Persuasion Research

Focusing on persuasion within non-profit contexts, our research examines the influence of verbal and visual message elements on audience responses. Such responses encompass attitudes, intentions as well as actual behaviors. Granted by the Swiss National Science Foundation we thus investigate counter-persuasion in environmental campaigns. Over a three-year period, we will explore to what extent visual imagery may evoke reactance— a form of resistance—in the audience. Our aim is to demonstrate that certain types of visual images de-crease the effectiveness of environmental campaigns by making people feel threatened in their freedom to choose. We are proud to conduct this research in collaboration with Prof. Dr. James Price Dillard and Dr. des. Yuwei Li from the Pennsylvania State University (USA). visualizations.

Granted from the C.R. Anderson Research Fund of the Association for Business Communication, we conduct an experimental research project investigating the persuasive effects of visual and verbal relational cues in donor appeals. The study will provide answers as to whether image and text should be combined in such a way to convey personal closeness or rather a professional distance. The project will contribute to existing business communication research by demonstrating how seemingly subtle relational cues influence the effectiveness of donor appeals.

Due to our interest in effects of persuasive messages, we launched a project on related user engagement on social media platforms. Through an extensive quantitative content analysis, we examined how the use of visual and verbal requests affects the extent to which users like, share or comment on a post. Our sample encompasses more than 2,000 Facebook posts published by nonprofit organizations featured on the Forbes Top 100 Charities list. Currently, we are in the process of analyzing the data and anticipate publishing our findings in the upcoming year.