct routes of persuasion. Central or systematic route A person who carefully considers the content of the message and is influenced by the strength of the arguments. • Example: Buying a car by reading Consumer Reports, test driving the car, and evaluate the different features, etc. Peripheral or heuristic route A person who is influenced by superficial characteristics. Factors influencing the type of processing What factors influence the route of persuasion one uses? 1) Ability to focus: • If you are distracted and find it difficult to concentrate on the message than one relies on peripheral cues. • Even subtle factors that can increase people’s ability to concentrate can lead to higher rates of the central processing. 2) Motivation to focus: • With the lack of motivation a person will rely on peripheral cues, such as the length of the message, the source of the message, and the speed at which the message is delivered. • Even the familiarity of phrases used in a message can influence persuasion. Factors that influence persuasion Three key factors influence the effectiveness of a persuasive message: 1. The source who delivers the message. 2. The content of the message. 3. The audience who receives the message. The Source Who delivers the message, i.e. an actor, a spokesperson, etc. can persuade people depending on the source’s following characteristics: • Attractiveness: Good looking people and their likeable are highly influential. • Similarity: People are more likely to persuaded with those they have something in common. • “word of mouth” advertising and references from family and friends. • Credibility: Sources who appear competent and trustworthy (those who do not have an ulterior motive) are more persuasive. ... - tailieumienphi.vn