Hidden
Persuasion
Media & Communication - Lecture week 4
Johannes de Boer
Johannes de Boer
jbo18 | j.deboer@saxion.nl
Internationalisation
Education
Research
Education
- Media & Communication (Y1Q1)
- Project Customer Rules (Y1Q2)
- Fusion of Art & Technology (Y2Q4)
- Internship (Y3)
- Individual Focus (Y4)
- Focus on Innovation (Y4)
Research
Ambient Intelligence Research Group
Behavioural Safety & ICT @ Construction sites
Internationalisation
Coordinator International Affairs
Study Abroad CMGT (ANT+Gaming)
This week
- Self-persuasion
- Promised land
- Attractiveness
- Decoy
Next week
- Mere exposure
- Anthropomorphism
- Loss or gain
- God terms
Topics
What to learn?
- Information from the slides
- Discussed topics from the book "Hidden Persuasion"
- See Blackboard for PDF.
- Dutch translation of key topics available on Blackboard
The
Three
Needs
System Needs
From Single Cell
to Advanced brain
Hardwired mental shortcuts
fight-or-flight
Target automatic processes before available in brain
basic & uncontrollable
Social Needs
Social animals: need love and be respected
Social inclusion very old
Look to others for guidance
Tap into need for social inclusion and conformity
Self Needs
"Feels" most important
Avoid pain, strive for pleasure
Make "best" decision for future self:
* content with
* out of pain



Self-
Persuasion
No one is better than you at persuading yourself to change!
- Holy grail of Persuasion
- No confrontation or resistance
- Generated arguments turn into beliefs
- Relation "sick" & "enjoying life"
- Stimulates choice between two implicit options

Definition
Theories that use
Self-Persuasion
- Social Judgement Theory
- Elaboration Likelihood Model
- Cognitive Dissonance
- The Narrative Paradigm
Vulcano Insurance
What about you?
Why smoking is bad arguments
- Self-argumentation
- External arguments
Promised
land
Buy this product and follow me to the Promised Land!

Basic needs?
Product-irrelevant needs are promised! (social, emotional, sexual)
Seduce to reach desirable goal!

Definition

PL directly aimed at creating strongest reward response in the brain of the perceiver.
Even though claims made are exaggerated or obvious lies
Note: Even unachievable desires are strong motivators!
Why it works
- People want the exaggerated claims to be true
- Presenting these brand with attractive, but unrealistic situations associated them with our dreams and desires
How it works
Just do it
Ever encountered a false prophet?
Attractiveness
"It's amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness." (Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata)
Attractiveness = Averageness

Attractiveness
- Western society learn that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", but use it abundantly in marketing.
- Bodily attractiveness is important, face is first visual object in interactions.
- People believe they are not seduced by beauty in ads.
- In general: your "morning face" is whats counts!
3 physical components
Averageness
How prototypical of representative a face is
Symmetry
The degree to which a face is symmetrical on the vertacial axis
Sexual dimorphism
The hormonal expression of sex-specific features

40 faces around the world
Science of Attraction
What about you?

Android

iOS
Decoy
When consumers are choosing between two similar products, introducing a decoy can push people towards the desired direction
The effect explained
The effect explained
Why useful?
It is more difficult to choose between two equally preferred options.
(adding decoy reduces stress reactions by lowering the feeling of conflicting information)
When it works
No matter how well-informed you are about this technique, it is almost undetectable
Anything ca be advertised as a decoy (even a politician)
How to implement
Always use the decoy as the least-favoured option
Works best in high-quality vs low-quality products.
Interesting read:
The Decoy Effect, or How to Win an Election
by Shankar Vedantam
Take a look at
the canteen or supermarket!
Next Week
Hidden Persuasion - Part 2
MedCom-PT1
By Johannes de Boer
MedCom-PT1
- 479