Persuasion

Persuasion

Theory

Throughout history, many people have defined the times in which they lived. Whether they are political leaders or business people, they all employ the use of their charisma to persuade others to follow them. According to Gass and Seiter (2011), “Charisma is a lay term used to describe someone who possesses a certain indefinable charm or allure. Such a person may be said to have a magnetic personality.” Charismatic people tend to possess great credibility, and use this to their advantage (Gass & Seiter, 2011).

Event

Many companies seek out well known individuals to speak for their products to entice others to purchase said products. The way that these spokespeople are able to stir others to pay closer attention to these products is through their charisma, the same goes for politicians for that matter.

Some of the primary dimensions of credibility as outlined by Gass and Seiter (2011) are expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill. Expertise in a field would give someone much more credibility. For example, if I was looking for a person to work on their house, it would make all the difference to know that the person was experienced and knowledgeable in the field of work that I'm needing to use them for.

Trustworthiness also impacts credibility. If a person is known to be honest, dishonest, ethical, or unethical, it can be inferred whether they are trustworthy. Goodwill, or at least my perception of it, can make a huge difference in ones credibility. Whether a person truly cares or not can make or break credibility, as it can become difficult to have confidence in someone who doesn’t have my best interest at heart.

References

Gass, R. H. & Seiter, J. S., (2011). Persuasion: Social influence and compliance gaining. 4^Th Edition. Allyn & Bacon.

Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology. (eleventh ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

The Foot in the Door Phenomenon

The Foot in the Door Phenomenon

Theory

The foot in the door phenomenon, or as Gass and Seiter (2011) put it, “The ‘give me an inch and I’ll take a mile’ tactic” is a means to gain compliance that entails a small request while waiting to make a larger request. It is not uncommon for these two requests to have nothing to do with eachother. According to Gass and Seiter (2011), “When people comply with a smaller request, it often makes them more likely to comply with a second, larger request.” The most prevalent explanation for the effectiveness of the foot in the door strategy is based on the self-perception theory (Gass & Seiter, 2011). According to the theory, people become familiar with others attitudes, psychological reactions, and other internal reactions by inferring them from the behavior they themselves exhibit. According to Gass and Seiter, “As an explanation for the FITD effect, self-perception theory says this: When you agree to comply with a small request, you see yourself as an altruistic person who is likely to help.”

Event

One area where this has become a problem is with the recent breakdown in talks between republicans and democrats with regard to how handle spending cuts. However, the problem is that many of the inches that were given by either side were never followed up with the mile. One side would try to get more out of the deal, and the talks would come to an end, with the inches being retracted (Killough, 2013)

The effectiveness of the foot in the door tactic depends largely on how it is approached. For example, if the size of the initial request is too small the following larger request will seem like too large a jump and put off the receiver. If the size of the initial request is too large, the initial request may be denied and this defeats the whole concept of foot in the door theory.

References

Gass, R. H. & Seiter, J. S., (2011). Persuasion: Social influence and compliance gaining. 4^th Edition. Allyn & Bacon.

Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology. (eleventh ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Killough, A. (2013, Feb. 26.) Obama: Cuts are a 'self-inflicted wound'.CNN http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/26/obama-cuts-are-a-self-inflicted-wound/?iref=allsearch

Aggression

Aggression

Theory

According to Myers (2013), “In the twentieth century, the 'brutish' view – that aggressive drive is inborn and thus inevitable.” Aggression is something that everyone must deal with from time to time, whether it is brought upon or acted out by someone. Aggression can even make its way through the generations as there is much evidence that African Americans who were born in the post civil rights era still harbor much of the resentment and aggression brought on by their ancestors mistreatment many years ago (Cassel, 2010).

Event

On the morning of July 20^th, 2012, during a midnight showing of the film The Dark Knight Rises, alleged gunman James Holmes opened fire on a crowded theater that included men, women, and children enjoying the film. The weapons he used included a tear gas grenade as well as several hand guns and assault rifles. This shows a blatant attempt to cause as much damage to as many people as possible (Rowlands & Spellman, 2012).

This act of aggression seems to have been brought on by mental illness. Holmes didn't have a criminal record prior to the shooting, however had shown increasing signs of a mental breakdown in the months leading up to the crime. Prior to the shooting, Holmes had enrolled as a Ph. D. student in neuroscience. His academic career seemed to be taking a toll on him as he began to lose contact with reality, cracking under the pressure of being a student. (Rowlands & Spellman, 2012).

This act of aggression seems to be a cry for help for a man who was desperate to find control over something in his life. He had been unlucky in his love life in addition to the mounting pressure from the university. Holmes could be seen as a failure of society in not recognizing the warning signs until it was to late.

References

Cassel, E. (2010). The Power of Psychotherapy. New York, USA.

Rowlands, T. & Spellman, J. (2012, Aug. 31.) James holmes called university 9 minutes before shooting, attorney says. CNN http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/justice/colorado- shooting

Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology. (eleventh ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance
Theory

The second theory to be explored is that of cognitive dissonance. According to Myers (2013), “The theory is simple, but its range of application is enormous, making 'cognitive dissonance' part of the vocabulary of today's educated people.” Cognitive dissonance occurs when one feels tension when two thoughts or beliefs contradict each other. People try to control the tendency of this phenomenon to occur. One way they achieve this is through selective exposure to agreeable information (Myers, 2013). When one finds insufficient justification for their actions, people find more dissonance and therefore believe more in what they had done.

Event

One event that immediately came to mind was that of my high school days. I had been on a quest to find myself, as many adolescents are. I found many of the answers I sought in the form of Christianity. My friends were constantly trying to corrupt both myself and another friend of mine that were trying to remain as pure as possible. We were encouraged to drink and curse as much as possible, among other things. For the most part we had taken the high road, but by the time senior year came along, the pressure had taken its toll. I had grown tired of trying to remain in good standing with God and chose to take part in some questionable activities. Drinking and cursing were the main activities that we took part in. I was able to draw the line at drugs and sex. It was not uncommon for me, when drinking for a few hours, to stop and have a moment of cognitive dissonance. In fact, it became so common that I eventually stopped the activities because I couldn't find justification for my own actions as well as the actions of those around me.

References

Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology. (eleventh ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Reactance

Reactance
Theory

The theory of reactance is that people react to protect their sense of freedom (Myers, 2013, pg 220). People react negatively to restrictions made upon their freedom, which often produces an anti-conformity response. Likewise, studies have also shown people to have a negative response to the loss of their something that has made them unique. According to Myers (2013), “In one field experiment, many nongeeky students stopped wearing a 'livestrong' wristband when nearby geeky academic students started wearing the band.” In addition, reactance may be linked to underage drinking in that adolescents are being asked to conform to the requests of their parents or the demands of society. These adolescents react by taking the exact opposite stance as what's being demanded of them (Myers, 2013).

Event

Examples of reactance are numerous, but the one that I've chosen is that of my oldest son, Jayton. Jayton is only four years old, but he knows just the buttons to push. My son has the uncanny ability to react in the exact opposite of what is intended by another party. For example, if I were to ask Jayton to go get something in another room, he would immediately begin complaining that he couldn't find it without ever having left the room. If another child has a shirt or a toy that he has or likes, he will begin complaining without really knowing or explaining why.

Jayton seems to be displaying a desire to be unique, as if all of the Superman, Batman, and Star Wars Movies, television shows, and merchandise are made just for him. He doesn't mind showing off his own uses for the merchandise, but if anyone intrudes upon this, it throws his life into disarray.

References

Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology. (eleventh ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.