Unformatted Attachment Preview
Winter 2018
Psyc 3330 Media Project: Persuasion in the Media
Worth 18% of your final mark
Students’ objective: to demonstrate their understanding of the persuasion techniques
discussed in class and in the textbook; to select and discuss media materials that reflect
five different persuasion techniques used in advertising.
Due Date: March 22, 2018. Late Penalty: 2 marks per day.
For this assignment, you will assemble a portfolio of advertisements or other promotional
materials that demonstrate the use of various persuasion techniques. As you read
magazines or newspapers or watch TV, you should keep your eye out for examples of the
persuasion techniques noted at the end of this handout. These techniques will be discussed
in class and several are also covered in the textbook.
Potential advertisement sources include magazines, newspapers, flyers, junk mail, e-mail,
posters, and billboards. If you find something that you cannot hand in (e.g., a billboard), you
may submit a photo of it. You may record a commercial from television and submit it in digital
format (e.g. on a flash drive), however videos from YouTube or other internet sites are not
permitted. You may include up to one video ad in your project.
Note: if you use an ad from the internet, it needs to be with your project to be marked.
Submitting an URL or web link is not acceptable. You must print off the ad and submit it with
your project.
Requirements:
You must find and include 5 advertisements from the general media, each demonstrating a
different persuasion technique (selected from the list on the next page).
Each ad example must have its exact source and date noted and be accompanied by at least
a 2-paragraph description (one page double-spaced) that introduces and explains the
psychology behind the persuasion technique and then describes how the specific ad
illustrates that technique. Note that you need to discuss how that particular technique works.
All media examples must be current, i.e., taken from a source dated January 1, 2018 or
newer. Points will be deducted for ads that are too old.
You cannot use ads that are the same or very similar to the examples shown in class.
The assignment must be typed, double-spaced, with citations and references in APA format.
APA format : When using material from the text or other academic sources (including class
PowerPoint slides), you must cite your sources in APA format (and include a References
page). Marks will be deducted for improper or missing APA formatting. The title page does
not need to be in APA format.
M. Janicki
1
Winter 2018
Marking Criteria:
This assignment will be marked out of 50, 10 marks for each ad example and accompanying
paragraphs.
The ad examples and accompanying paragraphs will be evaluated on the following criteria:
•
Explanation of persuasion technique – must be accurately defined and clearly written.
The psychology underlying the technique must be explained, as well as how the
technique is operating in the chosen ad. (6 marks)
•
Appropriateness of clipping/ad – How well the example illustrates the use of the
particular persuasion technique (4 marks)
4 marks: excellent example
3 marks: pretty good example
2 marks: resembles technique to a small degree
1 mark: really stretching it
0: definitely not an example of the technique
You must choose 5 of the following persuasion techniques for this assignment (i.e.,
only from this list):
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
self-enhancement
other-enhancement
classical conditioning
authority
deadline
scarcity (playing hard to get)
social validation/social proof
foot-in-the-door
door-in-the-face
free gifts
“that’s not all”
o Note: very old infomercials such as “Magic Bullet” ,“SlapChop”, ShamWow, and
Snuggie are not permitted.
Assembling the project:
A well put-together project has all attachments securely attached, and labeled. The
project should be organized so that it is clear to see which ad is associated with each
description. For print ads, be sure to include the entire ad, not just a portion of it. For ads
recorded off the television, ensure there is good quality audio and video. Do not submit nonvideo ads in digital format; a hard copy should be with your project.
Note: Late assignments must be submitted to the HSS assignment drop box by N3303.
M. Janicki
2