Final answer:
Persuasion is challenging due to resistance to change, cognitive dissonance, and overconfidence in one's opinions, alongside the tendency for motivated reasoning and the influence of social conformity and group dynamics.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most people find persuasion hard due to a fundamental resistance to change and an overconfidence in one's opinions. This resistance is partly rooted in the concept of cognitive dissonance, which is the discomfort experienced when our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are in conflict. To alleviate this tension, people may choose to dismiss persuasive arguments rather than alter their existing beliefs or behaviors. This is compounded by the fact that attitudes and beliefs are deeply ingrained and are influenced by both external and internal forces, including the desire to conform to group norms and maintain social harmony.
Moreover, individuals engage in motivated reasoning, selecting information that reaffirms their pre-existing beliefs while dismissing evidence that contradicts them. This process of confirmation bias makes it challenging to remain open to persuasion, as it requires reevaluation and possible modification of one's belief system, which can induce feelings of disloyalty or betrayal within one's social group.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of persuasive communication relies on several factors highlighted by the Yale attitude change approach, such as the source's credibility, message content, and audience characteristics. The complexity of persuasion reveals why it is not simply a matter of presenting facts but also navigating the intricate interplay of social and psychological factors.