The Dynamics of Persuasion: Communication and Attitudes in the 21st Century

by Richard M. Perloff

Overview

The eighth edition of The Dynamics of Persuasion again guides readers in understanding the power and limits of persuasion in contemporary society.

This edition continues its accessible and detailed illustration of the theoretical underpinnings of persuasive communication through contemporary and relevant examples of persuasion in action. It features coverage of new scholarship on misinformation, health communication, and persuasion effects, including careful attention to persuasion’s role in the Covid-19 pandemic. Important issues such as racial injustice, climate change, and barriers to persuading the politically and psychologically polarized also receive a fresh examination. The book brings together classic terms and approaches from earlier editions with new global developments to help readers adopt a more thoughtful perspective on persuasion.

The eighth edition is an essential resource for courses in persuasion at the undergraduate and graduate levels within communication studies, psychology, and business programs.

Online resources also accompany the text: an Instructor Manual that contains sample syllabi, key terms, chapter outlines, sample discussion questions, and links to relevant news articles and other online resources such as videos; Lecture Slides; and a Testbank. Please visit: www.routledge.com/9781032268187.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032268187
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/30/2023
Series:	Routledge Communication Series
Edition description:	8th ed.
Pages:	490
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Richard M. Perloff, Professor of Communication, Psychology, and Political Science at Cleveland State University, USA, is a nationally recognized scholar of persuasion and psychological perceptions of media. His Dynamics of Persuasion, first published in 1993, has emerged as a major scholarly textbook in the field. His articles on communication theories and psychological perceptions of news have appeared in Communication Theory, Communication Research, and Mass Communication and Society. A dedicated teacher, he has received teaching awards at Cleveland State University.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Foundations 1. Introduction to Persuasion 2. Foundations of Persuasion 3. Historical, Scientific, and Ethical Foundations Part 2: The Nature of Attitudes 4. Attitudes: Definition and Structure 5. Attitudes, Behavior, and the Keys to Persuasion 6. Attitude Functions 7. The Power of Our Passions: Theory and Research on Strong Attitudes 8. Automatic Attitudes, Priming, and Prejudice 9. Attitude Measurement Part 3: Changing Attitudes and Behavior 10. Processing Persuasive Communications 11. "Who Says It": Charisma, Authority, and the Controversial Milgram Study 12. "Who Says It": Credibility and Social Attractiveness 13. Fundamentals of the Message 14. Emotional Message Appeals: Fear and Guilt 15. Cognitive Dissonance Theory Part 4: Persuasive Communication Contexts 16. Interpersonal Persuasion 17. Advertising, Marketing, and Persuasion 18. Health Communication Campaigns

Editorial Reviews

"...this persuasion theories, research, issues, and contexts offers a useful supplementary resource for students, researchers, or practitioners of health."
—Journal of Health Communication

"Rick Perloff handles the challenging issues in persuasion research directly and intuitively. This text is inviting enough to engage the advanced undergraduate, and sophisticated enough to satisfy the expert. A fine choice for undergraduate and master's level classes in persuasion."
—Michael D. Slater
Colorado State University

"When a publisher chooses to invite an author to prepare a second (or higher) edition of a book, it is a strong indication that people have responded very well to the earlier edition. Hence, most new editions maintain most of the previous edition and make a few improvements but avoid a thorough overhaul of the book because that may disappoint readers of the first edition. Perloff has not taken that option. Instead he has kept the best parts of the first edition and made substantial improvements in this second edition of The Dynamics of Persuasion. The first edition was very good, this edition is much better. Every persuasion scholar should take a careful look at this edition. It includes information which may be unfamiliar even to experienced scholars. The writing in the book also is highly accessible to even beginning students of persuasion."
—James C. McCroskey
West Virginia University

From the Publisher