Persuasive communication
Key questions
Hi all, feel free to leave comments: questions or contribute by adding an explanation or examples!
Chapter 1: Convincing documents 3
What is persuasion? 3
What is the difference between persuasive and informative documents? 3
What four instruments are available to a government when they want to influence
behaviour? 3
What is the role of ‘enforcement burden’ and ‘personal responsibility in choosing these
measures? 4
How does the urgency of the situation influence the choice between these measures? 4
What dimensions play a role in not-so-urgent situations? 4
When should communication be considered a way to influence behaviour? 4
What is meant by ‘effect size’? 4
Chapter 2: Determinants of behaviour 6
What is priming? 6
What are the components of the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction and how are
they related? {you should be able to draw the model and fill in the boxes} 6
Are the determinants of behaviour the same for every behaviour? 9
How can distal variables influence behaviour? 9
What is the difference between goal attitudes and behavioural attitudes? 9
How can attitudes be measured using a rating scale? Give an example. 11
What are two possible disadvantages of using these ratings? 11
What is suggested as a possible alternative way of measuring attitude? 11
What are the fundamentals of attitude according to the reader? 12
What is an attitude anyway? 13
How are values and attitudes related? 13
What is conditioning? 14
What is Mere Exposure? 14
What is cognitive dissonance? 14
How can you resolve cognitive dissonance? 14
Chapter 3 Mental processing and beliefs 15
McGuire’s ACA-model 15
Chapter 4 Document design: preliminary choices 20
Strategy 20
Chapter 5 Document design and systematic processing: arguments 23
, Cato S. Bootsma
S5714895
What is pragmatic argumentation? 23
What role does the concept of the desirability of the consequence and probability of the
consequence given the action play in pragmatic argumentation? 23
Are people better able to judge desirability or probability? 23
What is framing? 23
What is the difference between a gain frame and a loss frame? 24
Which one works best (According to O’keefe & Jensen) 24
What is a fear appeal? 24
How does the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) work? You should be able
to draw the model and fill in the boxes 25
When is a message effective according to EPPM 26
What four types of evidence can you bring to bear to support a claim? 27
What is an exemplar? Give an example 27
What is an argument from_____ 28
Chapter 6 Document design and heuristic processing: rules of thumb 29
What are rules of thumb? 29
What factors influence the source credibility 29
What types of expert can you discern? 29
What are peripheral cues? 29
Can adjectives function as peripheral cues? 30
Can pictures serve as cues? 30
Chapter 7 Experimental processing: rhetorical figures 31
What is a rhetorical figure? 31
What is the difference between schemes and tropes? 31
Can there be schemes and tropes in the visual domain? 32
What possible roles could rhetorical figures play in persuasion? 32
Chapter 8 Cultural differences and the persuasion process 33
What is Hofstede’s definition of culture 33
What are the dimensions of Individualism vs Collectivism about? 34
What is the dimension of uncertainty avoidance about? 34
What is the dimension of power distance about? 34
What is the dimension of Masculinity vs Feminity about? 34
What is the difference between analytical thinking and holistic thinking? 34
Chapter 9 Designing and pretesting persuasive texts 35
What are the different steps in research based on Integrative Model of Behavioural
Predicition? 35
Describe the different steps in the qualitative research on target group beliefs 35
What are the different components of behaviour that should be specified when measuring
behaviour and behavioural intention? 35
How can you pretest your communication? 35
1
, Cato S. Bootsma
S5714895
What is the plus-and-minus methods? 35
Checklist 37
Sample exam items 38
2
, Cato S. Bootsma
S5714895
Chapter 1: Convincing documents
What is persuasion?
Definition O’Keefe:
“a successful intentional effort at influencing another’s mental state through
communication in a circumstance in which the persuadee has some
measure of freedom”
Attitude “A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with
some degree of favour or disfavour”
“Entity” can be an object (classroom), a person (me), an institution (university), a
behaviour (studying at home), a policy (cellphones not allowed), a product
(iPhone).
What is the difference between persuasive and informative documents?
Different kinds of communications or documents
1. Informational documents (newspaper, brochure, textbook)
2. Instructional documents (manuals, help info, forms, package inserts)
3. Persuasive documents (marketing communication, health campaigns, fundraising letters)
Not all communication is persuasive. For example, a timetable is informational. Furthermore, the
author determines the nature of the text. The writer's intention does not guarantee that the
intentional effect will be achieved.
Informative documents seem to read more from the perspective of communication
principles than persuasive documents.
What four instruments are available to a government when they want to influence
behaviour?
1. Financial instruments (Tax benefits)
2. Private law instruments (Allowing trade in manure permits)
3. Direct regulation (Legislation)
4. Social regulation (Public information)
The decision between social and direct regulation depends on the URGENCY of the situation. If
the situation is urgent (for example no regulations on speeding while and having a child in your
front seat or something) it is logical that direct legislation is used. When the situation is not very
urgent, the government can choose between several instruments, based on the nature of the
indecent the following three dimensions play a role:
1. Measurement of behaviour
3
Key questions
Hi all, feel free to leave comments: questions or contribute by adding an explanation or examples!
Chapter 1: Convincing documents 3
What is persuasion? 3
What is the difference between persuasive and informative documents? 3
What four instruments are available to a government when they want to influence
behaviour? 3
What is the role of ‘enforcement burden’ and ‘personal responsibility in choosing these
measures? 4
How does the urgency of the situation influence the choice between these measures? 4
What dimensions play a role in not-so-urgent situations? 4
When should communication be considered a way to influence behaviour? 4
What is meant by ‘effect size’? 4
Chapter 2: Determinants of behaviour 6
What is priming? 6
What are the components of the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction and how are
they related? {you should be able to draw the model and fill in the boxes} 6
Are the determinants of behaviour the same for every behaviour? 9
How can distal variables influence behaviour? 9
What is the difference between goal attitudes and behavioural attitudes? 9
How can attitudes be measured using a rating scale? Give an example. 11
What are two possible disadvantages of using these ratings? 11
What is suggested as a possible alternative way of measuring attitude? 11
What are the fundamentals of attitude according to the reader? 12
What is an attitude anyway? 13
How are values and attitudes related? 13
What is conditioning? 14
What is Mere Exposure? 14
What is cognitive dissonance? 14
How can you resolve cognitive dissonance? 14
Chapter 3 Mental processing and beliefs 15
McGuire’s ACA-model 15
Chapter 4 Document design: preliminary choices 20
Strategy 20
Chapter 5 Document design and systematic processing: arguments 23
, Cato S. Bootsma
S5714895
What is pragmatic argumentation? 23
What role does the concept of the desirability of the consequence and probability of the
consequence given the action play in pragmatic argumentation? 23
Are people better able to judge desirability or probability? 23
What is framing? 23
What is the difference between a gain frame and a loss frame? 24
Which one works best (According to O’keefe & Jensen) 24
What is a fear appeal? 24
How does the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) work? You should be able
to draw the model and fill in the boxes 25
When is a message effective according to EPPM 26
What four types of evidence can you bring to bear to support a claim? 27
What is an exemplar? Give an example 27
What is an argument from_____ 28
Chapter 6 Document design and heuristic processing: rules of thumb 29
What are rules of thumb? 29
What factors influence the source credibility 29
What types of expert can you discern? 29
What are peripheral cues? 29
Can adjectives function as peripheral cues? 30
Can pictures serve as cues? 30
Chapter 7 Experimental processing: rhetorical figures 31
What is a rhetorical figure? 31
What is the difference between schemes and tropes? 31
Can there be schemes and tropes in the visual domain? 32
What possible roles could rhetorical figures play in persuasion? 32
Chapter 8 Cultural differences and the persuasion process 33
What is Hofstede’s definition of culture 33
What are the dimensions of Individualism vs Collectivism about? 34
What is the dimension of uncertainty avoidance about? 34
What is the dimension of power distance about? 34
What is the dimension of Masculinity vs Feminity about? 34
What is the difference between analytical thinking and holistic thinking? 34
Chapter 9 Designing and pretesting persuasive texts 35
What are the different steps in research based on Integrative Model of Behavioural
Predicition? 35
Describe the different steps in the qualitative research on target group beliefs 35
What are the different components of behaviour that should be specified when measuring
behaviour and behavioural intention? 35
How can you pretest your communication? 35
1
, Cato S. Bootsma
S5714895
What is the plus-and-minus methods? 35
Checklist 37
Sample exam items 38
2
, Cato S. Bootsma
S5714895
Chapter 1: Convincing documents
What is persuasion?
Definition O’Keefe:
“a successful intentional effort at influencing another’s mental state through
communication in a circumstance in which the persuadee has some
measure of freedom”
Attitude “A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with
some degree of favour or disfavour”
“Entity” can be an object (classroom), a person (me), an institution (university), a
behaviour (studying at home), a policy (cellphones not allowed), a product
(iPhone).
What is the difference between persuasive and informative documents?
Different kinds of communications or documents
1. Informational documents (newspaper, brochure, textbook)
2. Instructional documents (manuals, help info, forms, package inserts)
3. Persuasive documents (marketing communication, health campaigns, fundraising letters)
Not all communication is persuasive. For example, a timetable is informational. Furthermore, the
author determines the nature of the text. The writer's intention does not guarantee that the
intentional effect will be achieved.
Informative documents seem to read more from the perspective of communication
principles than persuasive documents.
What four instruments are available to a government when they want to influence
behaviour?
1. Financial instruments (Tax benefits)
2. Private law instruments (Allowing trade in manure permits)
3. Direct regulation (Legislation)
4. Social regulation (Public information)
The decision between social and direct regulation depends on the URGENCY of the situation. If
the situation is urgent (for example no regulations on speeding while and having a child in your
front seat or something) it is logical that direct legislation is used. When the situation is not very
urgent, the government can choose between several instruments, based on the nature of the
indecent the following three dimensions play a role:
1. Measurement of behaviour
3
