Transcript Social Psychology

LECTURE 6
Changing Attitudes (and Behaviours)
1) Administration
2) Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
3) Factors that Influence the Effectiveness of the
Persuasion
4) Don’t Vote clip
5) Break
6) Cialdini’s Six Principles of Persuasion
8) Next Classes
Arousal and Cognitive Dissonance
Dissonance and the pill (Cooper & Zanna, 1974)
Procedure
• Subjects were asked to write a counter-attitudinal
essay
– banning all speakers on campus
• Either an illusion of high choice or low choice
• Given a pill – told will be arousing, have no effect, or
be relaxing (really a placebo)
• Examine attitude change
Dissonance and the Pill
Dissonance and the pill (Cooper & Zanna, 1974)
14
Attitude Change
12
10
8
High Choice
6
Low Choice
4
2
0
Arousal
No effect
Purported Pill Effect
Relaxation
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
Great arguments.
I’m convinced!
Peripheral Route
He sounds smart.
I’m convinced!
Central Route
Peripheral Route
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Motivation x Ability
Motivation to process the arguments
Factors 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 arguments
Factors 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
Motivated
Yes
Yes
Ability to
Process
No
central
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
Motivated
Yes
Yes
No
peripheral
Ability to
Process
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 Appeal
Yale 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 Observer
Six Persuasion Principles
Robert 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 Principles
Robert Cialdini (2001)
2. Social Validation
– List technique
– Littering studies
(Cialdini, Reno & Kallgren, 1990)
• Norms
• Salience of norms (whether notice norms or
not)
Six Persuasion Principles
Robert 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 Principles
Robert Cialdini (2001)
4. Friendship/Liking
– Tupperware and Lingerie Parties
– Neighbourhood Breast Cancer Garage Sale
– Save the Children Campaign
Six Persuasion Principles
Robert Cialdini (2001)
5. Scarcity – limit on products, time, etc.
– Dwaze Dagen/Boxing Day/Black Friday
– Only This Weekend!
– Gone is gone
Six Persuasion Principles
Robert Cialdini (2001)
6. Authority
• Milgram Studies next lecture, military, etc.
Six Persuasion Principles
Robert 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 Principles
Robert Cialdini (2001)
If you want to get someone to help you move, would
you first:
a) tell them you only have a few things and then later
tell them you have a lot? (start small)
or would you
b) tell them that you have a lot and then later tell them
that you only have a few things? (start big)
Principle of Consistency
Six Persuasion Principles
Robert 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 (Feb 19th)
•
• Class 8: No classes (Feb 26th)
Reading material:
Chapter 8: Group Processes: Influence in
Social Groups, pp. 234-269.
• Class 9: (Group Dynamics and) Conformity (March 5th)
Reading material:
Chapter 7: Conformity: Influencing
Others, pp. 192-233.