Persuasion and Attitude Change 1
Third Year – 1st Semester
MC-531-Introduction to Social Sciences
Ms. Mehr Feeroze
1.1 What is Persuasion?
Persuasion is defined as a method by which someone or an entity tries to change the beliefs or
behaviours of another person or group. An important element of persuasion is allowing the
person or group being persuaded to choose if they want to change. Persuasion without choice is
coercion.
Persuasion is ideally like consent in that it allows choice. However, they differ in that consent is
an expressed willingness that results in assent. Persuasion is based on convincing someone about
something through reason or influence that results in assent, even if someone at some level
doesn’t really want to agree.
Trying to persuade someone else can be verbal or non-verbal. Persuasion is a matter of modern
life and takes place in personal, professional, and commercial arenas. For example, online
advertising, news columns, op-eds, or billboards are all used to sway people’s opinions.
1.2 Elements of Persuasion
Ethos, pathos, and logos are the three classical elements of persuasion introduced by Aristotle.
They're fundamental tools in rhetoric—used to convince, influence, and engage an audience.
You can convince someone based on reason or appeal to their emotions to change their minds or
behaviour. There are three different modes of persuasion that make convincing or appealing
effective: ethos, pathos, and logos. Without these, it is difficult, if not impossible, for an
audience to be swayed.
Ethos relates to credibility and character. Pathos is how emotionally bonded you are with those
being persuaded. Logos refers to the rationale and logic of the rhetoric or argument at hand.
1.2.1 Ethos (Credibility & Character)
Ethos is about the trustworthiness or authority of the speaker. If the audience believes the
speaker is credible, knowledgeable, or ethical, they’re more likely to be persuaded.
Example:
Imagine a doctor speaking at a health seminar about the importance of vaccination:
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“As a pediatrician with over 20 years of experience, I can assure you that vaccines are safe and
essential for your child’s health.”
• The speaker uses their professional background to gain trust.
• Because of the authority, the audience is more likely to listen.
1.2.2 Pathos (Emotional Appeal)
Pathos appeals to the emotions of the audience. It’s about creating a connection by triggering
feelings like sympathy, anger, joy, or fear.
Example:
A charity campaign to help orphans might say:
“Every night, thousands of children go to bed hungry and alone. With your help, we can give
them hope, a warm meal, and a future.”
• The message appeals to the audience’s compassion and guilt.
• Emotional connection motivates action, like donating or volunteering.
1.2.3 Logos (Logic & Reasoning)
Logos uses facts, data, and logical arguments to convince the audience. It appeals to the
rational mind.
Example:
In a debate about renewable energy:
“Studies show that solar power reduces electricity bills by 30% and decreases carbon emissions
by 80%. Investing in solar energy makes both economic and environmental sense.”
• The speaker uses statistics and clear reasoning.
• It appeals to those who are swayed by evidence and logic.
Together, these three elements create powerful and persuasive communication. The most
effective messages often blend all three.
5 Steps of Successful Persuasion
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Professor Alan H. Monrow, based at Purdue University, defined what is now known as Monroe’s
Motivational Sequence in his book, Monroe’s Principles of Speech. These five steps are
generally accepted as the basics of persuasion.
1. Gain the attention of listeners.
2. Define the problem and establish the need for resolution.
3. Introduce and outline a solution.
4. Visualise two futures – one with the solution and one without it.
5. Explain the actions that need to take place to implement the solution successfully.
1.3 Principles of Persuasion
BUY NOW! Advertisers constantly bombard us with messages imploring is to change our
attitudes and of course buy their products. These persuasion attempts can range from logical
arguments to graphic pictures, from peers who try to intimidate to celebrities who try to charm is
Now we'll review some of the factors that help goog effectiveness of marketing communications.
Our focus will be on some basic aspects of communication that specifically help to determine
how and if consumers will adopt new attitudes or modify existing ones.
Persuasion involves an active attempt to change attitudes. This is of course for many marketing
communications. Later we'll learn more about how marketers to accomplish this, but for now
we'll set the stage by listing some basic psychological principles that influence people to change
their minds or comply with a request
1.3.1 Reciprocity - We are more likely to give if first we receive. That's why including
money in a mail survey questionnaire (in some cases, as little as a nickel of d increases the
response rate compared to surveys that come without financial incentives in the envelope.
1.3.2 Scarcity - Like people, items are more attractive when they aren't available. In one
study, researchers asked people to rate the quality of chocolate chip cookies. Participants who
only got one cookie liked them better than did those who evaluated more of the same kind of
cookie. That helps explain why we tend to value "Limited edition" items.
1.3.3 Authority - We believe an authoritative source much more readily than one that is less
authoritative. That explains why the American public's opinion on an issue can shift by as much
as 2 percent when the New York Times (but not the National Enquiry) runs an article about it.
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1.3.4 Consistency - People try not to contradict themselves in terms of what they say and do
about an issue. In one study, students at an American university who solicited donations to help
disabled people doubled the amount they normally collected in a neighborhood if they first asked
the residents to sign a petition supporting this cause two weeks before they actually asked for the
donations.
1.3.5 Liking-We agree with those we like or admire. A study found that good-looking fund-
raisers raised almost twice as much as other volunteers who were not as attractive.
1.3.6 Consensus- We consider what others do before we decide what to do. People are more
likely to donate to a charity if they first see a list of the names of their neigh bors who have
already done so.
