1 Convincing Documents
Persuasion: successful intentional effort at influencing another’s mental state
(attitude/evaluative judgment) through communication in a circumstance in which the
persuadee has some measure of freedom
Persuasive documents are aimed at convincing/influencing the reader, informative/instructive
documents can have persuasive elements, but are not created with persuasion in mind
The 4 instruments available to the government when aiming at behavioral influencing
1. financial
2. private law
3. direct regulation
4. social regulation
The 2 dimensions/’communicating vessels’ distinguished in these instruments
1. enforcement burden
2. personal responsibility
→ enforcement burden when instrument doesn’t appeal to citizen’s personal responsibility
Urgent situations → direct regulation
Less urgent situations → choice in instrument, with following dimensions playing a role
1. measurability of the behavior: do/will people abide?
2. structure of the target group: is the size/heterogeneity of the group overseeable?
3. costs for the target group: does the enforcement appeal to the group?
(communication feasible if group can be convinced of advantages of promoted behavior)
The 4 criteria of the communication principle:
1. clarity
2. honesty
3. efficiency
4. relevance
Directive communication (persuasive): intended to make group draw a certain conclusion
Non-directive communication (informative): group can make up their own mind
Writer/speaker gathers/selects, structures and puts info into words
→ controls effectiveness by controlling content, structure and style
The 7 steps to a successful campaign
1. conducting formative research: identify determinants of target behavior and the
conditions under which this is exhibited and pretest the message in the group
2. using theory/models: are there general rules for your target group? etc.
3. segmenting the target group: divide into subgroups (similar approach)
4. using an appropriate message design
5. choosing appropriate channels
6. controlling the process
7. conduct good evaluation research: why/what did/didn’t work? etc.
‘Effect size’: the greater the effect, the greater the practical relevance
→ explicit commercials are more convincing
, 2 Determinants of Behavior
Determinants are attitude, perceived norm and self-efficacy, but these create together the
‘intention’, these are determined by beliefs (about consequences, opinions, skills)
→ intention together with skills and environmental constraints; reasoned behavior
→ beliefs about attitude; primary beliefs
Reasoned behavior
→ three determinants/RAT (Reasoned Action Theory):
1. intention (willingness to consider)
→ three determinants: 1. attitude (most important in persuasion)
2. perceived norm
3. self-efficacy
2. skills
3. environmental constraints
→ attitude: ‘opinion of a certain behavior’
- two determinants: 1. likelihood that behavior leads to behavior
2. desirability of consequence after evaluation
- relatively stable representations in Long Term Memory (LTM)
- evaluative; contradictory
- associated with …
- based on direct experience/mere exposure
- can be based on reasoning
- ABC (fundamentals of attitudes): Affective component (feelings/emotions)
Behavioral component (why is *A* like that)
Cognitive component (knowledge/beliefs)
- goal attitudes; objects, indirect
behavioral attitudes; behavior (predicts behavior better), direct
- four functions: 1. instrumental: does the object make my life better?
2. knowledge; comparison to other products for quality check
3. ego defensive; set yourself up negatively towards other to
feel better about yourself
4. value-expressive; what values one cherishes
- implicit: automatic association between object and evaluation
explicit: rational deliberation process
- hard because … … people don’t always know attitude through introspection …
… people at times hide their true attitude …
… so you can use IAT (Implicit Association Test)
- fundamentals of attitude: - beliefs (split into accuracy and certainty)
- affects
- behaviors
- belief-based attitude models: A (attitude) = b (belief strength) + e (belief evaluation)
summative attitude models: A = (p (probability) x e (evaluation)) + (p x e) etc.
> help identify targets for persuasive appeals
→ perceived norm:
- what someone perceives as socially acceptable
1. injunctive/normative; ‘what do others want me to do?’
2. descriptive; ‘what do others do?’
Persuasion: successful intentional effort at influencing another’s mental state
(attitude/evaluative judgment) through communication in a circumstance in which the
persuadee has some measure of freedom
Persuasive documents are aimed at convincing/influencing the reader, informative/instructive
documents can have persuasive elements, but are not created with persuasion in mind
The 4 instruments available to the government when aiming at behavioral influencing
1. financial
2. private law
3. direct regulation
4. social regulation
The 2 dimensions/’communicating vessels’ distinguished in these instruments
1. enforcement burden
2. personal responsibility
→ enforcement burden when instrument doesn’t appeal to citizen’s personal responsibility
Urgent situations → direct regulation
Less urgent situations → choice in instrument, with following dimensions playing a role
1. measurability of the behavior: do/will people abide?
2. structure of the target group: is the size/heterogeneity of the group overseeable?
3. costs for the target group: does the enforcement appeal to the group?
(communication feasible if group can be convinced of advantages of promoted behavior)
The 4 criteria of the communication principle:
1. clarity
2. honesty
3. efficiency
4. relevance
Directive communication (persuasive): intended to make group draw a certain conclusion
Non-directive communication (informative): group can make up their own mind
Writer/speaker gathers/selects, structures and puts info into words
→ controls effectiveness by controlling content, structure and style
The 7 steps to a successful campaign
1. conducting formative research: identify determinants of target behavior and the
conditions under which this is exhibited and pretest the message in the group
2. using theory/models: are there general rules for your target group? etc.
3. segmenting the target group: divide into subgroups (similar approach)
4. using an appropriate message design
5. choosing appropriate channels
6. controlling the process
7. conduct good evaluation research: why/what did/didn’t work? etc.
‘Effect size’: the greater the effect, the greater the practical relevance
→ explicit commercials are more convincing
, 2 Determinants of Behavior
Determinants are attitude, perceived norm and self-efficacy, but these create together the
‘intention’, these are determined by beliefs (about consequences, opinions, skills)
→ intention together with skills and environmental constraints; reasoned behavior
→ beliefs about attitude; primary beliefs
Reasoned behavior
→ three determinants/RAT (Reasoned Action Theory):
1. intention (willingness to consider)
→ three determinants: 1. attitude (most important in persuasion)
2. perceived norm
3. self-efficacy
2. skills
3. environmental constraints
→ attitude: ‘opinion of a certain behavior’
- two determinants: 1. likelihood that behavior leads to behavior
2. desirability of consequence after evaluation
- relatively stable representations in Long Term Memory (LTM)
- evaluative; contradictory
- associated with …
- based on direct experience/mere exposure
- can be based on reasoning
- ABC (fundamentals of attitudes): Affective component (feelings/emotions)
Behavioral component (why is *A* like that)
Cognitive component (knowledge/beliefs)
- goal attitudes; objects, indirect
behavioral attitudes; behavior (predicts behavior better), direct
- four functions: 1. instrumental: does the object make my life better?
2. knowledge; comparison to other products for quality check
3. ego defensive; set yourself up negatively towards other to
feel better about yourself
4. value-expressive; what values one cherishes
- implicit: automatic association between object and evaluation
explicit: rational deliberation process
- hard because … … people don’t always know attitude through introspection …
… people at times hide their true attitude …
… so you can use IAT (Implicit Association Test)
- fundamentals of attitude: - beliefs (split into accuracy and certainty)
- affects
- behaviors
- belief-based attitude models: A (attitude) = b (belief strength) + e (belief evaluation)
summative attitude models: A = (p (probability) x e (evaluation)) + (p x e) etc.
> help identify targets for persuasive appeals
→ perceived norm:
- what someone perceives as socially acceptable
1. injunctive/normative; ‘what do others want me to do?’
2. descriptive; ‘what do others do?’
