COMM 325 - EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SOLVED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE
2025-2026
~~~ CHAPTER ONE ~~~ - Answers
Persuasion (as stated by Perloff) - Answers "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*"
4. Involves the *transmission of a message* verbal or nonverbal
1. Is a *symbolic process*
2. Involves an *attempt to influence*
3. People *persuade themselves*
5. Requires *free choice* - Answers How many components of Perloff's definition for
persuasion are there/what are they?
Persuasion is a symbolic process - Answers -1/5 of the components of Perloff's definition for
persuasion
-Takes time
-Consists of a number of steps
-Actively involves the receipient of the message
-Personification: "teacher" rather than a "boxer", moving people along step by step to a solution
-Involves symbols (action, object, event, etc)
-Communicates deeper psychological meaning
-Ex. flag (rainbow, confederate), McDonalds, "fetus" vs "unborn child" to prolife or prochoice
Persuasion involves an attempt to persuade - Answers -2/5 of the components of Perloff's
definition for persuasion
-Doesn't automatically or inevitably succeed
-DELIBERATE AND CONSCIOUS attempt to persuade
-Attempt by humans...inanimate objects or animals can't persuade
-PersuadER must be aware of what they're doing (accidental persuasion is not covered in this
definition)
,-PersuadEE must have a mental state that is susceptible to change
-They don't seem to possess high level awareness that they are trying to change another
primate, let alone modify a fellow chimp's mind
-Unlikely that they can conceptualize that the other animal has a mind that they seek to change,
let alone an attitude that they would like to modify
-HUMAN AND ANIMAL DIFFERENCE - Answers Can a chimpanzee persuade?
-PersuadER - Answers Who does persuasion come from?
People persuade themselves - Answers -3/5 of the components of Perloff's definition for
persuasion
-Malevolent (i.e. peer pressure by bad friend) vs benevolent (i.e. therapy)
-YOU HAVE A CHOICE...people can't force you to change
-Key to being successful in influencing someone
-Persuasion requires that the persuadEE makes a conscious or unconscious decision to change
his/her mind about something
-Communicators provide the argument,s, we make the change or refuse to yield
-Myth - Answers Fact or myth: persuaders convince us to do things we really don't want to do
Persuasion involves the transmission of a message - Answers -4/5 of the components of
Perloff's definition for persuasion
-Verbal or nonverbal
-A communicative activity therefore there must be a message for persuasion to occur
-MUST BE INTENT BEHIND PERSUASION
-News and art don't qualify under persuasion, even though they contain messages that change
attitudes...borderline persuasion
Persuasion requires an atmosphere of free choice - Answers -5/5 of the components of
Perloff's definition for persuasion
-Person has to be free to alter their own behavior
-People don't have absolute freedom...freedom that underlies persuasion is a relative, not
absolute, concept
-Free when he has the ability to act otherwise (to do other than what the persuader suggests) or
, to reflect critically on his choices in a situation
-Absence of free choice would fall under a different category (i.e. coercion, etc)
-Self persuasion - Answers What is the key to successful influence?
1. Number of messages
2. Speed
3. Conducted via institutions and organizations
4. Subtlety
5. Complexity and mediation
6. Digitization - Answers In how many ways does contemporary persuasion differ from the
past/what are they?
Number of messages - Answers -1/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the
past
-Messages conveyed through mediated channels (radio, tv, internet, cell phones)
Speed - Answers -2/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the past
-Within seconds, a message can be shared worldwide
-Texts and short posts have become the signatures of instantaneous contemporary persuasion,
characterized as much by their brevity as by their speed
Conducted via institutions and organizations - Answers -3/6 of the ways contemporary
persuasion differs from the past
-Documents edited by committees, test marketed in typical communities, checked with
standard departments to make sure it doesn't offend potential constituents
-Persuasion is a critical weapon in the arsenal of powerful companies
Subtlety - Answers -4/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the past
-Advertising no longer relies only on hard-sell appeals but also soft-sell messages that play on
emotions
-Salespeople know all about flattery, empathy, nonverbal communication, and likeability appeals
-Political and commercial messages
Complexity and mediation - Answers -5/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the
2025-2026
~~~ CHAPTER ONE ~~~ - Answers
Persuasion (as stated by Perloff) - Answers "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*"
4. Involves the *transmission of a message* verbal or nonverbal
1. Is a *symbolic process*
2. Involves an *attempt to influence*
3. People *persuade themselves*
5. Requires *free choice* - Answers How many components of Perloff's definition for
persuasion are there/what are they?
Persuasion is a symbolic process - Answers -1/5 of the components of Perloff's definition for
persuasion
-Takes time
-Consists of a number of steps
-Actively involves the receipient of the message
-Personification: "teacher" rather than a "boxer", moving people along step by step to a solution
-Involves symbols (action, object, event, etc)
-Communicates deeper psychological meaning
-Ex. flag (rainbow, confederate), McDonalds, "fetus" vs "unborn child" to prolife or prochoice
Persuasion involves an attempt to persuade - Answers -2/5 of the components of Perloff's
definition for persuasion
-Doesn't automatically or inevitably succeed
-DELIBERATE AND CONSCIOUS attempt to persuade
-Attempt by humans...inanimate objects or animals can't persuade
-PersuadER must be aware of what they're doing (accidental persuasion is not covered in this
definition)
,-PersuadEE must have a mental state that is susceptible to change
-They don't seem to possess high level awareness that they are trying to change another
primate, let alone modify a fellow chimp's mind
-Unlikely that they can conceptualize that the other animal has a mind that they seek to change,
let alone an attitude that they would like to modify
-HUMAN AND ANIMAL DIFFERENCE - Answers Can a chimpanzee persuade?
-PersuadER - Answers Who does persuasion come from?
People persuade themselves - Answers -3/5 of the components of Perloff's definition for
persuasion
-Malevolent (i.e. peer pressure by bad friend) vs benevolent (i.e. therapy)
-YOU HAVE A CHOICE...people can't force you to change
-Key to being successful in influencing someone
-Persuasion requires that the persuadEE makes a conscious or unconscious decision to change
his/her mind about something
-Communicators provide the argument,s, we make the change or refuse to yield
-Myth - Answers Fact or myth: persuaders convince us to do things we really don't want to do
Persuasion involves the transmission of a message - Answers -4/5 of the components of
Perloff's definition for persuasion
-Verbal or nonverbal
-A communicative activity therefore there must be a message for persuasion to occur
-MUST BE INTENT BEHIND PERSUASION
-News and art don't qualify under persuasion, even though they contain messages that change
attitudes...borderline persuasion
Persuasion requires an atmosphere of free choice - Answers -5/5 of the components of
Perloff's definition for persuasion
-Person has to be free to alter their own behavior
-People don't have absolute freedom...freedom that underlies persuasion is a relative, not
absolute, concept
-Free when he has the ability to act otherwise (to do other than what the persuader suggests) or
, to reflect critically on his choices in a situation
-Absence of free choice would fall under a different category (i.e. coercion, etc)
-Self persuasion - Answers What is the key to successful influence?
1. Number of messages
2. Speed
3. Conducted via institutions and organizations
4. Subtlety
5. Complexity and mediation
6. Digitization - Answers In how many ways does contemporary persuasion differ from the
past/what are they?
Number of messages - Answers -1/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the
past
-Messages conveyed through mediated channels (radio, tv, internet, cell phones)
Speed - Answers -2/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the past
-Within seconds, a message can be shared worldwide
-Texts and short posts have become the signatures of instantaneous contemporary persuasion,
characterized as much by their brevity as by their speed
Conducted via institutions and organizations - Answers -3/6 of the ways contemporary
persuasion differs from the past
-Documents edited by committees, test marketed in typical communities, checked with
standard departments to make sure it doesn't offend potential constituents
-Persuasion is a critical weapon in the arsenal of powerful companies
Subtlety - Answers -4/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the past
-Advertising no longer relies only on hard-sell appeals but also soft-sell messages that play on
emotions
-Salespeople know all about flattery, empathy, nonverbal communication, and likeability appeals
-Political and commercial messages
Complexity and mediation - Answers -5/6 of the ways contemporary persuasion differs from the
