| The term, "Inoculation Theory," is drawn from the public health practice of giving injections to prevent a serious disease from taking hold. How does this process work? The theory is that injecting a very mild dose of a virus activates the body's defences, giving the immune system the forewarning needed to build up defences against it. The immune system defends itself against the weak attack and it actually becomes stronger. If the virus attacks again, the immune system can ward off the larger raid against the body. The first injection must be weak. If the injection contained too strong a dose, it would overpower the immune system, leaving it defenceless against the viral invader. It would cause the person to become ill and may even result in death. The dose must have enough of the virus to activate the immune system, but must not be so virulent as to conquer the host and kill it. Inoculation TheoryThe application to persuasion is obvious. If you want to reinforce or strengthen existing attitudes, beliefs and behaviours, inoculation theory suggests that you should present a weak attack on those attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Again, the attack must be appropriately weak, because if the attack is too strong it may well overpower the existing attitude, belief or behaviour and kill it. The attack has only to be powerful enough to activate the defences of the listener so that at the end of the exchange the mental immune system can beat off a future attack against it.Below is the process for inoculation: 1. Warn the listener of the impending attack.“Some people may tell you that you’re harming your future if you ………” 2. Launch a weak attack. “They will say………etc., etc.………and if you were to know how would you effectively argue against what they say?”3. Get the receiver to actively defend the attitude. The steps are as follows. Warn of the Attack The warning plays a important role in the inoculation process. It stimulates existing defence... |
