The continuous influx of persuasive messages, for instance, those urging individuals to get vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscores the relevance of persuasive communication in shaping our beliefs, decisions, and behaviors. While the rhetorical tradition provides many tools for analyzing, evaluating, and producing persuasive discourse, a significant gap exists in understanding the neural processes that underlie the processing and appreciation of such discourse. This project seeks to bridge this gap by testing rhetorical insights regarding the design of persuasive communication using MRI technology. In particular, it aims to answer the following questions: (1) How do persuasive messages impact brain activity? (2) Which brain regions are involved in processing persuasive discourse? (3) Do specific neural signatures correlate with persuasive success? By answering these questions, the project bridges rhetorical theory and empirical evidence and sheds light on the neural foundations of persuasion.
Research projects
Assessing rhetorical strategies in promoting healthy choices among bilingual individuals (Barbora Kolcunová, Michal Korenar, Jean Wagemans, Sylvan Whitmore)
Persuasive communication is pivotal in shaping our beliefs, decisions, and behaviors. Although the rhetorical tradition offers a robust toolkit for dissecting, critiquing, and crafting persuasive discourse, there’s a gap in understanding its efficacy on bilingual individuals across both their languages. This study aims to discern whether health-promoting persuasive statements resonate more when presented to bilinguals in their L1 (Czech) or L2 (English).
LANCAR 