Spring Online

Communication and Persuasion

COMS 342--Four Quarter Hours

Dr. Candice Thomas-Maddox
Brasee Hall 530
Ohio University--Lancaster Campus
614-864-5788 (home)
thomas@ohiou.edu

Please refer to the complete final course syllabus available on the course Website once the course begins.

Course
Description

The primary goal of this course is to provide students with a solid grounding in the theories, principles, and strategies of social influence as they apply to interpersonal, organizational, public, and mediated contexts in which influence attempts take place.  Students will gain familiarity with findings from empirical investigations on persuasion, social influence, and compliance-gaining, and will learn about strategies and techniques of persuasion relating to a wide variety of real-life communication contexts, situations, and settings.

Prerequisites

None

Methods of Course Instruction

All course content is presented on the World Wide Web; e-mail is used for submission of assignments, as well as for the instructor's evaluation and comments.

Course Objectives

The primary goal of this course is to provide students with a solid grounding in the theories, principles, and strategies of social influence as they apply to interpersonal, organizational, public, and mediated contexts in which influence attempts take place.  Students will gain familiarity with findings from empirical investigations on persuasion, social influence, and compliance-gaining, and will learn about strategies and techniques of persuasion relating to a wide variety of real-life communication contexts, situations, and settings.

General Course Requirements

  • On-Line Assignments

  • 4 Exams

  • Appeal Analysis Reports

  • On-Line Discussion Participation

Materials

Required

Text(s)

Gass, R. H., & Seiter, J. S. (2007).  Persuasion, social influence, and compliance gaining (3rd edition).  Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.


Note: The books for the course are in stock at College Bookstore, (740) 594-3505. Click here for online ordering.

Exams
Requirements

4 exams - No proctoring required

How are exams to be taken: Online  via the class website

Dates of Exams

  1. Exam 1- July 3

  2. Exam 2 - July 10

  3. Exam 3 - July 17

  4. Exam 4 - July 24

Call the Ohio University Online Staff at 1-888-551-6446 if you have questions about this course or the enrollment process.


Call the education counselors, the Division of Lifelong Learning at (740) 593-2150 if you have questions about Ohio Degree Opportunities.