COMM 2760 SPRING 2020 1/9

Persuasion and Social Influence COMM 2760 Spring 2020 Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:55-4:10pm 228 Malott Hall (Bache Auditorium)

Professor: Neil A. Lewis, Jr., [email protected], 467 Mann Library (Office Hours: TBD)

Graduate TAs: [Redacted] (Office Hours: T & W 10-11Am) [Redacted] (Office Hours: M 1:30-2:30Pm & M 4:30-5:30Pm)

Undergraduate TAs: [Redacted] [Redacted] [Redacted]

Required Texts Assigned articles will be posted on Canvas (https://canvas.cornell.edu)

Course Description and Goals This undergraduate lecture course surveys classic and contemporary interdisciplinary research on and social influence—the scientific study of how people are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others. The course also teaches students to apply principles of influence across a variety of domains in their lives.

After taking this course, students should be able to: • Explain basic theories of persuasion and social influence. • Identify when persuasion techniques are being employed in a variety of settings in the world • Critically evaluate persuasive messages. • Work in teams to develop persuasive messages.

Course Format Class time will be devoted to lectures that provide the foundation for the course. You will get much more out of the class and be better able to understand and engage with the lecture material if you complete assigned readings before lecture.

Requirements and Assessment Weekly Written Reflections (10% of course grade) Coming to lecture prepared to engage with the material benefits your learning and that of your classmates. Thus, 10% of your course grade reflects your effort in coming to lecture prepared to engage. Each week you will submit a weekly reflection that does four things: (a) summarizes the main points of the readings, (b) raises questions you still have after completing the reading, (c) summarizes the main points of the lectures, and (d) raises questions you still have after attending lectures. These will be submitted on Canvas on Wednesday night each week (at 10:00Pm) and will be graded on a complete/incomplete basis. Because we understand that life happens, and thus sometimes students are not able to complete these assignments every week, you can miss two (and only two) without penalty, no questions asked. COMM 2760 SPRING 2020 2/9

Research Synthesis for Policy Makers (15% of course grade, due February 7) When policy makers want to set policies to influence constituents, they sometimes turn to social science to find out what research suggests about how to effectively change behavior. As scholars who have just learned how: the mere presence of others, conformity, social norms influence people, your task in this assignment is to write a 5-page (excluding title page and references) APA-style paper synthesizing this research to make recommendations to policy makers trying to change a behavior of your choice. The paper should summarize the key lessons from the topics outlined above and make policy recommendations, making it clear why those recommendations should lead to intended changes in behavior.

Exam I (20% of course grade, in class on February 12) The first exam (50 multiple choice questions) will cover all material from the first day of class through obedience.

Exam II (20% of course grade, in class on March 25) The second exam (50 multiple choice questions) will cover all material through dual process models.

Op-Ed (10% of course grade, due April 10) One way to influence public opinion on a large scale is to write op-eds for newspapers. For this assignment your task is to write an op-ed of approximately 600 words to persuade the public to shift their attitudes about a social, political, educational, or cultural issue of your choice; in addition to the op-ed, you will write a one page commentary explaining how you used research to craft your op-ed story. For this assignment, please draw on the research we have covered on attitude change, dual process models, and narrative persuasion). Assignment details will be available on Canvas.

Persuasion in the Wild (5% of course grade, due by May 4) As we will discuss throughout this class, persuasion attempts are everywhere. For this assignment your task is to document and describe a persuasion attempt that you observe locally in the City of Ithaca. You are to leave the Cornell campus and visit a local organization (e.g., business, government building, etc.) or public space and take a photo of a persuasion attempt you notice there. Submit the photo along with a description (no longer than one page) of the persuasion principles they are using to try and change Ithacan attitudes or behaviors.

Group Projects (20% of course grade, due May 4) Throughout the semester, you will work collaboratively (in groups of 5 or 6) on a project that applies theories of persuasion and social influence to help change a behavior in a way that can benefit our society. Specifically, you can draw on any three theories covered in the course to design an original persuasive message to change a social outcome your group finds important. Sometime soon, you will be asked to report your interests, which will help the teaching team compose groups with shared interests. Your group will be responsible for (i) meeting regularly, (ii) submitting progress reports, (iii) collaborating to create a theoretically-informed message strategy, and (iv) writing an original 15-page APA- style research paper. The final paper will be due the last day of class, May 4.

Final Grade Assignments Over 99%A+ 87-89% B+ 77-79% C+ 67-69% D+ 93-99% A 83-86% B 73-76% C 63-66% D 90-92% A- 80-82% B- 70-72% C- 60-62% D- Below 60 F

COMM 2760 SPRING 2020 3/9

Optional Extra Credit You may earn up to 2% worth of extra credit by participating in approved research studies through the Communication/ Science Participant Pool (https://cornell-comm.sona-systems.com/) (1 SONA credit = 0.5% extra credit)

Academic integrity We expect all students to abide by the Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity at all times. Any work you submit must be your own. You should report all outside assistance and properly cite the works of others; note that sources need not be published to be cited: any document that you use as a source – even if you are the author – must be cited. Although I am aware that there are cultural differences in standards and definitions regarding academic integrity, in this class I apply the Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity.

In accordance with the Department of Communication’s Academic Integrity Policy, any student in this class suspected of plagiarism or cheating on tests or assignments will have a primary hearing. If found guilty, the student will receive a failing grade on the assignment in question and a reduction in the overall course grade, and the results of the hearing will be reported to the CALS Academic Integrity Board.

Late Policy We consider deadlines to be the last opportunity to submit work, not the first. Work not submitted by the stated deadline will receive an initial 10% deduction. An additional 5% deduction will be assessed for every full calendar day that it is late thereafter. We understand that life happens and thus sometimes students need extensions on assignments. If you need an extension, please ask for it as soon as possible. Asking ahead of time allows us to plan and ensure that the workload for administering this course is manageable for the teaching team. Extensions will not be granted after a deadline has passed.

Grade Appeals Policy Sometimes students receive a grade they deem unfair. If this happens, we request that you take at least 24 hours to review the original assignment description and what you submitted. If you still feel your grade is unfair after that, we invite you to explain your reasoning to one of the Graduate Teaching Assistants. It is possible that a simple grading error was made that can easily be fixed. After that discussion, if you continue to believe that the grade was unfair, you may submit a formal request for a re-grade.

A formal request for a re-grade requires: (1) A 1-page explanation detailing why you feel your work should be re-graded and (2) Your original ungraded work. Professor Lewis will personally conduct all re-grade requests, and his grade – higher or lower - will be the final grade for the assignment. Requests for re-grades must be submitted within one week after the assignment has been returned.

Accommodations If you have circumstances that require alternate testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, please let Professor Lewis know as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the second week of class (so that we can submit requests for alternate testing rooms). Exam dates and other major assessments should be listed in all of your course syllabi. Please plan ahead and let Professor Lewis know at least two weeks before an exam if you require alternative arrangements (e.g., if this will be your third exam within 24 hours) and we will do our best to accommodate.

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Laptop/Technology Policy Recent research suggests that the use of laptops in the classroom can negatively affect learning for both students using laptops and others around them1. At the same time, we understand that for accessibility reasons, some students need their laptops to take notes. After weighing these tradeoffs, we have decided on a “middle-ground” laptop policy for this class: If you need to use a laptop or similar technology in this class to take notes, feel free to do so, but please turn off the internet access (that is the biggest source of temptation) and limit your usage to word processors/ note-taking software.

Counseling Resources It is quite common for students to experience stressful events at some point during their academic career. Students sometimes experience depression, anxiety, family stress, the loss of loved ones, financial strain, and other stressors. It is perfectly normal for students to seek the service of mental health professionals to provide them with support and skills to cope with these experiences. Below we have provided the contact information for some of the mental health services available to Cornell University students so that you will know where you can go if you or a friend would like to take advantage of these resources.

Cornell Health: 110 Ho Plaza, Ithaca, NY 14853-3101, Phone: (607) 255-5155

Let’s Talk Drop-In Consultation: https://health.cornell.edu/services/mental-health-care/lets-talk

Empathy, Assistance and Referral Service (EARS): https://www.earscornell.org/

If you require a short-term accommodation, please let Professor Lewis (and your academic advisor) know as soon as possible.

1 Ravizza, S. M., Uitvlugt, M. G., & Fenn, K. M. (2017). Logged in and zoned out: How laptop internet use relates to classroom learning. Psychological Science, 28, 171-180. COMM 2760 SPRING 2020 5/9

Course Schedule Jan 22 Welcome & Course Overview

Jan 27 How We Know What Is, and Is Not, So: A Refresher on Social Science Research Methods Persuasive messages are everywhere. Today we will review methods social scientists use to differentiate between factual and fictional messages and discuss what they mean for the studies you will learn about in this class, and messages you will see in news stories for the rest of your lives.

Reading & Podcast: Lewis, N. A., Jr. (2019). Open Communication Science: A Primer on Why and Some Recommendations for How. Communication Methods and Measures. DOI: 10.1080/19312458.2019.1685660 (pp. 1-4) Radiolab: “When am I dead?” https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/91681- when-am-i-dead

Jan 29 Mere Presence & Conformity Before getting to heavy-handed persuasive messaging techniques, we will start by discussing low- pressure influence situations: how we’re influenced by the mere presence of other people.

Reading: Markus, H. (1978). The Effect of Mere Presence on Social Facilitation: An Unobtrusive Test. Journal of Experimental , 14, 389-397.

Feb 3 Social Norms Part of the reason other people influence us is due to norms about how we actually or ought to behave in different situations. Today we will begin discussing research on those normative processes.

Readings: Lapinski, M. K., Maloney, E. K., Braz, M., & Shulman, H. C. (2013). Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing: A Field Experiment. Human Communication Research, 39, 21-46. Somerville, L. H. (2019). What can we learn from Dartmouth? Science. https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/11/what-can-we-learn-dartmouth

Feb 5 Changing Social Norms Now that we have discussed how social norms work, today we will discuss how to change them.

Readings: Matias, J. N. (2019). Preventing harassment and increasing group participation through social norms in 2,190 online science discussions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(20), 9785-9789. Tankard, M., & Paluck, E. L. (2016). Norm Perception as a Vehicle for Social Change. Social Issues and Policy Review, 10(1), 181-211.

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Feb 10 Compliance & Obedience Another way that people influence us is by making requests or giving us orders. Today we will talk about research on those topics, and its implications for some rather important social outcomes.

Feb 12 Exam I (In Class)

Feb 17 Origins and Functions of Attitudes Today we will begin our new unit on what attitudes are and why persuasion scholars care about them.

Reading: Ajzen, I. (2001). Nature and operation of attitudes. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 27-58

Feb 19 Measuring Attitudes Now that we have defined attitudes, today we will talk about how to measure them.

Reading: Payne, B. K., & Dal Cin, S. (2015). Implicit attitudes in media psychology. Media Psychology, 18, 292-311.

Short “Homework”: Please go to Project Implicit (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/) and complete any implicit association test before coming to class. It will be useful for our discussion.

Feb 24 No Class – February Break

Feb 26 Cognitive Consistency Theories of Attitudes Today we will cover the various theories about what happens when we realize that our attitudes are inconsistent with each other or are inconsistent with our behaviors.

Reading & Podcast: Harmon-Jones, E., Harmon-Jones, C., & Levy, N. (2015). An Action-Based Model of Cognitive- Dissonance Processes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(3), 184-189. Freakonomics: “How to Change Your Mind” http://freakonomics.com/podcast/change-your-mind/

Mar 2 The Attitude-Behavior Link One of the reasons we care about attitudes is that they should ostensibly tell us something about how people will behave. The next two lectures will cover studies examining when attitudes do (and do not) predict behavior.

Reading: Ganguly, A., & Tasoff, J. (2016). Fantasy and dread: the demand for information and the consumption utility of the future. Management Science, 63(12), 4037-4060.

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Mar 4 The Attitude-Behavior Link, continued

Reading & Podcast: Glasman, L. R., & Albarracin, D. (2006). Forming attitudes that predict future behavior: a meta- analysis of the attitude-behavior relation. Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 778-822. Hidden Brain: “In The Heat Of the Moment: How Intense Emotions Transform Us” https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/783495595/in-the-heat-of-the-moment-how-intense- emotions-transform-us (Content Warning: Sexual Harassment)

Mar 9 Attitude Change: Source Characteristics If we want to change people’s attitudes, we have to think about who delivers the message. Today we will cover research on what makes some messengers more persuasive than others.

Reading: Dal Cin, S., Stoolmiller, M., & Sargent, J. D. (2013). Exposure to smoking in movies and smoking initiation among Black youth. American Journal of Prevention Medicine, 44, 345-350. Ward, L. M. (2002). Does television exposure affect emerging adults’ attitudes and assumptions about sexual relationships? Correlational and experimental confirmation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 1-15.

Mar 11 Guest Lecture: PhD Students Salma El idrissi & Byungdoo Kim

Mar 16 Attitude Change: Audience Characteristics Now we will discuss what makes an audience amenable to persuasion.

Reading: Huang, Y., & Shen, F. (2016). Effects of Cultural Tailoring on Persuasion in Cancer Communication: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Communication, 66, 694-715.

Mar 18 Dual Process Models The next two lectures will complicate what we have been talking about. To effectively persuade people to change their attitudes requires not only a persuasive messenger and a receptive audience, but a more nuanced understanding of the important “three-way interaction” between the message, the messenger, and the audience. We’ll spend the next two lectures covering models of these interactions.

Reading: Nairn, A., & Fine, C. (2008). Who’s messing with my mind? The implications of dual-process models for the ethics of advertising to children. International Journal of Advertising, 27(3), 447- 470.

Mar 23 Dual Process Models, continued

Mar 25 Exam II (In Class)

Mar 30 & Apr 1 No Class – Spring Break COMM 2760 SPRING 2020 8/9

Apr 6 Group Influence We often behave quite differently when we are in groups than when we are alone. Today we will talk about why, and what that means for persuasion attempts.

Apr 8 Narrative and Transportation Many of the persuasion techniques we have discussed so far have focused on persuasive rhetoric. It turns out that rhetoric is not always the best approach, and constructing narratives can be more persuasive under certain conditions. We will talk about those conditions today.

Reading: Elmore, K., Scull, T. M., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (2017). Media as a “Super Peer”: How Adolescents Interpret Media Messages Predicts their Perception of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Norms. Journal of Youth and Adolescents, 46(2), 376-387. Nabi, R., & Green, M. C. (2015). The role of a narrative’s emotional flow in promoting persuasive outcomes. Media Psychology, 18(2), 137-162.

Apr 13 Practical Topics #1: Media and Aggression Policymakers and the general public have long been concerned about potential consequences of exposure to violent media. Today we will discuss research on that topic.

Reading: Elson, M., & Ferguson, C. J. (2014). Twenty-Five Years of Research on Violence in Digital Games and Aggression: Empirical Evidence, Perspectives, and a Debate Gone Astray. European Psychologist, 19, 33-46. Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., Lubens, P., & Silver, R. C. (in press). Media Exposure to Collective Trauma, Mental Health, and Functioning: Does It Matter What You See? Clinical Psychological Science.

Apr 15 Practical Topics #2: (Social) Media and Depression Another, more recent, public debate is about whether social media use contributes to adverse mental health outcomes. Today we will discuss research on that topic.

Readings: Bayer, J. B., Ellison, N. B., Schoenebeck, S. Y., & Falk, E. B. (2016). Sharing the small moments: ephemeral social interaction on Snapchat. Information, Communication & Society, 19(7), 956-977. Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature Human Behaviour, 3, 173-182.

Apr 20 Practical Topics #3: Fake News! (and other forms of misinformation) People have recently become concerned about the proliferation of “fake news” and other forms of misinformation. Today we will discuss research on how and why misinformation spreads, and some interventions to address this problem.

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Reading & Podcast: Clayton, K., Blair, S., Busam, J. A., Forstner, S., Glance, J., Green, G., Kawata, A., … & Nyhan, B. (2019). Real Solutions for Fake News? Measuring the Effectiveness of General Warnings and Fact-Check Tags in Reducing in False Stories on Social Media. Political Behavior. Hidden Brain: “Facts Aren’t Enough: The Psychology of False Beliefs” https://www.npr.org/2019/07/18/743195213/facts-arent-enough-the-psychology-of-false- beliefs

Apr 22 Practical Topics #4: Climate Change Communication Climate change is real…but not everyone the evidence, or cares enough to do anything about it. Today we will talk about why, and what that means for climate change communication.

Readings & Podcast: Gilbert, D. (2006, July 2). If only gay sex caused global warming. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-02-op-gilbert2-story.html Goldberg, M. H., van der Linden, S., Maibach, E., & Leiserowitz, A. (2019). Discussing global warming leads to greater acceptance of climate science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(30), 14804-14805. The Memory Palace: 1,347 Birds: http://thememorypalace.us/2019/03/1347-birds/

Apr 27 Practical Topics #5: Political Communication A lot has been written lately about modern political discourse. Today we will dive into classic and contemporary research on effects of different political communication techniques.

Reading: Jaidka, K., Zhou, A., & Lelkes, Y. (2019). Brevity is the Soul of Twitter: The Constraint Affordance and Political Discussion. Journal of Communication, 69(4), 345-372.

Apr 29 Practical Topics #6: Romantic Relationships The final topic we will cover is persuasion in romantic relationships. Today we will discuss both classic and contemporary research on how we persuade—and are persuaded by—our partners.

Reading: Markowitz, D. M., & Hancock, J. T. (2018). Deception in Mobile Dating Conversations. Journal of Communication, 68(3), 547-569.

May 4 Final Note: Persuading Responsibly Now that you have spent four months learning about persuasion and social influence processes, we will discuss the ethics of using the lessons learned in this class in the rest of your lives.

Reading: Brick, C., Freeman, A. L. J., Wooding, S., Skylark, W. J., Marteau, T. M., & Spiegelhalter, D. J. (2018). Winners and losers: communicating the potential impacts of policies. Palgrave Communications, 4:69. Doi: 10.1057/s41599-018-0121-9