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Top1. Introduction And Background
Rhetorical persuasion is a tool that helps us formulate our thoughts so that we can clearly present our position in a persuasive way. Persuasion is defined as the process by which a person's attitudes or behavior are, without force, influenced by communications from other people. Persuasion is one of the most extensively researched areas in social psychology.
Social psychology is largely the study of the social situation. Our social situations create social influence—the process through which other people change our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and through which we change theirs (Stangor, 2011). In other words, studying the science of why people make choices will provides insights into how messaging shapes people’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.
In the study of Chamorro-Premuzic (2015), scientific meta-analyses show that we are more likely to be persuaded when requests are congruent with our values, self-image, and future goals.
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher during the classical period, identified three methods in which people can be persuaded: (1) ethos – an appeal based on credibility; (2) pathos – an appeal based on emotions; and (3) logos – an appeal based on logic. As part of the process of analyzing the audience, it is very important to consider these methods or what combination will work best to persuade each person or group (Newman, 2015). The concepts of rhetorical persuasion were first described by Aristotle in one of the first great books about titled “Rhetoric”, which was written in the 4th century B.C (Expert Program Management, 2017).
One of the areas that greatly apply rhetorical persuasion is advertising. Advertising, being a form of marketing communication, always persuades its consumers to use the products and services negatively or positively. Advertisements are intended to draw attention, alter manner and to rule our behavior. Advertisement has many forms some of these are: social media advertising; native advertising; display advertising; print advertising; broadcast advertising; and outdoor advertising.
According to Ashley (2016), advertisers who want persuade their customers to buy their product applies the Aristotle’s rhetorical persuasion. An advertisement using pathos will attempt to evoke an emotional response in the consumer. Sometimes, it is a positive emotion such as happiness such as an image of people. Other times, advertisers will use negative emotions such as a pain a person experienced after buying the “wrong” mattress. Pathos can also include emotions such as fear and guilt: images of a starving child persuading you to send money. An advertisement using logos will give you the evidence and statistics you need to fully understand what the product does. The logos of an advertisement will be the “straight facts” about the product. An advertisement using ethos will try to convince you that the company is more reliable, honest, and credible; therefore, you should buy its product. Ethos often involves statistics from reliable experts, such as nine out of ten dentists agree that Crest is the better than any other brand or Americas dieters choose Lean Cuisine. Discretion
The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychological impact of rhetorical persuasion to the millennial consumers – born between 1997-1995 or under the age of 38 as of 2020. It will further aim to analyze how advertisement’s applied persuasion technique can effectively or ineffectively persuade the respondents. Through this study, the research will endeavor to understand how rhetorical persuasion correlates with other variables. As the researcher investigate the psychological influence of rhetorical persuasion to the respondents, it will provide a clear insight for those involved in communication and advertising.