COM 318: Principles of Persuasion Fall 2011

Instructors
Course Professor: Dr. Bart Collins bcollins@purdue.edu TAs: Jen Bernat jbernat@purdue.edu Rebecca Ivic rivic@purdue.edu Nick Carcioppolo ncarciop@purdue.edu Office Hours Th: 1:30-3:00 and appt Office Hours T/Th: 9:00-10:30 and appt Office Hours M/W: 12:30-1:30 and appt Office Location BRNG 2167 Office Location BRNG 2155 Office Location BRNG 2129 Office Hours Thursdays 10:00 to 11:00 and by appointment Office Location BRNG 2166

Supplementary Instruction Leaders: Brad Ludwig bsludwig@purdue.edu Patrick Essex pessex@purdue.edu Office Hours Th: 3:00-4:00, ENAD 212 Office Hours Tue: 1:30-2:30, ENAD 212 Group Study Sessions Monday, 5:30-6:20, LWSN 1106 Tuesday, 7:00-8:00pm, FST East Lounge Group Study Sessions Wednesday, 2:30-3:20, STON 217 Thursday, 5:30-6:20, STON 217

Course Description Whether you are buying a car, managing your relationship with your roommate, watching television, riding on public transportation, attending church, or engaging in any number of ordinary, day-to-day activities, you are regularly participating in persuasive situations. Your interactions with others can often, if not almost always, be characterized as the production or reception of messages designed to influence or change someones attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. As communication students, you are expected to have a sophisticated understanding of the complexities underlying persuasive situations and factors associated with their success and failure. This course will review the major theories and principles social scientists and communication scholars have studied related to persuasion and social influence and develop your skills in the investigation and application of persuasive messages in a wide variety of contexts.

Course Objectives Through participation in class lectures; careful study of required readings; use of the available online resources; and interaction with other students, TAs and the instructor, students in this class should: Become familiar with the major theories and principles of persuasion and social influence as they are understood by contemporary scholarship Understand the methods social scientists and communication scholars use to study persuasive situations Be able to critically evaluate persuasive situations as they encounter them in their day to day lives Demonstrate the ability to strategically apply these principles in the development of persuasive messages

Texts Richard Perloff, The Dynamics of Persuasion: Communication and Attitudes in the 21 st Century, 4th ed, 2010. Other readings and resources as assigned. Grading Evaluation of student performance will be based on a variety of assessments throughout the semester to provide students with a broad range of opportunities to demonstrate their understanding and ability to apply course concepts. Your final grade in this class will be based on the following: Three major examinations Homework assignments: Group project: Course participation: Extra Credit: 60 percent 15 percent 20 percent 5 percent 3 percent

a) Exams There will be three exams during the semester worth 20 percent each. Exams will cover the reading assignments, handouts, lectures, class discussions, demonstrations, and audio-visual materials used in class. Generally, exams will include multiple choice and true/false questions. Make-up exams are only available in case of excused absences, which have to be provided in advance (in case of religious holidays or athletic events) or within three days after returning to class (in case of documented illness). Depending on the situation, make-up exams may be in a different format than those offered in class, though they will cover the same general material. b) Group Project: Persuasive Campaign Students will work in groups of 4 to 5 students on a group project spanning a large part of the semester. The aim of the project is to create an evidence-based persuasive campaign designed to change a specific campus/student behavior. Details on the group project and the related activities will be provided early in the semester. c) Participation / Class Activities Students are expected to be engaged in discussion of course content. Since this class has several hundred students, it is impossible for each student to regularly engage in discussion during the lecture. A discussion forum will be made available that will allow you to actively interact with a subset of students on course content on a regular basis. You will be expected to make meaningful contributions to this discussion on a weekly basis. A meaningful contribution may include providing an example of a persuasive situation from your own experience that illustrates a course concept, sharing a resource related to a course concept, linking to a something that illustrates a course concept, or engaging in constructive debate about a course concept. Examination weeks, or other specifically identified weeks, are exempt from the online participation requirement. d) Homework Assignments There will be three homework assignments due throughout the semester. These will take the form of a written assignment turned in through the online course discussion/blog environment and provide an extended analysis of a persuasive situation or artifact. Details on the requirements of these written homework assignments will be provided at least two weeks before their due date.

e) Extra Credit This class is participating in a large university initiative to improve instruction in large, high impact courses. Because of this, your participation in several optional assessment efforts is greatly appreciated. This information will be used to improve the course design and/or contribute to our understanding of how course design impacts student learning. This will include participation in several online surveys. Some of these will count as extra credit, and some may have other incentives associated with them. These will be explained in class when available. Participation in these will be entirely voluntary and will not affect our assessment of the graded assignments in this class. If you do not want to participate, you can request alternative extra credit options. If this is the case, notify the instructor within the first 3 weeks of class. Final Grade Determination: Final course grades will be assigned according to the following grading scale: A+ A A B+ B B C+ (98-100%) (93-97%) (90-92%) (88-89%) (83- 87%) (80-82%) (78-79%) C C D+ D D F (73-77%) (70-72%) (68-69%) (63-67%) (60-62%) (below 60%)

Course Requirements and Policies a) Attendance and Due Dates There are four legitimate excuses for missing class, assignment dates, or examination dates: illness; religious observance; participation in University activities at the request of University authorities; or compelling circumstances beyond the students control. These are the only circumstances under which you will be allowed to reschedule an assignment due date or an exam. If your absence is due to any of the four types of excused absences listed above you must provide a letter signed by a person in a position to make authoritative determination regarding the validity of the cause of absence (e.g., a doctor in case of illness, university officials regarding campus activities). Permission to turn in a late assignment will be granted only if requested at least 24 hours before the assignment is due. In the case of an emergency, it is your responsibility to contact me or your TA as soon as physically possible or you will earn no points

for this assignment. Documentation has to be provided no later than three days after returning to class. Policy on grade appeals: Any appeals must be submitted in writing within 7 days after the assignment/exam has been returned. b) Academic Integrity The highest standards of academic integrity are expected of all students. The failure of any student to meet these standards may result in suspension or expulsion from the university and/or other sanctions including an F in the course (based on instructor and university discretion in consideration of the violation). Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating such activities. Papers submitted for credit in other classes may not be submitted for credit in this course. The university academic integrity policies are included in the Student Code of Honor section of the University Regulations handbook. In all cases, academic integrity violations will be reported to university officials. c) Special Needs Anyone that needs special considerations (i.e., student athletes for practices, games, travel, etc.) must have their schedule approved by the professor by the third class session. In addition, any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate your educational opportunities. d) Campus Emergencies In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. Supplemental Course Resources This class provides a wide variety of resources to help facilitate student success in this course. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these resources to facilitate their study for exams, completion of homework assignments, participation in the group project, and other course activities. These resources include:

a) Online multimedia reviews of major persuasion theories: These resources will be published on the course Blackboard site and are designed to compliment, extend course readings and lecture. b) Online practice quizzes: Short, ungraded online quizzes will be published on the course Blackboard site and are designed to help you gauge your preparedness for major course examinations. c) Peer support though Purdues Supplemental Instruction Program: There are Supplemental Instruction (SI) study sessions available for this course. These study groups are open to anyone enrolled in this course who would like to stay current with the course material and understand the material better. Attendance at these sessions is voluntary. Times and locations for the help session can be found here: http://www.purdue.edu/sats/si. Students who attend these interactive sessions will find themselves working with peers as they compare notes, demonstrate and discuss pertinent problems and concepts, and share study and test-taking strategies. Students are asked to arrive with their student ID card, lecture notes and questions to these informal, peer-led study sessions. d) Online discussion forums: Online course discussions will be facilitated through Purdues Mixable site: http://www.purdue.edu/mixable. This site will help you interact online with your peers and course instructors and may also be used as a play for you to post homework assignments. e) Regular online feedback: This class will use a variety of ways of electronically communicating feedback to you regarding your performance in the class. This feedback is designed to improve student understanding of their current course performance and suggest strategies for improving their performance.

Tentative Schedule You are responsible for all information in the syllabus including changes made throughout the semester. All relevant information (including this syllabus, announcements, task assignments, and due dates), will be posted on Blackboard or Mixable or discussed in class. It is your responsibility to stay informed.
Date Tuesday, August 23, 2011 Thursday, August 25, 2011 Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Thursday, September 01, 2011 Tuesday, September 06, 2011 Thursday, September 08, 2011 Tuesday, September 13, 2011 Thursday, September 15, 2011 Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Thursday, September 22, 2011 Tuesday, September 27, 2011 Thursday, September 29, 2011 Tuesday, October 04, 2011 Thursday, October 06, 2011 Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Thursday, October 13, 2011 Tuesday, October 18, 2011 Thursday, October 20, 2011 Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Thursday, October 27, 2011 Tuesday, November 01, 2011 Thursday, November 03, 2011 Tuesday, November 08, 2011 Thursday, November 10, 2011 Tuesday, November 15, 2011 Thursday, November 17, 2011 Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Thursday, November 24, 2011 Tuesday, November 29, 2011 Thursday, December 01, 2011 Tuesday, December 06, 2011 Thursday, December 08, 2011 TBA Exam Review Final Exam Final Exam Course Topic Course Introduction Defining Persuasion Attitudes and Attitude Structure Attitude Consistency, Strength, and Accessibility Attitude-Behavior Relationship Behavior-Attitude Relationship Measuring Attitudes, Behaviors, and Beliefs Measuring Attitudes, Behaviors, and Beliefs, Cont'd. Exam Review Exam Designing Persuasive Campaigns Types of Persuasive Campaigns Advertising Campaigns Logical Appeals No Class Emotional Appeals Message Structure Compliance Gaining Strategies Compliance Gaining Strategies Exam Review Exam Processing Persuasive Messages Individual Differences in message processing Personality Source Authority/Credibility No Class Similarity/Likeability/Attractiveness No Class Ethics and Persuasion Group Presentations Group Presentations Chapter 6 Thanksgiving Break Chapter 5 Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Chapter 6 Group Project Due Exam 2 Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Homework 2 Due Chapter 12 Chapter 11, 12 Chapter 11 Chapter 7 Fall Break Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 9 Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Homework 1 Due Group Project Assigned Reading Events

Exam 1