Persuasion in Consumer Communication for Sustainability

Lecture 1/2: Persuasion knowledge – 30-10-2024
Persuasion -> “persuasion as a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people
to change their own attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in
an atmosphere of free choice”
- Symbolic process: relies on symbols -> words, signs, images
- Try to convince: attempt to influence -> deliberate, intential, conscious
- Change their own attitudes or behaviors -> entails self-persuasion -> persuade make the
change
- Message: requires transmission of a message -> arguments, cues
- Free choice: assumes free choice -> option to do not follow persuader
Traditional view of persuasion -> magic bullet/ hypodermic needle theory
Persuasion requires free choice
- When does persuasion become coercion?
- Coercion is a technique for forcing people to act as the coercer wants them to act –
presumably contrary to their preferences
- Coercion occurs when the influence agent:
 Delivers a believable threat of significant physicl or emotional harm to those who
refuse the directive
 Deprives the individual of some measure of freedom or autonomy
 Attempts to induce the individual to act contrary to her preferences
Persuasion vs. coercion




Propaganda: “a form of communication in which the leaders of a ruling group have near or total
control over the transmission of information, typically relying on mass or social media to reach target
audience members, using language and symbols in a deceptive and manipulative fashion”
Persuasion vs. propaganda
Propaganda Persuasion
Near/ total control over transmission of Information transmission is free
information
Deceptive, only one perspective Access to multiple perspectives
Mass and social media Mass media, interpersonal, organizational
Negative, bad Positive, beneficial outcomes

Persuasion knowledge

, - Rather than passively receiving messages consumers are active receivers and interpreters and
of responders to advertising messages
- They use their persuasion knowledge to cope with persuasive messages
- “Consumers’ personal knowledge about the tactics used in persuasion attempts. This
knowledge helps them identify how, when, and why marketers try to influence them”
- “Consumers’ ideas about how advertising persuades or the specific tactics used”
Persuasion knowledge
- Is personal
- Develops throughout life
- Is not always necessarily “true”, but is rather what the consumer perceives
- Starts cognitive and effortful and becomes implicit and effortless as experience increases
- People use and develop PK because they are motivated to hold valid attitudes
- To hold these attitudes, you have to judge information, using your knowledge
- People use PK to cope with persuasion, to have control over the outcome
- Outcome can be positive or negative (resistance) -> greater persuasion knowledge is not equal
to greater persuasion resistance
Persuasion knowledge method
- Developed by Friestad and Wright in 1994
- New model developed by Ham and Nelson in 2017
- Distinguishes two actors
1. The target
 Agent knowledge: target’s beliefs about characteristics and goals of the persuasion
agent
 Topic knowledge: beliefs about the topic of the persuasion message
 Persuasion knowledge: a target’s perception of agent’s strategic behavior, motives,
intentions
2. The agent
 Target knowledge: agent’s beliefs about the persuasion target or consumer
 Topic knowledge: beliefs about the topic of the persuasion message
 Persuasion knowledge: agent’s knowledge about persuasive strategies




When persuasion knowledge is activated -> change of meaning-principle, which is followed by
detachment
Dimensions of persuasion knowledge