Persuasion in Politics: An Emotional Brain
Politics in general, and politicians are centered around persuasion. The main goal of taking part in an election is to change the attitudes of voters so that their attitudes will conform to the attitudes of the candidate who is running for president. Presidential candidates are a great example of persuasion in politics and how certain tactics can make the difference when it comes to success or failure. In political persuasion framing, and emotional attachment can be very beneficial to the candidate attempting to persuade voters. In The Science of Persuasion by Jonathon Hemmerdinger, Drew Westen, a political psychologist, makes a simple statement that “If you want to win hearts and minds, start with …show more content…
Professor George Lakoff of the University of California at Berkely mentions that successful persuasion is dependent on how the persuasive message is presented. Simplicity goes along with framing in persuasion, and it is found that messages are more persuasive if they are spoken in simple terms (Hemmerdinger). Although it is not shown that simplicity of the message automatically leads to political success, there is evidence to support the fact that messages that are very straightforward and that are put in really simple terms that are easy to understand are more likely to be persuasive. Simplicity in persuasion creates a type of equality between the persuader and the audience, and because of this these messages are more likely to be …show more content…
The study was designed to reinforce the fact that persuasion is much stronger when the source attempts to appeal to the values of the audience, whether or not these values are consistent with that of the source.
In the study by Willer and Fienberg, liberals and conservatives were presented one of two messages in order to persuade them to support same-sex marriage. Each message was framed differently. The first message was framed emphasizing equal rights for same sex couples. This message is based on fairness and persuades based on the value of equality, which tends to be more appealing to liberals (Fienberg). The second message was designed to appeal to conservatives and emphasized the values of group loyalty and
Politics in general, and politicians are centered around persuasion. The main goal of taking part in an election is to change the attitudes of voters so that their attitudes will conform to the attitudes of the candidate who is running for president. Presidential candidates are a great example of persuasion in politics and how certain tactics can make the difference when it comes to success or failure. In political persuasion framing, and emotional attachment can be very beneficial to the candidate attempting to persuade voters. In The Science of Persuasion by Jonathon Hemmerdinger, Drew Westen, a political psychologist, makes a simple statement that “If you want to win hearts and minds, start with …show more content…
Professor George Lakoff of the University of California at Berkely mentions that successful persuasion is dependent on how the persuasive message is presented. Simplicity goes along with framing in persuasion, and it is found that messages are more persuasive if they are spoken in simple terms (Hemmerdinger). Although it is not shown that simplicity of the message automatically leads to political success, there is evidence to support the fact that messages that are very straightforward and that are put in really simple terms that are easy to understand are more likely to be persuasive. Simplicity in persuasion creates a type of equality between the persuader and the audience, and because of this these messages are more likely to be …show more content…
The study was designed to reinforce the fact that persuasion is much stronger when the source attempts to appeal to the values of the audience, whether or not these values are consistent with that of the source.
In the study by Willer and Fienberg, liberals and conservatives were presented one of two messages in order to persuade them to support same-sex marriage. Each message was framed differently. The first message was framed emphasizing equal rights for same sex couples. This message is based on fairness and persuades based on the value of equality, which tends to be more appealing to liberals (Fienberg). The second message was designed to appeal to conservatives and emphasized the values of group loyalty and