Revision summary
Attitudes join feeling, belief, and action; circulars rarely move all three. Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos are the old map of persuasion. Hovland and the ELM explain why credible, clear, thinkable messages last. Polio, Swachh, SVEEP, and peace talks show administrative use. Lies and empty posters destroy ethos; pair talk with a working service.
Model answer
Introduction
Attitudes rarely fall to a circular alone. Persuasive communication is the craft of giving people reasons, feeling, and a trusted speaker so that a new lean of mind can stick — without turning the state into a liar.
Body
Why persuasion matters for attitude
- Allport’s attitude is feeling, belief, and action-tendency together; a fine changes the action for a day, persuasion aims at the belief that feeds the next day.
- Aristotle named ethos (who speaks), pathos (what is felt), and logos (what is shown). A collector who only threatens has pathos of fear and no ethos.
- Hovland’s Yale studies showed source credibility, message clarity, and audience prior lean decide whether a campaign moves anyone.
- Petty and Cacioppo’s elaboration-likelihood model: a thoughtful central route (facts on ORS, vaccines) lasts longer than a flashy peripheral cue, though both are used.
- Festinger’s dissonance: once a person has taken a small public step — a toilet used, a vote cast — consistent messages help the attitude catch up with the act.
Importance in public service
- Polio rounds, Swachh Bharat, SVEEP, and COVID mask talk succeeded where ASHA workers and local faith leaders carried ethos the DM’s order lacked.
- Communal peace needs persuasive communication that names a rumour as a rumour before a lathi is the only language left.
- Second ARC’s citizen-centric administration needs officers who can explain a refusal, not only stamp it — a speaking order is logos on paper.
- Attitude change on latrine use, girl enrolment, or a caste boycott cannot be only IPC; it needs repeated, respectful, two-way talk.
- Ethical limit: persuasion is not a fake achievement film. A lie destroys ethos and, with it, every later campaign.
What the officer should do
- Choose credible messengers, keep the message specific, invite questions, pair talk with a working service, and measure change in behaviour, not only in posters.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD E[Ethos trusted speaker] --> P[Persuasion] L[Logos clear facts] --> P F[Pathos fitting feeling] --> P P --> A[Attitudinal change] S[Working service] --> A
Conclusion
Persuasive communication is important because attitudes live in trust, feeling, and reason together. Public service uses it to make a lawful new habit stick. It fails when fear or falsehood is asked to do the work of ethos.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
What is probity? Explain clearly the philosophical basis of probity in governance.
Next question in the 2020 paper (Q11). View answer →
-
Is a legal notice persuasive communication?
It can carry logos. Without a trusted explainer it often produces only fear or delay, not a new attitude.
-
Does persuasion replace enforcement?
No. Harm still meets the law. Persuasion reduces the need for the stick and makes compliance inner, not only watched.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2021 · Q6 · UPGS4 · 8 marks
Define attitude in historical perspective and discuss the relationship between aptitude and attitude. -
2021 · Q16 · UPGS4 · 12 marks
What do you understand by moral and political attitude of human beings? How will you justify these in the present political scenario? -
2021 · Q17 · UPGS4 · 12 marks
Discuss the root causes of gender-related negative attitude. Why is it so rigid? -
2021 · Q18 · UPGS4 · 12 marks
Discuss the factors which influence the formation of an individual’s attitude towards social problems with the help of suitable examples. -
2020 · Q19 · UPGS4 · 12 marks
Social influence and persuasion contributed in controlling the spread of the Corona Virus in India. Discuss. -
2019 · Q6 · UPGS4 · 8 marks
Differentiate between democratic attitude and bureaucratic attitude of public servants. -
2019 · Q7 · UPGS4 · 8 marks
Explain the merits and demerits of persuasion in relation to public protest. -
2019 · Q19 · UPGS4 · 12 marks
What factors influence the formation of a person’s attitude towards social problems? Support your answer with examples.
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2020 · UPGS4 · 8 marks
Discuss the role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Civil Service aptitude and values
Family plants trust, empathy, and honour through daily example, and can also plant prejudice. Society rewards or punishes those habits in the street, the market, and the media. School adds public reason so a value can be justified beyond the clan. Nai Talim, mid-day meals, and civic assemblies practise equality the lecture cannot. Office ethics overlay these maps; they do not replace them.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2020 · UPGS4 · 8 marks
Discuss the role of the 'Right to Information' for transparency in governance.
Probity in Governance
RTI converts the citizen’s wish to see the file into a legal claim. Section 4 suo motu disclosure is the ethical heart; applications are the backstop. Second ARC treated RTI as a master key to good governance. Social audits of wages, rations, and contracts rest on that key. Exemptions must stay narrow, and the applicant must be safe, or transparency dies in practice.
Q3 · UPSC Mains 2020 · UPGS4 · 8 marks
"The requirement of government sanction for prosecuting dishonest officials is a protective shield for corruption." Examine the statement.
Probity in Governance
Prior sanction was meant to protect bona fide official acts from motivated FIRs. Section 197 CrPC and Section 19 of the PC Act are the usual locks. Endless delay, not the lock itself, is the shield for corruption. Second ARC and CVC lines wanted a clock and a reasoned order, including deemed sanction. Reform the timeline and the speaking order; do not abolish every filter.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.