Role-Playing: Persuasion by Our Own Actions
Role-playing works because as we try to convince others that we are a certain way or believe a certain thing, we really learn the message and internalize it. Experiments have shown that role-playing is effective. For example, when subjects either give a speech or listen to a speech, those who gave the speech are more likely to agree with it or find the argument strong, even when the subject has a bias against the position on whatever issue (Brehm et al)^.
Role-playing is one of the most effective means of persuasion because, in the process, we change our attitude as a result of a change in our own actions. When you change your attitude through role-playing, you probably started out trying to convince someone else of something. For example, actors, and most people in social situations are role-playing, and try to convince their audience that they are a certain character. The character may be a character known to be fictional - such as Hamlet or Joan of Arc - or it could simply be a character based on the way in which someone wants to be perceived, such as 'innocent' or 'trustworthy'. Some public figures, such as actors and politicians play a certain role to try and convince their audience that they are of a certain character.
The difference between an actor or a politician playing a certain role and someone falling victim to role-playing is that professionals do not actually change their attitudes, as long as they do not fall into the trap of believing their facade is real. An extreme example of someone's attitude changing as a result of role-playing is Patty Hearst*. This college student was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a revolutionary group. In trying to convince them through her actions that she was on their side, for her own survival, she actually became a revolutionary as well.
A less harmful means of role-playing exists in the form of slogans. There are many slogans that attempt to convince people that a certain issue is integral to their way of life. Slogans are not so much a means of role-playing as they are a form of peripheral persuasion.
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