Social Psychology of Persuasion

1126 Words3 Pages

Every day in our life's we are persuaded to make choices. Persuasion is a very powerful force in our daily lives and has a major influence on society as a whole. family decisions, legal decisions, media and the news are all influenced by persuasion and it impacts and influences us in a huge way. In this essay, I am going to go into depth how the social psychology of persuasion is utilized and what factors influence a individual into be persuaded. Such as the characteristics of the persuader, characteristics of the message and characteristics of the audience. Lets first talk about, the characteristics of a persuader. If a persuader has Credibility, expertise and trustworthiness, "they have knowledge and is able to communicate accurately".(Feenstra, 2011) This gains the individuals trust, right from the start. Another characteristic of the persuader is attractiveness and likeability. If you are more drawn to the persuader and they have a great personality and appearance, you are more likely to be persuaded, compared to someone who isn't friendly and has a unattractive appearance. For example; if one of the kids from my neighborhood is selling candy bars, I am more opt to buy from them, then just any because they are likeable and I have known them for a long time. There are six different triggers, that influence us to believe in something and become persuaded. They are reciprocity, commitment, social proof, liking, scarcity and authority. With reciprocity, " The Communicator uses your natural tendency toward reciprocity to get us to do what we otherwise might not".(Feenstra,2011) With commitment, if you make a small commitment to the persuader and you were content with the decisio... ... middle of paper ... ... mouth. My boss paid for a commercial, and we only got one new customer from that very expensive commercial. So to me Word of mouth is everything. In closing, Persuasion is a powerful tool, both in trying to persuade others and being persuaded. You have to know the techniques, belief in your self and have knowledge to be a successful persuader. You should also know what to look out for, so you don't fall victim to a product or a commitment that you really don't want to. Always pay attention to the message, make sure the individual is credible and word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing and has the highest degree of influence. References Introduction to Social Psychology Feenstra J.( 2011) Bridepoint Education Inc. Bohner, Ruder, & Erb, 2002 Tormala Brinol & Petty 2006 Brown & Reingen, 1987) Rhodes & Wood, 1992

Open Document