Answers to Chapter Review Questions
1. What is persuasion as defined by communication scholar Richard M. Perloff? (Obj. 1)
Persuasion is a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to
2. List and explain the five components that make up Richard M. Perloff’s definition of
persuasion. (Obj. 1)
a. Persuasion is a symbolic process. Persuaders use words, signs, and other symbols
b. Persuasion involves an attempt to influence. For persuasion to occur, it must be a
c. Persuasion is self-persuasion. Ethical persuaders give others the choice to accept their
d. Persuasion involves transmitting a message. Persuasive messages can be verbal or
e. Persuasion requires free choice. People are free when they are not forced to comply,
3. List and explain the six psychological triggers that prompt us to act and believe. Include
brief examples. (Obj. 1)
a. Reciprocation. We seem to be hardwired to give and take. If someone does us a favor,
b. Commitment. We believe in the correctness of a difficult choice once we make it. This is
c. Social proof. To determine correct behavior, we try to find out what other people think is
d. Liking. We are more likely to accept requests from people we know and like or those who
e. Authority. We tend to obey authority because we learn that a widely accepted system of
f. Scarcity. We tend to regard opportunities as more valuable when their availability is
4. What is the AIDA strategy, and what does the acronym stand for? (Obj. 2)
5. List six elements that might help you build interest in a persuasive message and show
that your request is reasonable. (Obj. 2)
a. Facts and figures
b. Expert opinions
6. What are What if scenarios, and how can they be used to reduce resistance in a
persuasive request? (Obj. 2)
What if? scenarios suggest what might happen if the persuasive request is or is not met. They
7. When does persuasion become unethical and what is doublespeak? (Obj. 2)
Persuasion becomes unethical when facts are distorted, overlooked, or manipulated with an
8. Name five or more examples of typical situations requiring persuasive claim messages.
(Obj. 3)
9. How have shifts in authority in digital-age organizations affected the strategies for
creating and the tone of workplace persuasive messages? (Obj. 4)
Technology has empowered rank-and-file employees who don’t need their managers to be
10. When is persuasion necessary in business messages flowing downward in an
organization? (Obj. 4)
Directives from management flowing downward to employees may not require persuasion.
11. When might persuasion be necessary in messages flowing upward? (Obj. 4)
Subordinates might find it necessary to use persuasion in convincing management to adopt a
12. Before composing a letter to sell a product, what should the writer do? (Obj. 5)
The writer should study the product carefully, learning about its design, construction, raw
13. Name eight or more ways to attract attention in opening a sales message. (Obj. 5)
14. How can a writer motivate action in a sales letter? (Obj. 5)
15. List five or more topics that an organization might feature in a press release. (Obj. 6)
Answers to Critical Thinking Questions
1. Reviewing a new critical marketing book, Adrian Wooldridge of The Economist cites
these three examples of how today’s “hidden persuaders” ply their trade:
Marketers have long known that the most powerful persuader is peer pressure. What is
new is that the data revolution and social media have hugely increased their ability to
SAS, a software company, analyses social-media chatter to find people whose online
What is the author’s objection? Can you find evidence of it in your own life? (Obj. 1)
Writing as Schumpeter for The Economist, Adrian Wooldridge is reviewing Brandwashed:
Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy by marketing guru
Martin Lindstrom. Wooldridge focuses on the dimension that Robert Cialdini calls “social
proof,” the psychological trigger that drives us to conform to others and instinctually
embrace what they like. However, the underlying criticism here is that the campaigns
2. What are some of the underlying motivations that prompt individuals to agree to
requests that do not directly benefit themselves or their organizations? (Obj. 2)
Many people and organizations agree to requests to donate money, time, equipment, and
expertise because they are interested in a project or because they see indirect benefits. For
3. How are direct-mail sales messages and e-mail sales messages similar, and how are
they different? (Obj. 5)
Direct-mail sales letters and e-mail sales messages are similar in that both use persuasion to
attempt to influence beliefs or motivate action. Many of the techniques of the indirect
4. Why are magazine and newspaper editors or TV producers wary of press (news)
releases from businesses and reluctant to turn them into articles? (Obj. 6)
Traditionally, most self-respecting journalists would fiercely guard their objectivity and
independence from corporate, political, and other interests as their highest good that has
lent them credibility and earned the trust of their readers. Critical yet balanced journalism
5. Ethical Issue: Two students at Cambridge University, England, were charging
businesses to have their logos painted on their faces for a day. The students raised
more than $40,000 toward their university tuition. Companies such as Volvo adopted
temporary tattoos in their promotions. Dunlop, however, went to the extreme by
offering a set of free tires to those who would have the company’s flying-D logo
permanently tattooed somewhere on their bodies. Ninety-eight people complied. Is it
ethical for advertisers to resort to such extreme promotions dubbed “skinvertising”?
Do you think it’s even effective? Would you participate?
Most Americans would probably recoil from such extreme marketing, as practiced by
Dunlop and others, for reasons of esthetics as well as ethics. People who acceded to
permanent tattoos cited the dire need for money. A Utah mother sold ad space on her
forehead for $10,000 because she wanted to provide for her children. [Guarini, D. (2012,
Today’s students might not find the practice as abhorrent as their elders would, if
becoming a human billboard is temporary—for example, in the case of the Cambridge
students. After all, the students were able to defray the costs of their tuition and were not
permanently disfigured. Young Americans’ attitudes toward tattooing differ from those of
Esthetics and ethics aside, the question of effectiveness is dubious, too. Some believe
that once corporations (and older people) adopt tattoos to appeal to the young demographic,
ZOOMING IN
Going Green Makes “Cents”
Critical Thinking
Why is using a moderate tone so important to persuasion?
How do facts help make a convincing case?
Using facts can be persuasive in a number of ways. A startling fact can help gain attention.
Also, facts and statistics help build the case for a reasonable request or action. This is
Why do good writers weave benefits into persuasive messages?
Persuasive messages are most effective when they appeal to the recipient’s needs. Good
ZOOMING IN
Your Turn: Applying Your Skills at Natural Capitalism Solutions
The points Lovins makes occur at the beginning of the webinar. Encourage students to brand the
Ethics Check Solutions
Ethics Check, p. 328
Subtle Persuasion in an Age of Social Media and Information Overload
Professional persuaders try to generate “a distinct kind of automatic, mindless compliance”
in people, a “willingness to say yes without thinking first,” believes psychologist Robert B.
Cialdini. The best-selling author of Influence cautions: “The ever-accelerating pace and
informational crush of modern life will make . . . unthinking compliance more and more
prevalent in the future. It will be increasingly important for the society, therefore, to
understand the how and why of automatic influence.” What does this mean for you as a
consumer and participant in social media?
Best-selling author Robert B. Cialdini decided to go undercover for three years to observe the
One conclusion students may reach from Cialdini’s work is that they need to become aware
of the strategies visited upon them by “compliance professionals,” as Cialdini calls marketers
and other persuaders. Perhaps because people today are subjected to a barrage of advertising and
other persuasive messages, they have become numb to unsophisticated messages and are a lot
Ethics Check, page 339
Complaint Bullying
As any salesperson will tell you, some customers seem to believe that if they vent their
anger and make a scene at the store, they are more likely to get their way by bullying and
intimidating a fearful sales representative. Indeed, some sales staff may cave in, wishing to
defuse the ruckus. Is it fair to resort to such tactics to get what one wants? Does the end
justify the means?
Some students may say yes, anything is fair to obtain the desired result. However, they should be
reminded that the saying “You catch more flies with honey” applies no less in business. Even if,
Ethics Check, page 348
Scare Tactics
Direct marketers sometimes resort to scare tactics, for example, to make us purchase alarm
systems and subscribe to monitoring services. They may also appeal to our compassion and
guilt before the holidays in soliciting money for the less fortunate. Are such emotional
appeals ethical?
Perceptive students will realize that such appeals are not unethical, as long as they are executed
truthfully, not with the intent to deceive. It is not wrong to invoke recent burglary statistics to
Photo Essay Solutions
Photo Essay, page 335
The seemingly paradoxical full-page ad in The New York Times on Black Friday, the biggest
shopping day of the year, was just the beginning. Patagonia also posted the same provocative ad
on the Internet and e-mailed it to customers on Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day
Furthermore, the company explained that the provocative headline “Don’t buy this
jacket” was meant to “call attention to the issue in a strong, clear way.” [Ibid.] The buzz in social
media ranged from sincere praise to scorn and cynical assessments that criticized the company
that, like most, produces much of its gear all over the world and ships it to the United States.
What this unusual multipronged ad campaign also illustrates is that businesses have to
Photo Essay, page 348
Student responses will vary, but research conducted on this highway safety video from the South
Wales Police Department was conclusive: the emotional impact of watching a happy occasion
turn to injury and death was highly persuasive. A full 86 percent of viewers said the PSA was