CONTACT: Eric Knowles, professor of psychology, Fulbright College Office: (479)575-4256, eknowles at uark.edu
Allison Hogge, science and research communications officer (479)575-5555, alhogge at uark.edu
HOW CAN YOU RESIST? UA PSYCHOLOGIST MAKES PERSUASIVE PRESENTATION
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Resistance is futile, says a University of Arkansas psychologist. Or it soon will be, if his research on persuasive tactics has anything to do with it.
With a $163,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Eric Knowles, professor of psychology, has been experimenting with ways to make persuasive offers, messages and appeals more successful -- not by enhancing their attractiveness but by whittling away people's natural resistance to them.
He calls his tactics "omega strategies" -- a play on the Greek symbol for resistance -- and he presents his findings this Friday at the Symposium on Resistance and Persuasion.
In studying social influence, Knowles examines a phenomenon called the approach-avoidance conflict -- the opposing positive and negative reactions people feel when presented with a persuasive argument or offer.
"In any appeal, some aspects are attractive and push for acceptance, but other aspects are displeasing and create resistance. The decision to accept the offer or to reject it depends on which aspects are dominant," Knowles explained. "If the attractive features outweigh the unattractive features, the person will accept the offer but with some trepidation. If the negative aspects prevail, the offer will be rejected but with some regret."
Until now, much of social influence scholarship has focused on the approach side of this phenomenon, aiming to win people over by heightening the attractive features of an offer -- attaching celebrity endorsements, compelling arguments or additional bargains.
But Knowles believes that addressing the avoidance side of the conflict can yield more successful and satisfying results -- both for the salesperson and the consumer. Rather than overcoming a person's resistance to an offer by adding enticements, Knowles looks for tactics that reduce or remove resistance altogether. By minimizing a person's resistance, you decrease the chance that they'll experience future regrets about their decision, Knowles said.
Over the past six years, Knowles has identified numerous strategies for reducing resistance -- from distracting resistance to acknowledging it directly, from using up resistance to turning it against itself. With the help of doctoral candidate Jay Linn and various other psychology students, Knowles has been devising experiments to test the efficacy of each tactic. At the Symposium on Resistance and Persuasion, Knowles will explain the various omega strategies and present results from several experiments: ....more at....... http://www.uark.edu/~omega/main.html
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