The Power Of Influence

Abstract

This research explores the relationship between automatic influence and decision-making, and basic emotions and judgment. The three interrelated questions consist of the following: firstly, to what extent do the weapons of influence gain compliance; secondly, are consumers aware of the influence used in advertisements; and thirdly, does a certain emotion invoke a stronger reaction to approval than others? To answer the research questions, a survey was designed and conducted into 3 sections, each representing a different theme. The first section involved finding different demographics, and section 2 involved video advertisements and revealed which emotions were experienced during the advertisements and how that affected the survey respondents’ judgment of the advert. Finally, section 3 displayed 6 image advertisements that each represented a separate automatic weapon of influence to explore the compliance results between favorite adverts and purchase decisions. Data was collected from 77 participants on social media platforms, Facebook, and Instagram. After content analysis, the research results found that the automatic weapons of influence had a significant impact on gaining compliance through advertisements, specifically in the influence principles “social proof”, “scarcity” and “reciprocity” and that different genders also revealed a difference in preference regarding the automatic weapons of influence. The research also found that participants were aware of the influence characteristics involved in advertising and that higher happiness scores affected judgment positively and lower disgust scores affected judgment negatively. The other basic emotions showed no significant results.