Elements of Persuasion

1
Elements of Persuasion

• The message content
• - Reason versus emotion
• -Discrepancy
• -One-sided versus two-sided appeal
• -Primacy versus recency
• - Inductive reasoning
• - Deductive reasoning
• - Fallacies of faulty reasoning

2
The Message Content

• Reason versus emotion
• well educated and analytical people are more
  persuaded by rational appeals. Less -educated and
  less analytical people are more persuaded by
  emotional appeals.

3
The Message Content

• One-sided versus two-sided appeals
• A one-sided appeal is more effective with
  people who agree with the appeal. A two-sided
  appeal is more effective with people who disagree
  with the appeal. If people are aware of opposing
  arguments, two-sided appeals are more effective.

4
The Message Content

• Primacy versus recency
• Primacy effect-other things being equal,
  information presented first usually has the most
  information. Recency effect -information
  presented last has the most information. Recency
  effect are less common than primacy effects.

5
The Message Content

• Deductive Reasoning
• An audience is asked to start with a
  generalization and draw a conclusion about a
  specific instance. Eg we are asked to deduce
  that IMFs successful program that has worked in
  Thailand will also work in Malaysia.

6
The Message Content

• Inductive Reasoning
• Receivers would be asked to begin with a specific
  case and derive a generalization. Eg we might be
  asked to conclude that because RELA program
  reduced crime in certain neighborhood, it is
  reasonable to conclude that RELA programs will
  reduce crime at all places.

7
The Message Content

• Fallacies
• Are types of faulty reasoning. Normally due
• to careless thinking or sometimes used
  deliberately (propaganda advertising).

8
Examples of fallacies

• 1. Ad hominem. Latin for to the man. An
  argument that attacks the person rather than the
  issues.
• - Our new professor looks like Homer S. How can
  we take him seriously?
• 2. An appeal to pity.
• - I deserve a raise. My car is in the workshop,
  got three kids to look after.
• 3. Bandwagon fallacy- because everyone is doing
  it.
• - 95 students have camera phone

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Examples of fallacies

• 4. Begging the question- restates in the
  conclusion what has been asserted in the premise.
• - Because women are not well suited for
  fighting, they do not do well in combat duty in
  the armed forces.
• 5. The either/or fallacy- when one assumes that
  only two alternatives are possible, when others
  exist.
• - A new car may be expensive, but do you want
  me to drive around in this junk pile.

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Tutorial 5

• Bring to class cuttings of advertisements,
  articles, editorials etc that contain fallacies.
• Highlight the fallacies.
• Explain why you consider them as a fallacy.
• Would you have written it otherwise?