Altercasting
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Altercasting is a strategy for persuading people by forcing them in a social role, so that they will be inclined to behave according to that role.
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[edit] Core assumptions
When a person accepts a certain social role, a number of social pressures are brought to bear to ensure that the role is enacted. The social environment expects the person to behave in a manner that is consistent with the role; the role also provides the person with selective exposure to information consistent with the role.
Altercasting means that we ‘force’ an audience to accept a particular role that makes them behave in the way we want them to behave.
[edit] Basic forms of altercasting
There are two basic forms of altercasting:
- Manded altercasting means that we ‘tell’ people who they are (or are supposed to be) by making an existing role salient (‘You as a Christian should....’), by placing others in a particular role (‘You as a young ambitious person should ....’), by attributing a new identity or role to someone, or by asking people to play a role.
- Tact altercasting means that we put ourselves as senders in a role that ‘evokes’ a natural counter-role for the other. Some common role sets are for instance expert-unknowing public, fool - normal, helper - dependent, scapegoat - sinners, etc.
[edit] Altercasting is a powerful strategy
Altercasting is a powerful strategy because
- The social role is a basic unit in people’s everyday condition;
- Presenting oneself in a social role that can be used to cast the alter (tact altercasting) is relatively easy
- Constructing roles that trap others in a course of action is also relatively easy;
- People often accept easily the social roles offered to them.
[edit] Scope and application
The tactic is frequently used in advertising and health promotion
[edit] References
- Weinstein, Eugene A., and Deutschberger, Paul (1963). Some Dimensions of Altercasting. Sociometry 26.4 (December 1963), pp. 454–466.
- Pratkanis, A. R. (2000). Altercasting as an influence tactic. In D. J. Terry & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Attitudes, behaviour and social context: the role of norms and group membership (pp. 201–226). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Ass.
