2 Theoretical Frameworks for Persuasion
Amber K. Worthington
We use theories to interpret the complex and ambiguous world around us. For example, theories help us understand health and illness, self-control, creativity, religion, spirituality, biology, physics, psychology, sociology, and, yes, persuasion. This chapter distinguishes between three types of commonly used theories: lay theories, folk theories, and scientific theories.
Lay and folk theories are informal, common-sense explanations used to understand various phenomena. Lay theories tend to be individual and idiosyncratic, whereas folk theories are shared by specific subgroups of people. Let’s start with an example that illustrates lay theories: Obesity is a prevalent global public health concern. Each of you may have your own lay theory about what causes obesity as well as how to treat obesity. You might believe that obesity is caused by a lack of knowledge, and therefore you might believe it is necessary to educate individuals to treat obesity. Someone else might believe that obesity is caused by a lack of access to healthy foods, and therefore might believe it is necessary to increase access to affordable healthy foods to treat obesity. These are lay theories, as they are based on our individual experiences and beliefs.
Now, let’s use the same topic, obesity, to explore example scenarios of folk theories. Some groups of people in the United States may believe that obesity is caused by individuals making poor choices and therefore would be solved by individuals making better choices. Other groups of people in the United States believe that obesity is caused by environmental factors and therefore would be solved by changing the environmental characteristics (e.g., unsafe neighborhoods, lack of access to healthy food) that promote obesity. As these are beliefs held by subgroups of the larger population, they would be considered folk theories.
Conversely, scientific theories are derived and tested from empirical observations. They are used to produce hypotheses, generate discoveries, and offer practical guidance. To continue with the above examples, there are many scientific theories used to understand obesity. For example, the biomedical perspective focuses on the pathophysiology and other biological approaches to the health condition. Examining obesity using this biomedical perspective would include observing the biological underpinnings of the disease (e.g., metabolism, cholesterol levels, thyroid functioning). The biopsychosocial perspective emphasizes the importance of understanding human health and wellness from a more holistic point of view that includes the biological, psychological, and social determinants of health. Examining obesity using this biopsychosocial perspective would include observing various psychological determinants of obesity (e.g., depression, anxiety) and/or social determinants of obesity (e.g., cultural food preferences, access to healthy foods).
Now that we’ve