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EMOTIONAL APPEALS

Week 7

READ 142

Fall 2010

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PRESENTATIONS NEXT TWO WEEKS

BRING YOUR PACKET NEXT WEEK. Presentation (20 points) Participation (12 points) 2 logical fallacies chart completed

during presentations Member Evaluation Members in your group will evaluate

your contribution (15 points)

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Let’s go over your reading for the week. Please get into five groups.

Group 1: Questions 1 & 2 Group 2: Question 3 Group 3: Questions 4 & 5 Group 4: Questions 6 & 7 Group5: Question 8

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EMOTIONAL APPEALS

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DEFENSE ATTORNEY

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I urge you to acquit John Jones of this crime of murder. He is married and has three children. If he is executed or goes to prison for life, his family will end up in the poorhouse.”

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PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

“Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to convict John Jones of this crime of murder. We need to put him where he can never commit any crimes. If you don’t convict him, you may be his next victim.”

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SOUND CONVINCING?

Both arguments sound convincing, but you can’t take both sides.

Both sides are manipulating with emotions. Neither side has addressed the real issue. What is the real issue?

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EMOTIONAL APPEALS

An appeal is something that makes an argument attractive, worth considering, plausible.

Appeals are considered illegitimate when they serve as substitutes for evidence and seeks to control our emotions, which diverts us from the real argument.

This becomes manipulative propaganda. Manipulative propaganda is used when

someone plays with our emotions in a way designed to make us agree with them without thinking through the matter carefully.

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(FAULTY) APPEAL TO AUTHORITY

A faulty appeal to authority is an appeal to someone who has no special knowledge in the area being discussed.

“My car mechanic says the best way to fix computer problems is to just give the computer a good, sharp kick. He says it should always work.”

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APPEAL TO FEAR

An appeal to fear is used when someone makes you fear the consequences of not doing what he wants.

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APPEAL TO PATRIOTISM

An appeal to patriotism suggests that an argument is worth holding out of loyalty to one’s country, political party, or some other group.

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APPEAL TO PITY OR SYMPATHY

When someone tries to make us do something only because we pity him or her, that person is appealing to pity.

“Mr. Jones lost the last election because his opponent used a smear campaign to discredit him. Mr. Jones lost the election before that because of voter fraud. Mr. Jones lost the election before that because nobody knew who he was. Don’t you think it is about time you voted for Mr. Jones?”

WSPA commercial

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APPEAL TO PREJUDICE

Using emotionally charged terms to attach value or moral goodness to believing a claim.

It inflames negative feelings, beliefs, or stereotypes about a particular group.

Of course the federal government should build a fence along the border. Illegal immigrants sneak across the border now and take jobs away from Americans who are out of work.

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Editorial: Anti-Gay Violence in Super Bowl Ads Still Not Funny

http://www.afterelton.com/TV/2008/2/superbowlads

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APPEAL TO TRADITION

When someone makes an appeal to tradition, he or she encourages to buy some product or take some action because it is associated with things of the past.

"Our society has always ridden horses. It would be foolish to start driving cars.”

"Your invention is a bad idea because it has no historical precedent."

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MACY’S TV COMMERCIAL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm2FJMJWKkQ

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WITH YOUR GROUP, COME UP WITH AN APPEAL ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

1. appeal to authority2. appeal to patriotism3. appeal to prejudice4. appeal to fear5. appeal to pity or sympathyAll Groups: appeal to tradition

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LET’S GO OVER PRACTICE EXERCISES.

Turn to page 352 in your textbook. On a piece of paper, put your name and label

this “Emotional Appeals” Practice Exercise 3

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OTHER MANIPULATIVE APPEALS

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BANDWAGON

Should you by a product just because it is the most popular?

The bandwagon technique appeals to the reader’s need to belong and to do what everyone is doing.

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APPEAL TO FLATTERY

An appeal to flattery occurs whenever a person attempts to compliment or flatter another in order to get her to accept the truth of a claim.

“People who know their cars choose the Thunderbolt.”

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JUST PLAIN FOLKS

The plain folks appeal is an attempt by the speaker or writer to convince the public that his or her views reflect those of the common person and that they are also working for the benefit of the common person.

Walmart commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbucVty-_xs&feature=related

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TRANSFER

Transfer is an appeal in which someone tries to make us transfer our good or bad feelings about one thing to another unrelated thing.

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NAME CALLING

Writers may use name calling to deflect attention away from the real argument.

This old WWII propaganda poster calls Japanese citizens the enemy. Also this poster makes them look like monsters.  

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RIDICULE This appeal asks the reader to dismiss an idea by subjecting it to

ridicule rather than by analyzing its inherent weaknesses. It may substitute humor for supporting evidence.

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TESTIMONIAL

The testimonial technique uses a famous person.

The testimonial tries to connect the writer’s opinion to the reader’s feeling about this person.

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TESTIMONIAL

This man seems like a normal, likeable guy.

The text is written as if he is talking directly to the reader.

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WITH YOUR GROUP, COME UP WITH AN APPEAL ABOUT THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

1. bandwagon appeal2. plain folks3. ridicule or name calling4. transfer5. flatteryAll Groups: testimonial

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LET’S GO OVER SOME EXERCISES.

Turn to page 358. LABEL THIS PRACTICE EXERCISE 4

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SARAH PALIN’S SPEECH

Listen to Sarah Palin’s speech.1. emotional appeals in paragraphs 1-362. emotional appeals in paragraphs 37-743. emotional appeals in paragraphs 75-1094. relevant facts & reasons, 37-745. relevant facts & reasons, 75-109

appeal to authorityappeal to fearappeal to patriotism

appeal to prejudiceplain folks ridicule/name calling

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Conclusion

• Emotional appeal techniques can be extremely effective in persuading the reader to act on a feeling.

• If we focus on the facts instead of the feelings, we will make a better decision about the writer’s opinion.

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CONCLUSION

Fallacious appeals to emotions are effective because it's easier for most people not to think critically, but to rely on their gut reaction; and it's easier for the person making the appeal to excite his listeners' emotions than to construct a persuasive argument.

As a result, those who try to persuade us most often--politicians and advertisers-- tend to rely on emotional appeals in order to motivate us to do things that we might not do for purely rational reasons.