The Art and Science of Persuasion

By Deirdre D. Johnston

Book Overview

The Art and Science of Persuasion This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0697128903
• ISBN13: 9780697128904
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: Brown & Benchmark Pub
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.8" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Persuasion as both an art and a science

I have used "The Art and Science of Persuasion" as my textbook for an upper level Persuasion course. I selected it for three main reasons. First, as the title indicates, Johnston treats persuasion as both an art and a science, which is perfect when your class is divided between students who study rhetoric and those who do communication research Second, the concepts she provides in terms of strategies, appeals, etc., work well with the assignments for the class, which involved using textbook concepts to explain and evaluate the persuasion in a case study selected by the students for them to work with the entire semester (e.g., Why I picked this college, Why I accepted the marriage proposal, Why Rhett leaves Scarlett, Why Rose gets back on the Titanic, etc.). Finally, the book deals with persuasion on a societal level that allowed me to use the elections that were happening that semester as an on-going case study. Part I, "The Nature of the Beast" Definitions, Myths & Issues" offers a functional definition of persuasion, lays out six traditional approaches to studying the concept, and raises fundamental issues of ethics involving persuasion. Part II, "Components of Persuasion," uses a basic communication model to analyze the process of persuasion: symbols, source, message and receiver. In these chapters Johnston covers communication goals, persuasive strategies and appeals, types of reasoning and fallacies, and characteristics of the persuader. Part III, "The Process of Persuasion," is the heart of the book, dealing with constructing a receiver profile, understanding and measuring cognition, analyzing symbolic meaning, and changing attitudes/beliefs/behavior. Part IV, "The Impact of Persuasion on Society," expands the concept to broader levels dealing with propaganda, social movements and public information campaigns. Overall, using this book worked quite well in helping students to gain a working understanding of the process of persuasion. Bottom Line: I would use this book again the next time I teach the class.