MASS COMMUNICATION AND PERSUASION What is Mass Communication?

Mass Communication is the term used to describe the academic study of various means by which individuals and entities relay information to large segments of the population all at once through mass media. With the Internet's increased role in delivering news and information, mass communication studies -- and media organizations -- have increasingly focused on the convergence of publishing, broadcasting and digital communication.

What Is Persuasion? Persuasion is a powerful force in daily life and has a major influence on society and a whole. Politics, legal decisions, mass media, news and advertising are all influenced by the power of persuasion, and influence us in turn According to Richard M. Perloff (2003), Persuasion can be defined as "...a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice."

Propaganda and Counterpropaganda What is Propaganda? The word originates from the Latin word propagare, or "propagate." When considering the effects of propaganda a definition from Richard Nelson's "A Chronology and Glossary of Propaganda in the United States" is appropriate: "Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through one-way, mass and direct communication."

Effects of Propaganda Propaganda may appeal to any number of emotions including anger, hope, joy, sorrow, pain, anxiety, happiness and humility. intended effects of propaganda are primarily to convince. polarizing an audience

Propaganda Techniques Name-Calling -Names or words used to create a specific feeling, positive or negative, about a person or item without supporting evidence -Uses positive, lofty language to describe a small thing or idea -Stereotypes -Insults -Used with sarcasm in tone of voice

Glittering Generalities

-Sounds too good to be true -Fantastic promises

Bandwagon

Plain-Folks Talk

Flag-Waving

Testimonial

Prestige Identification

-Make vague or empty promises -Doesnt give many details -Urges others to do what everyone else is or isnt doing -Makes you think you will shut out of the in crowd if you dont have this item or do this thing -Connects to the common people to gain support -Uses either people unknown to the general population or someone well-known appearing as a common everyday person -Invokes a feeling of patriotism connected to a product, movie, or character -Does not always have to support the US -Person speaking is wellknown within the community -May be positive or negative -A first-hand report about a product -A second hand report -A well-known person uses a product -May be positive or negative

-Peer pressure -Associates guilt or negative images with not doing what everyone else is doing

-Famous people doing ordinary things -Well-known person returns to his/her roots

-Shows support for a certain city, state, or country -School spirit, team spirit

-Principal recommends a book to students -Celebrity advertises products

Card-Stacking Transfer

Scare Tactics

Repetition

-An inferred message that you will achieve status -Famous person attached to a bad habit -Only tells one side of the -Issue presented unfairly truth -Other side left out -Contains a feeling or idea -A link is made so the viewer from words or pictures that assumes they will react, feel, transfer an emotional or get something in the same response to the viewer way -Uses language or pictures -Car crash to frighten the viewer to frighten -Injury to a child the viewer -Catastrophic illness like -May state that something cancer from smoking bad will happen -A word, phrase, brand -Eat fresh. name, or phone number is -He went to Jared. repeated (at least three

Prizes or reward

times) to make sure it is remembered by the viewer -Something is given away or can be won

-Think happy meal or prize in Think happy meal or prize in the cereal box -It might be an entry for a contest or a chance to win on a web site.

Types of Propaganda There are three types of propaganda which differ depending upon their attribution. 1. White propaganda reveals its origin and generally classified as overt. 2. Covert propaganda includes grey propaganda in which the source is not revealed; and 3. Black propaganda in which a false origin is claimed. Counterpropaganda - is a form of communication consisting of methods taken and messages relayed to oppose propaganda which seeks to influence action or perspectives among a targeted audience. - It is closely connected to propaganda as the two often employ the same methods to broadcast methods to a targeted audience. Counterpropaganda differs from propaganda as it is defensive and responsive to identified propaganda. Additionally, counterpropaganda consists of several elements that further distinguish it from propaganda and ensure its effectiveness in opposing propaganda messages.

Elements of Counterpropaganda 1. Basis in truth. Counterpropaganda is commonly understood to be the "truthful, honest opposition" to an adversary's propaganda Counterpropaganda communicates truthful messages for moral and practical reasons. 2. Clarity. Counterpropaganda messages relying on words or concepts not universally understood fail to adequately communicate to the target audience and are ineffective in opposing propaganda. 3. Knowledge of the audience. Since the objective of counterpropaganda is to influence an audience to reject a propaganda message, it must touch upon the elements of culture, belief and emotion that will result in such action. 4. Employed rapidly. Counterpropaganda is a reactive method that must be employed rapidly to effectively contradict a propaganda message. Propaganda vs. Counterpropaganda Counterpropaganda and propaganda share a symbiotic relationship. Counterpropaganda is employed in situations to counter existing propaganda efforts and thus to understand the former requires a clear understanding of the latter. Practitioners and academics alike have advanced multiple definitions of propaganda. For the sake of clarity this article acknowledges the definition proposed by Garth Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell who define propaganda as " the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist "In practice propaganda consists of communicating a controlled message to a targeted audience. Similarly, counterpropaganda is used to communicate a message that describes the propaganda as false and instructs the target audience to think or act in a manner that counters the propaganda message. To be effective counterpropaganda must target the same audience

as the original propaganda message and often may employ the same methods. However, counterpropaganda is unique on its reliance on factual messages, and its existence as a reactionary effort. Since counterpropaganda intends to counter previously stated propaganda messages it cannot be employed preemptively. Counterpropaganda is, however, based upon some of the same fundamentals of propaganda regarding targeting the salient elements that influences audiences. Principles of Persuasion (Robert Cialdinis six principles of persuasion) Robert Cialdini is an internationally respected expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. His books "Influence: Science and Practice" and "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" are the result of years of study into the reasons that people comply with requests in business and other settings. 1. Reciprocity. As humans, we generally aim to return favors, pay back debts, and treat others as they treat us. According to the idea of reciprocity, this can lead us to feel obliged to offer concessions or discounts to others if they have offered them to us. This is because we're uncomfortable with feeling indebted to them. 2. Commitment (and Consistency). Cialdini says that we have a deep desire to be consistent. For this reason, once we've committed to something, we're then more inclined to go through with it. 3. Social Proof. We're particularly susceptible to this principle when we're feeling uncertain, and we're even more likely to be influenced if the people we see seem to be similar to us. That's why commercials often use moms, not celebrities, to advertise household products. 4. Liking. Cialdini says that we're more likely to be influenced by people we like. Likability comes in many forms people might be similar or familiar to us, they might give us compliments, or we may just simply trust them. 5. Authority. We feel a sense of duty or obligation to people in positions of authority. This is why advertisers of pharmaceutical products employ doctors to front their campaigns, and why most of us will do most things that our manager requests. 6. Scarcity. This principle says that things are more attractive when their availability is limited, or when we stand to lose the opportunity to acquire them on favorable terms.