Can You Convince Me? The Art Of Persuasion

Have you ever been in an argument with someone and thought to yourself, "Why can't they just see my side?" The frustration we’re faced with when trying to persuade somebody else is widely experienced across the world. Persuading someone to see your side on something is sometimes a quite difficult thing to do, but it is a skill that can be practiced and improved upon. The way in which we view certain things can be alien to others, not to mention very difficult to change. So how can we ever possibly change people's beliefs? Well it can be difficult, but if you know what factors go into convincing people, you can cater your argument to be more persuasive.

I'm sure you've noticed when you persuade someone with an argument, that same argument may not be as persuasive to another person. This is because, turns out, everyone is different. Everyone has different life experiences and have completely unique sets of beliefs, desires, and fears. Someone who has a job as a market analyst is likely going to have different views on the economy than a teacher. This is because the daily workings of what they do are drastically different. A market analyst is going to hear tax codes and know their effect on market, stocks, etc. A middle-school teacher is going to hear about tax codes and probably only care about how much more or less will have to be paid each year.

A study conducted by Uskul and Oyserman in 2011 published by Psychology and Health entitled, When message-frame fits salient cultural-frame, messages feel more persuasive found what we're persuaded by is strongly influenced by our cultural frame. What this means is that people who live in individualistic cultures are substantially more persuaded by things that affect themselves, and collectivist cultures are more persuaded by things that affect their group. Not only this, but Uskul and Oyserman also found that when participants were reminded of their type of culture, they were much more likely to be convinced by arguments that appealed to that culture type. When we're made aware of the culture we live in, we're more easily convinced by things that uphold that culture.

Let me give you an example. In America, we live in a very individualist cultural frame. We're always told that with hard work and determination we can do anything. Also, in a capitalist economy the individualist mind is encouraged to maximize gains. Under a framework that places value on how much money you specifically have, why would you then give your money away? Even donating to charities provides a tax break because we are so discouraged from giving away the money we worked hard for, that we need an incentive to actually make that process of giving to those in need valuable for us. The tax break persuades us to be charitable.

When we're made aware of the conditions and culture we live in, we're more likely to affirm ideals that uphold that culture. So, if I just got home from a hard day of work and checked my bank account to see all of my bills were just deducted, I'm now reminded of not only all the money I just "lost" by spending it on necessities of living, but also of the structure of capitalism as a whole. I just had a hard day of work to pay for the things that I need to survive. If all of the sudden a commercial came on asking for donations to a charity for animals or poor children in foreign countries, I'm much more likely to not be persuaded to donate because I've just engaged in building up my worldview of individualism. It doesn't make logical sense for someone who was just reminded of not only the hard work they have to do to earn money, but also of how much gets taken each month to pay for things, to then give away a bunch more of their money to someone who they don't even know for a cause they're not closely connected to.

Now that's not to say that people don't give away their money or possessions to others without claiming it as a tax break. This happens all the time, and usually is grounded in some kind of morality. My point is merely that people who are on the fence about donating their hard-earned money to those in need will be more persuaded to do so if they get something more valuable out of it in return, under the framework they operate in, other than just that good feeling when giving to others (which is likely connected to the ego and could be a result of selfishness, but that's a completely different topic). The tax break is then framed as a win-win situation for people. I can feel good about doing something for someone else and get a tax break for doing it saving me money in the process? Sign me up!

The win-win idea is very persuasive to people because there's no real downside. Often times you'll find the downside actually does exist but is so negligible that it is far outweighed by the two positives a person would be receiving. Also, in an individualist mindset, people don't like to lose things. I actually wrote a post about this idea of aversion to loss a few months back, so check it out if you want to know more as this can also be a very powerful enhancer to persuasion.

Another principle of persuasion is the idea of credibility. Being credible or citing credible evidence is much more likely to influence a person than if that same information was coming from your average Joe. That's why I include respected scientific studies in all my Brain Food posts; I want you all to not just take me at my word but understand that I have some sort of warranted evidence to back up the claims I'm making. If I were to just tell you things like "divorce rates are actually lower than they were 10 years ago", "mental illness in no way predicts mass shootings", or "if you take tests drunk you can potentially do better on them" without any evidence to support them, you'd immediately discount the things I said as nonsense.

Speaking of which, a 2010 study conducted by Baek, Kim, and Yoo published in Psychology & Marketing entitled The Differential Roles of Brand Credibility and Brand Prestige in Consumer Brand Choice found that "brand credibility positively influences perceived quality and information costs saved, but negatively influences perceived risk, and all three latent constructs increase brand purchase intention". In other words, when a brand has a lot of credibility, people will be much more persuaded to buy that brand's products due to costs saved, quality gained, and minimal risk. I'm much more likely to purchase toothpaste made by Crest or Colgate thinking it will help decrease my risk of cavities than my next-door neighbor's suggestion of just swishing baking soda around in my mouth. Crest or Colgate is much more persuasive than my neighbor, who I'm pretty sure is not a dentist, because they use actual dentists to endorse their product. Dentists are an authority on teeth cleaning, so I'm more likely to be persuaded by what they say than my neighbor.

Persuasion is an art that can be enhanced and trained and is useful in just about every aspect of daily life. People can be hard to persuade because when we’re set in our beliefs, it’s difficult to change them, especially by a source outside of our worldview. We are much more persuaded by arguments that line up with our cultural frame, especially when that cultural frame is made salient. Credible sources are much more persuasive than non-credible sources, as when we have credible evidence backing up what we say, people can take us on more than just face value when we articulate a point. Arguing and debating are exceedingly valuable and necessary for us to develop our persuasion skills to the best they can possibly be.