Communication is transmitting or exchanging information. Beyond the initial exchange, we find many types of communication. Be it binary, visual, or audible, we use signals to decode, compile, formulate, and decide, making communication the most crucial aspect of living.
Cialdini’s 2009 article illustrates the turkey’s mothering behavior as an example of the squeaky wheel, which is relevant to examples of how communication plays into my everyday life. But, I will transfer this example to cats. I have a vocal cat and a less than a vocal cat. Each endeavor to convey their needs and wishes to me every day. The vocal cat is the squeaky wheel. When Chester wants something, he lets you know it and will not stop yawling until he gets what he wants. It’s up to me to try and ascertain what he wants. Clean the litter box? Need new water? How about another scoop of food? Their food is an issue. The bowl can be full, except for a hole in the middle, to the bottom of the bowl, that will make him yawl until I have at least shaken the bowl, so the food covers the bottom.
The less-than-vocal cat is also good at getting her way. The only time she lets out a meow is for whipped cream, milk, or yogurt. The rest of the time, she tends to infer her will by other audible signals like scratching at the walls, getting into paper or plastic bag on the floor, right down to walking up and sitting between you and the screen you are trying to analyze. Now the squeaky wheel in my house gets most of the grease, as I am sure it does in yours. But, when my non-vocal cat starts scratching walls, you can bet I stop what I’m doing and make sure she’s happy. In this respect, my response to my cats’ communication has become automated through time and conditioning. When the turkey chicks peep, they get attention, and when my cats vie for mine, I stop and tend to them.
Here’s where we turn directly to the majority of our reading’s primary purpose, persuasion, and the process of decision making. Persuasion/persuade – “1. to cause (someone) to do something by asking, arguing, or giving reasons or – 2. to cause (someone) to believe something: to convince”, according to Webster online.
At this moment, I am typing this, and my less-than-vocal cat wants to leave the room. Do I continue to work? How long do I continue to write before she starts scratching the walls? I really can’t stand that noise, so do I get up now and let her out or wait until I finish my thought… and there she goes scratching at the walls. It’s hard to think about anything else. I’m inclined to make her wait, but now she is seeking out another diversion, making it impossible for me to concentrate on what I’m writing. But, I feel a push to finish my paragraph. So I’m here typing. Will my work be better or less informative? Will my cat settle down and let me finish this thought? She’s circling, looking for some other noisemaker to persuade me. Her last resort is to hop in front of the laptop and step on keys, possibly sending an email to the chancellor or provost. My anxiety sets in. If I just let her out, I can continue to write. My cat has complete control over my production. Her needs circumvent every other in my perspective. So, I get up and let her out. She’s persuaded me. “Automatic, stereotyped behavior is prevalent in much human action, because in many cases, it is the most efficient form of behaving (Gigerenzer &: Goldstein, 1996), and in other cases, it is simply necessary (Bodenhausen, Macrae, &: Sherman, 1999; Fiske &: Neuberg, 1990)” (Cialdini, 2009 p.7).
Verbally or non-verbally, coercion is a significant initiative, and it’s the money maker. If my cat can convince me to open the door so she can go out, then I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter can convince me that it’s ok to eat whipped vegetable oil with butter flavoring. Greenpeace can persuade you to donate $200 to save the whales, and I may believe that this razor shaves my legs better.
Ironically, the readings have more to do with adverse communication outcomes than positive as well as the decision process and the results. “Obviously, one must comprehend an idea before one can assess it. Put another way, before one can consider an idea true, one must consider it truly” to quote Rene Descartes (Gilbert, 1991, p.108). This idea of getting people to do what you want focuses on your inability to make an informed decision through lack of time or other stimuli taking away from the thought process. You don’t have time to consider all the variables in the modern world, so the squeaky wheel or the best deal gets the money.
Examining the influences, or distractions, negative or positive, that we have to filter and process, like my cats deciding to meow at me to fill a hole in the food bowl or scratching at the walls. It’s a good thing I can choose not to pinch my cat’s head off when she scratches at the walls. According to the articles we have read, my response can all depend on the stimulus of influence such as a cat hater telling me that I would never have to hear that noise again if I got rid of the cat. Thankfully, the grounding is my belief that the animals that live with me have chosen me to take care of them. My (click, whirr) response to the stimulus of their needs has bolstered that belief. It’s ingrained. “Beliefs in the broad and everyday sense, involve both the mental representation and the positive assessment of meaningful information” (Gilbert, 1991, p.107).
The rest of our readings appeared to focus on swaying people from their beliefs. Positive or negative stimuli to convert an opinion. Whether they are distracted or concentrating weighs into the result. And, most often, it’s the shortcut, automatic response that dictates the product of the consideration. Opinion, power, and reconciling all fall into the mechanics of being compliant.
Our conclusion is in the power of silence to convert opinion. Silence is golden, and if you don’t hear about it for a time, it goes away.
“Tocqueville recounts the decline of the French church in the middle of the eighteenth century and the manner in which contempt for religion became a general and reigning passion among the French. A major factor, he tells us, was the silence of the French Church: “Those who retained their belief in the doctrines of the Church became afraid of being alone in their allegiance and, dreading isolation more than error, professed to share the sentiments of the majority. So what was, in reality, the opinion of only a part of the nation came to be regarded as the will of all and for this reason seemed irresistible, even to those who had given it this false appearance.” (Noelle-Neumann, p.7)
Do I sit here and ignore my cat? No, I can’t because I respect her needs, and I respect the cat. But in The Spiral of Silence, if the cats did not make a peep, I might forget I have cats. Or suppose other circumstances were affecting my actions. In that case, I may not stop to tend to the cat, but, from personal experience, when it came to the baby against the cat, I can say that the cat wins out first, and the baby gets a cuddle and a suckle once it’s quiet. And there you go for disruptive stimulus persuading reactions.
Bibliography:
Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: Science and practice (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
Gilbert, D. T. (1991). How mental systems believe. American Psychologist, 46(2), 107–119. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.46.2.107
Noelle-Neumann, E. (1984). The spiral of silence: Public opinion, our social skin. University of Chicago Press. https://utk.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UTN_KNOXVILLE/bcmt7h/alma995810820102311
Communication Definition & Meaning—Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication
Persuade Definition & Meaning—Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/persuade
