CHAPTER 5

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T E RI S

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Prepared by Robert Gass & John Seiter

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DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES

Knowing the right buttons to push

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AGE

Children are easy marks “young children — younger than 8 years — are

cognitively and psychologically defenseless against advertising”

(American Academy of Pediatrics, cited by Strasberger, 2006)

Young children cannot distinguish between advertising and programming content.

By 3 months, 40% of children are watching TV or videos (Lindstrom, 2011)

The average child sees 40,000 commercials per year

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ADVERTISERS TARGET CHILDREN

Advertisers take advantage of children’s naivety junk food ads

alcohol and tobacco ads

sexualization of girls

Media messages sexualize girls and younger and younger ages (APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, 2010)

Abercrombie and Fitch’s risqué wear for kids

Bratz dolls (mini-skirts, fishnet stockings

Tesco’s “Peekaboo Pole Dancing Kit”

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Life stages hypothesis: there is a curvilinear relationship between age a persuadability.

children are more vulnerable Middle-aged persons are less

vulnerable elderly are more vulnerable

Age alone does not make people more gullible, however;

Politeness reduces some seniors’ willingness to hang up on telemarketers

Cognitive impairments (dementia, Alzheimer's) make some seniors more vulnerable

Loneliness, isolation make some seniors more vulnerable

Common scams target the elderly

Telemarketing scams

Lottery and sweepstakes scams

Bank examiner cons

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ELDERLY

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Gender stereotypes affect persuasion more than actual gender differences

Reinforcement Expectancy Theory Female MDs are expected to

be more communal, nurturing

Male MDs are expected to be more assertive, leader-like

Male MDs can employ more negative strategies than female MDs

Individual differences matter more than gender differences Women are as different from

one another as from men

Cross-Sex Effect Women are more easily

persuaded by males, and vice versa

Goals, plans, and resources affect persuasion more than gender

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GENDER AND PERSUASION

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Gender differences in persuasion tend to be overlapping, rather than “either-or”

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GENDER

For any given communication trait, such as assertiveness, the curves for females and males tend to be normal and overlapping

females

males

All these females would be

more assertive

than all these males

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Individualistic cultures value personal autonomy Direct, assertive

persuasion strategies Ads that emphasize

individual benefits, personal success

Rational strategies

Collectivistic cultures emphasize fitting in Indirect, cooperative

persuasion strategies Ads that appeal to group

benefits, harmony Coalitions and gift-

giving

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CULTURE AND ETHNICITY

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INFLUENCE STRATEGIES MAY BE CULTURE SPECIFIC

U.S.A. Direct request, assertiveness

People’s Republic of China Anshi: hinting, indirect, implicit

Yo she zuo ze: setting a personal example

Tou qi suo: feeding people what they relish

Columbia

Confiaza: trust or closeness

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INTELLIGENCE

Albert Einstein Vs. Forrest Gump In general, less intelligent people are easier to

persuade (Rhode & Woods, 1992)

But…

Less intelligent people may have more difficulty comprehending the message

simple versus complex messages

Intelligence is not synonymous with knowledge or education on a topic

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Self-Esteem

The Trade-off between low and high esteem

Low esteem: more likely to yield, but less likely to follow through

High esteem: less likely to yield, but more likely to follow through

Therefore, people with moderate esteem may be the most persuadable

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Anxiety

Anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million Americans (ADAA, 2010)

Persuasion requires attention, comprehension, and yielding to a message

Anxious people may have more trouble attending to a message

Anxiety may be distracting

Anxiety may trigger panic Anxious people may be more likely to yield to a

message

Focus on reducing anxiety and fear so listeners will pay attention

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Preference for consistency High FPC’s value consistency,

predictability. Are more susceptible to cognitive dissonance

Low FPC’s value spontaneity, unpredictability

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Self-Monitoring

High self-monitors are: More adaptable, sensitive to social cues More responsive to image-oriented ads

Low Self-Monitors are: More independent, less conforming More responsive to product features and

functions

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Ego Involvement

Ego involved people tend to have:

Smaller latitudes of acceptance

Wider latitudes of rejection

Ego involved people tend to have narrower views

Assimilation/Contrast Phenomenon

Messages are distorted based on their perceived compatibility with existing beliefs and attitudes

Assimilation:

a message is perceived as being closer to one’s own position than it really is

Contrast:

a message is perceived as being farther from one’s own position than it really is

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

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Naomi is mildly ego-involved on the issue of abortion

Loretta is highly ego-involved on the issue of abortion

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SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

large latitude of acceptance

small latitude of rejection

small latitude of acceptance

large latitude of rejection

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Issue Involvement

According to the ELM, a person with high issue involvement:

tend to rely on central processing

tend to be more responsive to good arguments and evidence

A person with low issue involvement:

tend to favor peripheral processing

tend to look for mental shortcuts, heuristic cues

tend to respond better to testimonials

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Authoritarian personalities are close-minded and conservative

Dogmatism is a broader construct

Dogmatic people may be conservative or liberal

Dogmatic people engage in rigid, doctrinaire thinking

Dogmatic people are more persuadable by authority figures

“Dogmatism—not religious fundamentalism, terrorism, or fanaticism in general—is the greatest threat to social, political, and scientific progress” (Johnson, 2009)

Social vigilantism Social vigilantes believe

their beliefs are superior to others’

They actively try to persuade others of their rightness

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

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High “dogs” Prefer clear-cut rules

and order Like status hierarchies Respect authority

figures View the world in black

or white

“Low” dogs: Prefer fewer rules, more

flexibility Place less emphasis on

status and hierarchy Are less obedient to

authority View the world in

shades of gray

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

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Cognitive Complexity and need for Cognition

Need for cognition involves a desire to think about, reflect on things

Cognitive complexity involves the number of constructs people use when thinking

Cognitively complex (as opposed to cognitively simple) people:

are better at perspective taking

are more likely to use central processing

can tolerate more inconsistency

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Cognitive complexity People who rely on many constructs are cognitive complex

Their thinking is more nuanced

They are better at seeing things from another’s perspective

They are better at adapting messages to listeners

People who rely on few constructs are cognitively simple

They tend to think of things in black and white , either/or

They tend to have less tolerance for inconsistency, since they don’t see things in degrees

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Need for Cognition People who are high in the need for cognition (NFCs) like to

think about things

They enjoying solving problems

They enjoy discussions

They are more likely to engage in central processing

People who are low in their need for cognition (LNCs)

Don’t like effortful thinking

They are more likely to resort to peripheral processing, e.g., heuristic cues

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PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES AND TRAITS

Verbal aggressiveness Is a destructive trait

Relies on name-calling, insults, put-downs

The goal is to damage another’s self concept

Argumentativeness Is a constructive trait

Involves a willingness to argue by focusing issues, not personalities

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Know your audience Adapt your message

to your audience point of view

Tailor the message to the listener’s frame of reference

Explain how the message is consistent with the other person’s beliefs, attitudes, and values

Pay attention to situational cues

The context or setting matters

Tale cultural values into account

Consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Consider states and traits

Consider audience demographics

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ANALYZING AND ADAPTING TO AUDIENCES