Influence goals in seeking compliance in persuasive messages in isiXhosa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It has been observed in human interaction within our social milieu that individuals makeattempts from time to time to influence others in order to accomplish their goals. Thescholarly interest in the message-production side of this phenomenon has assumed thestudy of compliance gaining or persuasion (Wilson 2002; Dillard 2004). According toWilson (2002:15), 'contemporary theories of persuasive message production are guidedby a metaphor of 'goal pursuit' .This study pursues this proposition by focusing on thefollowing purposes:(a) To explore the social influence goals that are characteristic of interpersonalpersuasive communication in Xhosa(b) To explore the empirical and theoretical properties of communicative competence ofisiXhosa speakers as exemplified in the planning and accomplishment of influencegoals within the framework of Wilson's (1997, 1998, 2002) Cognitive Rule (CR)model of interaction goals, Berger's (1997) approach to planning social influencegoals in persuasive messages, and Dillard's (2004) Goal Plan Action (GPA) model(c) To establish the theoretical questions raised by the empirical evidence of socialinfluence goals of Xhosa speakers for the extension, refinement and modification ofthe cited models of interaction goals and persuasive message productionThe data, from which the written descriptions of the persuasive messages were analysed,were collected from college students at False Bay College in Khayelitsha, in the WesternCape. A total of 24 Xhosa-speaking students (12 women and 12 men) within the agerange of 18 to 23 years were asked to write self-reports on their recollection of recentinfluence episodes in which they attempted to change other fellow students' behaviour onspecific themes, i.e. Religion, Education, Parent-child relationship, Social/casualrelationship, Favour from a friend and Intimacy/relationship.The research data were analysed and evaluated against the amalgamation of theconcepts, principles and propositions that constitute the designated theoreticalframeworks, namely the CR model, the planning approach and the GPA model.The results indicate that the proposed theoretical mechanisms are applicable andprofitable in the analysis of the research data of the current study. This finding is evidenced by the frameworks' utility in addressing and explaining the nature and scope ofpersuasive imperatives that presumably underlie the influence goals in seekingcompliance in Xhosa.The results indicate that the proposed theoretical mechanisms are applicable andprofitable in the analysis of the research data of the current study. This finding isevidenced by their utility in addressing and explaining the nature and scope of persuasiveimperatives that presumably underlie the influence goals in seeking compliance in Xhosa.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University