Editing Persuasion (section)

== Methods ==
[[File:The art of persuasion'--returning from a ball in India (The Graphic, 1890).jpg|thumb|''<nowiki/>'The art of persuasion'— returning from a ball in India'' from "The Graphic", 1890]]
Persuasion methods are also sometimes referred to as ''persuasion tactics'' or ''persuasion strategies''.

===Use of force===
There is the [[force (law)|use of force]] in persuasion, which does not have any scientific theories, except for its use to make demands. The use of force is then a precedent to the failure of less direct means of persuasion. Application of this strategy can be interpreted as a threat since the persuader does not give options to their request.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

===Weapons of influence===
[[Robert Cialdini]], in ''Influence'', his book on persuasion, defined six "influence cues or weapons of influence":<ref>Cialdini, R. B. (2001). ''Influence: Science and practice'' (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.</ref> Influence is the process of changing.

====Reciprocity====
{{Main|Norm of reciprocity}}
The principle of reciprocity states that when a person provides us with something, we attempt to repay them in kind. Reciprocation produces a sense of obligation, which can be a powerful tool in persuasion. The reciprocity rule is effective because it can be overpowering and instill in us a sense of obligation. Generally, we have a dislike for individuals who neglect to return a favor or provide payment when offered a free service or gift. As a result, reciprocation is a widely held principle. This societal standard makes reciprocity extremely powerful persuasive technique, as it can result in unequal exchanges and can even apply to an uninvited first favor. Reciprocity applies to the marketing field because of its use as a powerful persuasive technique. The marketing tactic of "free samples" demonstrates the reciprocity rule because of the sense of obligation that the rule produces. This sense of obligation comes from the desire to repay the marketer for the gift of a "free sample."<ref>{{Citation|last1=Baaren|first1=Rick van|title=Behavioral Change Cialdini-Style|date=2012-03-01|work=Six Degrees of Social Influence|pages=134–141|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199743056|last2=Dijksterhuis|first2=Ap|author2-link=Ap Dijksterhuis|doi=10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199743056.003.0013}}</ref>

====Commitment and consistency====
Consistency is an important aspect of persuasion because it:
# is highly valued by society, 
# results in a beneficial approach to daily life, and 
# provides a valuable shortcut through the complicated nature of modern existence.
Consistency allows us to more effectively make decisions and process information. The concept of consistency states that someone who commits to something, orally or in writing, is more likely to honor that commitment. This is especially true for written commitments, as they appear psychologically more concrete and can create hard proof. Someone who commits to a stance tends to behave according to that commitment. Commitment is an effective persuasive technique, because once you get someone to commit, they are more likely to engage in self-persuasion, providing themselves and others with reasons and justifications to support their commitment in order to avoid dissonance. Cialdini notes Chinese [[brainwashing]] of American [[prisoners of war]] in [[Korean War]] to rewrite their self-image and gain automatic unenforced compliance. Another example is children being made to repeat the [[Pledge of Allegiance (United States)|Pledge of Allegiance]] each morning and why marketers make you close popups by saying "I'll sign up later" or "No thanks, I prefer not making money".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://conceptually.org/concepts/6-principles-of-influence/ |title=What are the 6 principles of influence? |website=conceptually.org |access-date= 25 October 2017}}</ref>

====Social proof====
Social learning, also known as [[social proof]], is a core principle among almost all forms of persuasion.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=WOODWARD|first=GARY C.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1037296115|title=PERSUASION AND INFLUENCE IN AMERICAN LIFE.|date=2018|publisher=WAVELAND PRESS|isbn=978-1-4786-3612-0|edition=8TH|location=LONG GROVE|oclc=1037296115}}</ref> It is based on the idea of peer influence, and is considered essential for audience-centered approaches to persuasive messages. The principle of social proof suggests what people believe or do is typically learned by observing the norms of those around us.<ref name=":2" /> People naturally conform their actions and beliefs to fit what society expects, as the rewards for doing so are usually greater than standing out.<ref name=":2" />

"The power of the crowd" is thought to be highly involved in the decisions we make. Social proof is often utilized by people in a situation that requires a decision be made. In uncertain or ambiguous situations, when multiple possibilities create choices we must make, people are likely to conform to what others do. We take cues from those around us as to what the appropriate behavior is in that moment. People often feel they will make fewer mistakes "by acting in accord with social evidence than by behaving contrary to it."<ref name=":2" />

====Likeness====
This principle is simple and concise. People say "yes" to people that they like.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Getting grounded in social psychology: the essential literature for beginning researchers|date=2018 |editor=Todd D. Nelson|isbn=978-1-138-93220-3|location=New York|oclc=982448318}}</ref> Two major factors contribute to overall likeness. The first is physical attractiveness.<ref>{{Cite SSRN |last=Kumsuwan|first=Kesanee|last2=Nantachantoon|first2=Siriwan|date=2019|title=Ideology of Face Beauty with Pragmatic Strategies in Facebook Advertisements of Beauty Institute Pages|ssrn=3547049 |language=en}}</ref> People who are physically attractive seem more persuasive.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Abubakar|first1=A. Mohammed|last2=Anasori|first2=Elham|last3=Lasisi|first3=Temitope Taiwo|date=March 2019 |title=Physical attractiveness and managerial favoritism in the hotel industry: The light and dark side of erotic capital|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1447677018302237|journal=Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management|language=en|volume=38|pages=16–26|doi=10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.11.005|s2cid=149863868}}</ref> They get what they want and they can easily change others' attitudes.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Advertising theory|date=2019 |editor=Shelly Rodgers |editor2=Esther Thorson|isbn=978-1-351-20831-4|edition=Second |location=New York |oclc=1077493254}}</ref> This attractiveness is proven to send favorable messages/impressions of other traits that a person may have, such as talent, kindness, and intelligence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Salminen|first1=Joni|last2=Jung|first2=Soon-Gyo|last3=Santos|first3=João M.|last4=Jansen|first4=Bernard J.|date=2020-04-02|title=Does a Smile Matter if the Person Is Not Real?: The Effect of a Smile and Stock Photos on Persona Perceptions|journal=International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction|language=en|volume=36|issue=6|pages=568–590|doi=10.1080/10447318.2019.1664068 |doi-access=free|issn=1044-7318|hdl=10071/20852|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The second factor is similarity. People are more easily persuaded by others they deem as similar to themselves.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1177/0146167203258838 |pmid=15030641 |title=What a Coincidence! The Effects of Incidental Similarity on Compliance |journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=35–43 |year=2016 |last1=Burger |first1=Jerry M |last2=Messian |first2=Nicole |last3=Patel |first3=Shebani |last4=Del Prado |first4=Alicia |last5=Anderson |first5=Carmen |s2cid=2109021}}</ref>

====Authority====
People are more prone to believing those with authority.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|last=Woodward |first=Gary C. |title=Persuasion and Influence in American Life |date=2018|publisher=WAVELAND PRESS|isbn=978-1-4786-3612-0|edition=8th |location=Long Grove |oclc=1037296115}}</ref> They have the tendency to believe that if an expert says something, it must be true. People are more likely to adhere to opinions of individuals who are knowledgeable and trustworthy. Although a message often stands or falls on the weight of its ideas and arguments, a person's attributes or implied authority can have a large effect on the success of their message.<ref name=":03" />

In [[The True Believer]], Eric Hoffer noted, "People whose lives are barren and insecure seem to show a greater willingness to obey than people who are self-sufficient and self-confident. To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. . . . They willingly abdicate the directing of their lives to those who want to plan, command and shoulder all responsibility."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoffer|first=Eric|author-link=Eric Hoffer|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49805930|title=The true believer : thoughts on the nature of mass movements|publisher=[[Harper Perennial]]|year=2002|isbn=0-06-050591-5|edition=1st Perennial Modern Classics|location=New York|language=en|oclc=49805930}}</ref>

In the [[Milgram study]], a series of experiments begun in 1961, a "teacher" and a "learner" were placed in two different rooms. The "learner" was attached to an electric harness that could administer shock. The "teacher" was told by a supervisor, dressed in a white scientist's coat, to ask the learner questions and punish him when he got a question wrong. The teacher was instructed by the study supervisor to deliver an electric shock from a panel under the teacher's control. After delivery, the teacher had to up the voltage to the next notch. The voltage went up to 450 volts. The catch to this experiment was that the teacher did not know that the learner was an actor faking the pain sounds he heard and was not actually being harmed. The experiment was being done to see how obedient we are to authority.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Grzyb|first1=Tomasz|last2=Dolinski|first2=Dariusz|author2-link=Dariusz Doliński|date=2017|title=Beliefs about Obedience Levels in Studies Conducted within the Milgram Paradigm: Better than Average Effect and Comparisons of Typical Behaviors by Residents of Various Nations|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=8|pages=1632|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01632|issn=1664-1078|pmc=5611685|pmid=28979232|doi-access=free}}</ref> "When an authority tells ordinary people it is their job to deliver harm, how much suffering will each subject be willing to inflict on an entirely innocent other person if the instructions come 'from above'?."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Laurens|first1=Stéphane|last2=Ballot|first2=Mickael|date=2021-10-23|title="We must continue." The strange appearance of "we" instead of "you" in the prods of the Milgram experiment|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts5.118|journal=Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology|volume=5|issue=4|language=en|pages=556–563|doi=10.1002/jts5.118|s2cid=239881769|issn=2475-0387}}</ref> In this study, the results showed that the teachers were willing to give as much pain as was available to them. The conclusion was that people are willing to bring pain upon others when they are directed to do so by some authority figure.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Dolinski|first1=Dariusz|author1-link=Dariusz Doliński|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781000077834|title=The Social Psychology of Obedience Towards Authority: An Empirical Tribute to Stanley Milgram|last2=Grzyb|first2=Tomasz|date=2020-05-19|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-003-04947-0|edition=1|language=en|doi=10.4324/9781003049470|s2cid=219482393}}</ref>

====Scarcity====
Scarcity could play an important role in the process of persuasion.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/00913367.2013.803186 |title=The Effect of Consumer Persuasion Knowledge on Scarcity Appeal Persuasiveness |journal=Journal of Advertising |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=371–379 |year=2013 |last1=Aguirre-Rodriguez |first1=Alexandra |s2cid=144951000 }}</ref> When something has limited availability, people assign it more value. As one of the six basic principles behind the science of persuasion, then, "scarcity" can be leveraged to convince people to buy into some suggestions, heed the advice or accept the business proposals. According to Robert Cialdini, Regents' Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and Distinguished Professor of Marketing in the W. P. Carey School, whatever is rare, uncommon or dwindling in availability — this idea of scarcity — confers value on objects, or even relationships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The gentle science of persuasion, part six: Scarcity {{!}} W. P. Carey News |url=https://news.wpcarey.asu.edu/20070214-gentle-science-persuasion-part-six-scarcity |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=news.wpcarey.asu.edu}}</ref>

There are two major reasons why the [[scarcity heuristic|scarcity principle]] works:
* When things are difficult to get, they are usually more valuable, so that can make it seem to have better quality.
* When things become less available, we could lose the chance to acquire them.
When this happens, people usually assign the scarce item or service more value simply because it is harder to acquire. This principle is that everyone wants things that are out of their reach. Something easily available is not that desirable as something very rare.

=== Persuasive technology ===
{{Excerpt|Persuasive technology}}

=== List of methods ===
By appeal to reason:
* [[Logic]]
* [[Logical argument]]
* [[Rhetoric]]
* [[Scientific evidence]] (proof)
* [[Scientific method]]

By appeal to emotion:
* [[Cosmetics advertising|Cosmetic Advertising]]
* [[Presentation]] and [[Imagination]]
* [[Pity]]
* [[Propaganda]]
* [[Manipulation (psychology)]]
* [[Seduction]]
* [[Tradition]]

Aids to persuasion:
* [[Body language]]
* Communication skill or [[Rhetoric]]
* [[Personality tests]] and [[conflict style inventory]] help devise strategy based on an individual's preferred style of interaction
* [[Sales techniques]]

Other techniques:
* [[Deception]]
* [[Hypnosis]]
* [[Power (social and political)]]
* [[Subliminal advertising]]

Coercive techniques, some of which are highly controversial or not scientifically proven effective:
* [[Brainwashing]]
* [[Coercive persuasion]]
* [[Force]]
* [[Brainwashing|Mind control]]
* [[Torture]]
{{more citations needed section|date=May 2010}}