"Rick Perloff has a remarkable talent for unpacking and explaining complex ideas, getting across both the core point and the nuances--while being engaging and entertaining all along the way. And those qualities are on full display in this new edition of Dynamics of Persuasion. Anyone interested in a smart introduction to theory and research about persuasive communication will want to look at this updated classic." – Dr. Daniel J. O'Keefe, Owen L. Coon Professor, Northwestern University Department of Communication Studies
"Dr. Perloff’s Dynamics of Persuasion has been the go-to book for undergraduate and graduate students since its original publication close to 30 years ago. There have been remarkable changes in our understanding of attitudes and persuasion since that original publication. But Dr. Perloff has captured these often-nuanced changes in our thinking across the editions of Dynamics of Persuasion. The 7th edition continues the tradition of being the most up-to-date and comprehensive textbook in this area." – Dr. Dave Ewoldsen, Professor of Media and Information, Michigan State University
"Perloff presents another edition of the classic book with an abundance of classic theories and persuasion research in contemporary and updated contexts and topics, with particular attention to replication of classic studies and changes that digital and social transformations have brought to the study of persuasion. It is a masterful synthesis of persuasion theory, research, and practice, in a very accessible manner." -- Dr. Lijiang Shen, Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences, Penn State University
"Richard Perloff is a great thinker and storyteller on the art and science of persuasion. In the 7th edition of his classic textbook, Dynamics of Persuasion, Perloff readily shows his command on the ever-expanding literature on persuasion and effortlessly brings the research to life through engrossing and accessible writing. This book is a treasure for students and everyone else curious about the human mind and its susceptibility to persuasive communication. Perloff is one of the most notable scholar-writers on the subject of persuasion today." – Dr. Xiaoli Nan, Professor of Communication Science and Director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication, University of Maryland, College Park
"This updated and expanded volume offers an insightful, reflective, and exceedingly accessible look at what we know about persuasion theory and research amid massive transformations in human communication in the digital age. It rethinks the evidence behind many time-honored assumptions and engages with contemporary communication controversies, challenges, and conundrums, all with engaging examples and prose." – Dr. Jeff Niederdeppe, Director of the Health Communication Research Initiative (HCRI) and Director of Graduate Studies in Communication, Cornell University
Part 1: Foundations
1. Introduction to Persuasion
2. Foundations of Persuasion
3. Historical, Scientific, and Ethical Foundations
Part 2: The Nature of Attitudes
4. Attitudes: Definition and Structure
5. The Power of Our Passsions: Theory and Research on Strong Attitudes
6. Attitudes: Functions and Consequences
7. Attitude Measurement
Part 3: Changing Attitudes and Behavior
8. Processing Persuasive Communications
9. "Who Says It": Charisma, Authority, and the Controversial Milgram Study
10. "Who Says It": Credibility and Social Attractiveness
11. Fundamentals of the Message
12. Emotional Message Appeals: Fear and Guilt
13. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Part 4: Persuasive Communication Contexts
14. Interpersonal Persuasion
15. Advertising, Marketing, and Persuasion
16. Health Communication Campaigns
Richard M. Perloff, Professor of Communication, Psychology, and Political Science at Cleveland State University, is a nationally recognized scholar of persuasion and psychological perceptions of media. His Dynamics of Persuasion, first published in 1993, has emerged as a major scholarly textbook in the field. His articles on communication theories and psychological perceptions of news have appeared in Communication Theory, Communication Research, and Mass Communication and Society. A dedicated teacher, he has received teaching awards at Cleveland State University.