In our commercially saturated world, we are hit with persuasive messages every day to buy this thing, take this medication (and ignore the list of side effects), go to this place, wear this pair of shoes. Every website that we visit has advertisements in the margins, blocking our view of what we clicked on the page to look at. Billboards, magazines, celebrities are all screaming for our undivided attention and money. More and more of our consciousness is taken up by companies wanting our money to become their market share. How we are persuaded is researched and used to gain our trust, our participation, and our loyalty to the brand. But how are subtle, and not-so-subtle, methods used to entice us?

think about the last time you were in a position to make an important decision in which someone was in a position to persuade you. Which of the six methods were overtly expressed, and which did you only recognize after watching the video? Describe the event in some detail, and describe how the methods were used. Review the section in the textbook on resisting persuasion and discuss which methods you used to turn down the volume on the sales pitch, and which you would be likely to use in the future. And finally, where are you vulnerable to persuasion? Is it name brands that you find irresistible? Celebrity endorsements? Well documented and presented research? Describe what gets to you and why.