Chapter 4: Objectives

Following are the main learning objectives from the chapter.  To help you coordinate your studies, these objectives are organized into sub-sections (8-4, 8-4, etc.) and listed with the relevant page numbers from the textbook. 

4-1 (pgs. 103-123).
Understand what nonargumentative persuasion is and how it can affect an audiences beliefs without offering reasons.

• Recognize how nonargumentative claims often suggest more than they literally say.
• Understand how nonargumentative claims use language that has a powerful and biased emotive force (slanters).
• Understand how nonargumentative claims use obfuscatory ploys to persuade.
• Recognize that slanters dispose the audience to take certain perspectives on a subject.
• Realize that the mere presence of slanters does not mean the claim is misleading.; good arguments can include slanters.
• Distinguish between language with emotive force and language that arouses an emotional response.

4-2 (pgs. 103-123).
Understand how slanters tend to either strengthen or weaken a claim, or to either elevate or disparage its subject.

• Understand how euphemisms or dysphemisms act as slanters.
• Realize that even neutral language can function as either an euphemism or a dysphemism.
• Understand that euphemisms do have acceptable uses.
• Understand how persuasive comparisons, definitions, and explanations can act as slanters.
• Understand how stereotypes can act as slanters.
• Understand how innuendos can act as slanters.
• Understand how a loaded question can act as a slanter.
• Understand what a weasler is and how it acts as a slanter.
• Understand how a downplayer can act as a slanter.
• Understand what a proof surrogate is and how it can act as a slanter.
• Understand how hyperbole can act as a slanter.

4-3 (pgs. 123-127).
Understand that advertising nearly always depends on nonargumentative persuasion.

• Realize that political candidates, social policies, and other things not normally associated with consumer goods utilize advertising.
• Understand the best critical response to advertising.
• Understand that even when advertising does offer reasons, these reasons may not be good ones.