Persuasion in psychology. What is communication, definition, examples

Persuasion, in psychology, is the process of presenting arguments that can motivate or change the views of an audience. More than a millennium ago, Aristotle defined rhetoric as a means of discovering “the available means of persuasion.” Aristotle taught that rhetoric, or the art of public speaking, presupposes the ability to observe in each particular case the means of persuasion available.

The process of persuasion is often defined as human communication that is intended to influence others by changing their worldviews, values, or attitudes. This definition was introduced in 1976 by Simons OKeefe.

The basis of communication is belief. Some scholars argue that to communicate is to persuade—that all communication in one form or another is persuasion. Indeed, belief is central to some of humanity's most important functions, underlying politics, religion, and health, while also being present in everyday life, such as marketing and parenting.

In its broadest sense, persuasion is the communication process by which a message induces a change in the beliefs, attitudes, or behavior of an individual or group.

Beliefs are literally the lens through which a person views the world.

Beliefs can:

• influence perception;
• determine what is good, what is bad, true, real;
• distort the point of view in a positive or negative direction;
• guide or limit the actions a person takes;
• influence relationships;
• lower or increase the level of happiness.

Each person has within and operates within a complex set of beliefs that define him and the world in which he lives. Beliefs are the way we process the flow of information coming through our 5 major senses at every moment of every day.

Definition

In the Middle Ages, in European universities, persuasion (rhetoric) was one of the main liberal arts that any educated person had to master. From the times of Imperial Rome until the Reformation, rhetoric was elevated to a fine art by preachers who used the spoken word to inspire any number of actions, such as virtuous behavior or religious pilgrimages. In the modern era, persuasion is most visible in the form of advertising.

Belief in Psychology

Political scientists and psychologists who study the process of persuasion in the field of communication studies trace the history of this discipline back to the ancient Greeks.

The heated debate between Plato and the Sophists regarding the merits and place of persuasion in society is very much alive today. Plato hated what many consider to be the dark and dubious part of the faith—greatly exaggerated statements. The Sophists, on the other hand, accepted this side of the faith, arguing for its practical basis and ubiquitous presence in everyday life.

A generation after Plato and the Sophists, Aristotle saw the merits of both schools of thought and saw rhetoric as a tool for understanding the power of persuasion. Aristotle's description of artistic proofs (ethos, logos, and pathos) defined much of the research on persuasion for a millennium after him, and these proofs are still used today. Aristotle's influence on persuasion and, indeed, on communication studies is very great.

Persuasion is also defined in psychology as a skill that requires a lot of practice to master. Understanding people's psychology helps you deliver information more effectively and have a greater impact in your personal and professional lives.

Studying this concept is essential to understanding human communication, and modern research continues to bring new ideas and concepts.

Some theorists emphasize the similarities between education and persuasion. They believe that persuasion is very similar to learning new information through informative communication.

A person's response to persuasive communication depends partly on the message and largely on how the person perceives or interprets it. Words in newspaper advertisements may be more persuasive if they are printed in red rather than black.

Underlying theories

The following theories are considered fundamental in psychology in the area of ​​relationships and faith:

1. The theory of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is a term for a state of discomfort that occurs when two or more ways of thinking contradict each other. People like their thoughts and attitudes to have meaning, and they actively try to avoid the discomfort associated with cognitive incoherence. The theory of cognitive dissonance helps explain this phenomenon. Dissonance occurs when one thought contradicts or challenges another. According to the creator of the theory, Leon Festinger (1957), one of the most striking examples of dissonance is a smoker. Someone who smokes may recognize that smoking causes cancer but still choose to continue smoking. The thought and acceptance that smoking causes cancer contradicts or challenges the thought and action of smoking, thereby creating dissonance.

2. Theory of Reasoned Action. Belief in this case is associated with behavior. The concept was proposed by an American psychologist of the 20th century. I. Aizen. The theories of planned behavior help persuade people in a variety of fields, such as politics, health, religion, and interpersonal communication, to fine-tune messages that aim to influence someone's intentions.
3. Elaboration probability model. It was developed by D. Cacioppo and R. E. Petty in 1980. It is a theory of persuasion that suggests that there are 2 different ways to convince people of something, depending on how passionate they are about the topic. When people are highly motivated and have time to think about a decision, such as choosing a laptop in a store, comparing it with others, evaluating it, persuasion occurs along a central pathway in which the pros and cons of the choice are carefully weighed. However, when people are in a hurry or the decision is less important to them, they tend to be more easily persuaded in the peripheral way, that is, by features. For example, regardless of the quality, a person decided to buy a red laptop because he liked the color.
4. Narrative paradigm. Walter Fisher (1984) proposed this paradigm as a means of viewing human communication through a narrative lens. Fisher argued that people living across cultures, time, and space use the inherent power of storytelling to communicate, persuade, and help understand the complexities of existence. The paradigm states that all meaningful communication occurs through storytelling or reporting of events. People participate as storytellers and observers of narratives. This theory also states that stories are more persuasive than persuasive arguments.

What are beliefs?

Beliefs are stable beliefs and knowledge formed during a person’s life, which no longer require additional confirmation and determine his actions and actions.

Beliefs are a person’s system of views on certain situations, form his attitude towards them and his reaction to them. By passing through all the information coming from outside, beliefs create a picture of human reality.

Our EGO is also based on a belief system (will open in a new tab). It really doesn’t like not knowing something, not being able to do something, or being wrong about something, so it relies on its worldview, formed by “favorite” and convenient beliefs.

1. You are kind and cute
2. But the star will tell you this:
3. I am an unusual man...

Beliefs are stored in our subconscious, so discovering them is not always easy. We live, most often, without thinking about many of our beliefs and without even realizing their existence. Most beliefs are not “in plain sight”; they are not protruded or voiced in everyday life.

Beliefs are formed to simplify our lives. They allow us to quickly and correctly understand the flow of information coming from outside without the need to subject every word or situation to complex analysis. Thanks to our knowledge and beliefs, we know how we need to perceive and react to certain external signals.

Based on our beliefs, we can allow ourselves to experience psychological comfort and feel safe. It seems to us that we know everything and can cope with any (or almost any) situation. Especially if you have the conviction that “language will take you to Kyiv.”

Classification

In psychology, neutral beliefs, resourceful and limiting, are considered. The first represent a set of scientific concepts accessible to people. Resource includes the capabilities on which beliefs are created. The last group includes negative resources.

The entire procedure of persuasion consists of 4 types of influence:

1. Informing. Before a person is encouraged to act, he must be convinced why he should act. This is necessary because no one will start doing something without realizing why it should be done. Polish psychologist T. Tomaszewski derived a formula based on this. It reflects a simple idea: in order to motivate a person to the desired activity, he should be informed about the goals and the likelihood of achieving it. Informing in the process of persuasion is carried out in various ways, the main one is a story that follows an inductive and deductive path.
2. Explanation. This is a persuasive influence in which all the arguments “for” and “against” the subject of persuasion are used.

3. Proof. This is a technique for establishing the truth of a statement using facts, arguments and various related judgments. Evidence is usually based on scientific data and social practice.
4. Efficiency. This is the basis of persuasion, in which numerous techniques of the persuasion system are used. Techniques are selected depending on the circumstances and personality traits of the person being convinced.

Basic types of persuasion

To persuade is to attract people to your side. Persuasion is a process whose purpose is to convince a communication partner (affecting his mind and feelings) that the position of the persuader in solving the problem will contribute to the satisfaction of interests that are significant to him.

The process of persuasion consists of the following elements: the agent of influence (the source of the message), the message itself, the conditions in which the message is transmitted (context), and the recipient, that is, the individual to whom the message is intended. The message itself, depending on its content, how it is formulated and in what form it is presented, can also either convince or inspire. But it may not have any effect at all.

So, the process of persuasion consists of the following elements:

-Agent of influence (message source)

-Self-communication

-The conditions under which the message is transmitted (context)

-The recipient, that is, the individual to whom the message is intended.

1. Agent of influence. For us, what is often more important is not what is said, but who says it, the authority of the source of information. Therefore, the trust aroused by the source of information can become the main incentive for a person to form a new attitude or change an old one.

The authority of an agent of influence contributes not so much to persuasion as to suggestion. Moreover, it does not matter what kind of authority the source of the message has - whether it be the authority associated with fame, high rank, noticeable social position or professionalism. The most surprising thing here is that information from a professional, as a bearer of expert influence, is uncritically perceived not only by uninitiated people, but also by the professionals themselves.

The situation is exactly the same with other characteristics of the agent of influence that evoke trust in the audience. And these, in addition to authority, usually include attractiveness, charm, and similarity to the recipient. The attractiveness and charm of the source of influence affects the audience only if the recipient sees and hears the agent of influence.

Another thing is a written message. It involves thoughtful perception of information. But does this mean that the information in this case will be fully considered? Of course not. This is where another factor comes into play – authority.

2. Characteristics of a persuasive message. The message itself, depending on its content, how it is formulated and in what form it is presented, can also either convince or inspire. But it may not have any effect at all.

Persuasion and suggestion are so difficult to distinguish from each other that in everyday ideas and in speech these methods of influence are simply identified. The complexity here also arises because, in the strict sense of the word, the process of persuasion involves a rationally balanced, emotionally neutral presentation and perception of information. In other words, when persuading, an agent of influence should appeal not to feelings, but to reason. But there is no mind without feelings. Therefore, even an appeal to reason necessarily evokes feelings. This can be a feeling of respect (for authority, an expert, a professional), a feeling of pity and compassion, as well as a feeling of guilt, awkwardness, resentment, indignation, etc. But the easiest and easiest way is to cause feelings of anxiety and fear. Therefore, influencing attitudes most often occurs using explicit or disguised threats designed to induce feelings of anxiety and fear in people in order to make them more suggestible.

The persuasiveness of a message also depends on:

-quantity and quality of arguments

-method of argumentation (evidence)

-order of presentation of arguments

-forms of their presentation.

Traditionally, more arguments in a message are thought to increase its persuasiveness because more arguments give people more information to think about.

However, it has been shown that increased evidence in a message can indeed influence attitudes, but not because people think about it. They may not think about evidence at all, but simply, using the representativeness heuristic - “if there are many arguments, then the truth of the message is undoubted” - make decisions. Therefore, for persuasiveness, it may be enough only for people to understand how much evidence (arguments) is contained in the appeal - relatively much or relatively little.

It is believed that high-quality, compelling arguments will be those arguments that can withstand comparison with the audience’s existing knowledge and that can bridge the gap between the recommended position and the audience’s previous attitudes. Arguments will be perceived as solid and convincing if they seem clearly formulated, irrefutable, and contain something new. And for this, among other things, one also needs categorical confidence and an assertive manner of presenting them.

Another question regarding the content of messages is related to which argumentation - one-sided or two-sided - is more effective. There is no clear answer to this question. It all depends on the circumstances.

A “one-way message” is a text that contains arguments only for the source of information. Such messages are more effective when the target of psychological influence does not experience hostile feelings towards the source of information and, in addition, has a low level of education. The object in this case is able to relatively easily accept the point of view of the source of information. A one-way message can also be used to persuade people of different educational backgrounds.

A “two-way message” contains both the arguments of the source of information and the counter-arguments of the enemy, which must be exposed. This construction of the text serves as an incentive for the active mental activity of the object, resulting in a revision of his previously formed judgments. “Two-way communication” is aimed primarily at people with a high level of education who feel the need to compare different views, points of view, opinions, and assessments. “Two-way communication” at the same time, as it were, preempts the enemy’s argumentation and creates the prerequisites for developing a certain immunity against it.

Presenting one point of view will be more effective if:

the audience is not hostile

one position is presented and there are no opponents who will justify another

the goal is to immediately, even if only for a short time, change the audience's opinion.

In other circumstances, presenting both pro and con arguments may be more effective.

Which point of view – “for” or “against” – should I present first, and which later? If both positions are voiced at approximately the same time, then in general the order in which the competing points of view are presented is not important to achieve a long-term effect. If one position is presented first, its persuasiveness will increase the “primacy effect.” But the persuasiveness of another position presented after the first will enhance the “newness” or “timeliness” effect.

Finally, the effectiveness of a message depends on the means used to convey it. It must be remembered that the choice of means is predetermined by the goals that the agent of influence sets for himself. If he wants to inspire something or simply introduce the audience to a certain point of view, then it is better to use visual (video recording, television broadcast) or auditory means.

If the message contains information that is difficult to understand and the goal is to convince or change people’s minds, that is, to fundamentally form or change attitudes, then it is better to use a written form of transmitting messages.

3. Context. Social influence always occurs in certain social circumstances, which can either facilitate or hinder persuasion and indoctrination. Every social situation is a distraction.

At first glance, every distraction should reduce the effectiveness of persuasive influence, but this is not entirely true. Interference and noise, of course, make it difficult to carefully perceive and think about the message, thus making it difficult to activate the central process of information processing.

But, on the other hand, it is precisely this circumstance that can contribute to the activation of the peripheral process of perceiving a message; in other words, it can facilitate the process of suggestion. If, for example, the message states something that you cannot agree with, and at the same time there is a distracting factor, say, laughter and joyful voices are heard nearby, then all this can prevent you from finding the necessary objection to what is stated in the message. You are thus deprived of the opportunity to substantiate your position. And this can, in turn, shake your confidence in your own rightness.

Another interesting example of the action of a distracting factor is called the claque phenomenon. Its opening occurred in 1820, when two regulars of the Parisian opera, South and Porcher, created a new profession - a claqueur, that is, a specially hired person who, for a fee, vigorously expressed admiration and applauded during the performances of opera singers. Typically, administrators of opera houses and singers hired several clackers, who managed to provoke the audience with their admiring cries to loud applause for the performing artists.

Later, clackers began to specialize in narrower areas - some became professionals in crying, others in laughter, and others in delight. Even later, claque groups, that is, support groups, began to be hired not only for opera performances, but also for performances by artists of other genres, and then even for performances by politicians. Thus, specially hired provocateurs, by diverting the attention of the audience, can contribute to either the success or failure of the agent of influence.

Does this mean that purchased claques will necessarily discredit the performance of, say, political speakers? Not at all. If the speaker addresses an unbiased audience and at the same time calmly reacts to the shouts and caustic comments of the clackers, and even skillfully parries them, then he can thereby strengthen his position, having a greater influence on the listeners.

4. Recipient. People also differ from each other in the degree of susceptibility to influence, or the degree of suggestibility. There are stubborn individuals who answer “no” to any attempt to convince or change their minds. There are also people of the exact opposite type, who agree with everyone on everything and who, nevertheless, are even less vulnerable to influence than the first. Thus, the personal characteristics of recipients, in interaction with other factors, determine whether a change in their attitudes will occur or not.

Intelligence level is another personality trait that influences the perception of the content of a persuasive message. Intellectually developed people understand complex messages more easily than less intelligent people. In addition, intellectuals are generally less likely to agree with persuasive messages because they are more confident in their position. Thus, people with a high level of intelligence are persuasive only when the message is well-reasoned, comprehensively argued, including using complex evidence. Conversely, people of little intelligence are easily persuaded and persuaded, even if the message is unconvincing, that is, logically weakly reasoned.

The entire procedure of persuasion fits into four types of influence: information, explanation, evidence and refutation.

Informing. In order to motivate a person to activity, a whole range of incentive influences is required. Among them is information, i.e. the message for which a person should act occupies an important place. This is due to the fact that a person, before acting, wants to make sure what needs to be done and whether he will be able to do it. No one will begin to act if they believe that action is either not worth it or is impossible. The Polish psychologist Tomaszewski expressed this dependence with the formula; D = f(VP), according to which the decision leading to action is a function (f) of the value of the goal (V) and the probability of its implementation (P).

Tomashevsky’s formula reflects a very simple but important idea: in order to motivate a person to the desired activity, one must first inform him about the goal and the likelihood of achieving it.

Information in the process of persuasion is implemented using various methods. Among them, the story occupies a special place.

The story is a lively and imaginative presentation of the essence of the matter. Usually it is built in two ways: inductive (when one goes from individual facts to communications) and deductive (when one goes from general provisions to individual facts). It is believed that if the listener is choleric by temperament, then he prefers the deductive path, and if he is phlegmatic, then the inductive one. This correlation is not absolute, but it is quite accurate: a choleric person is characterized by a fast pace of mental activity, hence he gives preference to generalizations; the phlegmatic, having a slow pace, tends to perceive individual facts first, and then generalizations.

Explanation. This type of persuasive influence is no less important than informing.

The most typical types of clarification are highlighted:

-instructive;

-narrating;

-reasoning.

Instructional explanation is appropriate and necessary when the listener is required to remember something, for example, when learning a procedure. In essence, this is a schematic layout “on shelves”. With such an explanation, thinking is not loaded, but memory is activated. It should be noted that this technique is not very popular with creative people or people with artistic inclinations. For those who are accustomed to strict, one might say, algorithmic rules and instructions, instruction does not generate resistance.

The reasoning explanation is structured in such a way that the presenter poses pros and cons to the interlocutor, forcing him to think for himself. With a reasoning explanation, you can pose a question, answer it yourself, or you can encourage the listener to answer. Precisely to induce, i.e. through the entire course of reasoning, arouse in the interlocutor a desire to give an answer. As soon as the presenter begins to force an answer, the reasoning explanation loses its meaning. During a reasoning explanation, the listener, together with the presenter, looks for ways to resolve the situation (of course, with the guiding attention of the presenter). At the same time, the listener (interlocutor) feels his importance. When answers are pulled out of him, he, deprived of such a feeling, goes into psychological defense.

Proof. Traditionally, proof is referred to as logical operations built on the basis of the laws of logic: the law of identity, the law of contradiction, the law of the exclusive third and the law of sufficient reason. The essence of proof is that a thesis is put forward (a thought or position, the truth of which must be proven) and arguments or arguments are sought to confirm the thesis. The procedure itself is usually called a demonstration. In essence, it is a theory of evidence.

To convince people or prove to them the truth of a proposition, facts are often needed. Without facts there is no proof. People are used to relying on facts. Facts create in them the appropriate mood to perceive reality and form an attitude. However, this is not how individual, disparate facts work, but their system.

Refutation. Logically, refutation has the same nature as proof. By proving an idea to someone, we thereby refute another, i.e. the one that our interlocutor mistakenly bears. However, proof and refutation are not the same thing. Psychologically there is a big difference here. The fact is that refutation deals with criticism of established views and stereotypes of people’s behavior, with the destruction and formation of their attitudes. When we refute something, we meet with the opponent’s self-esteem, with his “I”. In this regard, to effectively refute human actions, logic alone is not enough.

Rule one. When refuting your opponent’s arguments, you should appeal to his sense of self-worth.

As is known, self-esteem (SSD) is equal to the quotient of the value of success (V) of a given person divided by his aspirations (P): SSD = S/P. The higher the success and the lower the claims, the higher the self-esteem. Success here is understood not as a material, but as a socio-psychological value, appearing in the form of value judgments on the part of others. For people with high aspirations, this value tends to a minimum. People with a high level of self-esteem have pride in their “I”, and those with a low level have self-esteem. As a result, the former tend to firmly defend their opinion, giving reasons for it, while the latter tend to persist.

In all cases, success is achieved if they give a person a sense of his own “I”: they call him by name and patronymic, emphasize real merits, give him the opportunity to take initiative, encourage him to act independently, try not to impose someone else’s way of thinking, but stimulate him to reflection.

Rule two. When choosing techniques and means of influence, one must take into account the nature of the opponent’s current needs.

According to a common point of view, it is believed that human needs are divided into five levels:

- physiological needs associated with the need to maintain life - food, water, sleep, etc.;

-security needs, which manifest themselves in the desire to protect oneself from all threats and dangers, in the desire for stability and confidence in the future;

-the need to belong to any group of people, as well as in close relationships with people: friendship, communication, love;

-needs for respect and recognition from other people (prestige, reputation), which is associated with advancement on the social ladder, with a career;

-needs for self-realization, self-expression, manifestation of one’s capabilities.

Rule three. As you motivate people to take action, show them genuine concern.

Sincere attention to a person melts the chill of mistrust and eliminates psychological barriers in communication. Insincere attention is quickly recognized by the interlocutor, and he immediately turns away from the speaker. This is due to the fact that in such cases a person’s mechanism of empathy (feeling) is heightened, which allows him to understand the true intentions of the one who communicates with him. This leads to a number of tips: a) be sympathetic to people’s personal problems; nothing repels another more than insincerity in communication; b) watch your facial expressions (avoid masks of anger and sadness), control your posture and gestures; c) listen carefully to your interlocutor.

Characteristics and properties

Beliefs are in psychology what a person considers to be an axiom, regardless of whether he has any evidence of objective truth. Many beliefs develop and are passed on through generations. Parents, teachers, mentors, colleagues - they all pass on their beliefs, and each person has the opportunity to accept them or not. Over time, they may become their own beliefs or be rejected.

Every individual also develops beliefs based on personal experiences and feelings. Moreover, a person develops them through his repeated actions. If he is constantly late, he begins to believe that he is bad at managing his time, although in fact changing his alarm clock to a better one or getting into the habit of going to bed on time will help him change this label.

Beliefs are defined as the concepts that things a person thinks about are true. If people think certain principles are true, they believe them. If people think that certain principles are unlikely to be true, they will not believe them.

In their most basic form, beliefs have no value. For example, if someone believes that the sky is blue, this belief can be evaluated either positively (if the person likes the color blue and thinks that the sky will be worse in red) or this belief can be evaluated negatively (if the person dislikes the color blue and he thinks a red sky would be better). Thus, there is a subtle difference between views and beliefs.

People have 3 main types of beliefs that often form the basis of relationships.

Beliefs about yourself

Persistent beliefs about ourselves are what drive or suppress motivation. They can be limiting (I can’t, I’m bad at it, I just don’t have the skill) or they can be empowering (I can, I do).

Beliefs about ourselves grow from childhood, and are strongly related to the environment. People who grow up in a close-knit family that regularly supports them are likely to grow up with a sense of self-confidence, although this is not the rule.

How different people absorb or reject these environmentally conditioned ideas also depends on their personality. People with a natural questioning mind and curiosity about the world will not blindly accept the beliefs of others. Likewise, people with a strong sense of self will not think about themselves what they are told about them. Instead, they will develop their own self-image by analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.

Beliefs take root in character, and a person begins to filter everything through them. Speech, body language, expression of emotions - all of this, one way or another, is driven by these beliefs. Over time, they can turn into shortcuts.

Beliefs about others

Strong beliefs are usually instilled by mentors and parents. Sometimes beliefs are instilled through personal experience. For example, if a person is once treated poorly by a police officer, they may develop the belief that all police are unjust. More extreme experiences can even cause phobias. Such beliefs determine a person's attitude and behavior towards others.

Beliefs about life and the world

The range of feelings from: “life is terrible”, “everything is hopeless” to: “the world is full of opportunities” - refers to beliefs that develop in relation to the external world. A person formulates such ideas, starting from the immediate world (home, street, work) right up to humanity as a whole. At the same time, the opinion about a group of people and events depends on one’s own situation and context.

People with high socioeconomic status may think that people with low socioeconomic status do not work hard enough. The second group may think that the first group had everything served to them on a platter. While there is a chance that these thoughts are objectively true, in most cases they are not. Man develops these prejudices about the world because of an innate need to justify his place in it.

While beliefs about others and the world give rise to stereotypes and can lead to xenophobia, racism and sexism, beliefs about oneself determine a person's self-image. Together, they set boundaries about who they feel comfortable talking to, acting with, helping, or asking for help with. The gap between a person's ideas about others and about himself creates a person's attitude and, as a result, shapes his ideas about the world as a whole.

It all depends on the direction in which these beliefs lead a person.

Persuasion and influence on people: methods and structure of persuasive influence

Any attempt to roughly impose the desired opinion will only lead to a negative result, because a person always resists the restriction of freedom of choice. Every influence contains elements of suggestion and persuasion, but in different proportions. Here is the structure of persuasive influence and methods of influencing persuasion. Persuasion is a method of influencing people's consciousness by appealing to their own critical perception.

Using the method of persuasion, psychologists proceed from the fact that it is focused on the intellectual-cognitive sphere of the human psyche. Its essence is, with the help of logical arguments, to first obtain from a person internal agreement with certain conclusions, and then, on this basis, to form and consolidate new attitudes (or transform old ones) that correspond to the goal.

When persuading, you must follow certain rules:

• the logic of persuasion must be accessible to the intellect of the target;
• it is necessary to convince with evidence, based on facts known to the object;
• in addition to specific facts and examples (without them it is impossible to convince those who lack breadth of vision and developed abstract thinking), information must contain generalized provisions (ideas, principles);
• persuasive information should look as believable as possible;
• the facts and generalities communicated must be such as to evoke an emotional reaction from the target.

The criterion for the effectiveness of persuasive influence is conviction. This is a deep confidence in the truth of the acquired ideas, concepts, concepts, and images. It allows you to make unambiguous decisions and implement them without hesitation, to take a firm position in your assessment of certain facts and phenomena.

Thanks to conviction, people's attitudes are formed that determine their behavior in specific situations.

An important characteristic of conviction is its depth. It is directly related to people’s previous upbringing, their awareness, life experience, and ability to analyze the phenomena of the surrounding reality.

Deep confidence is characterized by great stability. As practice shows, in order to shake it, logical conclusions alone are not enough. It is advisable to carry out persuasive influence in the following cases:

When the target is able to perceive the information received. If the object is psychologically capable of agreeing with the opinion imposed on him. Therefore, the correct choice of the object of psychological influence and the content of the persuasive influence are equally important. If the object is able to compare different points of view, analyze the argumentation system. In other words, persuasive influence is effective only on the condition that its object is able to understand and appreciate what is being presented to him. If the logic of thinking of the subject of influence, the argumentation he uses are close to the peculiarities of thinking of the object. Hence the importance of taking into account the national psychological characteristics of the object, the entire complex of social, national-religious, cultural factors that influence its perception of the content of the message. If there is time to convince. Convincing people of something, especially something that benefits the other party, usually takes time. Changes in the sphere of people's rational thinking occur only after comparison and reflection of facts, which requires significant time expenditure. In addition, the varied content of persuasive influence requires repeated confirmation with various arguments and facts, which also “stretches out” the process.

The structure of persuasion

Persuasive influence usually includes:

• influence of the information source;
• impact of information content;
• impact of the information situation.

Impact of information source. The effectiveness of persuasion depends to a certain extent on how the people who perceive it relate to the source of information.

Impact of information content. First, the impact of information content depends largely on how evidential and persuasive it is.

Evidence is based on the logic, plausibility and consistency of the material presented. In other words, it is important not only what is communicated, but also how it is done. Evidence does not automatically include persuasiveness.

Experts believe that:

• the content of information materials must be well thought out and comply with the laws of formal logic;
• the concrete in the content of the information message seems more convincing than the abstract;
• the more dynamic the text, the brighter and more diverse the facts it contains, the more it attracts attention;
• what is closer to the interests and needs of the object of influence is better perceived;
• it is better to comprehend what is presented in small semantic parts (blocks);
• what causes an emotional response in the object of influence is better absorbed;
• the material that is presented in accordance with the national traditions of perception of the object is better perceived, comprehended and assimilated.

More on the blog: Structural analysis according to Eric Berne

Persuasion cannot be reduced to a simple presentation of the information, the truth of which one seeks to convince the opponent, and to the subsequent presentation of arguments in support of it, as required by the rules of formal logic. There are many more ways to persuade people.

There are three main categories of arguments for persuasion:

True facts. The irrefutable information contained in the text of the message predisposes people to evaluate the entire text (including its recommendations) as correct. Arguments that provide psychological satisfaction because they appeal to positive expectations. Arguments appealing to negative expectations .

Based on the way arguments are presented, a distinction is made between so-called “one-sided” and “two-sided” messages.

A “one-way message” is text that contains arguments only from the source of the information. Such messages are more effective when the target of psychological influence does not experience hostile feelings towards the source of information and, in addition, has a low level of education. The object in this case is able to relatively easily accept the point of view of the source of information. A one-way message can also be used to persuade people of different educational backgrounds.

A “two-way message” contains both the arguments of the source of information and the counter-arguments of the enemy, which must be exposed. This construction of the text serves as an incentive for the active mental activity of the object, resulting in a revision of his previously formed judgments.

“Two-way communication” is aimed primarily at people with a high level of education who feel the need to compare different views, points of view, opinions, and assessments. “Two-way communication” at the same time, as it were, preempts the enemy’s argumentation and creates the prerequisites for developing a certain immunity against it.

The order of the arguments also matters. In particular, it is advisable to place information directly focused on changing attitudes (“strong arguments”) before any other information not related to solving this problem. In most cases, the most effective is considered to be the placement of “strong arguments” in the middle of the message text (the so-called “pyramid model” of influence).

The effectiveness of texts with “strong arguments” located at the beginning and end of the message depends on the attitudes of the object of psychological influence. If he shows significant interest in the topic of the message (that is, he has positive attitudes on this issue), then a text in which “strong arguments” are contained at the end of the message (the so-called “culmination model” of influence) is more effective.

If the subject is indifferent to the topic of the message, then it is better to place “strong arguments” at the beginning of the text (“anti-climax model”) in order to immediately attract the necessary attention.

The impact of a persuasive message on the enemy largely depends on what appeals (slogans) are selected in it and how they are presented. There are:

Direct calls. They involve persuasion based on the presentation of strong direct arguments. Indirect appeals. They represent persuasion through hints and promises. Vague calls . They encourage the target to independently come to conclusions that logically follow from the argumentation presented to him, although there are no specific proposals in the text of the message.

Persuasive influence

To obtain maximum effect, persuasive influence must meet certain requirements:

• Be properly oriented and planned.
• Be directed towards a specific object.
• Be focused primarily on the intellectual-cognitive sphere of the target’s psyche.
• Be aimed at initiating a specific behavior.

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The basic principles of persuasive influence should be:

1. The principle of repetition. Repeating a message multiple times gives an effect that cannot be achieved with a single exposure.

2. The principle of achieving primary impact. If the object has received some important message, then in his mind there is a readiness to perceive subsequent, more detailed information that confirms the first impression.

3. The principle of ensuring trust in the source of information.

Currently, methods for achieving trust in a source of information also include:

• creating an image of “special awareness” about those events that, for some reason, are hushed up by official sources (this is achieved by transmitting facts whose accuracy is known or can be easily verified);
• creating an image of “objectivity, independence and alternativeness”, which is achieved by citing documents, expert assessments, opinions of eyewitnesses of events, etc.

4. The principle of activation of mental processes of perception by an object of information content.

Methods of persuasion

Persuasion involves a “soft” influence on a person, with the goal of radically adjusting his views in order to influence subsequent behavior. This option is the most ethical way of influence, because there is no brutal violence or penetration into the subconscious of the object.

The persuasion method is used to:

• long-term changes in a person’s ideas and attitudes in the required direction;
• attraction to cooperation;
• inducing the object to the desired action.

In technical terms, persuasion is an explicit, sometimes hidden, discussion, supplemented by some kind of stimulating effect.

Each person has his own attitude towards something or someone. There are three gradations of this attitude:

1. obvious sympathy (tendency to accept something);
2. indifference (with a slight bias in one direction or another);
3. denial (rejection).

Any attempt to roughly impose the desired opinion will only lead to a negative result, because a person always resists the restriction of freedom of choice.

To change an individual's attitude towards something, one needs to reorient his attitude. Please note that:

• in a duel between reason and attitude, attitude often wins;
• in the course of changing attitudes, a person must be shown the direction and content of the necessary changes; all this must be perceived and understood by him;
• changes will occur the more successfully the more in tune they are with the needs and motivations of the object;
• The easiest way to change settings is those that are not of fundamental (vital) importance for a person;
• in the case of a completely negative attitude, its reorientation usually requires special complicated methods of reprogramming the psyche (“brainwashing”) of the person.

Depending on the conditions of the situation and the specific characteristics of the object, you can try to convince him directly (during a conversation) or indirectly (through inspired actions), while doing the following:

• accentuated and logical;
• imperative (categorically);
• excitatively (by inciting emotions);
• alternatively (by reducing the problem to an “either-or” choice).

Every influence contains elements of suggestion and persuasion, but in different proportions. It is easier to convince those who have:

• bright, vivid imagination;
• orientation towards others rather than towards oneself;
• somewhat low self-esteem (subjects who are timid and have little confidence in their own opinions).

People with:

• obvious hostility towards others (resistance, by the way, can often arise as a result of the desire to dominate others);
• a strong spirit of criticism;
• constant readiness to change one’s views (in other words, the desire to always have one more position in reserve).

Before carrying out an active action, a person should be thoroughly prepared with a series of preliminary preliminary conversations so that the subsequent accentuated impact does not come as an unpleasant surprise for him.

Author: Andrey Aleksandrovich Kulminsky, business coach, author of trainings on staff motivation and creativity.

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Functions and role

Beliefs are an important basis for attitudes and behavior, but they can be extremely difficult to change. Often people will fiercely hold onto their beliefs even in the light of contradictory evidence. This phenomenon is known in psychology as persistence of beliefs.

Persistence typically occurs because people base their beliefs on information that they find logical, convincing, or in some way attractive. Therefore, even when beliefs appear to be refuted by new evidence, the basis of what a person believes may still exist.

Beliefs influence a person's life in every way. Because from the moment of birth they form the perception of the world. And perception is human reality. This is why it is crucial to notice your own beliefs and recognize their content so that you can consciously understand how they influence reality. Only when an individual becomes aware of his beliefs can he change them.

For example, a person believes that he has severe anxiety, and it prevents him from doing what he wants. Under the influence of this belief, perception will influence life because this belief literally changes the perception of the world. And as the perception of reality changes, the individual’s behavior in this reality also changes.

Because a person believes that they have severe anxiety, they will see, hear, feel, taste, and smell things that confirm this belief. Faith changes his perception of the world so that he sees a world full of anxiety and stress.

Conviction is an element of a worldview in psychology that influences life, forcing a person to create and perceive his reality and the world in such a way that this belief seems true, absolute.

Another example: a person considers himself a failure. He will perceive the world as a source of bad luck, and will constantly remember the ways in which he failed. And because of this they will continue to fail.

Thus, the function of beliefs is that beliefs influence an individual's life by changing his perception of reality, which in turn leads to changes in behavior and can even cause biological changes in the body.

Understanding how beliefs are formed and how they underlie subsequent attitudes and behavior is important because it can help to understand social phenomena:

• prejudice and discrimination;
• helping and aggressive behavior;
• impression formation;
• submission to authority;
• interpersonal attraction;
• group decision making.

Beliefs are the main type of social knowledge in psychology.

Methods of psychological influence on people in social advertising: examples

Commercial advertising differs from social advertising; its main goal is the slogan “Buy!” Social advertising has other goals:

• Awareness;
• Achieving target behavior;
• Formation of approved submissions;
• Assimilation of information;
• Recommendation of behavior models.

To have a psychological impact on people, social advertising must have such a concept as emotionality . That is, advertising should evoke emotions. These emotions can be both negative and positive. Positive emotions, for example, encourage a person to follow an example, to act one way and not another. Negative ones, on the contrary, lead a person to the realization that there is no need to do this.

Important: A person’s emotional memory is the strongest. Even if a person is not affected by advertising settings, he will still remember it if it is emotional. However, if the advertisement does not contain strong emotions, it will not attract the viewer's attention.

Social videos where the main characters are children, people with disabilities, and the elderly have a special emotional effect.

We offer an example of social advertising with a strong psychological impact in the video at the end of the article.

Now you know what techniques and methods of psychological influence on people are available. You can try to apply them in practice, it is much more interesting than reading theory.

Sources of Beliefs

Sources of beliefs are presented in the table:

Proof	The logical and rational formation of beliefs based on evidence that supports a causal relationship.
Traditions	Family and social traditions.
Power	Beliefs are usually passed down from parents, but can also come from a religious leader, teacher, or any other person in authority.
Associations	Beliefs can be formed through the people or groups with which a person is associated.
Revelations	Beliefs that are formed through “divine intervention,” hunches, or a “sixth” sense.

Goals and objectives

Intelligence and culture developed as a way to accelerate human development - not on the physical, but on the mental level. Cultural evolution occurs much faster than biological evolution. Belief systems evolved as part of this development to ensure human survival.

Beyond this ultimate goal of achieving survival, there are also subgoals of belief systems in various aspects of life.

• Beliefs about effective decision making, negotiation, and business conduct exist to help achieve a certain status in the social hierarchy.
• Beliefs about how to cope with things like uncertainty and anxiety exist to help maintain mental health.
• Beliefs about sexuality and dating behavior are intended to ensure that a person's genes are passed on to the next generation.

In other words, subgoals of belief systems exist to ensure that a person is able to satisfy certain needs, to develop self-esteem.

Methods

There are certain methods or appeals to persuasion: appeal to reason, emotions, character.

1. The first method is an appeal to reason. The appeal to reason method uses logical argument, with all persuasion focused on logic and the scientific method. This method is best for people who need proof of something and who do not accept arguments based more on faith than facts. If you try to convince a group of scientists to follow the belief that the Earth revolves around the Moon, you need to have a lot of evidence to support it, otherwise they cannot be convinced of the argument.
2. The second method is to appeal to emotions. The appeal to emotion is not based on evidence, but on the emotions that a person experiences. This can often be a more effective approach for the general population because people can often be governed by their emotions more than their reason. Persuasion uses seduction, tradition, or even pity to get people to agree. For example: “You will never be satisfied in life unless you take advantage of this opportunity.”
3. Appeals to ethical standards , a person's character, relate to the ethical reasons why an audience should believe or be influenced by arguments. For example: “Doctors all over the world recommend this type of treatment.”

The constant conflict of society is that the beliefs and values ​​of an individual determine his personal attitude and behavior in relation to the world, but the moral values ​​of society and the ethical rules in force accordingly limit the actions of the individual.

A person usually chooses to behave in accordance with the morals and ethics of the society in which he lives. Even if personal values ​​conflict with the values ​​of society, a person will still follow social rules because he is afraid of the consequences.

Beliefs are not written into an individual's DNA. They are absorbed, developed and grown from the moment of birth. They reach their current level due to their environment, experiences, events and decisions in life. A person with increased self-awareness may decide to change beliefs and values ​​and replace them with a new system that empowers and supports goals and vision for life.

An individual's beliefs in psychology are the ideas that he believes to be true. Many of these beliefs constitute personal values ​​that determine attitudes, that is, how a person treats others, himself, and how he approaches any situation. All three components ultimately determine behavior or the way a person acts.

Author: Belyaeva Anna