Final answer:
Persuasion involves changing a person's attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors through internal mechanisms like cognitive dissonance or external forces such as advertising. It includes the central route, which is fact-based, and the peripheral route, which employs associative cues. Conformity, obedience, and positive reinforcement also influence behavior change.
Step-by-step explanation:
To persuade is to change or reinforce a person's attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior. This process, highly studied within the subfield of social psychology, relies on various forms of communication, whether internal or external. Internal changes such as those prompted by cognitive dissonance occur when an individual's current beliefs conflict with new information or behaviors, leading them to adjust their attitudes to reduce this tension. External forces like advertising utilize different features to influence behavior, employing tactics like the source of the message, the content, and the intended audience.
There are two main pathways: the central route to persuasion, which uses logical arguments and evidence, and the peripheral route, which relies on superficial cues like emotions or endorsements by celebrities. Other factors influencing attitude and behavior change include conformity, which is the drive to match the attitudes and behaviors of a group, and obedience to authority figures. Techniques such as positive reinforcement in operant conditioning also play a role, aiding in the adoption of new behaviors by adding a desirable stimulus following the desired behavior. Additionally, social influence extends beyond the individual, as one person's change can inspire others within a group or community to follow suit, an effect amplified if others perceive personal benefits.