Chapter 5
Theoretical Underpinnings for PR
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PR Theory
• Borrowed from
– Organizational and management theory
– Political theory
– Communication theory
– Persuasion theory
• All have roots in sociology and psychology with
some connection to math, biology and physics
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Four Sociological Theories
• Help us understand how people respond to
mass and specialized communication
– Structural functionalism
– Evolutionary perspective
– Social conflict
– Symbolic interactionism
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Five Psychological
Approaches
• Often used in studies on the effects of mass
communication
– Neurobiological
– Comparative
– Behavioral
– Psychoanalytic
– Cognitive
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Two Persuasion Models
• Help us to understand how people interpret
messages
– Sociocultural paradigm
– Psychodynamic
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Organizational Theory
• Based on general systems theory: parts of
system are interrelated function as a whole that
is greater than the sum of its parts
• Theoretical concept can be found in works of
Hegel
• Cultural approach looks at development, impact
of organization’s culture
• Critical approach examines sources of power
and control in an organization
• Postmodern approach focuses on post 1960s
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Communication and Behavioral
Theory
• Behavioral models, theories replacing communication
models and theories as core underpinning of PR
• Behavioral models suggest PR is social science
• Behavioral models suggest PR communication must
focus on direct, personal and not mass appeals
• Behavioral models shift objective and focus away from
communication model’s emphasis on creating or
retaining awareness to creating and retaining a
behavioral response
• Behavioral models really asymmetrical even though PR
“best practices” are symmetrical
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Symmetrical Behavioral Model
• Gauge existing levels of awareness
• Investigate responses in attempt to create, raise
or sustain awareness
• Measure latent readiness to act
• Monitor responses to triggering event
• Evaluate behavior to determine why particular
action was taken
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Winning People Over
• Three basic ways to get people to do what
you want:
– Power: use authority, implied or overt
threat of compulsion
– Patronage: as crude as bribery, as
delicate as celebrity endorsement
– Persuasion: using communication to win
people over
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Steps in Persuasion Process
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Presenting
Attending
Comprehending
Yielding
Retaining
Acting
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PR and Persuasion
• Frequently used to change opinions
• Most critical factor in opinion change is
information or the lack thereof
• Critical how information is presented or
withheld
• Access to information and selective use of it
combines tools of power and persuasion
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Personal Persuaders
• Organizations and significant others who
exercise leverage over others
• Involves recognition and acceptance of
their authority
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Impersonal Persuaders
• Less potent and influential than personal
persuaders
• Mass media editorials and advertisements
• Information disseminated by educational
and government institutions
• Content of entertainment
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Framing
• Sometimes attributed to art
• Definitions abound
• Agreement focuses on three elements: selection,
emphasis, connection of information to lead
readers/viewers to a particular conclusion
• PR practitioners frame issues
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Opinion Makers and News
Managers
• May be someone who creates an event that
becomes news when it happens and is
covered
• May be someone who focuses media
attention on an event that might be
otherwise overlooked
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Propaganda and Persuasion
Appeals
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Name calling
Glittering generalities
Transfer
Testimonials
Plain folks
Bandwagon
Card stacking
Emotional stereotypes
Illicit silence
Subversive rhetoric
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Propaganda
• Not necessarily negative
• Nothing inherent about propaganda that
prevents it from being used to change
attitudes and behavior constructively
• Propagandists try to teach people what to
think, while educators try to teach people
how to think
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Cantril’s Laws
• Events affect opinion
• Demands for action are a common
response once opinion is formed
• People will become involved out of self
interest
• People seek leaders for issues around
which opinion develops
• Reliability is difficult to assess
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Cialdini’s Self-Persuasion
Elements
• Consistency: once they commit to a position,
people are more likely to perform behaviors
consistent with that position
– Draws on Festinger’s theory of cognitive
dissonance
– Draws on Rokeach’s theory of beliefs,
attitudes and values
• Reciprocity: people are influenced by a sense
that they “owe” or are beholden to others
• Social validation: people are more influenced to
behave in a certain way
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Cialdini’s Self-Persuasion
Elements (cont.)
• Authority: people are more willing to follow
the suggestions of someone considered a
legitimate authority
• Scarcity: people want items and
opportunities that are viewed as scarce or
dwindling
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Earl Newsom’s Persuasion
Principles
• Identification: people will relate to an idea or
opinion if they see it having a direct effect
on them
• Suggestion of action: people will respond to
ideas that are accompanied by a proposed
action by the sponsor of the idea or if the
recipients themselves propose it
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Earl Newsom’s Persuasion
Principles (cont.)
• Familiarity and trust: people are unwilling to
accept ideas from sources if they don’t trust
or know them
• Clarity: people need to clearly understand
the meaning of an idea before they can be
persuaded to accept it
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Opinion Leaders
• Vocal activists
• Opinion leaders, both mass media and
individuals
• Power leaders: government officials,
legislators, others who have power to take
actions
• Increasingly it is the power leaders who
have the most influence
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Persuasion Strategies
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Stimulus-response
Cognitive
Motivational
Social appeal
Personality appeal
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Impediments to Persuasion
• Cognitive dissonance could occur:
sometimes less social persuasion produces
more attitude change because people feel
they have freely chosen a particular opinion
or behavior
• Truth is personal: much “truth” is
circumstantial, subjective so the same
“truth” may be interpreted differently by
different individuals
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Media Theories
• Lasswell’s Theory: who says what in which
channels to whom with what effect
– Ignores feedback
• Source is the “who”
– Credibility, expertise generally important
– People tend to believe sources that are like
them or who they want to be like
– People also tend to seek authority in sources
– Source characteristics can be negated if a
message lacks quality, plausibility
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Media Theories (cont.)
• Messages are the “what”
– The content has consequences
– So does the way it is presented (telling both
sides, linking the familiar to the unfamiliar)
– Repetition generally increases learning
– Always tell people what they are expected to
think or do
– Present something of value to the public and be
compatible with the public’s mindset
– Each message needs a purpose
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Media Theories (cont.)
– Each message should appeal to some
need or interest in the audience such as
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:
• physical needs
• safety
• love
• self-esteem
• self-actualization
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Media Theories (cont.)
– Each message needs texture: color, design,
movement, sound that appeal to the intended
audience
– Message language must mean the same thing to the
audience as it does to the source and must have
maximum impact on the viewer or listener: no jargon,
maximum clarity, maximum emotional impact
– Messages are increasingly globally accessible,
cultural considerations, different values are
increasingly important
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Media Theories (cont.)
• Media are the channels
– Complexity of message influences choice: print handles
complexity best, video best for simple messages
– Some messages involve their audiences more: computers
interactively involve, TV passively involves
– Media orientation of public most critical factor to consider
in choosing a channel: uses and gratifications research
essential
– Knowing not just who receives the channel but who pays
attention to it and remembers it is important
– Knowing which channels are considered credible also
should be a factor in choosing the right medium
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Media Theories (cont.)
• Receivers are the “to whom”
– Sometimes messages must be adjusted to minimize
differences between the source and receivers
– If messages are “tuned out” they are not really received
– Messages must be encoded into something personally
meaningful to an intended receiver
– Distortions, distractions, noise must be taken into account
– Symbols must be chosen carefully to be sure they have
intended meaning to the receivers
– Receiver stereotypes must be taken into account both in
terms of how they influence encoding and decoding of
messages
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Media Theories (cont.)
• Response to a message is the “with what effect”
– How people respond is a function of anticipation, expectations
and assumptions
– Comprehension and acceptance of messages must occur before
a receiver can fashion a response
– Some receivers will respond to group dynamics in fashioning
their response
– Others will strive to reduce discrepancies or cognitive
dissonance
– Some people take behavior cues from external causes, while
others respond to internal causes
– All opinions, attitudes and actions are affected by family, friends,
informal work groups and formal groups, so no message “works”
in isolation from these influences
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Models of Information Processing
• Information processing is critical in
communication: models that predict behavior
successfully are especially useful in a public
relations communications campaign
• Grunig’s model of publics and how they seek and
process information is significant
• Publics range from active to inactive, and their
behavior ranges from seeking information to just
processing it
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Models of Information Processing
(cont.)
• Individuals are more likely to seek and process
information if they think it will help them solve a
problem and if they are personally involved
• Those who are constrained are less likely to
either seek or process information
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Diffusion Process
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Awareness (presenting)
Information( attending)
Evaluation (comprehending)
Trial (yielding)
Adoption (retaining)
Reinforcement ( retaining)
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