the goals of Persuasion 16.1 347
government, but our attitude toward the president has changed because of this
policy decision.
We suggest that you think carefully about your purpose for making a per-
suasive speech. Know with certainty whether your objective is to change or to
reinforce an attitude, a belief, or a value. Then determine what you have to do to
achieve your objective.
Changing or Reinforcing Audience Behaviors
Persuasive messages often attempt to do more than change or reinforce attitudes,
beliefs, or values—they may attempt to change or strengthen behaviors. Getting
listeners to eat more fruits and vegetables and to exercise more are typical goals
of persuasive messages that we hear. It seems logical that knowing someone’s
attitudes, beliefs, and values will let us predict precisely how that person will
behave. But we are complicated creatures, and our behavior is not always neatly
predictable. Sometimes our attitudes, beliefs, and values might not appear to be
consistent with how we act. For example, you might know that if you’re on a
low-carb diet, you should avoid that second helping of Dad’s homemade choco-
late cake; but sometimes you’re going to cut off a slice and gobble it up anyway.
ValuesBeliefsAttitudesFigure 16.1 attitudes form the outer
ring of this model because they are
easier to change than beliefs or core
values. Beliefs can be changed but not
as easily as attitudes. values are at the
core of the model because they are
the most deeply ingrained and change
the least frequently.
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