Influence and Persuasion free essay sample

Influence and Persuasion Critical Thinking (Influence, Science and Practice) Chapter 1 1. Suppose you were an attorney representing a woman who broke her leg in a department store and was suing the store for $100,000 in damages. Knowing only what you know about perceptual contrast, what could you do during the trial to make the jury see $100,000 as a reasonable, even small, award? * Research for similar cases with the same injury but with settlements far greater than $100,000. The bigger its difference from the client’s demands, the better it would be. Present these case citations to the court and by the principle of perceptual contrast, it will drive home the point to the jury that the plaintiff’s demand is indeed very reasonable. 2. The charity request card in Figure 1. 2 seems rather ordinary except for the odd sequencing of the donation request amounts. Explain why, according to the contrast principle, placing the smallest donation figure between the two larger figures is an effective tactic to prompt more and larger donations * Listing $25 as the very first amount and succeeding it with the $10 already creates a perceptual contrast, wherein the larger amount would be rejected outright as a steep amount for donation. However, placing $5 right after the $10 creates more perceptual contrast – again the donor would lean towards the lower value. If the charitable organization’s target amount is a donation of $10/person, then it should have stopped at ten as the last amount. However, if its target amount is $5 dollars but with an objective of prompting donors to give more voluntarily, then placing the $5 between the $10 and $15 makes more sense because the donor would be forced to choose a balance between two extremes – the extremes being $5 and $15 and the $10 being the balanced amount that the donor could give without the guilt feeling of being stingy and at the same time without the feeling of being taken advantage of. . What points do the following quotes make about the dangers of click-whirr responding? â€Å"Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler. † Albert Einstein * From the way I understand this, it means we should not fully relegate our decisions to the automatic click-whirr human responses. Human automatic behavior patterns tend to be learned, more flexible compared with those of the animals that possesses locked patterns of responses. Therefore, we have the capability to analyze and reason out situations before we make decisions. We have to keep in mind that not all stereotypes are true not every pronouncement of an expert is infallible nor every expensive thing is of high quality. Although these judgmental heuristics allow us simplified living, we must also be conscious of being aware when these simplistic rules are being used to take advantage of us. â€Å"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are sometimes right. † Winston Churchill * This quote is a statement that disagrees with our propensity to stereotype. The stereotype is that people who are considered as fools do not have any smart or knowledgeable thing to offer in terms of opinion. The fool would be the complete opposite of people we consider as experts – people whose opinions are always held in high regard and true. Therefore the fools are people whose views are considered laughable and false. This quote actually says that there are times when a fool’s opinion should be listened to and heeded because it is right. Then again, this would only be possible if we make a conscious effort to react using other triggers rather than just the click-whirr response. . How does the photograph that opens this chapter reflect the topic of the chapter? * The photograph shows the onslaught of information that an individual has to process and assimilate into their lives every day. We get swamped with too much information, we do not have the time, energy or the ability to sort them out and allow our brain to fully process them. Oftenti mes, we resort to automatic responses with the use of stereotypes to classify things according to a few key features or triggers. Most times, our decisions are made unconsciously or with the help of trigger factors. Chapter 3 1. Suppose you were advising American soldiers on a way to avoid consistency pressures like those used to gain collaboration from the POWs during the Korean War. What would you tell them? * Advise the American soldiers to be wary and mindful of an individual’s inclination to be automatically and unthinkingly consistent. To be cognizant of situations where consistency is being used as a weapon of influence against them. Advise them to listen to their guts or be perceptive of the heart-of-heart signs the feeling towards something that an individual experiences a split second before they intellectualize about it. . In referring to the fierce loyalty of Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners, one commentator has said, â€Å"If you can persuade your customers to tattoo your name on their chests, you’ll probably never have to worry about them shifting brands. † Explain why this would be true. In your answer, make reference to each of the four factors that maximize the power o f a commitment on a future action. * Dr. Cialdini explained that commitments are more powerful when they are active; public; effortful; and viewed as internally motivated. The statement of the commentator is accurate because the motorcycle owners had made their commitment public by tattooing their commitment on their chests. These customers would be viewed as inconsistent if they purchase a motorcycle brand different from that written on their chests. Their action is also effortful and internally motivated since the action for tattooing the name was done voluntarily and of their own accord. 3. Imagine that you are having trouble motivating yourself to study for an important exam that is less than a week away. Drawing upon your knowledge of the commitment process, describe what you would do to get yourself to put in the necessary study time. Be sure to explain why your chosen actions ought to work. * Acknowledge the power of written statements. Set a goal and commit such goal in writing. Write down the date of the exam and a timetable of the topics you want to study and commit to memory before the date. Post this written commitment in a place where others would also see it. In that way, you have doubled the power of commitment by making it public. What would be the consequences of Roger’s more expansive approach to interpersonal relations? Think about your own interpersonal style. Is it closer to Rogers’ or Austen’s? Why? * Will Rogers could be taken advantage of by professional compliance people. Since we have automatic positive reactions to compliments, friendliness and the other factors leading to liking, people could exert undue influence on his decisions and daily life. 3. What parallels can you see between the findings of the boy’s camp studies and those of studies on the effects of (a) school desegregation and (b) cooperative learning in the classroom? a) School desegregation We like people who are similar to us, so our tendency in school is to associate ourselves with those we are most familiar and similar with. This results in the formation of groups or cliques that views other factions as rivals. Subsequently, these groups with divergent personalities would clash and compete because of th e differences in their orientation, ethnicity, backgrounds or lifestyle. Using the factors discussed in this chapter, describe how you would arrange your next encounter to accomplish your goal. * The first step would be to make use of similarity the factor that influences liking and compliance. Observe and learn a little bit about the seatmate – hobbies, favorite movies, books, sports – or any similarity that could be exploited to start the process of liking. Any common interest between the two of you could be a jump off point for some interesting discussions. Then enhance the liking deeper by complimenting the seatmate which is an effective device for producing return liking. . How does the photograph that opens this chapter reflect the topic of the chapter? * Adults always find kids adorable and endearing. Most adults find themselves putty in children’s hand. This is part of the adult human being’s fixed action pattern or our click-whirr reaction to kids. The picture which depicts smiling adorable kid selling lemonade is def initely someone that would trigger our liking process. It would ensure our compliance to an offer of buying a glass of lemonade even if we know that the lemonade is overpriced.