What is Persuasion?

Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of convincing someone to believe or do something. Persuasion can be used in many different ways, but all persuasion aims to get someone to agree with you. Persuasive messages come from three sources: the sender (person delivering the message), the receiver (person being persuaded), and the situation (the environment in which messages are delivered).

Persuasion Meaning

Persuasion is the process of influencing someone’s beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors through communication, reasoning, or manipulation, often with the aim of changing or reinforcing their perspective on a particular topic or encouraging them to take a specific course of action.

Three stages of Persuasion

1. The first stage of persuasion is called pre-suasive conditioning. This is when a person is exposed to a message repeatedly over time until they become used to it and start to accept it as normal. 
2. The second stage is called the central route to persuasion. This is when a person carefully evaluates the arguments being presented to them and decides whether or not to accept them based on logic and reason. 
3. The third stage is called the peripheral route to persuasion. This is when a person only pays attention to certain aspects of the argument, or maybe just one word in the sentence, and accepts what’s being said without thinking about it.

Theories of Persuasion

The most popular persuasion theory is Robert Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion. 

1. Reciprocity is the idea that we should repay favors that we have received. For example, if someone gives us a gift, we feel obligated to return the favor. 
2. Commitment and consistency refer to our desire to be consistent with our past actions. Once we commit to something (like going on a diet), it is difficult for us to go back on that decision. If somebody asks you not to do something again after you have agreed not to do it, they can use this principle against you. If they say I won’t tell your secret anymore if you don’t do X, then it may be difficult for you not to do X because of your previous agreement. It can also work in reverse – people will continue to act as long as some reward or punishment is associated with it. In these cases, humans are said to engage in operant conditioning. 
3. Social Proof relies on the principle that people will look to others around them for cues on how they should behave in a given situation. A good example would be what one wears at a party. When deciding what to wear, one might consider looking at what other people are wearing so that they know how to dress appropriately for the occasion. 
4. Authority figures use this principle to convince their audience by relying on their credibility. Similarly, companies will often depend on endorsements from famous people to get their message across. They assume that if the renowned person likes a product, then consumers will too. 
5. Liking occurs when people like another person or company and are, therefore, more likely to comply with requests made by those entities. People often assume that celebrities only endorse products they believe in because of their fame and wealth; however, recently necessary how these individuals endorse products without being paid off 50% of the time! Scarcity refers to the principle that people want things less once they become available to everyone. 
6. Scarcity includes items like limited-edition items and deals. Companies often use limited offers to make potential customers want their product more quickly than competitors.

Effects of Persuasion

Persuasion can have several different effects on people. It can change the way people think, feel, and behave. It can influence what people believe and how they make decisions. Additionally, persuasion can lead to increased compliance and obedience. A person’s attitude may also be altered by persuasion. For example, some individuals persuaded by a public speaker may have a renewed sense of self-esteem or a newfound desire for action (source).

Types of persuasion

There are two main types of persuasion: 

• Systematic persuasion: Systematic persuasion is when you use logic and reasoning to persuade someone. Systematic persuasion relies on logic, reason, and facts, whereas heuristic persuasion relies on emotions.
• Heuristic persuasion: Heuristic persuasion is when you use emotional appeals to persuade someone. One example of a persuasive message with heuristic persuasion would be an advertisement for a horror movie. A persuasive message with systematic persuasion would be giving a logical argument for why people should vote for your political party. 

Components of Persuasion

There are three main components to persuasion: source, message, and receiver. The head is the person or thing doing the persuading. The message is what the source says or does to try to persuade the receiver. The receiver is the person who is being persuaded. Source factors include a person’s credibility, expertise, and trustworthiness. Message factors include a well-reasoned and logical argument with evidence. Strong emotion can also be persuasive because it captures attention and distracts people from thinking about reasons not to comply. Reception factors involve how receptive people are to messages (e.g., whether they are defensive or open-minded) and the degree to which their needs are met by complying with requests.

Read More:

• Persuasion Tactics and Tools of Persuasion
• Social and Ethical Perspective
• Ethos

Social Influence and Persuasion: Social influence refers to people’s tendency to conform to their peers’ behaviors and attitudes. It involves intentional and unintentional efforts to change another person’s attitudes, or behavior. In contrast, persuasion refers to the art of getting people to act per your desires and/or preferences. Both concepts are often discussed as being facets of influence and are heavily reliant on one another in terms of their effectiveness. However, they can be applied independently as well.

In this article, we will explore the meaning, types, factors, and effects of Social Influence and Persuasion.