Persuasive Techniques

1
Persuasive Techniques

• Logical fallacies in review

2
Biased Arguments

• A fallacy is an error in logical thought.
• Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. (Unbiased
  statement)
• Lashonda trusts the news story because its
  printed in the newspaper. (biased argument)

3
What is Propaganda?

• Propaganda is an act of persuasion that
  systematically spreads biased information that is
  designed to support or oppose a person, product,
  cause, or organization.
• Emotional appeal is the arousal of emotions to
  give a biased meaning or power to an idea.
• Spicy foods and stress cause stomach ulcers.
  (unbiased statement)
• Dont buy your insurance from DealState that
  outfit is a bunch of crooks. (biased argument)

4
Irrelevant Arguments Fallacies

• Personal attack is the use of abusive remarks in
  place of evidence for a point or argument. Also
  known as an ad hominem attack, it attempts to
  discredit the point by discrediting the person
  making the point.
• Example Sam, a convicted felon, wants to ban
  smoking in restaurants. His opponents attack his
  criminal record, not his idea Now the
  lawbreakers want to make the laws.

5
Irrelevant Arguments Fallacies

• A Straw Man fallacy is a weak argument
  substituted for a stronger one to make the
  argument easier to challenge.
• It distorts, misrepresents, or falsifies an
  opponents position. Attention is shifted away
  from a strong argument to a weaker one.
• Example Governor Goodfeeling opposes drilling
  for oil in Alaska. But the U.S. is too dependent
  on foreign oil supplies, and the economy would
  benefit from having an American supply for oil.
  The Governor wants to keep us dependent on
  foreign oil cartels.

The governors reasons for opposing drilling are
not mentioned. Instead, the writer changes the
tactic to the U.S. dependence on oil.
6
Irrelevant Arguments Fallacies

• Begging the question restates the point of an
  argument as the support and conclusion. It is
  also known as circular reasoning.
• Example Spinach is an awful tasting food
  because it tastes bad. (BQ)
• Example I never eat spinach because it has a
  bitter taste, and I dont like foods that taste
  bitter. (not BQ)

7
Irrelevant Arguments Propaganda Techniques

• Name-calling uses negative labels for a product,
  idea, or cause. The labels use emotionally loaded
  words and use details that cannot be verified.
• Examples
• Cristina Singer has an air of raunchy diva in her
  newest album. Even though her voice delivers a
  decent mix of pop, rock and soul, her
  vampire-in-leather costume and wicked-witch
  makeup makes her act scary to watch.
• People who burn the flag are traitors.

8
Irrelevant Arguments Propaganda Techniques

• Testimonials are irrelevant personal opinions to
  support a product, idea, or cause. Often a
  celebrity is used as a spokesperson.
• Example Famous athlete Jerome High-Jumper says,
  Drinking milk every day makes me the athlete I
  am.

9
Irrelevant Arguments Propaganda Techniques

• Bandwagon uses or suggests the irrelevant detail
  that everyone is doing it. Therefore, you
  should do it too!
• Example I should be able to stay out until 3
  A.M. All the other kids can. Im the only one
  who isnt allowed to stay out late on prom night.

10
Irrelevant Arguments Propaganda Techniques

• Plain folks uses irrelevant details to build
  trust based on commonly shared values. An image
  is put forth to which everyday people can more
  easily relate.
• Examples
• A candidate running for office dressed in blue
  jeans and a plaid shirt eating a hotdog.
• A woman dressed in casual clothes cooking in a
  kitchen where the TV ad is trying to get you to
  buy their product.

11
Inadequate Arguments Fallacies

• Either-or assumes that only two sides to an issue
  exist. Also known as the black-and-white fallacy,
  it offers a false dilemma because more than two
  options are usually available.
• Example If you dont give to the toy drive,
  you dont care about children.

12
Inadequate Arguments Fallacies

• False comparison assumes that two things are
  similar when they are not. This is also known as
  a false analogy.
• Example Animals deserve the same legal rights
  as humans.

13
Inadequate Arguments Fallacies

• False cause, or Post Hoc assumes that because
  events occurred around the same time, they have a
  cause-and-effect relationship.
• Example I wont hit a home run unless I wear
  my special baseball cap.

14
Inadequate Arguments Propaganda Techniques

• Card stacking omits factual details in order to
  misrepresent a product, idea, or cause. It
  intentionally gives only part of the truth.
• Example A commercial mentions that the product
  is low in fat, but fails to say that it is loaded
  with sugar and calories.

15
Inadequate Arguments Propaganda Techniques

• Transfer creates an association between a
  product, idea, or cause with a symbol or image
  that has positive or negative values.
• Examples
• God Bless America on a product
• Be like Alicia Silverstone and Woody
  Harrelsongo vegetarian.

16
Inadequate Arguments Propaganda Techniques

• Glittering generalities offer general positive
  statements that cannot be verified. It is the
  opposite of name-calling. Words like truth,
  freedom, peace, and honor are used to suggest
  positive things.
• Example A vote for candidate Anthony Vacarro
  is a vote for honesty and integrity!

17
Examining Biased Arguments

• Sometimes textbooks will choose to present biased
  arguments for your examination.
• Often these are excerpts from other sources and
  are included for you to evaluate.
• Watch for biased words in these passages.

18
Chapter Review

• A fallacy is an error in logical thought.
• Irrelevant details draw attention away from
  logical thought by ignoring the issue.
• Inadequate details oversimplify the issue and do
  not give a person enough information to draw a
  proper conclusion.
• Propaganda is an act of persuasion that
  systematically spreads biased information that is
  designed to support or oppose a person, product,
  cause, or organization.
• Emotional appeal is the arousal of emotions to
  give meaning or power to an idea.

19
Chapter Review

• Begging the question is also known as circular
  reasoning.
• Personal attack is also known as an ad hominem
  attack.
• False cause is also known as post hoc.
• False comparison is also known as false analogy.
• Either-or is also known as the black-and-white
  fallacy.