What Is Persuasion?

Persuasion and its Processes

Persuasion is the process by which views, decisions, and attitudes change as a result of external communication. This control is primarily derived from other people, but it can also be derived from other causes such as threats or coercion. Persuasion can be a disagreeable act in this scenario. Nonetheless, not all persuasive communication is done for manipulation, but sometimes for amusement. Others may claim that persuasive speech, as a social control, also promotes order to the human community. In a word, when we examine alternatives, persuasion is morally acceptable. Persuasion analysis is performed by distinguishing communication that functions as the cause of the attitude change that is regarded as the corresponding reaction. Persuasion can be explained using two routes namely; central and peripheral routes (Petty and Cacioppo1981). In central route, persuasion comes from the contents of the message or rather the argument which involves thoughtfully engaging the person in logical and sound reasoning. For instance, in a political debate, you can use the argument by each candidate to choose whether to vote or not vote them depending on the convincing power of their arguments. The receiver in the central route is actively involved in the process of persuasion and he/she can evaluate and comprehend the message with ease.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

On the other hand, in peripheral route, persuasion is not based on the message content or the argument. In this case, the receiver is seen as without inspiration and unable to evaluate and comprehend information with ease. Therefore, these people will need deep psychological processing to make a decision. In most cases, peripheral persuasion is efficient when the receiver is not paying attention to the message from the communicator. For example, the reason for voting a candidate after following a political debate might be because of your relationship with the person or the grooming of the candidate.

References

Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Goldman, R. (1981). Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion. Journal of personality and social psychology, 41(5), 847.