Metaphors have long been a subject of interest to philosophers, scholars and researchers. Recent insights into the nature and function of metaphor have spurred new interest in the persuasive effects of metaphor. To date, research on the relation between metaphors and attitudes has produced mixed findings. This paper argues that there are several limitations in previous models and designs and this work attempted to resolve several of them. The rationale for the study is based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion, which argues that cognitive elaboration is a strong predictor of attitudes. Researchers have posited that metaphors should evoke more cognitive elaboration than literal counterparts. This paper reports the results of a study that tested the relationship between metaphors, cognitive elaboration, and attitudes. Participants were exposed to one of 72 message conditions and responded to a set of psychological and attitude scales. Many of the hypotheses were not supported, including tests of the amount of cognitive effort that subjects reported and results related to attitude change by metaphor type. Results indicated that attitudes were stable across time, which is consistent with the ELM.

The epideictic discourse of political autobiography offers a powerful means of persuasion to attitude not otherwise available to politicians. In the extended narrative form of political autobiography, the audience's identification with characters, actions and speaker is central to persuasion. Narrative persuades implicitly by disposing the audience favourably to the rhetor and through the "common-sense assumptions" that the audience supplies in order to understand the discourse. The methodological approach used in this thesis, Fantasy Theme Analysis, addresses how the socialization process that is a primary function of epideictic rhetoric takes place. In the analysis, the rhetorical vision of the "game of politics" and two other fantasy themes are identified. The analysis demonstrates that an audience who identifies with this network of fantasy themes would also be influenced attitudinally and ideologically. The author concludes that political autobiography deserves further study because of its potentially important role in political persuasion. / vi, 95 leaves ; 29 cm

This thesis explores the relationship between usability and persuasion in the design of the interface for a smart-phone application. Using a usability study of an I-phone app combined with interviews with users and the designers, the roles of usability and persuasion in the design of the app and their influence on each other as design goals is discussed from both the users’ and designers’ perspectives. The application’s purpose is to support behavior change in users by giving them feedback on their electricity use in order to encourage them to switch their pattern of usage to reduce CO² emissions. This thesis should be of interest to interaction designers faced with the challenge of designing interfaces that are simultaneously both user-friendly and persuasive. While it is generally accepted that usability has a positive effect on the potential of a design to be persuasive little is known about the effects, if any, of persuasion on usability. This thesis proposes that the relationship between these two design principles is more complex than is generally assumed and that in certain situations they may even be traded off against one another.  This trade-off could be useful for designers framing design challenges involving usability and persuasion.

Research indicates that the majority of clients seeking Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services are self-referred, and that a relationship exists between self-referral and the belief that an EAP is effective. Fifty-three subjects read an advertisement proclaiming that a fictitious EAP was effective. Following the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), motivation to elaborate upon the advertisement's arguments was manipulated and two message sources (EAP clients; a fictitious professional consulting firm) were used. Although motivation had no effect on subjects' belief that the EAP was effective or their intention to self-refer, participants exposed to the less expert, trustworthy, and believable source (EAP clients) experienced a greater reduction in their self-referral intention than participants exposed to the more expert, trustworthy, and believable source (consulting firm). A positive correlation between belief in the EAP and self-referral intention was found. Implications for the ELM, EAP advertising, and research are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study explores the persuasion techniques used by female Lutheran Pastors in weekly sermons. Male Lutheran Pastors were used as a control group. A content analysis was performed on 30 sermons to determine what persuasive techniques were used, what persuasive similarities existed, and when specific persuasive techniques were used in the sermons.Chapter One provides an introduction to the topic, explores background information related to persuasion and religion, and gives justification for the research.Chapter Two includes a review of literature, focusing on women's roles in religious organizations, persuasive techniques used in the study, and research questions.Chapter Three explains the methods used for this study, including an explanation of content analysis, definitions of persuasive categories used, and subcategories created to add detail to the study.Chapter Four lists the findings of the study, beginning with analysis of research questions, followed by analysis of results.Chapter Five contains the conclusions pertaining to the analysis of the research, limitations of the study, and areas for future research. / Department of Communication Studies

The word "propaganda" was coined by the Roman Catholic Church in 1622 when it established the "Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide" in an effort to promote Christianity. In that era, propaganda was viewed simply as a means of spreading the Christian faith. However, 20th century conceptualizations of propaganda depict propaganda in various fashions. For example, some scholars view propaganda as a manipulative and deceptive campaign, as a means to achieve social control, and simply as a tool used to disseminate information.This study provides a foundation for creating a more unified conceptualization of propaganda. This appears particularly important given the resurgence of interest in propaganda research and recent technological innovations that provide for more widespread dissemination of propaganda. This study analyzes 20th century definitions of propaganda via the use of the constant comparative method of analysis. Through this method, key characteristics of these definitions are discerned, thereby providing scholars with a better understanding of the nature of propaganda and enhancing future propaganda research and theory construction. / Department of Speech Communication

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Cynthia Hoffner, committee chair; Yuki Fujioka, Holley Wilkin, committee members. Electronic text ( 81 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 8, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-65).

Thesis (Doctoral)--Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Fiolosofía y Letras, Departamento de Filología Francesa, 2008. / Title from first line of text. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 362-396).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 210-218.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [52]-55).