CMNS 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Robert Cialdini, Copycat Suicide

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Communication
• Course: CMNS 110
• Professor: Gary Mc Carron

Document Summary

Robert cialdini: reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof (cognitive dissonance, liking (ethos, authority, scarcity. Semiotic shortcuts: tendency to respond to symbolic behaviour without the felt need for critical reflection. Slogans/logos: social experience verses individual experience. Social experience explain why semiotic shortcuts are useful and attractive. Individual experience explains why they can be dangerous and misleading. Fixed action patterns: instinctive responses to external stimuli, usually imitating sequence of behaviour: courtship, feeding, etc, fixed action patterns are set in motion by specific trigger features. Do people have fixed action patterns of behavior: we do have a number of biological dispositions over which we have limited control. Appetite, thirst, sexual arousal, fatigue, emotional responses, etc: (cid:862)because(cid:863): make a semiotic shortcut. There must be a good reason behind it. Unlike animals, people may also have fixed-action patterns of behavior that are non- biological by cultural: the contrast principle.