Exam 8: Social Influence and Persuasion

Samuela never pays attention in class or studies and tends to fail most of the tests she takes in school. However, she constantly looks for opportunities to cheat during tests. She copies her neighbors' answers, assuming they know the test material better than she does. In these cases, Samuela is acting under ____.

Compared to persuasion via the peripheral route, persuasion via the central route ____. ​

Elvis is opposed to smoking. Even though his friends try to persuade him to try cigarettes, he stays true to his beliefs and resists their pressure. Research suggests that, as a result, Elvis is likely to ____.

Some research has looked at whether or not giving people warnings that someone is about to try to persuade them of something has an impact on the degree to which they are persuaded. Such research has found that people are ____ likely to be persuaded by the argument when they receive a warning beforehand; the amount of advance notice they receive ____ this effect.

In some military prisons, soldiers use, among other tactics, both sleep deprivation and repeated exposure to annoying music, in an effort to "break" prisoners' resistance and convince them to answer questions. These soldiers are apparently operating under the assumption that ____ makes people more yielding.

You work for the advertising division of a car company, and your team is reviewing advertisements for a new safety feature. You are deciding between an ad with a low-fear message (which simply mentions the feature without demonstrating it), an ad with a moderate-fear message (which shows how the feature can help drivers avert accidents), and an ad with a high-fear message (which shows a horrific collision resulting from driving in a car without the feature). All else being equal, research on fear-based messaging would suggest that you should air ____.

Research suggests that there are two main factors that make a source credible: ____.

Advertisers use the term advertisement wear-out to refer to ads that are ineffective as a result of ____.

An infomercial advertises a Swedish pillow for $49.99. The voice-over then announces, "But wait! If you call within the next thirty minutes, you will also receive a Swedish eye mask, valued at over $14.00, along with a pair of Swedish evening candles. Also, we are now throwing in-for a limited time only-a special booklet of Swedish bedtime stories, all for just $49.99." This infomercial appears to be using the ____.

You are a prosecutor and want to ensure that the accused is convicted of the most serious charges possible. Given what is known about the role of fear in persuasion, which strategy is likely to be most effective?

The that's-not-all technique operates based on the principle of ____.

A university professor from Rome invited Francesco Schettino, the former skipper of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, to give a two-hour lecture on the topic of "best emergency practices." In this case, Schettino was not a(n)____ source of information.

Walter is undergoing an interview training seminar in which he repeatedly practices coming up with responses to the statement, "You're not qualified." For example, he practices rebutting with, "Actually if you'll take a closer look at my resume..." and "If you'll just give me a chance…" It would appear that Walter's interview training seminar is teaching him how to avoid rejections based on the idea of ____.

Compared to people with low self-esteem, people with high self-esteem tend to be ____ when they encounter persuasive messages. ​

People who are in a good mood are more receptive to persuasive messages than people who are in a bad or neutral mood.

Of the following individuals, which one is most likely to have success at persuading other people?

You are a tenth-grade teacher with an upcoming course module on the health risks of unprotected sex. Which individual would probably be the BEST guest speaker for your course in terms of their ability to persuade students to act responsibly and actually impact their behavior?

People who are told that they are "generous souls" are more likely to donate money to charity than people who are not. Similarly, people who are told that they are "stylish and cutting edge" are more likely to be persuaded to buy new trendy items in a store. Salespeople who capitalize on this technique are using the ____.

In one study, research participants were asked to discuss the case of supposed juvenile delinquent named Johnny Rocco. Each discussion group consisted of five real participants and three accomplices-a "mode" accomplice (who adopted the majority viewpoint), a "deviant" accomplice (who held extreme views that were different from the majority viewpoint), and a "slider" (who started out extreme, but eventually adopted the majority viewpoint). When participants were asked, at the end of the discussion, to "vote one group member out of the group," who was MOST often voted out?

_____ involves going along with the crowd because you think the crowd knows more than you do.