About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about persuasion, focusing in particular on: (i) the tri-dimensional model of attitudes, made up of feelings, knowledge and experiences; (ii) Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour, comprising of attitudes, awareness of norms and confidence in your ability to control behaviour; (iii) the origin of attitudes lying in upbringing and the people around you; (iv) the methods of persuasion, including spokesperson, the message, and aspects of the target audience which need to be considered; (v) factors which impact the effectiveness of the message’s source or spokesperson, including their credibility and attractiveness (likeability and similarity to the target audience); (vi) factors which impact the effectiveness of the message, including the route they take (factual or emotive); (vii) factors of the audience which impact their ability to be persuaded, including intelligence, self-esteem and age.

About the lecturer

Dr Cathal O’Siochru is a senior lecturer in education studies at Liverpool Hope University and has a background in psychology, research methods and education. Dr O’Siochru’s research interests include the psychology of education, epistemological and pedagogical beliefs, and assessment practices. Some of Dr O’Siochru’s recent publications include 'Action learning: how can it contribute to a collaborative process of pedagogical action research?' (2020) and 'Academic perspectives of metrics: Procedural justice as a key factor in evaluations of fairness' (2019).