8. Convincing citizens
-
Hans Hoeken
Abstract
In a democracy, public acceptance of proposed policies is an important determinant of a successful government. Communication plays an important role in ascertaining public acceptance. The government has to convince the public that the proposed policy in the interest of the individual citizen or of society as a whole. To attain this goal, the government is expected to use proper arguments instead of taking its refuge to manipulation. Therefore, the quality of the arguments used is important. Argument quality is determined by two aspects: (1) argument strength, i.e., the belief in the probability that a consequence will arise, and (2) argument valence, i.e., the perceived desirability of the consequence. In order to convince the public of a policy’s desirability, the government has to convince the public that the policy will probably have desirable effects. This paper presents empirical research on how to attain this goal.
Abstract
In a democracy, public acceptance of proposed policies is an important determinant of a successful government. Communication plays an important role in ascertaining public acceptance. The government has to convince the public that the proposed policy in the interest of the individual citizen or of society as a whole. To attain this goal, the government is expected to use proper arguments instead of taking its refuge to manipulation. Therefore, the quality of the arguments used is important. Argument quality is determined by two aspects: (1) argument strength, i.e., the belief in the probability that a consequence will arise, and (2) argument valence, i.e., the perceived desirability of the consequence. In order to convince the public of a policy’s desirability, the government has to convince the public that the policy will probably have desirable effects. This paper presents empirical research on how to attain this goal.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. Introduction 1
- 2. How research can lead to better government forms 11
- 3. Undercover research into text quality as a tool for communication management 37
- 4. Optimizing public information brochures 59
- 5. Public documents in a multilingual context 85
- 6. Improving the quality of public documents 105
- 7. The lack of clarity in a sentence 125
- 8. Convincing citizens 147
- 9. Collaborative writing for the government 171
- 10. Strategic revision of public documents 211
- 11. Trust but verify 233
- 12. Reading to assess in professional life 255
- References 275
- About the authors 297
- Index 301
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- 1. Introduction 1
- 2. How research can lead to better government forms 11
- 3. Undercover research into text quality as a tool for communication management 37
- 4. Optimizing public information brochures 59
- 5. Public documents in a multilingual context 85
- 6. Improving the quality of public documents 105
- 7. The lack of clarity in a sentence 125
- 8. Convincing citizens 147
- 9. Collaborative writing for the government 171
- 10. Strategic revision of public documents 211
- 11. Trust but verify 233
- 12. Reading to assess in professional life 255
- References 275
- About the authors 297
- Index 301
