Language and Persuasion Philip K. Dick, “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words.” Richard Moore, “Language is a field of battle, the media is the artillery, and vocabulary is the ammunition.”
Transcript
Slide 1
Language and Persuasion Philip K. Dick, The basic tool for the
manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. Richard
Moore, Language is a field of battle, the media is the artillery,
and vocabulary is the ammunition.
Slide 2
Language and credibility n Bush-isms Rarely is the question
asked: Is our children learning? "They misunderestimated me."
(Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000) "...more and more of our imports
are coming from overseas. (reported in Slate, Sept. 25, 2000)
"Recession means that people's incomes, at the employer level, are
going down, basically, relative to costs, people are getting laid
off." Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2004 "There's an old saying in
Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, it's probably in Tennessee
--that says, fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me... You
can't get fooled again. (Baltimore Sun, Oct 6, 2002) "Families is
where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." (LaCrosse,
Wis., Oct. 18, 2000)
Slide 3
Language and credibility-- continued n Language choices affect
source credibility Senator George Allen referred to a man of Indian
descent as a macaca, a racial slur n Misspellings and grammatical
errors can reduce credibility in resumes or emails In everyday
interaction example: Me and her been to that movie. I seen that
movie too.
Slide 4
Language expectancy theory n Burgoon & Siegel (2004):
people have expectations about what they consider to be normal,
acceptable language use in various situations. n When a persuader
violates an audiences expectations, the violation may be viewed
positively or negatively. Depending on the sources attractiveness
Depending on the sources reward power
Slide 5
Green labeling n Environmentally friendly labels vie for
consumers attention Dolphin-safe tuna (fish nets that dont kill
dolphins) Fair Trade coffee label (ensures poor coffee growers
receive a fair price) Sweatshop free clothing Free Farmed label
(humane treatment of dairy cows and animals slaughtered for meat)
Green products (earth friendly goods and services) Environmentally
friendly companies
Slide 6
Greenwashing n Roberts (2008) more than 90% of green labeling
is misleading more than 50 percent of eco-labels on the shelves
today promote some type of narrow eco-friendly attribute, such as
recycled parts or content. However, they neglect to refer to
inherent environmental drawbacks like manufacturing intensity.
Example: Tyson Chicken promotes its chicken as "all natural," even
though the company treats chickens with antibiotics Example:
Kraft's Post Selects Cereals, touts that its cereals have "natural
ingredients" when, in fact, the corn in the cereal is genetically
engineered
Slide 7
Beware of labels n Healthy, nutritional A study of 30 nutrition
bars (protein bars, meal replacement bars, diet bars or energy
bars) found that 60% did not live up to their labels. 15 of the
bars had more carbohydrates than claimed. Some had sodium and
saturated fat levels that were 2- to 3-times greater than the
labels stated. n Natural This term doesnt mean anything. The FDA
has no regulations governing the use of the term natural on foods.
It is simply a buzz word consumers like to hear. n Organic 68
percent of Americans said they thought organic foods were safer to
eat or healthier than foods without such a label. In a recent
interview on ABC News' 20/20, Organic Trade Association director
Katherine DiMatteo reiterated that organic products are not safer
or more nutritious than other foods.
Slide 8
The Power of Naming n People reconstruct reality through
language: Kenneth Burke, humans are symbol using, symbol misusing,
symbol making animals. n The symbol is not the thing: symbols are
arbitrary, but people dont always realize this example: living in
the 909 versus 90210 or the O.C. n The ability to name something
defines reality, shapes perceptions, confers power example: terms
for African-Americans example: undocumented worker versus illegal
immigrant or illegal alien example: evil-doer, terrorist versus
freedom fighter or martyr example Clear Skies Initiative (which
weakened EPA regulations)