PERSUASION AND THE PUBLIC MIND
By OWMedia
Please see individual episode descriptions for details about that episode, the person being interviewed, and additional resources.
Mark Bordine is the podcast host/producer. He is AZ Chapter Director for Media Literacy Now (medialiteracynow.org), specializing in visual communication and media literacy education.
Podcast Staff Contact: outwestmedia.online@gmail.com
PERSUASION AND THE PUBLIC MIND Dec 20, 2019
Media Literacy and Reasoning
- Persuasion and reasoning.
- Media literacy and digital citizenship.
- Decoding media messages.
- Recognizing fake news.
- Algorithms and social media.
- Media literacy advocacy.
Interview with: Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director, National Association for Media Literacy Education; Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Media Literacy, by James Potter (book);
How Fantasy Becomes Reality, by Karen Dill (book);
Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book);
NAMLE.net, website for the National Association for Media Literacy Education + affiliated media organizations;
medialiteracynow.org, website for Media Literacy Now, current media literacy legislation by state;
factcheck.org, A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center;
Freepress.net, getting citizens involved in media decisions;
Snopes.com, a fact checking website;
Eff.org, nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation;
TED.com, TED Talks about algorithms and social media;
Key Questions to ask when analyzing media messages:
Audience & Authorship-
- Who paid for this?
- Who made this message?
- Why was this made?
- Who is the target audience and how do you know?
- Who might benefit from this message?
- Who might be harmed by it?
- Why might this message matter to me?
- What kinds of actions might I take in response to this message?
Messages & Meanings-
- What is this about and what makes you think that?
- What ideas, values, information and/or points of view are overt? Implied?
- What is left out of this message that might be important to know?
- What messaging techniques are used?
- Why were those techniques used?
- How do they communicate the message?
- How might different people understand the message differently?
Representations & Reality-
- When was this made?
- Where or how was it shared with the public?
- Is this fact, opinion, or something else?
- How credible is this and what makes you think that?
- What are the sources of information, ideas, or assertions?
Persuasive Campaigns, Movements, and Presentations
- Differences between campaigns and movements.
- Persuasive techniques-strategies used for campaigns & movements.
- Media coverage of campaigns and movements.
- Strategies for effective presentations.
- Making strategic decisions.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book);
Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution, edited by A. Boyd and D. Mitchell (book);
Prime Time Activism: Media Strategies for Grassroots Organizing, by Charlotte Ryan (book);
The Art of Protest, by T.V. Reed (book);
Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing, by Lee Staples (book)
Advertising
- The advertising creation process.
- The target audience.
- Advertising strategies.
- Creating lifestyles/values through advertising.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book);
Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture, by Stuart Ewen (book);
Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture, by Arthur Asa Berger (book);
Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising, by Paul Messaris (book);
The Public Mind, with Bill Moyers (PBS Video);
The Persuaders, with Douglas Rushkoff (Frontline/PBS Video)
Motivational Appeals
- The role of feelings, needs, and values in the persuasion process.
- Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
- The social construction of affect.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book);
Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining, by R. Gass and J. Seiter (book);
Social Psychology, by Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, Nisbett (book);
A Theory of Human Motivation, by Abraham Maslow (book or Kindle edition)
Interpersonal Persuasion
- The variables that influence how people communicate.
- Compliance gaining strategies.
- Detecting deception.
Interview with: David Keating, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, California State University, Northridge.
Resources: Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception, by Timothy Levine (book);
Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book);
Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining, by R. Gass and J. Seiter (book);
Influence: Science and Practice, by Robert Cialdini (book);
The Dynamics of Persuasion, by Richard Perloff (book)
Audiences and Attitudes
- How do audiences think about messages?
- Polling-Data Analysis-Ratings.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book)
Inside Prime Time, by Todd Gitlin (book)
The Public Mind: Pt. 2 Leading Questions, with Bill Moyers (PBS Video)
The Persuaders, with Douglas Rushkoff (Frontline/PBS Video)
Persuasion and Culture
- Defining culture and popular culture.
- Media communication & cultural values/beliefs.
- Consumer culture and multiculturalism.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book)
Captains of Consciousness-Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture, by Stuart Ewen (book)
Culture Inc.-The Corporate Takeover of Public Expression, by Herbert Schiller (book)
Media and Cultural Studies, Edited by Durham and Kellner (book)
Persuasion and Language
- Telling stories.
- Stylistic language.
- Electronic eloquence.
- The relationship of language to ideology and power.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book)
The Press Effect: Politicians, Journalists, and the Stories that Shape the Political World, by KH Jamieson and P. Waldman (book)
Packaging the Presidency: A History and Criticism of Presidential Candidate Advertising, by KH Jamieson (book)
Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, by Noam Chomsky (book)
Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear, by Frank Luntz (book)
The War of Words, by Kenneth Burke (book)
Visual Persuasion
- Elements of image composition.
- Techniques used to create meaning or attract attention.
- The functions of visual signs.
- Perspectives on image analysis.
Interview with: Michael Martinez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Journalism & Electronic Media, University of Tennessee
Resources: Visual Communication-Images with Messages, by Paul Martin Lester (book)
Visual Persuasion-The Role of Images in Advertising, by Paul Messaris (book)
The Public Mind-Image & Reality in America, with Bill Moyers (PBS Video)
All Consuming Images-The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture, by Stuart Ewen (book)
Visual Intelligence-Perception, Image, & Manipulation in Visual Communication, by Ann Marie Seward Barry (book)
Truth Needs No Ally-Inside Photojournalism, by Howard Chapnick (book)
Visual Communication Theory and Research: A Mass Communication Perspective, by Sharia, Bock, Wanta (book)
Public Opinion-The World Outside & the Pictures in our Head, by Walter Lippmann (book)
Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal & Visual Representation, University of Chicago Press (book)
Get the Picture: A Personal History of Photojournalism, Random House Publishers (book)
On Photography, by Susan Sontag (book)
The Family of Man-Photographic Exhibition Created for the Museum of Modern Art, by Edward Steichen (book)
Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, by M. Sturken and L. Cartwright (book)
The Persuasiveness of the Source
- Our perception of persuaders created by media.
- Characteristics of credibility.
- Mediated information.
- Creating an image for individuals and organizations.
- Unknown sources of information.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age by Timothy Borchers (book)
Persuasion: Social Influence & Compliance Gaining by R. Gass & J. Seiter (book)
Media Influences on Persuasion
- Mediated reality.
- Media as a product designed to attract audiences and sell advertising.
- Trade offs for our new media options.
- How economic, social, and political forces can influence the news.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book)
Boxed In: The Culture of TV, by Mark Crispin Miller (book)
Constructing the Political Spectacle, by Murray Edelman (book)
Finding Truth in Fiction: What Fan Culture Gets Right & Why It's Good to Get Lost in a Story, by Karen Dill-Shackleford & Cynthia Vinney (book)
The Power of Movies: How Screen & Mind Interact, by Colin McGinn (book)
Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do, by B.J. Fogg (book)
Neuroscience, Marketing, and Behavior
- Neuroscience methods and equipment.
- Role of brain regions and neural signals in determining behavior change.
- Variables involved in the decision making process.
- Effective media presentations from a neuroscience perspective.
Interview with: Cristophe Morin, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Media Psychology, Fielding Graduate University; CEO/SalesBrain
Resources: The Persuasion Code: How Neuromarketing Can Help You Persuade Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime, by C. Morin and P. Renvoise (book)
Introduction to Neuromarketing and Consumer Neuroscience, by T. Ramzoy (book & Kindle Edition)
Persuasion: Theory and Research, by D. O'Keefe (book)
Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind, by Gazzaniga and Mangun (book & Kindle Edition)
Neuromarketing, by L. Zurawicki (book)
Methods in Social Neuroscience, by Eddie, Harmon, Jones (book)
The Persuaders, with Douglas Rushkoff (Frontline/PBS Video)
Ethics and Persuasion
- The persuasion industry and ethical challenges.
- Ethical standards and approaches to making ethical decisions.
- Evaluating the ethics of media messages.
Interview with: Chad Painter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Dayton
Resources: Media Effects: Issues and Cases, by Patterson, Wilkins, Painter (book)
Persuasion Ethics Today, Edited by M. Duffy & E. Thorson (book)
Theories of Persuasion
- Essential aspects of a useful theory.
- Media theories and audience oriented theories.
- Theories involving strength of media effects on the audience.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book)
Social Psychology, by Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, Nisbett (book)
Social Psychology-Revisiting the Classic Studies, Edited by J. Smith & A. Haslam (book) A review/discussion of 15 classic experiments covering behavior, cognitive dissonance, conformity, obedience, tyranny, group relations & conflict, group decision making, stereotype formation and much more.
Media Cultures & Persuasion
- What are media cultures and how do they affect us?
- Ways of thinking about and understanding information.
- Defining persuasion and propaganda.
- Characteristics of persuasion.
- Objectives for persuaders.
- Evaluating and understanding the persuasion process.
Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College
Resources: Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book)
Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, by Marshall McLuhan (book)
Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman (book)
Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion, by A. Pratkanis & E. Aronson (book)