Persuading to Attend the Girl Scouts of the Philippines’ Inter Camp in Cotabato City
(An Analysis Using Social Judgment Theory, Agenda-Setting Theory and Cognitive Dissonance Theory)
March 18, 2008 at 7 o’clock in the evening, an hour and a half after my dad came home from work. I am cooking for my family’s supper in the kitchen when I overheard my father and younger sibling’s conversation in the living room…
Faye: Pa, naa goy inter camp ang GSP (Girl Scouts of the Philippines) karong April 13-
19 unya gusto unta ko muapil.
Tatay: Asa mana i held?
Faye: Sa Cotabato City daw.
Tatay: Na! Layua ato oy unya samuk didto. Dili, ayaw’g adto.
Faye: Gina exaggerate lang man nimo tay oi (laughs softly). Sayang man gud kayo tay.
Ako ra gud ang gi approach ni teacher about sa inter camp. Isa lang man gud daw
ka Junior and Senior Girl Scout ang mag represent per school.
Tatay: Dili lang ‘nak kay layo kaayo to. Kung magkina-unsa didto basig magsamuk
pananlitan, madamay ka. Na! May’g duol ra to kay makuha dayon ka namo. Kung
diri pa to i held sa Davao, sugtan tika unya basig wala poy signal didto sa inyong
camp site, di mi ka contact nimo. Asa man diay dapit sa Cotabato mag camping?
Faye: Sa Del Rio Resort daw.
Tatay: Kinsa man diay manguban nimo na teachers?
Faye: Wala kay inter camp man. Ang Gril Scout Council ang muuban sa mga campers,
sila ang mu serve as a guide.
Tatay: Tsk! Di man gani manguban imong teacher.
Faye: Ang Girl Scout Council man jud ang muuban kung inter camp kay sila man jud
ang nay hold sa Girl Scouts sa Davao Council. Mas mayo man kung sila ang
mag assist sa amo kay mas naa na sila’y experience sa mga dagko na mga
camping events.
Tatay: Pero mas maayo man kung teacher jud nimo imong kauban kay mas ma bantayan
ka niya, unlike sa taga Girl Scout Council na daghan kayo mo niyang bantayanan
kay daghan man mong mga taga Davao Council. Unya isa pa, ka musliman didto sa
Cotabato unya daghang NPA didto, dili lagi ko musugot.
Faye: Naa mana’y mubantay sa amo ba. Pariha atong nag camping mi sa Samal, naa
man to’y mga pulis na ga roving. Unya daghan pud ko ug matun-an sa inter
camp pa.
Tatay: Unsa man diay imong matun-an sa inter camp?
Faye: Daghan, ma train ko ug camaraderie, ug independence unya masalamuha nako ang
mga bata from other schools unya madagdagan pud akong badge.
Tatay: Makatuon ra man gihapon ka ana ba bisan di ka muapil anang inter camp unya
unsa-on mana nimo ng daghang badge oi? Himuan nalang tika ug badge (laughs
softly).
Faye: Once in a lifetime lang man gud ni siya tay. Ang thought lang gud na ako ang
giingnan ni Ma’am Serenado na junior scout kay big impact na kaayo siya sa ako
ba. Experience lang gud ako kay wala pa man jud ko ka try ug outside the
Davao City na mga camping, unya barato pud siya kung I compare nimo sa ubang
inter camps. Kumbaga learning experience nalang pud ni sa ako, summer bitaw
wala ko’y ginahimo. Pero kung dili jud ko ninyo sugtan, diri nalang ko sa balay,
tan-aw ug TV, magdula ug computer ug mag DVD mara.
Tatay: May pa diri nalang ka para safe ka. Kadaghan ug mahimo ug matun-an diri sa
balay. Dili pa jud ka makapuyan, unlike didto basig sugu-suguon ra ka sa mga
maistra.
Faye: Pero sayang man gud tay. Ang experience jud ang akong gisayangan, mintras
bata pa ko kay naa na ko’y background ana na mga things.
Tatay: Maayo manang ma experience na nimo ba pero layo man gud to ‘nak. Maayo
man pud ng makaapil ka anang mga in-ana na mga activities mintras bata pa ka,
pero Cotabato man gud to. Sige lang, isturyahan ra namo na ni mama nimo pag-a
bot niya, kug musugot , aw maka adto siguro ka.
As what you have read in the previous page, my younger sister, Faye, wanted to attend the Girl Scouts of the Philippines’ inter camp which will be held in Del Rio
Resort, Cotabato City this coming April 13-19, 2008. The 6 day inter camp will be participated by the different schools from different regions in Mindanao. An amount of P1, 600, which will cover the food and transportation fee, will be paid by each Girl Scouts who will attend the said inter camp. A one junior, one senior Girl Scout per school will be strictly followed.
Faye, an 11 year old, active junior Girl Scout of her school and a patrol leader of her class was approached by Mrs. Serenado, the adviser of Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) in Assumption College of Davao (where Faye is studying) if she would like to attend and represent her school in the said inter camp. Faye told tatay about the GSP’s inter camp and that she would like to attend the said camp At first, tatay was just relaxed, maybe he thought that the inter camp will be held within the Davao City, but when he asked where will be the venue of the said inter camp, he automatically said “no” and wouldn’t permit my sister to go to Cotabao. But Faye didn’t lose hope and continue to persuade tatay until Faye came to a point when she felt tatay would never be persuaded and would never change his mind about the inter camp. But she seems to control her emotions and be able to automatically shifts her “hopeless situation mood” back to :persuading mood” and try to persuade tatay again. Now, this caused a mind shift for tatay. Even though tatay didn’t totally agreed to the idea of sending Faye to the GSP inter camp in Cotabato City, at least he now considers sending Faye to the GSP inter camp in Cotabato City.
Hear it, then Judge it
(Social Judgment Theory)
Social Judgment Theory of Muzafer Sherif states that you have a statement or message and you accept it or reject it based on your cognitive map. You accept or reject a message based on one's own ego-involvement and if it falls within their latitude of acceptance.
My interpretation of this theory is that when people receive messages (verbal or nonverbal) they immediately judge where the message should be placed on a scale in their mind through comparing the message with currently held views.
This theory is quite useful for three primary reasons. First, it explains why people get so agitated. Second, it explains why persuasion is so difficult to accomplish. Third, it offers a good common sense plan for doing persuasion in the real world.
Faye has no background what so ever in Social Judgement Theory, she never heard the term, Social Judgment Theory. Faye just persuaded tatay to permit her attend the inter camp. When I scan Giffins’ book and read about Social Judgement Theory, I remembered Faye’s persuasion and how tatay shift his mind from a solid “you-can’t-go-decision” to “let-me-think-about-it” mood.
There are five key principles in Social Judgement Theory.
Principle 1. We have categories of judgment by which we evaluate persuasive positions.
I have listed 11 statements that reflects the range of reasons tatay expressed in his conversation with Faye about permitting her to attend the Girl Scouts of the Philippines inter camp or not.
Samuk sa Cotabato.
Layo ang Cotabato.
Dili maka uban ang teacher ni Faye.
Muslim halos sa Cotabato.
Daghang NPA
Walay communication kay Faye kay basig walay signal sa camp site.
Experience.
Ma train ang camaraderie ni Faye.
Makatuon ug independence.
Magkaroon ug daghan friends si Faye.
Madugangan ang badge.
Those were the 11 reasons tatay has in permitting Faye to attend and not to attend the inter camp. Now, according to Social Judgment Theory, we can categorize each position into one of 3 zones:
the latitude of acceptance (zone of positions we accept);
the latitude of non-commitment (zone of positions we neither accept nor reject); and
the latitude of rejection (zone of positions we reject).
Within the latitude of acceptance contained all the positions on a particular topic that we find acceptable. The first 7 reasons which are, “samuk sa Cotabato”, “layo ang Cotabato”, “dili maka uban ang teacher ni Faye”, “muslim halos sa Cotabato”, “daghang NPA”, “walay communication kay Faye kay basig walay signal sa camp site”, and experience are probably and hence would fall into tatay’s latitude of acceptance. Whithin this latitude there is one special position called the “anchor”. This is the single position that a person finds the most acceptable of all. It may be the most extreme position (“absolutely essential”), but the anchor would also be a milder position (“highly probable”). I have used an anchor that most closely represents tatay’s point of view which is, “layo ang Cotabato”. Sherif said that’s what our favored position does; it anchors our thoughts about the topic.
At some border point, we no longer accept some position, but we don’t reject it either. We are now in the latitude of non-commitment. This contains things about which we have no real opinion. In this case, tatay have no neutral point of view.
As we move out in the latitude of non-commitment, we reach the second border. As we cross this border we begin to enter the latitude of rejection. This contains issues that we reject. The last 4 which are, “matrain ang camaraderie ni Faye”, “makatuon ug
independence”, “magkaroon ug daghan friends si Faye” and “madugangan ang badge” are the reasons that are unacceptable for tatay and place them in his latitude of rejection.
Principle 2. When we receive persuasive information, we locate it on our categories of judgment
Quite simply, we determine which category a given position belongs in. When Faye told tatay that she would like to attend an inter camp, tatay will first determine which latitude it belongs. Then tatay automatically judges the received information whether he will accept or reject it.
The implication of this principle is direct. Judgment is crucial to persuasion. If you offer positions that people judge as “reject”, you are not going to be persuasive. In this particular conversation of tatay and Faye, tatay asked Faye what are the benefits she can when she joined the inter camp.
Tatay: Unsa man diay imong matun-an sa inter camp?
Faye: Daghan, ma train ko ug camaraderie, ug independence unya masalamuha nako ang
mga bata from other schools unya madagdagan pud akong badge.
Tatay: Makatuon ra man gihapon ka ana ba bisan di ka muapil anang inter camp unya
unsa-on mana nimo ng daghang badge oi? Himuan nalang tika ug badge (laughs
softly).
Because Faye provides an answer that tatay judge as a reject and now lays in his latitude of rejection, Faye wasn’t able to convinced tatay.
According to the theory, this judgment happens very rapidly. People do not passively taken information, then make judgments. Instead, people are making these judgments as they receive the information. In the beginning of their conversation, when Faye said that she would like to participate in an inter camp, tatay at first was comfortable, maybe because he thought that the inter camp that Faye was telling him about will be held within Davao City premises. But when he asked where will be the venue of their inter camp and Faye told him that it was going to be held in Cotabato City, tatay automatically judge it after receiving the information from Faye. He then judged Cotabato City as a place far from Davao and conflicts were common, so Faye got a first “no” answer from tatay.
Thus, how people judge is the key to the first step in the persuasion process. Judgments of rejection make influence extremely difficult. Judgments of non-commitment and acceptance offer the only chance for change.
It is easier to influence someone with a larger latitude of acceptance than a larger latitude of rejection. From a simple statistical viewpoint, you have more chances to
influence someone with a larger latitude of acceptance. The odds are better that you will express a position that the receiver can live with. By contrast, with a large latitude of
rejection, like tatay, what can you do? There are only a limited number of things this receiver would accept and you have to be careful. There are a lot of things you could
say that are extremely offensive. In Faye’s case she has no idea about Sherif’s Social Judgment Theory, but she seems to apply what the theory is trying to explain.
Principle 3. Our level of “ego-involvement” affects the size of our latitudes.
Ego-involvement means how important the issue is to our self-identity. An ego-involving topic is one that defines who we are and addresses critical aspects of our selves. For example in tatay’s case, the quality of life his children have (including Faye of course) is a critical issue to him. Tatay, as a parent, wanted his kids to be safe, happy, and productive. Anything that affects his children is of vital interest to him. Thus, issues revolving around the lives of his children are likely to be ego-involving for tatay.
As we become ego-involved in an issue, our latitude of rejection gets larger and our latitudes of acceptance and non-commitment get smaller. Chances are, because the topic is so important to us, we have already done a lot of thinking about it, decided what we think is the "correct" position, then built our self-concepts around that position. We have the truth on this one and everything else is wrong. Thus, according to Social Judgment Theory, ego-involved people who will think in terms of “for me or against me” have sharply defined categories of judgment.
Tatay has more latitudes of rejection than latitudes of acceptance and non-commitment, therefore he has a high ego-involvement regarding Faye’s inter camp. Because Faye, as the youngest and tatay’s one of his only two children, is so important and precious for him that he does not want Faye to get hurt. Thus, he disapproves to let Faye attend the inter camp in Cotabato City, but tatay was torn between keeping Faye safe and letting Faye attend to learn and enjoy. But keeping Faye safe was more important for tatay, it is shown in this conversation that tatay don’t want Faye to get harmed:
Faye: Gina exaggerate lang man nimo tay oi (laughs softly). Sayang man gud kayo tay.
Ako ra gud ang gi approach ni teacher about sa inter camp. Isa lang man gud daw
ka Junior and Senior Girl Scout ang mag represent per school.
Tatay: Dili lang ‘nak kay layo kaayo to. Kung magkina-unsa didto basig magsamuk
pananlitan, madamay ka. Na! May’g duol ra to kay makuha dayon ka namo. Kung
diri pa to i held sa Davao, sugtan tika unya basig wala poy signal didto sa inyong
camp site, di mi ka contact nimo.
Principle 4. We tend to distort incoming information to fit our categories of judgment.
The theory holds that we will distort incoming information depending upon the "anchor position" we hold on a given issue. You recall that the anchor is the one position in our latitude of acceptance that we find to be the most acceptable.
If incoming persuasive information falls within the latitude of acceptance and it is close to the anchor position, then people will "assimilate" the new position. That is, people will pull the new position closer to themselves and make it seem to be even more acceptable than it really is. An example of tatay and Faye’s conversation that shows this particular situation:
Faye: Once in a lifetime lang man gud ni siya tay. Ang thought lang gud na ako ang
giingnan ni Ma’am Serenado na junior scout kay big impact na kaayo siya sa ako
ba. Experience lang gud ako kay wala pa man jud ko ka try ug outside the
Davao City na mga camping, unya barato pud siya kung I compare nimo sa ubang
inter camps. Kumbaga learning experience nalang pud ni sa ako, summer bitaw
wala ko’y ginahimo. Pero kung dili jud ko ninyo sugtan, diri nalang ko sa balay,
tan-aw ug TV, magdula ug computer ug mag DVD mara.
Tatay: May pa diri nalang ka para safe ka. Kadaghan ug mahimo ug matun-an diri sa
balay. Dili pa jud ka makapuyan, unlike didto basig sugu-suguon ra ka sa mga
maistra.
In this conversation, Faye somewhat gave up persuading tatay about the inter camp so she chose to agree to tatay’s perception that she should not go to the inter camp instead, she will just stay at home and watch TV. This let tatay made it seem to be more acceptable for Faye to stay rather than to go by telling her that it is better to stay at the comforts of your own home rather than to sweat under the sun in the inter camp.
By contrast, if incoming persuasive information falls outside of the latitude of acceptance, then people will "contrast" that new position. That is, they will push the new position even farther away from themselves and make it seem worse than it really is:
Tatay: Kinsa man diay manguban nimo na teachers?
Faye: Wala kay inter camp man. Ang Gril Scout Council ang muuban sa mga campers,
sila ang mu serve as a guide.
Tatay: Tsk! Di man gani manguban imong teacher.
Faye: Ang Girl Scout Council man jud ang muuban kung inter camp kay sila man jud
ang nay hold sa Girl Scouts sa Davao Council. Mas mayo man kung sila ang
mag assist sa amo kay mas naa na sila’y experience sa mga dagko na mga
camping events.
Tatay: Pero mas maayo man kung teacher jud nimo imong kauban kay mas ma bantayan ka niya, unlike sa taga Girl Scout Council na daghan kayo mo niyang bantayanan
kay daghan man mong mga taga Davao Council. Unya isa pa, ka musliman didto sa
Cotabato unya daghang NPA didto, dili lagi ko musugot.
Because Faye’s persuasive information falls within tatay’s latitude of rejection, tatay somewhat exaggerated his response to Faye, thus in the last stanza in the above conversation, he made it seemed worse than it really is by telling Faye that it is better
if you are accompanied by your own adviser because she will take an extra effort in taking care of you.
Principle 5. Small to moderate discrepancies between our anchor positions and the one advocated will cause us to change; large discrepancies will not.
According to the theory, persuasion is a very difficult process. First of all, persuasion cannot occur if new information is judged to fall within the latitude of rejection. Second, if the person is ego-involved in the issue, then the latitude of rejection is larger than usual and persuasion is even more difficult. Third, people tend to distort new information through assimilation and contrast which
dilutes the persuasive potential of new information. There is not much room left for change.
Sherif’s theory added, that for persuasion to occur the following must happen:
the new information must fall in the latitude of acceptance.
the new information must be different from the anchor position.
the new information, while discrepant from the anchor, can't be assimilated or contrasted.
For maximum influence, the persuader must select a message that is right on the edge of the person’s (one being persuaded) level of acceptance.
In tatay and Faye’s case, Faye somehow persuaded tatay to let her participate in the inter camp because Faye gave more emphasis to the message that’s right on the edge of tatay’s latitude of acceptance which is, experience (refer to the Tatay’s cognitive map of Faye’s inter camp in Cotabato). Faye also causes tatay’s anchor position to change, from the old information that lays in tatay’s latitude of acceptance which is “layo kaayo ang Cotabato” to the new information that lays right at the edge of tatay’s latitude of acceptance which is, experience.
Faye: Pero sayang man gud tay. Ang experience jud ang akong gisayangan, mintras
bata pa ko kay naa na ko’y background ana na mga things.
Tatay: Maayo manang ma experience na nimo ba pero layo man gud to ‘nak. Maayo
man pud ng makaapil ka anang mga in-ana na mga activities mintras bata pa ka,
pero Cotabato man gud to, layo. Sige lang, isturyahan ra namo na ni mama nimo
pag-abot niya, kug musugot , aw maka adto siguro ka.
Thus, change is likely to be small and difficult to obtain. Most people most of the time are resistant to change and move to a new position slowly. The amount of change that can happen has an interesting property. It follows what is called an "upside-down U" curve. To understand this property simply visualize and inverted, or upside-down U.
A good illustration of this upside-down U is with medicine. When you get a prescription for medicine it tells you how much and how often to take it. You get the maximum benefit when you take the right amount at the right time. If you take too little medicine, you won't get better. And, if you take too much medicine you won't get better either (may even get worse).
The same thing occurs with persuasion. As long as there is the "prescribed" amount of discrepancy between the anchor position and the new position, then persuasion can occur. If the amount of discrepancy is too small or too large, then persuasion will not happen.
Not What to Think, but to Think About
(Agenda-Setting Theory)
The Agenda-Setting Theory says the media (mainly the news media) aren’t always successful at telling us what to think, but they are quite successful at telling us what to think about.
This theory of Maxwell McCombs and Donald L. Shaw is good at explaining why people with similar media exposure place importance on the same issues. Although different people may feel differently about the issue at hand, most people feel the same issues are important.
Our tatay is a heavy news program watcher. Every morning, before going to work, tatay turns on the television and watches “Unang Hirit”, a morning program of GMA7. When he returns home from work, he watches “TV Patrol” of ABS-CBN and after going to sleep, he sometimes watches “Teledyaryo” of NBN World. Tatay’s everyday exposure to the news made him think in a way that mass media wants us to think. Tatay’s negative perception about Cotabato, Muslims, and NPA are all product of Agenda-Setting Theory. The mass media tends to imposed to the public that Mindanao is a war zone and that Mindanaons were war freaks.. That in every corner of Mindanao, killings and bombings exists. Although there are times where Mindanao is really at war, but the mass media tends to exaggerate the whole story making the whole Mindanao as an ugly, dirty, and freaky place. Tatay, even though raised and born here in Mindanao perceives some parts of it as unsafe and unpeaceful especially in the Muslim areas. My tatay has a negative perception about Muslims because of Abu Sayaff, MILF, Al Qaeda, and etc. Because he watches news programs every single day , and these groups were somewhat on the news every now and then “doing negative stuff”, my tatay tends to generalize that the whole Muslim community is unmerciful and supporters of terrorism because that’s how mass media fed to its viewers. Tatay’s negative perception of Muslims became more negative when the 9/11 attack happened. The mass media at that time overly exaggerated the story thus putting the whole blame on the Muslim community and generalizing them as terrorists. Even though there were positive news shown on news programs, but the negative news were the ones dominating than positive ones. Although mass media is very important because it informs us of up-to-the-minute-news, But then news media tends to be biased when it come to informing the people.
That’s why tatay’s expression after knowing that Faye’s inter camp will be held in Coatbato City is, “Na, dili! Layo kaayo to unya samuk didto” and “ kamusliman didto sa Cotabato ba unya daghang NPA didto, dili lagi ko musugot.”
Agenda setting describe s a very powerful influence e of the media – the ability to tell us what issues are important. As far back as 1922, the newspaper columnist Walter Lippman was concerned that the media had the power to present images to the public.
Do not Distress Me
(Cognitive Dissonance Theory)
Former Stanford University psychologist Leon Festinger came up with the theory of cognitive dissonance . This theory basically states that cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state when people do things they wouldn't normally do, or have opinions that don't go along with opinions they already hold. Festinger said we naturally avoid dissonance because we want to stay consistent. The more important the issue or the more amount of change we make as a result, the higher amount of dissonance we feel. The tension of dissonance motivates us to change either our behavior or our belief in an effort to avoid that distressing feeling
Faye: Once in a lifetime lang man gud ni siya tay. Ang thought lang gud na ako ang
giingnan ni Ma’am Serenado na junior scout kay big impact na kaayo siya sa ako
ba. Experience lang gud ako kay wala pa man jud ko ka try ug outside the
Davao City na mga camping, unya barato pud siya kung I compare nimo sa ubang
inter camps. Kumbaga learning experience nalang pud ni sa ako, summer bitaw
wala ko’y ginahimo. Pero kung dili jud ko ninyo sugtan, diri nalang ko sa balay,
tan-aw ug TV, magdula ug computer ug mag DVD mara.
Tatay: May pa diri nalang ka para safe ka. Kadaghan ug mahimo ug matun-an diri sa
balay. Dili pa jud ka makapuyan, unlike didto basig sugu-suguon ra ka sa mga
maistra.
Faye’s statement, “pero kung dili jud ko ninyo sugtan, diri nalang ko sa balay,
tan-aw ug TV, magdula ug computer ug mag DVD mara.”, somewhat admits her surrender to the idea of going to Cotabato and represent her school. Faye provides an acceptable explanation for abandoning her efforts to persuade tatay, maybe Faye thought that tatay would never change his decision towards the inter camp. Thus, Faye creates this comforting idea so she could avoid distressing herself.
According to Cognitive Dissonance theory, when people are in an absurd situation, their minds rationalize it by inventing a comfortable illusion. Like in Faye’s situation, she created an illusion to just stay in the comforts of her own home and do what ever she wants because tatay would never allow her to join the GSP inter camp in Cotabato City. When cognitive dissonance, or the lack of such consistency, arises, the person unconsciously seeks to restore consistency by changing his or her behavior, beliefs, or perceptions. The focus of this theory is attitude change.
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Works Cited
DeVito, Jodeph A. The Interpersonal Communication Book. 6th ed. HarperCollins Publishes Inc., 1992.
Samovar, Larry A. and Richard E. Porter. Intercultural Communication. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2000
Griffin, EM. A First Look at Communication Theor.6th ed. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2003.
Littlejohn, Stephen. Theories of Human Communication. 4th ed. California: International Thompson Publishing Company, 1997.
Wood, Julia T. Communication Theories in Action. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997.
