Persuasion by Communication

Abstract

One of the major problems in the medical field is to find ways of persuading clients to follow instructions which will hopefully ameliorate or prevent deficiencies in health. Psychologists have conducted studies into persuasive communication and discern generally that the source, the message, the context, and the recipient are the major factors that influence the response to any communication. The interaction of all these variables is quite complex, yet an understanding of some of the basic relationships is vital in any health care programme. As Laswell (1948) succinctly argues, we need to know who says what to whom and with what effect .