The Art and Science of Persuasion
To prepare for this assignment, please read the Harnessing the Science of Persuasion article.
Persuasion is oftentimes considered an art, but it is based on the psychological science of social influence. With knowledge of the key principles that undergird this process, you may become a savvier consumer. You may also find ways to implement these strategies effectively in your personal and professional life.
Before beginning your paper, select one of the six fundamental principles identified in Cialdini (2014).
- Assemble at least three advertisements, commercials, or personal experiences/observations that illustrate this principle. Do not use examples from the course resources.
- Submit your examples (paste ads into the document, include URL links, and/or provide a synopsis), along with a one paragraph description of each clearly indicating how the advertisement, commercial, or personal experience/observation illustrates the selected principle.
Then, in your paper,
- Examine in depth how social psychological principles of persuasion are relevant, citing scholarly research (which may include course resources) on the specific principle you are addressing in your analysis.
- Identify characteristics of the communicator, the message, and the target audience, considering key situational and contextual factors.
- Produce a plan to intentionally enhance persuasiveness.
- What are various alternative principles and/or techniques one might employ effectively?
- Discuss ethical issues relevant to the collected examples, as well as your own persuasive plan.
- Apply this insight to your own personal or professional life. Specifically, how might you utilize this insight moving forward?
The Art and Science of Persuasion paper
- Must be three to five double-spaced pages at minimum (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- A header
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Microsoft Word (Links to an external site.).
- Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
- Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
- For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Writing Center resources.
- Must use at least three peer-reviewed sources in addition to course readings. Additional scholarly sources are encouraged. Be sure to integrate your research smoothly rather than simply inserting it.
- The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view the University of Arizona Global Campus Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
- Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide.
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
