the cause precedes the effect

One section of the book that caught my attention while I was reading through chapter 15 was “the cause precedes the effect” concept. Basically, it’s pretty self explanatory, but the cause comes before the effect. For example, if someone gets into a car accident and people come to rescue him and wonder what caused the accident, and realizes he’s holding onto a phone, they can’t be certain that the phone was what has caused the accident. They can accuse the phone and think all they want to think about it, but unless they check to see if the cause precedes the effect, nothing is for sure. They have to check to see if the cause (perhaps the phone) precedes the effect (car accident). If not, then it’s pretty clear that the phone was not the primary cause of the accident. In order to do that, they’d have to check his recent calls and/or text messages to see if the times recorded is during the time period in which his accident occurred.

mission critical

Similar to the cause and effect website, the mission critical website was also very helpful, if not more helpful. It was a review of all the concepts and key terms that we learned this semester. And I admit, I have forgotten a lot of them already! So reading over the mission critical website was a very refreshing start for prepping for my final. Everything was thoroughly written, but also very concise at the same time. I liked how everything was all together and organized because it made it very clear where everything was located at and where you could go back to review a specific concept you may have been unable to comprehend earlier. It’s a lot more useful to read through this website rather than constantly flipping through the book, trying to find a concept. one of the most useful thing about these websites is the quizzes and how they have an explanation as to why you might’ve gotten something wrong. It really makes this online class a little easier because something is actually being explained to us in detail.

cause and effect

The cause and effect website reading and exercises were definitely helpful when it comes to understanding the concept of cause and effect. I thought I pretty much got the gist of the subject and idea when I was reading this in the book. However, when I got onto the website, I read so many new information about it that the book did not talk about. I guess the book was just letting us know the overview and the very basics of cause and effect. So it was definitely interesting to find out so many other aspects of the concept. I really liked how the website had quiz questions to test us on our knowledge. It was extremely helpful when I would get a question wrong, and the website would let me know why the answer I chose was not the correct one, and then it would allow me to take another guess as to what the answer was. That was my favorite part of the exercise because many times, when I get questions wrong, I don’t know why it’s wrong, because to me, it sounds correct. But when they explained to me why it’s wrong, it was very helpful and gave me the chance to sit there and think about it more, and then to try again. It also helped that there was no time limit, because when there is one, I get nervous and don’t allow myself to read thoroughly and to think critically.

daily examples

it's not difficult to find advertisements that use the different appeals to emotion that there are because salespeople always use these types of techniques to attract customers. however, it is much easier to find just day-to-day examples of these appeals to emotion because they're found everywhere, and i admit, i get caught up in these sometimes too. one time i was babysitting, and the mom of the girl i babysit never gives her daughter too many sweets because of health concerns. the kid knew that and came up with a sneaky "appeal to emotion" that made both the mom and me surprised. she went up to her mom and said, "mom, i like your hair. can i have a cookie?" that is an example of an appeal to apple polishing. the girl was trying to flatter her mother by saying something sweet to compliment her (whether it was true or not) in return for something she wanted--a cookie. it worked! maybe i should try that sometime too! ;)

apple polishing

apple polishing is a technique salespeople often use to encourage their audience and customers to purchase or support whatever cause they're doing by complimenting them or making them feel like they can make a difference because they're that great. in a way, this advertisement is using apple polishing to make their audience want to help and support their cause. they want people to give to the needy so that other children around the world can have christmas! they wrote, "You can help provide for more than 5,000 homeless and needy children" and it makes us feel good about ourselves, like "If we donate some stuff to these homeless and needy children and help them out, we can show them what christmas is all about." it's also kind of stating that we can make a difference, and that those kids' happinesses are in our hands. we are the ones who can show them what christmas is like and how it is to be happy. because we are so cool, we can make a difference in these children's lives.

appeal to emotion

In Chapter 10, Epstein shares with us the different appeals to emotion that there are. Our emotions are important especially when it comes to thinking critically and/or making decisions. These requests are often times found on television, advertisements, magazines, and other forms of commercials and business. Salespeople use these in various ways to attract customers and to make them purchase or support whatever it is that they are funding for. There are different types of appeals to emotions that serve different purposes. An appeal to pity is a tactic that salespeople use to make others feel guilty and sorry for the people/animals they want to help. By rejecting them, it makes us feel heartless, which in turn, makes us donate a few dollars to support them. Another approach they use is the appeal to fear, which is an attempt to frighten us. An appeal to spite is a way of intimidating and/or working against certain things in order for us to take revenge. The appeal to emotion that I often come across is the appeal to fear. When I was younger, I would always receive these stupid chain mails in my inbox that freak me out! “Send this within the next 20 minutes to 10 people or someone will stab you tonight when you’re asleep.”