atitude and persuasion

7/28/2019 Atitude and Persuasion

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Attitudes and

PersuasionDavid Phillips


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Learning Outcomes

Identify the nature persuasion to changeattitudes in PR practice

Examine persuasion as a PR Tactic Identify the nature and relevance of and ability

to change opinions, attitudes, goals,

needs, values and behaviours

View the use and application of power. Identify these theories in a PR context.


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Theories

Bernays: Engineering consent Kevin Maloney : Is persuasion less ethical

than negotiation or compromise butdoes one involve the other?

Jaksa & Prichard: say it cannot beseriously maintained that persuasion is

bad. Anderson: says its ok as long as PR seek

voluntary change in attitudes and/oractions


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Is persuasion propaganda?

Not if

1. Intent is ethical

2. Recipients have free will

3. The content is truthful

4. The audience is autonymous (and can

argue back)


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Where does persuasion sit?

Where does persuasion sit in the: Propaganda,

Information Two way asymmetrical

Two way symmetrical Grunigian posit

Persuasion affects attitudes opinions andbehaviours


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Attitude

Attitude is a hypothetical construct thatrepresents an individual's like or dislike for

an item. Attitudes are positive, negative or neutral

views of an "attitude object": i.e. a person,behaviour or event.

People can also be "ambivalent" towards atarget, meaning that they simultaneouslypossess a positive and a negative biastowards the attitude in question.

Implicit and explicit attitudes


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The primitive driver

Attitude may be considered as a primitiveattribute to the preservation of the self or

of the ego.


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DOES ATTITUDE CHANGEBEHAVIOUR?

What is the goal?

Changed attitudes

Changed opinions

Changed beliefs

Changed behaviours?


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French and Raven:

Social power and social influence are

found in psychology,

sociology,

political science.


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Psychological Change

Change includes changes in: behaviour,

opinions, attitudes,

goals,

needs,

values. French and Raven


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Power & Influence

The phenomena of power and influenceinvolve a dyadic relation between two

agents which may be viewed from twopoints of view: (a) What determines the behaviour of theagent who exerts power?

(b) What determines the reactions of therecipient of this behaviour?


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Changed opinion

For example, a change in someones opinionmay be the affect of someone else persuadingthat person to accept the opinion of him orherself.

This can have affects in groups, because the

members driving their opinions onto the others,makes for discussion, which helps the group,come up with great ideas.


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Social influence and power is limited to influence on theperson, P, produced by a social agent, O, where O can be

either another person, a role, a norm, a group or a part of agroup.

We do not consider social influence exerted on a group.(French and Raven 151)This means that all groups are interdependent, whichmeans the group depends on its members in order to

function.This means that a change in one may produce a change inothers.This theory focuses on the primary changes in a group,which are produced directly with social influence, not onother changes, which are not secondary changes.


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Social Power

Social Power is the amount of powers that O iscapable of because of some more or less enduringrelation to P.This defines the range of power as the set of allsystems within which a person has power ofstrength greater than zero.The example that French and Raven gave us was:

A girlfriend may have a broad range of power overher boyfriend but a narrow range of power over heremployer.


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Five types of Power

Reward power, which is to think that one hasthe ability to mediate rewards for him.

Coercive power, which is based on the abilityfor one to punish him.

Legitimate power, which states that oneperson, has a legitimate right to prescribebehaviour for him.

Referent power, which is based onidentification with the group or leader. Expert power, which is to feel that someone

has special knowledge or expertise, which hecan benefit from.


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What levels of persuasion andinfluence for different audiences

Level of Interest

Power A

Minimal effort

B

Keep informed

C

Keep satisfied

D

Key players

LOW

LOW HIGH

HIGH


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Learning Outcomes did we do it?

Identify the nature persuasion to changeattitudes in PR practice

Examine persuasion as a PR Tactic Identify the nature and relevance of and ability

to change opinions, attitudes, goals,

needs, values and behaviours

View the use and application of power. Identify these theories in a PR context.

atitude and persuasion

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