Persuasive Theories - Stimulus-response Theory

Running head: PERSUASIVE THEORIES 1
Persuasion theories
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PERSUASIVE THEORIES 2
Stimulus-response theory
Stimuli response theory is a model used in psychology to understand classical
conditioning in which a stimulus becomes a paired response in the mind of an
individual (Acharya, Blackwell & Sen, 2018). Ivan Pavlov developed the theory to
understand how principles of classical conditioning could be applied to control the
dear of a white rat into “Little Albert” (Arndt & de Wit,2017). this theory arises from
an experiment conducted in 1901 by Ivan Pavlov. The experiment established that by
pairing a stimulus which was a bell with an unconditional stimulus (Food), the dog
would salivate whenever the bell was rung even if there was no food for the dog. The
theory, therefore, establishes that learning happens through doing. The theory can be
applied in various aspects of health care such as; management of weight, positive
body image, managing addiction, stress management as well as treatment of anxiety
or depression.
The theory works by encouraging positive stimuli for things that are beneficial
and which an individual enjoys doing. Negative reinforcement occurs where
unpleasant behavior is eliminated by using a stimulus that decreases the probability of
the behavior occurring in the future. The strength of this theory is that once the
subjects acquire new behavior as a result of the stimuli, it is difficult for them to
relapse to the previous habit and hence making it very effective. The weakness of the
theory is that the strengths of the stimuli determine the time of the response and its
accuracy. This, therefore, means that if the stimuli are not strong enough, this model
cannot succeed in changing behavior.
Inoculation theory

PERSUASIVE THEORIES 3
The theory of inoculation was developed by McGuire while responding to a
situation where the objectives were to convince someone not to be persuaded by
another person. The theory focuses on attempts to build resistance against persuasion
attempts by another person (Compton & Craig, 2019). The subject is exposed to
arguments against their beliefs, and then counter-arguments against the previous
arguments are made to refute the initial attempts of persuasion. The model provides a
method of communication that people can use to defend their beliefs and ideas. One
of the two components of the theory is a threat. A threat is where a prior warning is
issued about a potential attack on a personal attitude and beliefs (Compton, Jackson &
Dimmock, 2016). This, therefore, motivates a person to defend their beliefs. The other
aspect is the reputational preemption. This involves telling the subjects what the
attack on their beliefs will be about and hence enabling the individual to prepare
counter-arguments. The theory has been used in convincing teenagers to stop binge
drinking as well as smoking (Compton et al., 2019). It has also been successfully used
to discourage drink driving.
The strength of this theory is that it is practical and elicit a defensive mindset
within a person and hence cementing the values and beliefs that a person has towards
a particular behavior. If it is a negative behavior or habit, a person, therefore, tries to
prove that they are not the way people view them and hence challenging them to be
better. The weakness of this approach is that it becomes ineffective if a person does
not react to the original attack (Ivanov, 2017). The technique cannot work if a person
has negative beliefs on a particular subject.
Cognitive dissonance theory