The influence of persuasion on smokers with and without pulmonary diseases

Abstract

Marinela Raileanu
Institutul « Marius Nasta », Ambulatoriu sector 6, Bucuresti

Contact: cabuta90@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT
The experts of manipulation are using six principles of persuasion: the consistency, the reciprocity, the social proof, the authority, the sympathy, the rarity. The publicity gets them together in different ways.
Objective: To establish if the principles of persuasion affect the smoker with or without pulmonary diseases.
Material and Methods: There were two groups of smokers for a transversal descriptive study: patients from pulmonology hospitals in Bucharest and persons from ambulatory service. The patients were visited in 2003 and 2005. The nest selection (wards) was used.
The persons in ambulatory had no known respiratory diseases; they came in two campaigns in 2004 - "No smoke" and another to detect asthma.
A self-administered questionnaire was used with items about demographic characteristics and the influence of persuasion distributed by age and gender. The data were processed by per cent or by Student test and the Pearson coefficient.
Results: There were 428 smokers, 69% men, mean age 45 years. Irrespective of group, men were receptive to publicity (p<0,01) and rarity (p<0,01); women were sensitive to social proof (p<0,01), reciprocity (p<0,01), sympathy (p<0,05). To social proof, in group 18-30 years, the answers were 80-100%, in either group. To consistency, in group over 31 years, the answers were 80-100% in both groups of smokers.
Conclusions: Through persuasion, to men is stimulated the spirit of competition; to women the specific of their personality. The youth are influenced by other smokers; the adults are consistent with their habit. The presence or absence of pulmonary diseases is not relevant for automatic behavior.

Key-words: smoking, persuasion, consistency, publicity

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