Cette thèse comprend trois expériences et deux prétests (N = 1135) dans lesquelles sont étudiés trois aspects fondamentaux du design statique des messages sur internet : son format (infographie, audio ou texte), sa couleur et sa typographie, sur la thématique du recyclage des déchets électroniques (études 1 et 2) puis à propos de la migration humaine (étude 3).L’étude des aspects graphiques est pertinente si l’on veut augmenter la force persuasive d’un message. Le format joue un rôle prépondérant (étude 1a), permettant à la fois de changer les attitudes, mais aussi d’ancrer ce changement dans le temps. Les couleurs, par contre, ne semblent pas faire varier la force persuasive du message ou amener les lecteurs à agir en faveur du recyclage (étude 1b). La typographie ne semble pas non plus jouer de rôle dans la dynamique persuasive, qu’elle soit jugée lisible ou peu lisible (étude 2). Des pistes théoriques concernant la personnalité des typographies et leur cohérence avec le contexte sont développées.L’analyse des composantes de l’ELM a révélé, dans chaque étude, le fort lien entre l’attitude des individus et leur sentiment de responsabilité personnelle envers la thématique abordée ainsi que leurs connaissances a priori. Nous avons également vu que les leviers de persuasion ne sont pas systématiquement les mêmes selon le besoin de cognition.Globalement, nous suggérons que les messages persuasifs doivent adopter un format permettant une analyse centrale à faible coût cognitif, utilisant une couleur principale et une typographie toutes deux lisibles et cohérentes avec la thématique développée, avec un argumentaire qui renforce le sentiment de responsabilité des lecteurs. / This thesis includes three experiments and two pre-tests (N = 1135) in which three fundamental aspects of static message design on the Internet are studied: its format (infographics, audio or text), its colour and typography, on the theme of electronic waste recycling (studies 1 and 2) and then on human migration (study 3).The study of graphic aspects is relevant if we want to increase the persuasive power of a message. The format plays a major role (study 1a), making it possible to change attitudes and to anchor this change over time. Colours, on the other hand, do not seem to vary the persuasive force of the message or to lead readers to act in favour of recycling (study 1b). Nor does typography seem to play a role in the persuasive dynamic, whether it is considered legible or difficult to read (study 2). Theoretical approaches regarding the personality of typographies and their coherence with the context are developed.The analysis of the components of the ELM revealed, in each study, the strong link between the attitude of individuals and their sense of personal responsibility towards the theme addressed as well as their a priori knowledge. We have also seen that the levers of persuasion are not systematically the same according to the need for cognition.We suggest that persuasive messages should adopt a format that allows for central analysis at low cognitive cost, using a main colour and typography that are both readable and consistent with the theme developed, with arguments that reinforce readers' sense of responsibility.

Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies / Charles J. G. Griffin / The term and concept of identification is a familiar one. The modern communication scholar’s knowledge of the term identification is drawn more directly from the works of Kenneth Burke. In 1950 Kenneth Burke released his book “A Rhetoric of Motives” and from this Burke outlined his concept of identification. To Burke, identification is a rhetorical process that leads to persuasion, and the identification process encompasses all the traditional forms of rhetoric as a category of tools to establish identification within rhetorical discourse (Burke, 1950; Day, 1960). The concept of identification has been applied generously as the field of rhetoric has progressed. However, a minimal amount of research connecting identification and the rhetoric of social movements has been conducted. This is a problem, because social movements rely heavily on persuasion and influence to garner audience support, so a deeper investigation into identification and social movement rhetoric is warranted. In recent years the marriage equality movement has seen a rapid amount of success in establish same-sex marriage in a variety of states. What has changed that has allowed these movements to reach so much success so quickly? I believe the answer to this question lies in the rhetoric of these movements and their use of identification. This thesis asks an overarching question; “Does identification help to explain the success of a social movement?” Applying Burke’s concept of identification to two marriage equality movements, Minnesotans United for All Families and Fair Wisconsin, this thesis seeks to determine the role identification plays in a social movements success or failure. What this thesis finds is that identification is a vital component in determining a social movements overall success. Identification is a two-step process, where first identification strategies need to be present within a social movement’s rhetoric. For identification strategies to be effective not only must the strategies be present but also the audience must link these strategies with their subconscious and thereby include the movement as a part of his or her identity. In conducting this thesis critical implications are drawn in relation to identification theory, organizational recruitment and maintenance, as well as community building and engagement.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study focuses on a critical examination of the communication-theoretic properties of persuasive messages in the Volunteer campaign in South Africa. Five articles have been analysed according to two premises which form the theory of Larson (1975), entailing content premises and process premises. The content premise is used in the analysis of two articles of this study, namely: the first and the fifth article, and it concentrates solely on the theme on both articles. The theme concentrates on persuasive messages in the letsema/ilima volunteer campaign in South Africa. In the analysis of the content premises emphasis is put on the cause to effect reasoning. The other articles focus on the process premises only. The process premises focus on the three different types of processes, namely: the need, the attitude and consistency. As regard the need, the study puts emphasis on the esteem need. As regard attitude, emphasis is put on the evaluative responses. As regard the consistency, emphasis is put on the two types of consistency, namely: consonance and dissonance. In terms of consonance, emphasis is on the analysis of reassurance of security. In terms of dissonance, emphasis is on the analysis of sense of guilt. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie fokus op 'n kritiese ondersoek van die kommunikasie-teoretiese eienskappe van oorredende boodskappe in die Vrywilligerveldog in Suid-Afrika. Vyf artikels word ontleed in die studie binne die raamwerk van twee premises van Larson (1975), nl. die inhoudpremis en die prosespremis. Die inhoudpremises word aangewend in die analise van twee artikels, nl. die eerste en die vyfde artikel, en daar word uitsluitlik gefokus op die tema van hierdie artikels. Die tema in hierdie artikels hou direk verband met oorredende boodskappe in die letsema/ilima vrywilligerveldtog. In die analise van die inhoudpremises word veral klem geplaas op die oorsaak-effek redenasie. Die analise van die ander drie artikels fokus op die prosespremise. Die prosespremise fokus op drie verskillende prosesse, naamlik die behoeftepremis, die houdingpremis, en die konsekwentheidpremis. Aangaande die behoeftepremis, word klem geplaas in die ondersoek op die waarde-behoefte. Ten opsigte van die houdingspremis, is die klem op die evaluatiewe response. Rakende die konsekwentheidspremis, beklemtoon die analise twee soorte konsekwentheid, naamlik konsonansie en dissonansie. Die ondersoek van konsonansie fokus op die versekering van sekureiteit, terwyl die analise van dissonansie, klem plaas op die analise van skuld. / ISIXHOSA ISISHWANKATHELO: Esi sifundo sijolise kwimiyalezo elukuhlayo ejolise kwilima eMzantsi Afrika. Ekwenzeni oku, kuhlalutywe amaphetshana amahlanu ngokwezindululo zesiseko ezibini ezize noLarson (1975) ezizezi: Isiqulatho sesindululo sesiseko nenkqubo yesindululo sesiseko. Isiqulatho sesindululo sesiseko sisetyenziswe kumaphetshana amabini angala: elokuqala nelesihlanu, kwaye siqwalasela umxholo kuwo omabini la maphetshana. Lo mxholo uqwalaselweyo ngulowo ujongene nemiyalezo yolukuhlo kwiphulo lokwenza ilima eMzantsi Afrika. Kwisiqulatho sesindululo sesiseko kugxininiswe kwingqiqo kanobangela ukuya kwisiphumo. Kwamanye amaphetshana kuqwalaselwe inkqubo yesindululo sesiseko kuphela. Inkqubo yesindululo sesiseko inike ingqwalasela kwiindidi ezintathu zeenkqubo ezizezi: Imfuno, isimilo nokungaguquguquki. Kwimfuno ingqwalasela ibekwe ibekwe kwimfuno yokuzingca. Kwisimilo ingqwalasela ibekwe kwiimpendulo zokuhlola. Kukungaguquguquki ingwalasela ibekwe kuzo zombini iindidi zokungaguquguquki ezizezi: Isivumelwano nokungavumelani. Kwisivumelwano kubekwe ingqwalasela ikakhulu kwisiqinisekiso sokhuseleko. Ekungavumelanini kugxininiswe kuhlobo Iwako olubizwa ngokuba luluvo lokuba netyala.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects and persuasive mechanisms of expository and narrative HPV vaccine messages targeted toward young men. The researcher used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HPV facts for men as a framework for the expository message condition. He also created two similar but distinct narratives that focused on HPV and men. The first narrative was informed by narrative persuasion studies in the social sciences and was labeled the academic narrative. The second narrative incorporated important elements of storytelling from literary theory and was labeled the classic narrative. A comparison condition, which presented a testimonial from a testicular cancer survivor, was also employed to compare against the effectiveness of the three experimental conditions. In the experiment, 258 men ages 18-26 were assigned randomly to the expository, academic narrative, classic narrative, or comparison conditions. Outcome measures related to the persuasive effects of the messages were attitudes toward talking to healthcare providers about the HPV vaccine and receptiveness to the HPV vaccine. Outcome measures related to the persuasive mechanisms of expository messages were argument strength, source credibility, and emotional arousal. Outcome measures related to the persuasive mechanisms of narrative messages were perceived realism, transportation, identification, and emotional arousal. Hypotheses predicted that argument strength and source credibility would predict changes in knowledge, attitudes, and vaccine receptiveness in the expository condition, whereas perceived realism, transportation, and identification would predict similar changes in the narrative conditions. An additional hypothesis predicted that emotional arousal would affect the persuasion process differently in the expository and narrative conditions. Results indicated that transportation, identification, and emotional arousal were stronger in the narrative conditions, but these variables did not predict persuasive outcomes. Conversely, perceived realism and source credibility had unexpected persuasive effects in both expository and narrative conditions. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

A field experiment was conducted in a pediatric clinic to learn what impact use of a sequential persuasion strategy would have on the maternal role in attending well child exams. It was found that mothers who received an initial smaller request to sign a card pledging to bring a child for well child exams reported that they would attend significantly more often than mothers who did not receive the initial smaller request. Use of a FITD technique did not erode pediatrician credibility, maternal interpersonal attraction, or maternal satisfaction with the health care experience. The pledge card was significantly associated with higher ratings of health organization credibility. Several maternal characteristics were also examined for associations with maternal attitudes in this context and significant relationships were found regarding income, age, occupation, ethnicity, and education.

This paper is investigating how metaphors are used in political speeches to achieve persuasion. By analyzing three speeches dealing with the Iraqi war 2003 and delivered by Bush, Blair and Howard, I try to find out the similarities and differences in how metaphors are constructed, how they are used as a persuasive technique, and lastly if the different military contribution of the three countries affected how metaphors are constructed. The main theory used in this study is Critical Metaphor Analysis suggested by Charteris-Black (2011). The analysis suggests that the speeches contain different kinds of metaphors like personification, the POLITICS IS BUSINESS metaphor and JOURNEY metaphors. Metaphors are generally found to be used in a similar way in order to show that the politicians are ‘right’. Still, there are some differences that could be attributed to the different military contribution of the countries and their different role in the war.

Dans le cadre du présent travail, nous examinons les présentations de sensibilisation effectuées à l’ASTROLab, par l’entremise d’une enquête terrain. Nous étudions ces présentations sous divers angles qui s’entrecroisent : les stratégies de communication existantes (tant de vulgarisation que de persuasion ou de communication environnementale), les processus de l’impact persuasif et de la modification comportementale et les caractéristiques du comportement modifiable. Les questions auxquelles nous tentons de répondre avec cette étude concernent les stratégies de vulgarisation scientifique utilisées à l’ASTROLab contribuant efficacement à la modification comportementale ainsi que la corrélation entre la promotion de l’information et l’action. L’observation des groupes ainsi que deux sondages, en deux temps, ont permis de ressortir des résultats qualitatifs et quantitatifs. Nous avons constaté que la principale stratégie de vulgarisation scientifique efficace pour la modification comportementale est celle qui repose sur les caractéristiques du comportement modifiable. L’exemplification semble aussi avoir porté fruit, mais de façon moins évidente. Le visuel et la clarté des termes ainsi que la crédibilité et l’humour ont participé à la compréhension et à la persuasion, tout comme la stratégie de l’appel à l’émotion, qui a aussi contribué à l’attention. Bien sûr, la persuasion, et par ricochet la rétention de l’information, est en grande partie responsable de la modification comportementale. La rétention a été consolidée grâce au visuel, à l’exemplarité et au récit, ainsi qu’un peu grâce à l’appel à l’émotion et à la comparaison. L’humour y a également joué un rôle, en aidant à conserver l’attention. Nos résultats démontrent que seulement 32 % des participantes et participants en sont à l’étape de l’action et qu’environ 90 % des gens étudiés affirment avoir transmis l’information acquise. Ce constat porte à croire que l’étape de la promotion de l’information n’est pas nécessairement précédée d’actions tangibles, mais minimalement d’intention d’action. À partir de l’étude menée, nous formulons cinq recommandations à l’intention des vulgarisateurs afin de pallier les facteurs limitants. Un des principaux facteurs limitants à l’action a été l’impuissance des participantes et participants. Nous constatons aussi que, dans le processus de l’impact persuasif, l’étape de la rétention est celle qui a le plus posé problème. Nos recherches théoriques n’étaient pas précisément tournées vers les stratégies de rétention de l’information, à part pour les méthodes comme le visuel, l’expérience ou l’humour. Il serait pertinent de refaire une étude qui permettrait d’approfondir les assises théoriques reliées à la mémorisation d’information, afin de diriger autrement la méthodologie ou l’analyse des résultats, et d’en arriver à des recommandations utiles à ce sujet.

With a growing multilingual global population, it is becoming increasingly important to know how people of varying cultures respond to persuasive appeals. Cross-cultural studies on persuasion have found differences in American and Chinese advertisements that reflect individualistic and collectivist cultural values. However, these studies have ignored the possible effect of language, despite research showing that language can activate specific cultural ideas and behaviors in bilingual individuals. Additionally, differences have been found in thinking and emotionality in the native (L1) versus the non-native language (L2), that seem to parallel the central and peripheral routes of elaboration in persuasion. Therefore, the proposed study will explore relationship between culture, language and attitude change. In stage 1, participants will report their initial attitudes towards the topics of air travel and nuclear power and their L1 preference. In stage 2, participants will read 2 stories that contain a cultural prime (magpie/red light from a lantern) with contrasting cultural association in American and Chinese culture and fictional scenarios about air travel and nuclear power. Participants will report their attitudes after reading the stories and attitude change will be examined. Two possible outcomes for main effects and interactions between Linguistic/Cultural association and L1 preference on the dependent variable of attitude change will be explored with the intent of discovering which processes are dominant in the bilingual brain.

It was the problem of this study to determine the status of recent experimental, empirical, and rhetorical studies in the teaching of persuasion. An instrument was devised which included studies related to ten major categories traditionally covered in the persuasion course.

A investigação O Discurso de Celestina tem a finalidade de estabelecer dialogicamente as relações entre representações sociais, ideologia e elementos linguísticos que unem a protagonista Celestina à enunciação. Essas relações se concretizam no seio das esferas literária e histórico-social. Com esse propósito foi feito um recorte na perspectiva discursiva, espaço em que se efetiva uma série de relações de poder por intermédio das ações de Celestina. O discurso deste personagem, persuasivo por excelência, emerge da crise dos valores renascentistas, na obra La Celestina, editada pela primeira vez em 1499 e escrita por Fernando de Rojas, judeu converso, em Salamanca, Espanha. O discurso desta protagonista parece revelar a voz do autor que ora desvenda, ora encobre suas intenções, seus interesses e contextos. Seu conteúdo é redefinido e ou esvaziado, o que valoriza seu caráter paradoxal e irônico, como reflexo da cultura humanística de Rojas. Recorremos à Análise do Discurso para abordar os elementos da Nova Retórica que dessem conta do éthos discursivo de Celestina e, no seio dessa análise, nos deparamos com elementos dos mais diversos campos de estudo; destacamos, dentre eles, a parte da que analisa a reformulação textual da segunda carta de Sêneca a Lucílio sobre a diversidade da leitura e a parte que identifica os elementos do esperpento de Valle Inclán. Para concluir, reconhecemos que a persuasão é a principal característica do discurso de Celestina para alcançar seus objetivos pessoais e que ela é um personagem que se constrói e se destrói em seu discurso e por intermédio dele. / The research The Celestina speech aims to establish a dialogue relations between social representation, ideology and linguistic elements that unite the enunciation to the protagonist Celestina. These relationships are materialized within the ball literary, social historical. For this purpose a cut was made in view discursive space in which an effective series of power relations though the Celestinas actions. The speech of this character, persuasive par excellence, emerging from the transition period to the Renaissance. The book La Celestina was written around 1498 in Salamanca, Spain, by Fernando de Rojas, a Jewish convert. This speech is the real protagonist, as it reveals the authors voice, that sometimes unravels and conceals his intentions, interest and backgrounds. Its contest is reset or empty and that values its ironic and paradoxical character, reflecting that episodic memory. We appeal to the discourse analysis to address the elements of the New Rhetoric devised to address the discursive ethos of Celestina and within this analysis, we encounter elements of many fields of study, we have emphasized, among them the part of the research that identifies elements of Valle Inclán Esperpento and textual study of the reformulation of the second Senecas letter to Lucilius about the diversity of reading. To conclude, we recognize that persuasion is the hallmark of Celestinas speech to achieve her personal goals and she is a character who builds and destroys in her speech and through it.