Persuasion: New Directions in Theory and Research (SAGE Series in Communication Research) - Softcover

An expert in the study of mass communications and an expert on interpersonal communication bring together contributions that explore the ways in which we are persuaded. Essays cover three major aspects of the subject: theory and definition of persuasion, factors in the persuasion process, and the application of persuasion to negotiation, marketing, family relationships and politics.

'This collection seemed to me a good review of a fascinating field. As a therapist, I found I was able to pull together a range of ideas that I considered worthy of development and application...Though not written with therapists in mind, this book represented for me an introduction to a new range of possibilities for influencing people towards a more productive way of thinking and acting.' -- Alliance News, March/April 1981

MICHAEL E. ROLOFF (Ph.D, Michigan State University) is professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University. His research and teaching interests are in the general area of interpersonal influence. He has published articles and offers courses focused on persuasion, interpersonal compliance-gaining, conflict management, organizational change and bargaining and negotiation. His current research is focused on conflict avoidance and serial arguing in intimate relationships, the interpretation and construction of persuasive messages, and the effects of planning and alternatives on negotiation processes. He has co-edited four research volumes: (1) Persuasion: New Directions in Theory and Research, (2) Social Cognition and Communication, (3) Interpersonal Processes, and (4) Communication and Negotiation. He wrote Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach. He completed a term as the editor of Communication Yearbook and is currently co-editor of Communication Research. He was co-recipient of the Woolbert Award for Outstanding Contribution to Communication Research from the Speech Communication Association and of a publication award from the Social Cognition and Communication Division of the National Communication Association. He has been the Chair of the Interpersonal Communication Division of the National Communication Association. He is currently Director of the National Communication Association Publications Board. Professor Roloff has received several teaching awards from groups at Northwestern including the Associated Student Government, the Mortar Board, and the Alumni Association.