Answer :
b. the peripheral route to persuasion.
Step-by-step explanation:
The peripheral route to persuasion occurs when the listener agrees to the message because of other cues which are not the strength of the arguments or ideas in the message. This is seen in what Eric is doing here, he is trying to make the professor think he is an expert andctgerefore agree with him without paying much attention to his arguments and how satisfactory his essay is