Persuasion

                                                      
     Persuasion is a tool used for a variety of things from asking your dad for a twenty, to getting someone to change   their beliefs and religion. Whether on a small or large scale, the power of persuasion has overcome us all at one point or another. How is it that other people can get us to change our mind about something as small as what to eat, or as big as our behavior and belief of a certain topic? No matter the tactic used, persuasion is something that can have an effect on our beliefs, behavior, or attitude. Our beliefs and attitudes ultimately lead to our behaviors. The social judgement theory shows levels of acceptance, rejection and commitment. It may be logical or emotional but the effect of persuasion from things like commercials, or people, may lead us to believe something we never thought to be true. Weapon's of influence, such as reciprocity, commitment, and authority are all ways in which people try to communicate successful persuasion to another. These weapons may be more effective then they at first seem,  and with the application, what can you be persuaded to do or believe?

     Persuasion can be used for good and for not so good things. In the above video it explains how the tobacco industry uses persuasion (very effectively) to target young individuals to start smoking. Once they start the product hooks the user so the only persuasive message that needs to be portrayed is one of getting people to take that first puff of a cigarette. They use many tactics including figuring out peoples latitudes of acceptance and rejection and target messages to slightly alter peoples opinions over time. The tobacco industry is extremely successful at persuading people to do something even though it is harmful for them. If they can do that than an individual with proper knowledge of persuasion can have a scary amount of control and influence over others.

Levels of Influence

     When it comes to persuading people, there are three different levels of influence: compliance, identification and internalization.

Compliance occurs when a person accepts persuasion in hopes of achieving a positive reaction from another person or group (Kelman, 1958). A situation where peer pressure is involved can create compliance. A person how complies does not have to believe in what they are being persuaded to do.  If a group of people tell someone that smoking marijuana is harmless, even though that person disagrees they will smoke to avoid rejection.

At the identification level, the goal of accepting persuasion is to establish or maintain a “satisfying, self-defining relationship to another person or group” (Kelman, 1958). People are influenced at this level because it is related to the relationship. A person here will believe the influence but not the content. So, the group of people can say that smoking marijuana is not bad for you. The person being persuaded will believe this to be true because they identify with the group. Knowing why it is true is not an issue.

Internalization happens when an individual is influenced by something because it is congruent to their core values; it aligns with what a person feels (Kelman, 1958). So, if the same groups of friends say let’s smoke marijuana. It does not cause any harm, you can’t overdose on it and it is so much better than cigarettes or other drugs. Smoking marijuana is not wrong—the person being influenced would agree to smoking because they have the same viewpoint and attitude towards marijuana.

Oh Twist My Arm Why Don’tcha!

 

     Persuasion is the action or fact of persuading someone or of being persuaded to do or believe something. It is done through the use of appeals to reasons, values, beliefs, and emotions to convince a listener or reader to think or act in a particular way.  Persuasion’s intentions are to cause somebody to adopt an opinion, embrace a point of view, or course of action, to win approval, or to gain support for an issue by means of argument, and reasoning.

Persuasion is used everywhere and by everyone.  There are all different approaches to persuasion.  Hustling is the type of persuasion that is approached with pressuring or urging someone into an action. Selling is another type of persuasion where it’s used to get somebody to accept something. Badgering is done through constant effort which could get quite annoying by can be effective if they are willing to comply just to get the persuader off their back.  Coaxing is done with the use of sweet talking, gently urging while using flattery.  Even assurance is a kind of persuasion because if you assure someone of the truth of something it will give them confidence in the message.

Parents use persuasion to make their children fit to live in a society. They do so to persuade their children to learn and accept society’s codes and norms.

Persuasion is used to sell one’s image.  People persuade other’s to see them in a certain way and in a certain light by using certain tactics.  

      Persuasion, it is something if mastered can be an eye opening, life enhancing tool.  Persuasion the communication between two or more parties with intent to change, or shape attitudes or beliefs is a tool that many have used to influence others.  There are several ways to persuade people, women often use their sex appeal to persuade men to do what they want, while authority figures use their power to intimidate people into doing what they want.  No matter what the method all persuasion can be divided into distinct categories Logical and Emotional.  Both approaches have their downsides and their advantages a logical approach may be practical but practicality and reason are not always effective tools for persuasion especially if someone is extremely emotional or hositilie.  While someone who is easily influenced by their emotions a logical approach may be the better of the two methods.

Here is an example of Logical persuasion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PvwtS0htyk

And here is probably one of the most epic theatrical examples of emotional persuasion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7f-BgDgpmE

Works Cited

Kelman, Herbert C. (1958). Compliance, Identification and Internalization: three processes of attitude change. Conflict Resolution 1(2): 57-60.

Embarassment

       

     Although is it not something we enjoy feeling, embarrassment is an emotion we have all felt before. Whether its spilling a drink in a crowded room, or tripping over your own feet, even when no ones around, everyone has gotten that flustered, uneasy feeling called embarrassment. The causes of our blushing faces range from forgetfulness and stupidity to an awkward conversation, or even a compliment. But the real reason for all the embarrassment we experience is the idea that we are under a social microscope, believing that people are constantly watching us and judging our every move.

      Our reactions to our embarrassing acts vary from correcting the problem to running and hiding. We may crack a joke to try and lighten the situation, or we might make an excuse, or even change the subject entirely. Although keeping ourselves from blushing is nearly impossible, others can help us to cope with our embarrassment, and make us feel a little more comfortable with the fact that you face planted up the stairs in the student union. There are many causes, and reactions to embarrassment, all of which I am sure we try to avoid.

              There are many embarrassing situations that we NEVER want to find ourselves in (well most of us anyway)

·         Be seen naked in a public place

·         Accidentally mass messaging a private email

·         Get caught masturbating

·         Get stood up on your wedding day

     The question is not IF these things happen to us, but WHAT we do after they occur.  Embarrassment: “The acute state of flustered, awkward, abashed chagrin that follows events that increase the threat of unwanted evaluations from real or imagined audiences” (Miller, 1996). Embarrassment is something that really brings out someone’s character, how they handle it can really be a mirror as to who they are.  Flashy, attention seeking people and prideful individuals are usually concerned about their image and what people think of them so when embarrassed they will usually lash out even resorting to physical violence in order to preserve their image.  I have a friend who is a coward at heart but he HATES being embarrassed so will quickly resort to challenging others to physical confrontations when he gets into arguments or even when people disagree with him.  I also have a friend who is very quiet but they too hate being embarrassed. So whenever it does happen (it rarely does) they will overreact and spaz out on the source of the embarrassment, so that the situation will not repeat itself.  There are several different ways to handle embarrassing situations personally I do not feel like either of my friends handle being embarrassed well at all, the best way to handle embarrassment is to simply roll with it.  Not that it's ok to be embarrassed but in real life embarrassing situations occur and when they do, it’s the people that can handle it calmly without alienating others that handle embarrassment the best.  

When we have been embarrassed, we can turn to other people to help us reduce this feeling. Remediation is one way that can help when dealing with embarrassment. There has been countless times when an athlete or someone of celebrity status has said or done something in the presence of media that caused embarrassment for themselves or their organization. As a result, the person’s publicist or public relations team may issue a statement to the media to try and remediate or correct what was initially said.

     Embarrassment can also be reduced through the use of humor.  Generally, when we know that people are laughing with us and not at us, it makes embarrassing situations easier to deal with. After you pulled off the infamous face plant in the union, your friends could make things lighter on you by making you laugh about it…unless of course, you are so distraught and your face has already started to swell. Then I’m guessing that humor would probably backfire. If your friends are anything like mine, I’m sure you will hear about it and you will be reminded about your shining moment until something else more ridiculous happens.

     Everyone attempts to use these (and other) mechanisms in hopes of helping someone cope with embarrassment.  According to Petronio (Petronio,1984), men and women take different approaches to dealing with embarrassment. Women see excuses and apologies as more acceptable. Excuses allow for the denial of the action that created the embarrassment. Also, saying sorry and saying that it was unintentional is seen as a way to lessen the felling of embarrassment. Men on the other hand view justification as a more acceptable way of dealing with embarrassment. Giving a reason for their actions or trying to make what they are embarrassed about appear to be okay is a better route to take for men.

     To eliminate something, one needs to look to its causes. For example, a weed in a sidewalk usually is causes by cracked cement. In order to eliminate the weed for good, the cement needs to be repaired. In most cases knowing the cause will allow an individual to eliminate that particular thing or in this discussion, emotion. So even while I try to explain the causes to you, what is the point as they will not eliminate embarrassment. While elimination of embarrassment is impossible as it is a natural reaction, reducing physical signs that you are embarrassed and working through the moment is easier and possible if you know that the emotion you are feeling is simply embarrassment.

     Embarrassment is caused by “the crucial concern [of] the impression one makes on others in the present.” (Goffman, 1956). With this information in mind, one can infer that the only way to eliminate embarrassment would be to not care at all about what other people think (not going to happen). A lot of what embarrasses us is the perception that everything we are doing is being minutely scrutinized and judged. If you feel nervous, realize that the people around you aren’t automatically picking up on the fact you are uncomfortable. If you stress out about being a little bit nervous, it will produce a snowball effect on your nerves where you become more and more embarrassed. The old “fake it ‘til you make it,” quote comes to mind when attempting to overcome embarrassment. Realizing it is natural, calming down, and acting confident is professional advice to rid oneself of embarrassing moments.      

Works Cited

Goffman, E. (1956). Embarssment and Social Organization. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from Chicago Journals: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2772920?seq=2

Petronio, S. (1984). Communication strategies to reduce embarrassment differences between 

men and women. The Western Journal of Speech Communication, 48, 28-38. 

Attraction

     Attraction is something we all experience every day. But attraction is not so simple, there is different types of attraction and interactions that draw us to another person.  In interpersonal communication, attraction is something that leads to friendships and romantic relationships. There are a lot of factors that attract us to another person. The first thing is of course looks, because it is the first thing we see about a person. Although there are universal attributes of beauty, such as symmetry, proportionality, and facial neoteny, everyone is physically attracted to by different people and looks. Similarity, familiarity, common beliefs, and reciprocity are all also factors that draw us to another person. These factors lead us to be attracted to someone in some way; such as social, universal, sexual, or fatal. All of these types of attractions have different desires of how we would like to interact with someone. Whether it be to engage in sexual activity, be friends with someone, or even be an attractive quality that ends a relationship, we would say that it is the power of attraction. Personal qualities, environmental factors, and chemistry are all factors that influence the way we feel about another person. 

                                                   The Hourglass figure


                                           
     The way we see and rate people as attractive is not all a conscious choice. The hourglass figure in women is an example of an evolutionary aspect of attraction. 


"So what explains the universal and enduring appeal of the hourglass figure? One explanation based on evolutionary psychological theory is that female beauty as represented by the hourglass figure taps into important biological information about various factors regulating women's reproductive potential and fertility."  (Singh, 2010)


Going along with Singh's research, the reason we are attracted to an hourglass figure is because that individual biologically would be the most successful at reproducing. If your average college aged male thought that out and came to the conclusion that the women they were looking at was good at having babies, they would probably not be attracted to the hourglass figure. So in their subconscious, males are influenced by their evolutionary need to reproduce, and therefore the hourglass figure is universally found to be attractive.
As cynical but practical as it is, other universal attractive attributes have the same evolutionary goal, that being to find someone to make healthy babies with.

SOCIAL ATTRACTION

Have you ever met someone who always seemed to be friends with everyone around them? Who everyone always wanted to be around? Then you probably thought, “Wow that person is really cool. I wouldn’t mind hanging out with them and getting to know them better” (or something along those lines).

We all experience this at one point or another. We can be socially attracted to people for various reasons. We may feel like someone would be nice to us because they are nice to so many other people around them. Socially attractive people can seem more dependable and therefore will be a better friend to have. Some people are only looking for stimulating conversations and socially attractive people are more likely to provide that than are introverts. All of these are intrinsic reasons.

We can also be socially attracted to someone for extrinsic reasons. If someone has a lot of money, or appears to be wealthy, they may have more friends and more connections than those who are not well off. Other people can be seen as socially attractive if they are always surrounded by a bunch of hot men or women. In my opinion, being socially attracted to someone for extrinsic reasons is for the greater purpose of wanting to be “upgraded” in a sense. Becoming acquainted or friends with the wealthy person will heighten the chances of being able to expand your networks and find ways to earn more money. Becoming familiar with the person who always attracts physically attractive people can put you in a better position to be able to ask on of them out.

Enticing leads to terror!  It may be appealing to the eyes or a very pleasing idea at the time but the very thing that allures you to someone/something will turn into the Achilles Heel. 

It is basic instinct for humans to want to love and be loved in return. But for some, this basic desire can take them into obsessive and dangerous territory. 

A person’s vulnerability to certain physical attributes can direct them to the wrong type of person in terms of match making. Example: A woman that always goes for the bad boy type because she likes his exterior will end up dealing with all of his bad boy characteristics too. Potentially putting herself in an abusive relationship where she is treated badly and is harmed in both a physical and emotional way.

Fatal attraction can be a very dangerous attraction. In severe cases, obsession can lead to restraining orders being filed and damage is always done. Hint the word fatal.   

Sexual attraction

There are many forms of attraction but none as juicy as sexual attraction. Sexual attraction the desire to engage sexually with someone is one of the driving forces in this world.  Men and women alike will do out of character things when they are sexually attracted to someone.  Men will work exceedingly hard for long hours to earn enough to purchase a nice car so women will find them more sexually attractive.  Females will go on strict diets and run for hours on in trying to become more sexually attractive.  There are more than just physical aspects to sexual attraction though a nice laugh singing talent or intelligence is all major turn ons as well.  To help make my point of sexual attraction and how beautiful it can be I bring you a man who was and is a sex symbol and icon mister, Marvin Gaye 

Works Cited

Singh, D. (2010). Universal allure of the hourglass figure. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16818094