Intro: Persuasion, Attitude, Attitude Measurement

Front 1

What is a paradigm (exemplary) case?

Back 1

one which gives a straightforward, uncontroversial example

Hint 1

Ex. sparrow is a paradigm for bird

Front 2

Explain how the shared features of paradigm cases of a concept can provide clarification of the concept.

Back 2

One can get a sense of the concept's application, without drawing sharp-edged definitional lines.

Front 3

Explain how the "sharp edges" of a definition can lead to disputes over borderline cases.

Back 3

A sharp-edged definition may exclude cases that could be argued in a case of persuasion.

Hint 3

Definitions may be unclear, different, or too broad/narrow.

Front 4

What are the shared features of exemplary cases of persuasion?

Back 4

SOME CRITTERS IN FARMS CAN MOVE.
1. Successful attempt at influence.
2. Criterion of success (a goal or intention to influence)
3. Some measure of freedom on the persuadee's part.
4. Communication
5. Change in mental state.

Front 5

Explain how a successful attempt to influence is a feature of exemplary cases of persuasion.

Back 5

No persuasion possible without attempting to persuade another.

Hint 5

"I tried to persuade him but failed"

Front 6

Explain how the persuader's having a goal and intending to influence is a feature of exemplary cases of persuasion.

Back 6

One needs a standard of success in order to persuade.

One cannot finish a race without a finish line.

Hint 6

Accidental persuasion, hearer would not infer that the persuasion was intentional.

Front 7

Explain how some measure of freedom on the persuadee's part is a feature of an exemplary case of persuasion.

Back 7

Some measure of voluntary action on the part of the persuadee is necessary.

Hint 7

If a person is knocked unconscious by a robber, who then takes the money, the victim was not persuaded to give the money.

Front 8

Explain how having the effects be achieved through communication is a feature of an exemplary case of persuasion.

Back 8

Communication is necessary.

Hint 8

Throwing someone off a building is not persuasion, while communicating and convincing them to do so is.

Front 9

Explain how a change in the mental state of the persuadee is a feature of an exemplary case of persuasion.

Back 9

Changing someone's mental state.

Hint 9

The advertiser wants you to buy a product so that you think a different way about it.

Front 10

Do paradigm cases of persuasion always involve getting the persuadee to agree with what the persuader actually believes?

Back 10

No.

Front 11

Explain how features present in full-fledged ways can, when present only in some diminished fashion, make for borderline cases of a concept.

Back 11

If one can argue any feature of a concept, it counts as a borderline case.

Hint 11

By recognizing shared features, one doesn't have to resort to "sharp definitional boundaries."

Front 12

Identify one important mental state often changed in persuasion.

Back 12

Attitude.

Front 13

What is an attitude?

Back 13

Evaluative judgment of an object (whether it be positive or negative).

Attitude is a mental state.

Hint 13

Exponentially important in paradigm cases, since they require a change in mental state.

Positive or negative view of an attitude object.

Front 14

Identify some broad features of attitudes.

Back 14

-acquired through experience
-relatively enduring
-influence our conduct

Front 15

Are attitudes commonly acquired through experience?

Back 15

One is not born with an attitude, so yes.

Front 16

Are attitudes relatively enduring?

Back 16

Attitudes are not temporary emotional states, and can be changed due to new experiences, so the word "relatively" is extremely important.

Front 17

Do attitudes influence conduct?

Back 17

Attitudes exert influence on our behaviors, however not always simply or directly.

Hint 17

What we purchase, who we vote for, etc.

Front 18

Do paradigm cases of persuasion always involve changing attitudes?

Back 18

Other mental states exist, so paradigm cases can exist without changing attitudes.

Front 19

What are semantic differential evaluative scales? Explain how they work.

Back 19

Respondents are asked to rate attitude objects on a set of 7 point evaluative scales.
-Good to bad, desirable to undesirable, all opposing sets.

Hint 19

Each respondent placeholder has a numerical equivalent (- is bad, + is good)
-Researcher adds values to calculate a quantifiable assessment of attitude numerically.

Front 20

What are single-item attitude measures?

Back 20

Researchers ask a single question and get a single answer.

Hint 20

Questions must be accurate in order to receive the most pertinent and useful results.

Front 21

What is the feeling thermometer?

Back 21

Way of assessing attitude without performed placeholders.

Hint 21

Thermometers exist in colloquial language and are thus more understandable by subjects.

Front 22

Identify a circumstance in which single-item attitude measures are especially useful. Identify and explain a weakness of such measures.

Back 22

polling situations-
during Barack Obama's political campaign, pollers could call voters and ask "how do you feel about Obama"

Hint 22

-weakness: if an individual was unable to vote, this question would be useless.

Front 23

Explain how quasi-direct belief-based attitude measures assess attitudes.

Back 23

ask respondants to respond to belief statements about a particular object (agree or disagree)

Hint 23

questions must be specifically selected to indicate attitude when agreed with or disagreed with.

Front 24

Identify an advantage (and accompanying disadvantage) of using quasi-direct belief-based attitude measures.

Back 24

advantage- offers the possibility of learning about the specific beliefs that influence a person's attitude.

Hint 24

disadvantage- researcher has to create a new set of belief statements for each different attitude object.

Front 25

Explain how persuasion can be assessed using attitude measurement techniques.

Back 25

A researcher can assess people's attitudes before and after an advertising campaign; using a control group that has not been exposed to any measures of persuasion.

Hint 25

Then one can evaluate the success of the persuasive efforts.

Front 26

Explain why other assessments (other than attitude) may be useful or necessary in assessing persuasion.

Back 26

Attitudes are not the only mental state.
Beliefs about an object must be assessed.

Hint 26

Ex. Trying to persuade someone that a product is environmentally friendly, one must assess a person's belief in the product's environmental friendliness, not attitude.

Front 27

Explain why assessments of actual (observed) persuasive effects are preferable to judgments of expected persuasive effects.

Back 27

conflict between asking someone how they might be persuaded by a message as opposed to seeing if they were actually persuaded by the message.

Hint 27

Judgment does not always correlate with action.