The Art of Being Persuaded
People once believed that the earth was flat, and some still do. But what made the majority of the population change their thoughts and perception about the shape of the earth? It was persuasion! Persuasion is an art and one cannot persuade without communication and communication is the foundation of persuasion. The foundation on which persuasion is built on in communication is based on many theories. Some of these theories include the elaboration likelihood model, or ELM, the source and message factors, the use of fear appeals, and persuasive narratives. Persuasion is a powerful tool and its ability to change one's thoughts, attitudes, or actions has been at the forefront in the study of communication since …show more content…
The weight loss company could start out by telling the consumer that they will lose weight with their product and if they would like to learn more about it they can join their club. They could show testimonials of real people who have lost weight on the program. They can mention the facts up front about joining and tell them the cost or if it is free to join the club. They can mention the cost of the product will depend on how much weight they need to lose. They can mention that there is no obligation to purchase the product by joining. They need to show confidence in their product by stating the facts. The consumer may have pre-set attitudes about weight loss products based on failed attempts to lose weight, so the advertisers need to make it appealing by using a direct approach. A direct approach may use propaganda in order to get the message across. Selective exposure is likely one way to persuade an audience into purchasing a product. The consumers may already believe it will work: you just have to convince them to purchase it by reassuring them that it will work. "Propaganda is one of the most powerful instrumentalities in the modern world (Lasswell, 1927)."(Petty, R., Briñol, P., & Priester, J., …show more content…
However, this is certainly not always the case. Yes, the fear of drowning may hinder my decision to jump into the ocean off of a cruise ship, but I have a fear of drowning and I still get into a pool because I like to go swimming. One may be considered a fear and the other is considered to be a threat. There is a level of emotion and cognitive processes one goes through before making a decision. The fear appeal first touches on the differences between a fear and a threat. Is this going to endanger you or is it only going to affect you? According to Paul Mongeau's research, "Fear is an emotion and causes physical arousal (Witte, 1992)." (Mongeau, P., 1995) However, a threat is what may come to pass; It is what may happen to you to cause physical harm. So, does fear appeals really work? According to the research, "Suggests that fear-arousing messages work, at least for most audiences and on most occasions." (Mongeau, P., 1995) This observation is based on the level of fear itself. "The stronger the fear appeal, the greater the attitude, intention and behavior changes." (Mongeau, P.,
People once believed that the earth was flat, and some still do. But what made the majority of the population change their thoughts and perception about the shape of the earth? It was persuasion! Persuasion is an art and one cannot persuade without communication and communication is the foundation of persuasion. The foundation on which persuasion is built on in communication is based on many theories. Some of these theories include the elaboration likelihood model, or ELM, the source and message factors, the use of fear appeals, and persuasive narratives. Persuasion is a powerful tool and its ability to change one's thoughts, attitudes, or actions has been at the forefront in the study of communication since …show more content…
The weight loss company could start out by telling the consumer that they will lose weight with their product and if they would like to learn more about it they can join their club. They could show testimonials of real people who have lost weight on the program. They can mention the facts up front about joining and tell them the cost or if it is free to join the club. They can mention the cost of the product will depend on how much weight they need to lose. They can mention that there is no obligation to purchase the product by joining. They need to show confidence in their product by stating the facts. The consumer may have pre-set attitudes about weight loss products based on failed attempts to lose weight, so the advertisers need to make it appealing by using a direct approach. A direct approach may use propaganda in order to get the message across. Selective exposure is likely one way to persuade an audience into purchasing a product. The consumers may already believe it will work: you just have to convince them to purchase it by reassuring them that it will work. "Propaganda is one of the most powerful instrumentalities in the modern world (Lasswell, 1927)."(Petty, R., Briñol, P., & Priester, J., …show more content…
However, this is certainly not always the case. Yes, the fear of drowning may hinder my decision to jump into the ocean off of a cruise ship, but I have a fear of drowning and I still get into a pool because I like to go swimming. One may be considered a fear and the other is considered to be a threat. There is a level of emotion and cognitive processes one goes through before making a decision. The fear appeal first touches on the differences between a fear and a threat. Is this going to endanger you or is it only going to affect you? According to Paul Mongeau's research, "Fear is an emotion and causes physical arousal (Witte, 1992)." (Mongeau, P., 1995) However, a threat is what may come to pass; It is what may happen to you to cause physical harm. So, does fear appeals really work? According to the research, "Suggests that fear-arousing messages work, at least for most audiences and on most occasions." (Mongeau, P., 1995) This observation is based on the level of fear itself. "The stronger the fear appeal, the greater the attitude, intention and behavior changes." (Mongeau, P.,