Mass Communication, Propaganda, & Persuasion Chapter Three.

Mass Communication, Propaganda, & Persuasion

Chapter Three


• We live in an age of mass communication.

– Did not begin with the Internet

• Examples: Roots (1977); The Day After (1983)

– Both had a major impact on most Americans.

• Examples: OJ Simpson trial, September 11th


• We live in an age of mass persuasion.

–Aim is most obvious in advertising but influence through the mass media need not be so blatant.

• May be subtle or even unintentional.

–Example: Rodney King coverage


• Given the power of TV newscasts, it is reasonable to ask what factors determine which news items are selected for coverage.– One factor: Need to attract viewers

• TV news is a form of “entertainment.”• News telecasts tend to focus on the violent

behavior of individuals because action is more exciting than peaceful, orderly behavior.

• This is not a balanced picture of the world.


• While media exposure keeps us informed, there is a downside to such exposure.

–Repeated visual imagery shapes attitudes and opinions.

Media Contagion

• The power of the media is best illustrated by a phenomenon known as emotional contagion.– Example: Tylenol/cyanide scare (1982)

• False alarms outnumbered actual cases of product tampering by seven to one.

– Example: Suicide contagion (Phillips)• The more coverage devoted by major

television networks to suicide, the greater the subsequent increase.

Media Contagion

• This influence is probably unintentional but the pervasiveness of the electronic media cannot be overstated.

– Sometimes, the role of the media in reporting an event becomes more newsworthy than the event itself.

• Example: Beirut Hostage Crisis of 1985

Politicians as Entertainers

• There is also a conscious, direct attempt to persuade people by the judicious selection of material to be presented in the media.–Example: Political candidates

• Contemporary candidates must look good on television if they are to stand a chance of winning the election.

Effectiveness of Media Appeals

• How credible and effective are obvious attempts to package and sell products through the mass media?–Prima facie evidence = extremely

effective• Example: Over 90% of preschool children asked for toys or food they saw advertised on television.


• Most children do “catch on” after a time. • The resulting skepticism continues and is

seen in the overwhelming majority of adults.– The more educated the person, the

greater the skepticism.• BUT…we tend to believe (falsely) that our

skepticism makes us immune to influence from the message.


• Zajonc’s work shows that, all things being equal, more familiarity with a product (from aspirin to political candidates) may make a huge difference.– The more familiar, the more attractive!– Example: Grush, et al. found that, by

and large, the congressional candidates who spent the most money typically received the most votes.

Education or Propaganda?

• What is the difference between propaganda and education?– Propaganda = Systematic propagation of a

given doctrine– Education = Act of imparting knowledge or

skill• Distinguishing between the two can be subtle

and difficult!– Example: Zimbardo, Ebbesen, & Maslach

examples of arithmetic problems in textbooks

Education or Propaganda?

• In practice, whether a person regards a particular course of instruction as education or progandistic depends, to a large extent, on his or her values.–Either way, persuasion is a reality

that we should try to understand.

Persuasion

• Petty & Cacioppo argue that there are two major routes to persuasion:– Central route

• Involves weighing arguments and considering relevant facts and figures, thinking about issues in a systematic fashion and coming to a decision

– Peripheral route• Decision based on simple, often irrelevant cues

that suggest the rightness, wrongness, or attractiveness of an argument without giving it much thought

Persuasion

• Few persuasive appeals are purely central or peripheral.– Most contain elements aimed at both routes

• Example: Mac vs. PC commercials• Example: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

–Anecdote supported by McGlone’s research on rhyming

• Example: Political campaigns (e.g., “estate” vs. “death” tax)

Persuasion

• What key factors can increase the effectiveness of a communication?

–Its source

–Its nature

–Audience characteristics

The Source of the Communication:

Credibility• Speculations about the effect of prestige

on persuasion are ancient.– Example: Aristotle, “We believe good men

fully and more readily than others…”

• Rigorous scientific tests of such effects are more recent.– Example: Hovland & Weiss research on

varying levels of credibility• Being credible is characterized as being expert

and trustworthy.


Credibility• Determinations of credibility vary across

individuals.

– Example: Aronson & Golden research on credibility and race

– To the effect that extraneous factors (such as skin color) decrease or increase your susceptibility to persuasion, your behavior is maladaptive.


Increasing Trustworthiness• Trust is an important factor in determining

whether or not a communicator will be effective.

• How might communicators make themselves seem more trustworthy?– Argue against their own self-interest

• Example: Aronson, Walster, & Abrahams research with Joe “The Shoulder” Napolitano

• Example: Eagly & colleagues on message vs. expectation


Increasing Trustworthiness• How else might communicators make

themselves seem more trustworthy?–Convince the audience that they are

not trying to influence them.• Example: “When E.F. Hutton talks…”

• Example: Walster & Festinger research on overheard conversations


Attractiveness• A crucial factor in determining the effectiveness of

communicators is how attractive or likable they are.– This is true regardless of their overall expertise or

trustworthiness.• Example: Mills & Aronson laboratory experiment with beautiful

woman

– It appears we associate the attractiveness of the communicator with the desirability of the message.

– Accordingly, the more the communicator wants to change our opinions, the more we change them – but only about trivial issues.

The Nature of the Communication

• There are several ways in which communications can differ from one another:

– Logical vs. Emotional Appeals

– Consensual Statistical Evidence vs. a Single Personal Example

– One-Sided vs. Two-Sided Arguments

– The Order of Presentation

– The Size of the Discrepancy

The Nature of the Communication:

Logical vs. Emotional Appeals • There is some evidence favoring an

appeal that is primarily emotional.–Example: Hartmann study of political

candidates• One issue with research in this area is

that there are no foolproof, mutually exclusive definitions of emotional and rational.


Logical vs. Emotional Appeals • Additional research also examines the effect of

various levels of a specific emotion on opinion change.– Overwhelming experimental data suggests that

the more frightened a person is by a communication, the more likely he or she is to take positive preventative action.• Example: Work by Leventhal, et al.

– Further research (also by Leventhal, et al.) shows that taking action also is related to self-esteem.• One needs to tailor the communication to the

audience.


Logical vs. Emotional Appeals • Fear-arousing appeals accompanied

by specific instructions for appropriate action can and do produce recommended behaviors.–The impact of fear appeals is

context-specific.• Example: AIDS fear and condom use


Logical vs. Emotional Appeals • Fear and the Threat of Terrorism

–Any warning becomes ineffective if it is vague about what the danger is or where it is coming from or what people can do to avert the danger.

–In the case of US government officials, the behavior has been not only inept, it has been detrimental.

The Nature of the Communication:Statistical Evidence vs. Personal

Example • Research by Nisbett and his associates

indicates that single, personal examples – because of their vividness – assume far more importance than their logical statistical status would imply.– Example: Consumer Reports vs. Friend with

“lemon”• The more vivid the example, the greater the

persuasive power.– Example: Aronson & students & energy

conservation

The Nature of the Communication:One-Sided vs. Two-Sided

Arguments• There is no simple relationship

between one-sided arguments and the effectiveness of the communication.–It depends, to some extent, upon

how well informed the audience is.–Another factor is the initial position of

the audience.• Example: Political speeches


The Order of Presentation• The issue of order of presentation is a

complex one involving both learning and retention.–Primacy effect: All things being

equal, the first argument will be more effective.

–Recency effect: All other things being equal, the last argument will be more effective.


The Order of Presentation• The crucial variable is TIME:

–The amount between the first and second communication

–The amount between the end of the second communication and the moment the audience must make a decision


The Order of Presentation• The crucial variable is TIME:

– Inhibition (interference) is greatest if very little time elapses between the two communications.

• First communication interferes with learning of the second = primacy effect

– Retention is greatest when the audience must make up its mind immediately after hearing the second communication.

• Recency effects will prevail– Example: Miller & Campbell simulated jury study

• Our court system gives the prosecution the advantage of BOTH primacy and recency effects!


The Size of the Discrepancy• What is the most effective level of discrepancy

between the opinion of the audience and the recommendation of the communicator?– One line of reasoning suggests that the

communicator should argue his or her most extreme position, relying on cognitive dissonance factors to induce opinion change.• Example: Zimbardo research on

discrepancies between friends


The Size of the Discrepancy• Another line of research disconfirms

evidence suggesting the extreme position is more effective.–Example: Whittaker’s curvilinear

relationship–Example: Hovland, Harvey, &

Sherif’s research on “latitude of acceptance”


The Size of the Discrepancy• The conflicting findings on this

question suggest that there is a significant factor that hasn’t been accounted for – a great scientific opportunity to play detective!–Example: Aronson, Turner, &

Carlsmith speculation about (and later research on) the impact of communicator credibility


The Size of the Discrepancy• To summarize:

– When a communicator has high credibility, the greater the discrepancy between the view he or she advocates and the view of the audience, the more the audience will be persuaded.

– On the other hand, when a communicator’s credibility is doubtful or slim, he or she will produce maximum opinion change with moderate discrepancy.

Characteristics of the Audience: Self-Esteem

• The one personality variable most consistently related to persuasibility is self-esteem.

–Individuals who feel inadequate are more easily influenced by a persuasive communication than individuals who think highly of themselves.

Characteristics of the Audience: Prior Experience

• Another factor, of considerable importance, is the frame of mind of the audience.– Positive impact:

• Example: Janis and associates research on desirable food and persuasive communication

• Example: Petty & colleagues and good mood

– Negative impact:• Example: Freedman & Sears research on

forewarning• Example: Brehm’s theory of reactance

– Bensley & Wu findings on “freedom of choice”– Heilman’s study of petition-signers

Characteristics of the Audience: Prior Experience

• How can we help people to resist attempts to influence them?–Example: Work by McGuire, et al.

on the “inoculation effect”–The person easiest to brainwash is

the person whose beliefs are based on slogans that have never been seriously challenged.

How Well Do the Principles Work?

• Changing opinions is not as easy as it may appear.– Canon found that, as one’s confidence is

weakening, a person becomes less prone to listen to arguments against his or her beliefs.

• The very people you most want to convince, and those whose opinions might be the most susceptible to change, are the ones least likely to continue to expose themselves to a communication designed for that purpose.


• On the other hand, when used properly, these principles are quite effective.

– So effective, in fact, that one may question if their use is ethical.

• As such, it is essential to understand persuasion tactics, recognize when they are being used, and question their abuse.

– Especially at issue? Television!


• Issue of television: –“From 8 to 11 o’clock each night,

television is one long lie” and people believe the lie.

–Example: Depictions of race, sex/gender, violence

–Example: Depictions of crime and punishment


• Most of our beliefs develop gradually, through repeated contacts with people and information over an extended period of time.

• In general, it is difficult to change important beliefs through direct communication.

– One issue: Opinion of triviality of the issue


• Distinction between opinion and attitude–Opinion = What a person believes to be

factually true• Primarily cognitive and transient

–Attitude = An opinion that includes an evaluative and an emotional component• Extremely difficult to change

By March 6th

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Mass Communication, Propaganda, & Persuasion Chapter Three.

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