Tag: persuasion

Ads Persuade Us More Than You Think

Pop star and actress, Selena Gomez, signed a contract with Coach to design her own line and become the face of the brand. She has a very large fan base and is the most followed account on Instagram with 129 million followers. Coach has seen a spike in sales and social media interaction. Whenever Selena posts a photo of her with a Coach bag, the brand’s social media pages have shown a dramatic increase in activity. An analysis by assessment management firm Piper Jaffray, reported that since partnering with Selena, Coach has seen an increase of roughly fifty percent in followers. Her promotion of the products has helped increase sales; on the same day Coach and Selena launched their fall collaboration collection, the brand’s stock rose by 2%. It is a marketing tactic to have celebrities promote products in order to influence the consumer’s mind about it. The goal is to convince consumers that the merchandise is worth buying. This is persuasion, the process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

Celebrity endorsements and promoting products on their social media page is a peripheral route to persuasion. This occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues like a speaker’s attractiveness. The audience/consumer was able to focus on the very famous pop star/actress who has a huge following on social media which triggered automatic acceptance without much thinking involved. Associating a product with celebrities and their fame and attractiveness allows these visual images to become peripheral cues. Peripheral route processing builds implicit attitudes, through repeated associations between an attitude object and emotion. This means that people unconsciously formed attitudes through the repeated connection between their

feelings and judgement of Selena Gomez in the ad. This is different from central route to persuasion where the audience focuses on the content of the message. If the ad or photo had facts about the kind of material used for the Coach bag and said the quality was the best, then the audience can be convinced by the arguments presented and not by peripheral cues.

Credibility of the speaker in an advertisement is important in the persuasion of the consumer. Selena Gomez has the perceived trustworthiness and expertise necessary to make her promotion of the merchandise believable. A lot of times celebrities get caught up in scandals like inappropriate behavior and drug abuse. Selena Gomez has never been involved with any kind of scandals and is seen as a person with a good reputation. She’s worked with many charities and foundations and rose to fame due to her starring role in a popular kid’s television show. Gomez is very involved in the fashion world so she has lots of experience with clothing brands. It makes sense why there are so many athlete endorsement deals. There’s more credibility if an Olympic gold medalist were to be in a sneaker advertisement than if it were just any ordinary person. A credible person makes consumers believe that they can trust the speaker because they are experts in what they are promoting. So, next time you see an ad, ask yourself did you really like that product or did you like who was promoting it?

References

Velasco, P. (2017, October 09). Did Selena Gomez Boost Coach’s Insta-Popularity? Retrieved November 06, 2017, from http://people.com/chica/selena-gomez-boosts-coach-instagram-success/

 

– Hilary Concepcion

The Effects of Cults on your Mental Health

 

The word ‘cult’ was never benign in the history of religious movements. In terms of the text, a cult is defined as a group typically characterized by distinctive ritual and beliefs related to its devotion to a god or person, isolation from the surrounding “evil” culture, and a charismatic leader (Myers, 2015, p. 193). When a person hears that word, most likely they would refer to Charles Manson. Manson is a former cult leader and American criminal who led the cult called Manson Family, which committed a series of murders in the late 1960s. Manson is the quintessential example of how persuasion occurs in cults.  Manson is the communicator of the cult which is one of the persuasive elements of cult persuasion. He could be described as a charismatic leader, who attracts and directs members in the cult. People began to trust in him and his credibility as a leader and decided to join the Manson Family.

In the article from Huffington Post titled “Trump’s America through the Eyes of a Cult Survivor”, Teddy Hose introduces his own thoughts about the current president based on his life in a cult called the Unification Church (now known as the Family Federation for World Peace). The Unification Church is now separated into smaller groups led by Moon’s family members. Just like Manson, Rev. Moon had the same charismatic trait that cult leaders are known for. Hose explains that people seeking security, respect, friendship and/or identity were suddenly welcomed into his community. In relation to President Trump, his supporters tend to focus more on how he makes them feel rather than his leadership. The mission of the church was ultimately to recruit members because the less privileged are more vulnerable to promise a better life. This is how Hose saw Trump winning the votes for the election. Trump’s role as the communicator of his messages during the presidential debates were targeted towards the lower class.

In the article “Self-chosen involvement in new religious movements: well-being and mental health from a longitudinal perspective”, two psychology researchers, S. Namini and S. Murken, explore what happens to cult members’ mental health prior to joining cults. A study was formed in which members were asked questions about their personal life and possible reasonings of why they joined a cult. Critics have concluded that NRM’s (new religious movements) specifically address and attract vulnerable individuals such as young and mentally impaired people (Namini and Murken, 2009, p. 563). They point out, for example, that one empirical study indicated that members display increased levels of psychopathology prior to joining the new religious movement. However, this does not support the notion that psychopathology is a precondition to joining. They have come across some evidence that shows that it is not the interest of groups to accept very emotionally unstable individuals as members (Namini and Murken, 2009, p. 563). Based on their studies, it is shown that membership in religious movements such as cults often happens because of a crisis that is occurring in the person’s life. From the participants, there were constant reports of emotional problems and frustrations, dissatisfaction with life and other psychological problems that affected their health.

Those who decide to leave a cult are most likely prime examples of those who experience problems with their psychological health. While inside the cult, there are a number of life changes that can happen: dropping out of college, having to remain celibate or giving up any personal pursuits, etc. In their study of members, the authors found cognitive, affective and relational “vulnerabilities” – that is, high insecurity in childhood attachment to parents, high (current) need for closure and depressive tendencies prior to joining the group (Namini and Murken, 2009, p. 564).

To conclude, the study done by the two researchers and the history of the Manson Family exemplifies the concept of cult persuasion and the effects of cults on member’s mental health. Being a part of a cult can be harmful which can have long term effects.

References:

Hose, Teddy. (2017 March 23). Trump’s America through the Eyes of a Cult Survivor. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trumps-america-through-the-eyes-of-a-cult-survivor_us_58d1a510e4b062043ad4adc5

Myers, D. G. (2012). Exploring Social Psychology (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Namini, S., & Murken, S. (2009). Self-chosen involvement in new religious movements (NRMs): well-being and mental health from a longitudinal perspective. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 12(6).

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