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| Persuasion | |
|---|---|
| Name | Persuasion |
| Field | Rhetoric, Communication, Psychology |
| Notable figures | Aristotle, Carl Hovland, Robert Cialdini, Daniel Kahneman, B. F. Skinner |
Persuasion
Persuasion is the process by which agents seek to influence the beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviors of others through communication, argumentation, or social influence. It spans rhetorical practices traced to Aristotle, experimental traditions exemplified by Carl Hovland and B. F. Skinner, and contemporary interdisciplinary work involving Robert Cialdini, Daniel Kahneman, and institutions such as Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. Persuasion operates across media studied in venues like the New York Times, BBC, and NPR as well as in policy settings including the United Nations and European Union.
Persuasion encompasses intentional efforts by actors such as politicians, advertisers, activists, jurists, and diplomats—including figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mahatma Gandhi—to change minds or actions using messages, symbols, and incentives. Scholarly treatments draw on traditions from Aristotelian rhetoric and legal rhetorical practice at institutions like Oxford University and Cambridge University, and on empirical studies conducted at laboratories affiliated with Stanford University, Yale University, and Columbia University. The scope includes public address in forums such as the United States Senate, campaign communications during the United States presidential election, 1960 and United Kingdom general election, 1997, commercial advertising at agencies like Ogilvy, and public health campaigns exemplified by responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Foundational models include Aristotle’s ethos–pathos–logos framework, Elaboration Likelihood Model developed by scholars at Northwestern University, and Social Judgment Theory linked to research at Florida State University. Cognitive accounts draw on work by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky on heuristics and biases, while behavioral models build on B. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning and Albert Bandura’s social learning theory originating from Stanford University research. Communication scholars like Paul Watzlawick and Claude Shannon contributed information-theoretic and interactional perspectives used alongside contemporary network models from Duncan Watts and Mark Granovetter applied to contagion phenomena in contexts such as the Arab Spring and campaigns organized on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Common techniques include rhetorical framing used by speakers such as Winston Churchill, narrative storytelling as practiced by Oprah Winfrey and Ken Burns, reciprocity and scarcity tactics popularized by Robert Cialdini, and framing effects employed by strategists in Sun Tzu-inspired messaging. Persuasive strategies also encompass credibility management seen in careers of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, tailoring messages based on audience segmentation methods developed by firms like Nielsen and Gallup, and use of visual rhetoric in works by Ansel Adams or campaigns by Saatchi & Saatchi. Digital strategies exploit algorithms from companies such as Google and Meta Platforms, Inc. and microtargeting exemplified during the 2016 United States presidential election.
Mechanisms include cognitive dissonance described by Leon Festinger, commitment and consistency effects studied by Stanley Milgram and Leonard Berkowitz, and heuristic processing cataloged by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman. Biases relevant to persuasion include confirmation bias, availability heuristic, anchoring effects observed in markets covered by The Wall Street Journal, and motivated reasoning evident in analyses by Cass Sunstein and Eli Pariser. Social influences involve conformity research from Solomon Asch, obedience dynamics in the work of Stanley Milgram, and group polarization documented in case studies of Watergate scandal and deliberations in bodies like the United States Congress.
Ethical debates engage philosophers and legal scholars including John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, Christine Korsgaard, and jurists at the International Court of Justice. Issues include manipulation versus informed consent discussed in hearings before the United States Supreme Court and regulations such as the Federal Trade Commission rules and the General Data Protection Regulation enacted by the European Commission. Professional ethics arise in journalism with codes from the Society of Professional Journalists and in advertising governed by bodies like the Advertising Standards Authority and Federal Communications Commission.
Applications span political campaigns of figures like Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Angela Merkel; public health interventions during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination drives led by World Health Organization; marketing by corporations such as Apple Inc., Procter & Gamble, and Coca-Cola; courtroom advocacy in landmark trials at the International Criminal Court; and social movements including the Civil Rights Movement, Suffragette movement, and Environmental movement organized by groups like Greenpeace and Sierra Club.
Measurement employs randomized controlled trials used by researchers at RAND Corporation and Brookings Institution, statistical methods from scholars at London School of Economics and Princeton University, survey research by Pew Research Center and Gallup, and computational analysis using tools from MIT and Carnegie Mellon University. Effectiveness metrics include conversion rates in campaigns like those run by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, retention and attitude change in longitudinal studies at University of Michigan, and network diffusion measures applied to phenomena such as the spread of hashtags during the Arab Spring.
Category:Communication