Attitudes and Persuasion

Attitudes and Persuasion David Phillips

Learning Outcomes

Identify the nature persuasion to change attitudes 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.

Theories

Bernays: Engineering consent

Kevin Maloney : Is persuasion less ethical than negotiation or compromise – but does one involve the other?

Jaksa & Prichard: say it cannot be seriously maintained that persuasion is bad.

Anderson: says its ok as long as PR seek voluntary change in attitudes and/or actions

Is persuasion propaganda?

Not if

Intent is ethical

Recipients have free will

The content is truthful

The audience is autonymous (and can argue back)

Where does persuasion sit?

Where does persuasion sit in the:

Propaganda,

Information

Two way asymmetrical

Two way symmetrical Grunigian posit

Persuasion affects attitudes opinions and behaviours

Attitude

Attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents 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 a target, meaning that they simultaneously possess a positive and a negative bias towards the attitude in question.

Implicit and explicit attitudes

The primitive driver

Attitude may be considered as a primitive attribute to the preservation of the self or of the ego.

DOES ATTITUDE CHANGE BEHAVIOUR?

What is the goal?

Changed attitudes

Changed opinions

Changed beliefs

Changed behaviours?

French and Raven:

Social power and social influence are found in

psychology,

sociology,

political science.

Psychological Change

Change includes changes in:

behaviour,

opinions,

attitudes,

goals,

needs,

values. French and Raven

Power & Influence

“ The phenomena of power and influence involve a dyadic relation between two agents which may be viewed from two points of view:

(a) What determines the behaviour of the agent who exerts power?

(b) What determines the reactions of the recipient of this behaviour?”

Changed opinion For example, a change in someone’s opinion may be the affect of someone else persuading that person to accept the opinion of him or herself. 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.

Social influence and power is limited to influence on the person, P, produced by a social agent, O, where O can be either another person, a role, a norm, a group or a part of a group. “ We do not consider social influence exerted on a group.” (French and Raven 151) This means that all groups are interdependent, which means the group depends on its members in order to function. This means that a change in one may produce a change in others. This theory focuses on the primary changes in a group, which are produced directly with social influence, not on other changes, which are not secondary changes.

Social Power Social Power is the amount of powers that O is capable of because of some more or less enduring relation to P. This defines the range of power as the set of all systems within which a person has power of strength greater than zero. The example that French and Raven gave us was: “A girlfriend may have a broad range of power over her boyfriend but a narrow range of power over her employer.

Five types of Power

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

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

Legitimate power, which states that one person, has a legitimate right to prescribe behaviour for him.

Referent power, which is based on identification with the group or leader.

Expert power, which is to feel that someone has special knowledge or expertise, which he can benefit from.

What levels of persuasion and influence for different audiences Level of Interest Power A Minimal effort B Keep informed C Keep satisfied D Key players LOW LOW HIGH HIGH

Learning Outcomes – did we do it?