Persuasion in ELM and Cognitive Dissonance

 

In order to persuade someone to hold the same beliefs or values as you it can help to understand the person and their existing beliefs first. In our COMM 321 class, we have discussed two theories that aid in this process: the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Cognitive Dissonance Theory.

 

The ELM helps us understand the way messages are processed by listeners and the ability of messages to influence. The central route is the path of cognitive processing where the message holds some sort of significance to the listener, whereas the peripheral route is the opposite and is considered a "mental shortcut" for irrelevant messages.

 

The Cognitive Dissonance Theory defines cognitive dissonance as the mental state cause by inconsistency between a person's two beliefs or a belief and an action. In other words, as humans we feel dissonance when a message conflicts with our existing ideas. The theory goes on to explain the ways we reduce this dissonance and how we reassure ourselves when we makes decision in moments of dissonance.

 

In class we primarily discussed both of these theories in regards to cognitive processing and the receivers to messages. Much like I highlighted above, we focused on the way listeners process messages (ELM) and the dissonance felt by listeners when messages go against existing ideals. As Communication students, however, it is also important to understand the message senders and the way they adapt these messages to ultimately have some sort of influence on listeners.

 

In looking at these two theories from the perspective of the message senders, we can see the importance they serve to persuasion. In ELM, we learn the receiver has the ability to process information via central route or peripheral route. As the message sender, it becomes important to understand how to shape messages, in order for them to be processed centrally. Message elaboration is another element of ELM that we discussed which demonstrates the sender's ability to carefully select issue-relevant arguments. In Cognitive Dissonance Theory, we learn that receivers experience somewhat of an internal chaos within them when messages go against their current beliefs. The theory also explains Minimal Justification hypothesis, which claims that the best way to stimulate an attitude change in others is to offer just enough incentive to elicit counter-attitudinal behavior. As a message sender, this becomes a key ingredient for persuasion through dissonance.

 

 

Check out this clip from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, one of my favorites. It highlights many different elements of persuasion, but note its connection to our discussion above. Mac does a great job of using message elaboration in the beginning stating that he put everyone "on the fence" and highlighting the existing values held by the group. He knows by putting them on the fence, the group will make their opinion known; and they do, by placing themselves on the side of Evolution. Additionally, by stating their existing values, Mac assists the message in being processed centrally. We also see an example of minimal justification hypothesis when Charlie begins to influence the group.

 

 

 

 

Critical Theory of Communication in Organizations

 

The Critical Theory of Communication in Organizations is a theory by Stanley Deetz of the University of Colorado. His theory's ultimate goal is to reclaim the possibility of open negotiations of power. In other words, Deetz seeks to stray away from corporations having all the power in decision making. Additionally, the theory provides suggestions for productive and democratic communication reform (Griffin 273).

 

The theory is deemed 'critical' in its name because the theory involves much critique on

the current ways of organizations and their willingness to do whatever it takes for "the good of the company". Deetz believes that corporations come from a position of believing what is good for the company is also good for everyone. Deetz is most interested in studying the communication within organizations that is of a domineering and undemocratic nature, in order for corporations to become more inclusive in decision making. If everyone was involved, including investors, workers,

 

One element of Deetz' critique deals with the idea of corporate colonization and the influence of corporations on individuals, sometimes even subconsciously. In our COMM Theory class we talked about how big corporations are the dominant force in society and individuals end up defining their lives around work, defining their success according to work, and even make decisions according to corporate values. An example discussed in class and in our textbook by Em Griffin is the use of the phrase "the bottom line". The use of the term "the bottom line" in business represents the profit-and-loss statement, the last line on a financial report. Frequent use of the phrase in business influenced the individuals within the business to use it in their own lives, outside the realm of business. Though we may not realize it, we are constantly adopting the lingo of business and putting corporate values into play (274).

 

Deetz goes on to address communication and the common idea that communication is the transformation of information. He notes that the fact of the matter is, the "information" presented by corporations if often meaning 'in formation'. It may not be accurate and as long as individuals continue to see communication as this transferring of information, the more corporations will dominate. Deetz proposes a model based more on communication rather than information, where language is the principal medium through which social reality is created and sustained. Additionally, communication within organizations tends to exclude the voices of those who are not at the top. Deetz highlights that the need for control ends up dominating those in top positions which brings up potential consequences. "The desire for control can even exceed the desire for corporate performance" (276). This exclusion of voices of the people directly affected by the decisions of a corporation is labeled managerial control. Griffin notes some common phrases associated with this dictatorial, managerial control such as:

-"Because I'm the boss."

-"Because I say so."

-"If you don't like it, quit."

-"It's my way or the highway."

Deetz makes it clear that individual managers are not the cause of this issue in corporations, but that the real cause is managerialism. He defines managerialism as a systematic, logic, set of routine practices, and ideology that values control over all other concerns. In other words, the individuals at the top are almost trained to carry forth managerialism in their organizations.

 

An example of managerial control can be seen during my internship at Disney. In a large area of the park, I had 6 managers. Five of them were always nice when they came into one of our locations, always making sure we were ok and seeing if we needed anything. While I'm sure they were all there to observe and check everything out, those 5 never made it seem scary or intimitading. The sixth manager was the complete opposite. She would come into locations and specifically look for things wrong. If she found things wrong, all hell would break loose. Snappy commands would follow and it was just the most unpleasant thing if you were the one at the receiving end. If she couldn't find anything wrong she would say that and simply leave without the slightest compliment. From my communication with co-workers from other areas of the park, I began to understand that many individuals working in park management feel a sense of control being above a group of other individuals. I always felt like that specific manager was taking advantage of her power in the hierarchy. In a big company such as Disney, it seems easier to let that control take over. The managers are only one tier higher than the regular cast members, but with so many cast members in each area of the park, it is an honor and a privlege to be promoted. To be one of the few selected as a manager could become a dominating force in managing styles.





Griffin, Em. A First Look At Communication Theory. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.

Cultivation Theory

Have you ever been fearful of someone you don't know as you pass them while you walk down the street? Have you ever had the fear that someone you know isn't who you thought they were? Both of these fears deal with issues of trust of our fellow man. George Gerbner, originator of Cultivation Theory, would attribute these fears to the violence seen in television. "He claimed that because TV contains so much violence, people who spend the most time in front of the tube develop an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world. The violence they see on the screen can cultivate a social paranoia that counters notions of trustworthy people or safe surroundings (Griffin 366)."

While many studies regarding violence in the media deal with the way it encourages and, in some sense, recommends violent behavior, Gerbner was more interested in the way it instills fear, in viewers, of others and the world around them. Two key elements of Gerbner's theory include the message system analysis and the cultivation analysis. The message system analysis is the analysis of the violent content presented in TV and the various societal factors that contribute to it such as gender roles, minority-group roles, and racial roles. The cultivation analysis is the analysis of these message systems and the impact they have on television viewers.

Gerbner's approach to cultivation, solely dealing with changes in beliefs of television viewers about the world around them, may be seen as a source of the common approach to cultivation and its ability to promote violent behavior. These changes in attitudes and beliefs about the world could be seen as contributing factors to an individual's need to commit violent acts out of fear and protection from those around him. In other words, rather than wanting to go out and commit an act of violence because it seemed "cool" or "un-harmful", a high viewer of television would want to go out and commit an act of violence out of fear or distrust of those around.

A rather large fan of the TV show Gossip Girl, I have found myself suddenly addicted to the drama within each episode. I just started watching the series at the beginning of our Fall Term, and have watched at least three episodes a night since. With that being said, I have been able to see many examples of cultivation after having discussed the subject in class.

For those that don't know, the show is about teenagers in the elite class of upper-Manhattan, who are "friends" but contribute to the sabotage of each other and their enemies. The following clip shows an episode where socialite Serena Van Der Woodsen is poisoned and drugged by a group of girls who claim to be her friend, but ultimately plot to destroy her because of her social status and privileges in society.

Serena is later hospitalized when she wakes up and doesn't know where she is or what happened to her. The doctor describes it as a self-inflicted overdose, which is believed by everyone in the show including Serena's family and best friends. Serena's mom, concerned for her well-being, puts her in a rehab facility during the next episode.

The belief that this violence cultivates in viewers is the fear of those around them, even of those that are believed to be friends. In previous episodes, Serena trusts these girls; she confides in them, unknowingly providing them with more information to take her down. Though she doesn't remember anything from that night, Serena knows she wouldn't put herself in that kind of danger, but her own family ignores her pleas.

Gerbner describes his results of cultivation analysis and the impact that violence, such as in the Gossip Girl clip or any TV show, has on viewers. Positive correlation between TV viewing and fear of criminal victimization, perceived activity of the police, and general mistrust of people are three results which Gerbner highlights. This clip from Gossip Girl demonstrates fear of victimization and mistrust of others, but it also stirs up thoughts about police investigations and physician roles in violence. This episode, above instilling fear in me of those that claim to be my friends, instilled a fear in me that, if a crime like this was committed on me, law enforcement or doctors would determine me the cause and move on, never questioning if a crime was in fact committed. How horrible to be so victimized, only to have everyone believe you did it to yourself, even going so far as to put you in rehab because of it.

 

 

 

 

Griffin, Em. A First Look At Communication Theory. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.



Cognitive Complexity as it intertwines with Constructivism

The theory of Constructivism, proposed by Jesse Delia and built on by Em Griffin, allows us to seek and understand individual differences in people's ability to communicate skillfully in social situations (Griffin 98). An important and key aspect of the theory of Constructivism is the idea of cognitive complexity. Em Griffin defines cognitive complexity as the mental ability to distinguish subtle personality and behavior differences among people (99). Cognitive complexity is crucially important to constructivism because, as we better understand the differences among people, we are better able to communicate in a variety of social situations with a variety of people. The higher our cognitive complexity, the more likely we are to be skilled in constructivism.

I just had a job interview this past Friday and, to my surprise, I found numerous instances where I was relating what I was discussing with my interviewer to different aspects of communication that I have been learning throughout my college education. My interview was with Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the largest vacation ownership business in the world. Beginning in June, I will be a part of the Wyndham Team as a Sales Professional. In speaking with my interviewer and Director of Sales, Brandon, constructivism and cognitive complexity immediately came to mind. As a Sales Professional, I will be meeting with Wyndham timeshare owners and potential owners, providing them with knowledge on all that Wyndham Vacation Ownership has to offer. Communication will be 100% of my job, as I will be meeting with multiple individuals each day persuading them to either buy a timeshare or upgrade their existing timeshare. Possessing a high level of cognitive complexity will be extremely beneficial to me in a sales environment. My ability to cognitively process various personalities and behaviors will further allow me to communicate in an interpersonal way that will be most effective for each individual guest during their appointment. Ultimately, my goal in using constructivism will be to make a sale.

Another example where I have utilized constructivism was during my internship at Disney World. We are taught during training how to recognize people with minute disabilities and how to communicate with them effectively in order for them to not feel out of the ordinary. People with disabilities are just like anyone else and deserve the same treatment, but there are ways to use cognitive complexity to skillfully communicate in a manner which makes it easier for them to understand. 

Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT)

Imagine that you walk into a grocery store on an ordinary Sunday afternoon and everyone in the store is dressed up in a costume as someone or something else. On an ordinary Sunday, this would be extremely shocking to most people; however, on Halloween it is expected. In the eighth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory, Em Griffin explains that our expectancy is what we predict to happen. Expectancy Violations Theory, or EVT, by Judee Burgoon, deals with the instances when these expectations are violated.

In EVT, there are three core concepts, which Griffin breaks down, the first being the expectancy. In order for this theory to exist, there must first be an existing expectation on the end of the individual being violated. In this first concept of the theory, Burgoon explains that these expectations are processed based on context, relationships, and characteristics of individuals (Griffin 89). The second concept is the violation valence. The violation valence is the positive or negative value that is assigned to a breach of expectations (90). In other words, the violation valence is the positive or negative feeling the individual has about the violation. The third and final concept is the communicator reward valence, which Burgoon describes as the likely gains and losses in the future from the expectancy violation. Griffin defines the communicator reward valence as the sum of positive and negative attributes brought to the encounter plus the potential to reward or punish in the future (91).

If you walk into a grocery store on an ordinary Sunday, you expect to see people in everyday clothing, ranging from casual wear to business attire. When you walk in and you see people in costumes instead, that expectation is violated. According to the concepts, you would then process this violation and perceive it as either positive or negative. If you were to view it as positive, you may dig deeper to find out why people are in costumes on this ordinary Sunday which would incline you to participate in the dress-up in the future.

An example of EVT from my own life deals with the initial stages of my relationship with my now boyfriend, Nolan. We met when I was working at the Nonprofit and Volunteer Fair on-campus for my job at Career Services. He was attending the fair and, after we chatted about a Nonprofit organization he was there looking for, he asked me for my number. We began texting that night and he expressed interest in hanging out with me in the near future. Although I am a very outgoing person, I've always been a little shy and nervous when it comes to guys and relationships, especially when I communicate more online or through text in the beginning. Multiple times in high school and college, this would happen and the guy would then ask me to hang out in person and I would get extremely nervous and chicken out! Nolan and I were texting a few days later and he told me he wanted to hang out. I immediately went into my nervous mode and didn't respond because I wasn't sure how to. I really liked him, which made me even more nervous. When I didn't respond, he sent another text stating that he was coming over. I wasn't expecting him to actually come over without my confirmation, but he completely violated that expectation when I heard his knock on the door. His violation definitely caught me off guard, but I was glad he did it. By him just showing up, I knew it was building our relationship and helping us get to know one another. As the violator, he has explained to me that his action could have been taken negatively by me, which demonstrates my violation valence. Luckily, I viewed the violation positively, and now I am in an incredible relationship with my best friend.

Another example of my expectations being violated is when I read an obituary that Sarah Silverman wrote for her dog Duck. Sarah Silverman, being my all time favorite comedian, makes a lot of serious topics and conversations light with her humor. When I saw her tweet with the obituary she wrote, I expected her to make light of an incredibly sad loss. My expectations were violated when I read the obituary and a tear came to my eye. The violation was positive for me because I was able to relate it to my relationship with my own dog.

Check out this video below of Sarah Silverman being her funny, comedic self and compare it to the more serious Sarah Silverman we see in her obituary for Duck below the video.

Duck's Obituary

Introduction!

As you may have presumed, I have decided on a Calvin and Hobbes theme for my blog. Calvin and Hobbes, for those that don't know, is a comic strip by Bill Watterson which began in 1985. Growing up, I became enamored with the adventurous, imaginary world of Calvin and Hobbes.

Let me introduce myself/give a little background on me and my Communication studies. I am a current 4th year student at Oregon State, having arrived 4 years ago as a Freshman majoring in Computer Science. I switched my major multiple times, finally settling in Speech Communication. But I'm sure you're wondering, "why Speech Comm.?" My favorite part of all of the jobs I have held has been customer service and interactions with guests and customers in my work environments. I held a passion for communicating with customers to sell or recommend products, resolve issues, and generally ensure all around satisfaction. In taking Interpersonal Comm. as a Freshman with Dr. Gallagher, I began to take notice of, not only these work instances where I was utilizing communication, but also instances with my family, friends, and, essentially, everyone I was coming into contact with on a daily basis. I came to the conclusion that, since I enjoyed utilizing Communication so much already, I would love to study it in fine detail and be able to explain the way it is shaping my life on a day to day basis.

I recently did an internship at Disney World in Orlando, FL, which sparked my interest in Tourism and Hospitality Management. As I mentioned above, I love working to ensure customer or guest satisfaction, and my favorite part of my internship, of course, turned out to be working with the guests and ensuring their satisfaction and happiness with their visit to the "Happiest Place on Earth." I would love to do this as a permanent job at a large hotel, theme park, or tourist location. Many tourist locations have a Guest Services Coordinator, or similar position which interacts with guests regarding inquiries, suggestions, or issues, and always ensures the satisfaction of guests, as well as employees. I could also see myself as a Community Relations Coordinator, or something similar, where I would be in charge of an organizations outreach with the community, which would include many Marketing and PR aspects. I have interest in this area from my current job at OSU Career Services, where I am a Career Assistant focusing primarily on outreach to the Oregon State campus community regarding Career Services and related events. 

Communication will be a large part of whichever job I settle into after graduation, and even other jobs I may have in the future, as well as in my life outside of the workplace. Outside of school and my job at Career Services, I love to go on hikes with my puppy Teddy, and I'm also a huge soccer fan, so I like to go to Timber's games and play FIFA (a soccer video game for those of you that don't know)! I have a few really great friends that I love hanging out with and, while we do have our fun nights where to do adventurous things, we can also just sit around and talk to each other about our lives and be perfectly content and entertained. I think this sort of demonstrates my very laid back, easy going personality.

Though the world of Calvin and Hobbes is imaginary, Bill Watterson writes of Calvin's various experiences, which readers see as relatable. As a child reading Calvin and Hobbes, I simply related to the humor found in the comics. Now, as a young adult reading Calvin and Hobbes, I notice that much more is relatable, and that Calvin and Hobbes actually generates a deeper thinking about life. 

Check out these blog articles on the top lessons learned from Calvin and Hobbes:

http://www.break.com/article/the-10-best-life-lessons-calvin-and-hobbes-taught-us-2414854

http://www.policymic.com/articles/42731/10-life-lessons-from-calvin-hobbes

I'm excited to explore different Communication Theories and discover Calvin and Hobbes comics that may provide support for these theories. I'm also excited to start blogging more, because I always seem to start blogs and never keep up on them!

Here's a cool trailer I found that was just posted on August 2nd for a film called "Dear Mr. Watterson" which recognizes Bill Watterson and his work on Calvin and Hobbes.

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Some pictures from my internship in Florida!

Drenched from yet another Florida storm! Downpour, thunder, AND lightning EVERY DAY in June...