Chapter Summary

This chapter examines important ways in which images shape beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Once overlooked by persuasion researchers, visual persuasion is now front and center. We are living in an increasingly visual society. Images are powerful. They are processed more quickly than words, recalled more easily, and have greater emotional impact. Images persuade in three important ways. By virtue of their iconicity, images can stand for or represent things. They summarize ideas and concepts. Through indexicality, images function as proof, or at least apparent proof, that some thing or event took place. The documentary aspect of images can be misleading, however. Images also persuade through their syntactic indeterminacy. Images lack the logical operators found in language, but this can be an advantage. The ambiguity of images can be used strategically. This chapter examines various forms of visual persuasion including deepfakes, art, movies, advertising, and photography. In so doing, it raises issues surrounding ethical uses of images and the need for improving visual literacy.

Quiz

1. 

A wildlife photographer captures a photo of a rare bird building a nest. Because the photo provides direct evidence that the bird was actually there performing that action, this illustrates which documentary aspect of images?

Iconicity

Symbolicity

Indexicality

Syntactic indeterminacy

None

2. 

The World Wildlife Fund uses the image of a panda in its logo to represent conservation, endangered species protection, and environmental care. The persuasive power of the panda image comes from which characteristic of images?

Iconicity

Indexicality

Syntactic indeterminacy

Symbolicity

None

3. 

In the new Spider-Man movie, Peter Parker goes on a ten minute monologue about how much he loves Pepsi. This is…

Grassroots marketing

Subvertising

Image-based advertising

Product placement

None

4. 

In a stunt show, performers repeatedly do dangerous jumps and pranks. Viewers may come to see these actions as acceptable or funny, even if risky. This illustrates which persuasive feature of media?

Shows export national values

Media models behavior for viewers

Product placement is prevalent in shows

Shows promote popular culture

None

5. 

A car commercial shows a sleek sports car driving along a coastal highway at sunset, emphasizing freedom, excitement, and adventure rather than technical specifications. This type of advertising primarily relies on:

Image-based advertising

Anti-ads

Shock ads

Product placement

None

6. 

While playing a violent video game, Sam finds himself cheering for the in-game characters who are committing violent acts, even though he would never condone such behavior in real life. This is an example of:

Syntactic indeterminacy

Shock ads

A deictic shift

None

7. 

Jamal sees a video online claiming that a celebrity endorses a miracle weight-loss pill. Before sharing it, he checks multiple reputable news sources to see if they report the same endorsement. Which technique is Jamal using to evaluate the content?

Lateral analysis

Vertical analysis

Source obfuscation

Subvertising

None

8. 

Leila comes across a viral video claiming a famous politician made a controversial statement. Before believing it, she examines the original upload, checks the creator's credentials, and looks for timestamps and context to verify authenticity. This is an example of:

Lateral analysis

Vertical analysis

Source obfuscation

Subvertising

None

9. 

Alex sees a viral video of a celebrity endorsing a new product. However, the celebrity has publicly denied making the ad, and the video shows subtle unnatural facial movements and odd blinking. This video is most likely an example of:

A parody

Deepfake

Indeterminance

Subvertising

None

10. 

A reliance on testimonials claiming that a supplement worked wonders for their fitness, hair loss, libido, etc. are subject to the hasty generalization fallacy

True

False

None

11. 

Viewers watching a movie adopt a willing suspension of disbelief" to immerse themselves in the fictional world of the movie. This is known as deictic shift"

True

False

None

12. 

Cartoon caricatures of politicians that exaggerate certain characteristics can be persuasive due to their iconicity

True

False

None

13. 

Delacroix's famous painting, Liberty Leading the People, depicts Lady Liberty leading French citizens during the French Revolution. Through its _ the painting romanticizes and idealizes the revolution.

14. 

The _ advertising strategy utilizes a norm violation to break through media clutter

15. 

The documentary quality of images as proof that an event took place is known as _.

Time’s up

Essay Questions

1. What is the difference between a shock ad and an anti-ad? Provide an example of each. Which do you think is the most effective? Why?
2. Identify any two image-based associations on which ads are commonly based.  Provide examples of specific products or services that rely on those two associations and explain how the associations are made.
3. From an advertising standpoint, why is the syntactic indeterminacy of images both a blessing and a curse?