Term Paper: “Being a Target of Persuasion”
At many points in our lives we encounter other people who try to alter our thoughts, attitudes, and/or behaviors. You will write a paper documenting such an instance that was successful: meaning that someone else succeeded in persuading you to do something, to believe something, or to think in a certain way. For example, perhaps a salesperson got you to buy something which you hadn’t otherwise intended to buy; perhaps some friends persuaded you to do something risky; perhaps your parents persuaded you to date (or not to date) someone, or to support a political candidate or adopt a religious belief. The list of potential topics goes on and on because there are so many contexts in which you may have found yourself targeted by and succumbing to others’ persuasive efforts.
The goals of this assignment are for you to clearly identify this instance, and most importantly, to thoughtfully identify specific persuasion tactics/strategies/principles that were used on you in that instance. Doing so will require you to understand and apply course material from our class sessions on Persuasion.
**** – an options I would prefer you to use, but you don’t have to… because it can actually relate to me would be – !!! my boyfriend (at the time, we are not together anymore) persuaded me to make a significant life decision and move to a different state with him. If you do use this example you can go in whatever direction you want with the paper sections that make it easier to write
***** I AM A 24 YEAR OLD FEMALE, so if you don’t want to use my above example please pick a situation that can resemble my age and gender; make it about; friends, social media, relationships!!!! ******
Assignment Parameters
Write a 6-page paper (no more, no less), double-spaced, stapled, with 1” margins, in 12-point Times New Roman font (the 6 pages do not include the title page and reference section)
Your paper must be formatted to include the following components of APA style:
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Title page with a unique and descriptive title, your full name, course title, date of paper submission, as well as a Running Head
– you do not need to include an abstract
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divide the body of your paper into different sections corresponding to sections listed in the “Paper Sections” portion of these instructions (see below)
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last page of your paper should be References (which would be pg. 8) and you must include a minimum of 4 references
All of your references must be appropriately cited within the body of the paper
your Reference section must only include references that fit the guidelines specified in the next section of these instructions, titled “Resources”
Resources
You are required to include at least four references to source material that are either:
A book or a book chapter
An article from a periodical
Providing reference/citation for any of the following will NOT get you credit toward your three required references: do not use –
The recommended course text (Social Psychology, by David Myers)
Any online resource, such as a website or newspaper article
Personal correspondence
tips on finding resources:
Note that when you find and reference/cite a resource, that requires more than simply inserting information into a Reference section. You will need to demonstrate, in the body of the paper, a thorough application of the content of the resource information to your experience of being a target of persuasion. For instance, if you were to cite/reference an empirical study of a particular persuasive process, then in the body of the paper you should briefly name and define that process, provide a brief and accurate description of the applicable idea or research finding from your resource (“For instance, Kosloff, Cesario, and Landau (2013) observed that…”), and then proceed to identify parallels between your situation and the research finding or theoretical stance in question.
In addition to identifying resources through PsychInfo searches, you should consider consulting the following excellent book on persuasion, which should be available at the library or cheaply from online bookstores like Amazon.com:
Cialdini, Robert (2008). Influence: Science and Practice. Englewood Cliggs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Paper Sections ** most important **
The body of the paper should have the following 6 sections, in the following order:
The Situation I Experienced length: 3/4 of a page or less
Your paper begins directly with this section. Since it is inappropriate to put a section heading at the beginning of a paper, this section does not require a heading. Just start the paper with a sentence that launches into an overview of the persuasion situation you experienced. For instance, you might begin with something like: “About three years ago, I had an intense encounter with a car salesman. I was purchasing my first car…”, and then proceed to summarize the persuasive situation.
How I Presented Myself length: 3/4 of a page or less
For this section (and all those that follow), use the appropriate given section heading (so for this section you should center the words How I Presented Myself to indicate the start of the section). This section has to do with how others saw you in the persuasion context, and how you saw yourself. Did others see you as a naïve young person that could be exploited? What aspects of your appearance, mood, demeanor, speech, etc., might have signaled to others that you were someone they should target with a persuasive appeal?
The Physical and Social Nature of the Persuasion Setting length: 3/4 of a page or less
(As with the previous section and all sections to follow, start with the centered section heading; in this case: The Physical and Social Nature of the Persuasion Setting) In this section, provide a clear, colorful description of the physical environment and social environment in which the persuasion experience took place. For example, if you were at a car dealership, you might describe the colorful, shiny cars all around you, new car smells, the sights and sounds, the complimentary fresh coffee and donuts that could make you comfortable, etc. But also describe the social environment: were you alone, surrounded by tons of people at the mall, with a small group of friends, etc.? Paint a compelling picture that transports your reader to the time, place, and social context of the experience.
The Persuasion Tactics Used on Me length: 2 to 3 pages or more
This is the most important section of the paper. Here is where your Resources come in to play. Your goal here is to thoroughly identify the persuasion strategies/tactics/principles that were used upon you in the situation. This involves more than simply naming strategies/tactics/principles. As noted earlier in these instructions (see the Resources section above, particularly section 3b), you must apply of the content of Resource information to your experience of being a target of persuasion. This means that you will: 1) identify and define persuasion strategies/tactics/principles used upon you; 2) cite/reference and summarize theory and/or research findings from resources to which you refer; 3) draw clear, explicit parallels between elements of your persuasion experience and the ideas or research findings illustrated by your resources; and 4) identify which strategies/tactics/ principles were most effectively used on you. Keep in mind that you are required to provide references/citations for at least three resources in this section. In writing this section, your primary aim is to demonstrate that you have studied the psychology of persuasion and developed the ability to apply specific research and theory to your personal experience as a target of persuasion.
How I Felt While in the Setting length: 3/4 of a page or less
You may have experienced a variety of emotions while others were trying to persuade you. Describe how you felt.
What I Learned from This Experience length: 3/4 of a page or less
Hopefully, this assignment has helped you learn something about yourself and what makes you susceptible to social influence. In this section, describe what you have learned. Do you think that, in the future, you are more (or perhaps less) vulnerable to the sort of persuasive strategies/tactics/principles that were used upon in you the past? How can you arm yourself against such influence going forward?
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR I CAN SEND YOU ANY LINKS FROM MY TEACHER!!
