LECTURE 6 Changing Attitudes (and Behaviours)

1) Administration2) Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)3) Factors that Influence the Effectiveness of the

Persuasion4) Don’t Vote clip5) Break6) Cialdini’s Six Principles of Persuasion8) Next Class

Persuasion

The process by which a message induces change in feelings, attitudes, or behaviours.

How do we get people to feel, believe, and do what we want them to feel, believe, and do?

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Elaboration Likelihood Model

• Persuasion via the Central Route:– A focus on the actual content of the arguments that

stimulates thinking about the new attitude (also known as systematic processing)

• Persuasion via the Peripheral Route:– Acceptance is triggered by incidental cues (e.g.,

attractiveness of the speaker) without much thinking (also known as heuristic-based processing)

Increasing Minimum Wage

Central Route Peripheral Route

Great arguments.I’m convinced!

He sounds smart.I’m convinced!

Central Route Peripheral Route

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Motivation x Ability

Motivation to process the argumentsFactors related to motivation that influence the likelihood that you will elaborate on the issues

– Personal relevance– Responsibility for evaluating message– Need for cognition/Need for Closure– Incongruent information

Motivation x Ability

Ability to process the argumentsFactors related to ability that influence if you can process the information in the arguments

– Message clarity– Repeating the message– Distraction/time pressure– Channel of communication (print)– Individual differences in intelligence

Motivation x Ability

MotivatedYes No

Yes centralAbility toProcess

No

Argument quality is important to the Central Route:

• Strong arguments – make you more favourable toward the object/issue

• Weak arguments – make you less favourable toward the object/issue

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Attitudes changed via the Central Route are:

• longer lasting

• more predictive of behavior

• more resistant to change

Motivation x Ability

MotivatedYes No

Yes peripheralAbility toProcess

No peripheral peripheral

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Argument quality is less important to the Peripheral Route:

• Strong arguments and weak arguments can have the same effect.

• Weak arguments are less damaging.

Attitudes changed via the Peripheral Route are:

• less longer lasting; more temporary

• less predictive of behaviour

• less resistant to other people trying to influence our attitudes

Ingredients of Persuasive AppealYale Attitude Change Approach

1. Communicator (who said it?)

2. Message (what was said?)

3. Audience (to whom?)

Communicator

• Credibility– Expertise

– Trustworthiness/Self-Interest

– Likeability

• Attractiveness

– Physical Appeal

– Similarity

Message(besides quality of arguments)

• Two-sided versus one-sided arguments– Two-sided are better if you can refute the other side

• Emotion – positive feelings (peripheral processing)– fear (motivating especially if have plan)

• Discrepancy – Credibility of communicator– Involvement of audience

• Primacy versus recency– Primacy normally better

Message – Primacy/Recency

Primacy Effects: Information presented first has the most influence

Message1…Message2…………….….Response

Recency Effects: Information presented last has the most influence

Message 1…………………Message2…Response

Audience

• What are they thinking? – The ability and motivation to counter-argue is the

key to whether persuasion works (via the central route)• Forewarned• Distraction• Involvement• Need for Cognition/Need for Closure• Innoculation

NEED FOR COGNITION

A personality variable reflecting the extent to which people engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities.

Sample Items:

I usually end up deliberating about issues even when they do not affect me personally.

I only think as hard as I have to. (R)

NEED FOR CLOSURE

A personality variable reflecting the desire to possess some knowledge on a given topic, any definite knowledge as opposed to confusion and ambiguity.

Sample Items:

I usually make important decisions quickly and confidently.

I feel uncomfortable when someone’s meaning or intention is unclear to me.

ATTITUDE INNOCULATION

The process of making people immune to attempts to change their attitudes by initially exposing them to small doses of the arguments against their position.

Don’t Vote Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vtHwWReGU0

Yale Attitude Change Approach

1. Communicator (who said it?)•Credibility (Expert, Trustworthy/Self-Interest, Likeability)

•Attractiveness (Physical Appeal, Similarity)

2. Message (what was said?)•Two-sided versus one-sided arguments•Emotion (Positive Feelings, Fear)•Discrepancy

•3. Audience (to whom?)– The ability and motivation to counter-argue (Forewarned,

Involvement, Innoculation)

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Voter Turnout in Canadian Federal Elections

Next Election – October 2015

2011 – 61%2008 – 58.8% (lowest in Canadian history)2006 – 65%2004 – 61%2000 – 64%1997 – 67%

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert Cialdini (2001) – Participant ObserverRobert Cialdini (2001) – Participant Observer

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

1. Consistency– foot-in-the door

– bait and switch

– low-ball

– legitimizing paltry favors

– how are you feeling technique

Foot-in-door

• Presented with a small request (that almost everyone would agree to), followed by a larger request

• Operates due to the consistency principle (if I act in a certain way initially, I have to continue to act in a similar way)

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

2. Social Validation– List technique

– Littering studies (Cialdini, Reno & Kallgren, 1990) • Norms• Salience of norms (whether notice norms or not)

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

3. Reciprocity– Reciprocation of favours

• Name stickers, flower seeds,

– Reciprocation of concessions • Door in face• Delinquent kids study (Cialdini, Vincent, Lewis, Catalan, Wheeler,

& Darby, 1975)

Door-in-the-face

• Presented with a LARGE request (expected to refuse), followed by a smaller, more reasonable request (expected to accept)

• Operates due to the reciprocity norm (if I do something nice for you, you should do something nice for me)

• Not to be confused with foot-in-the-door

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

4. Friendship/Liking– Tupperware and Lingerie Parties

– Neighbourhood Breast Cancer Garage Sale

– Save the Children Campaign

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

5. Scarcity – limit on products, time, etc– Boxing Day/Black Friday

– Only This Weekend!

– Gone is gone

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

6. Authority• Milgram Studies next week, military, etc

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

If you wanted to get some money from your parents, would you first:

a) ask for $20 and then ask for $100 (start small)

or would you

b) ask for $100 and then ask for $20 (start big)

Principle of reciprocity of concessions

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

If you want to get someone to help you move, would you first:

a) tell them that you only have a little bit of stuff and then later tell them that you have a lot of stuff? (start small)

or would you

b) tell them that you have a lot of stuff and then later tell them that you don’t have too much stuff? (start big)

Principle of Consistency

Six Persuasion PrinciplesRobert Cialdini (2001)

1. Consistency (e.g., foot-in-the door)

2. Social Validation (actions/attitudes of others)

3. Reciprocity (of favors and concessions)

4. Friendship/liking

5. Scarcity

6. Authority

Next Class

• Class 7: No classes - Reading Week• • Class 8: Conformity

Reading material:Chapter 7: Conformity: Influencing Otherspp. 192-233.