“Attempts to win “the heart and mind” of the target. Thus persuasion must induce attitude change, which entails affective (emotion-based) change. Although persuasion is more difficult to induce, its effects last longer because the target actually accepts and internalizes the advocacy.” Via Working Psychology
“Persuasion is one of the four chief forms of rhetoric. Its main purpose is to convince a reader (or listener) to think, act, or feel a certain way. It involves appealing to reason, to emotion, and/or to a sense of ethics. The other three main rhetorical categories are exposition, narration, and description.” Via Glossary of Useful Terms
“Persuasion is discourse which seeks to change the reader’s mind. Persuasion usually assumes that the writer and the reader do not agree, or do not fully agree, at the outset. Persuasion may use logical argument (appeal to reason), but it may also try to win the reader over by other means—by appeal to the emotions, by wit, by geniality.” Via Terms to Know
“Persuasion attempts to win “the heart and mind” of the target. Thus persuasion must induce attitude change, which entails affective (emotion-based) change. Although persuasion is more difficult to induce, its effects last longer because the target actually accepts and internalizes the advocacy.
There are many persuasion tactics, one of which utilizes the Socratic Effect, studied by the famous influence researcher, William McGuire. It states that by merely directing thoughts to attitudes and beliefs with logical implications for one another, those attitudes and beliefs become more consistent.
If my wife wants me to start and maintain an exercise program, she might bring up other topics which have logical, positive implications for exercise. She might tell me about a friend who recently experienced a heart attack. That may lead to a discussion about the benefits of good health and the horrors of hospitals, and how people who are in good health are better looking, have more energy, and are more successful. Without ever pointing it out, my wife will have caused me to notice uncomfortable inconsistencies in my belief system. I don’t like hospitals, and exercise will help keep me out of them–so why don’t I go jogging with her? I will likely decide to do just that the next time I see her putting on her running shoes. At the next social gathering we attend, she may capitalize on the situation and mention that the two of us are now exercising together. I will agree, and in so doing will have made a public commitment–which will compel me to remain consistent with my stated behavior.
If my wife is an artful influence practitioner, my jogging will cease to be an external imposition–it will have become an internal value. As such, it will become part of my self concept and will become a long-term behavior pattern.
(Surprisingly, the correlation between attitude and behavior is weaker than you might think! So just because someone has a positive attitude does not mean they will invariably behave in a consistent manner. But that’s a discussion for another time . . .)” Via Working Psychology
