Compliance-gaining messages between married Shona couples

Abstract

This article seeks to establish how and why compliance-gaining transpires in a Shona family set-up. Much research has been done on persuasion in the Western and Eastern cultures, unlike in Shona culture. In this article, we focus on persuasion strategies between a married Shona couple and establish the degree of directness and indirectness of their requests. The term ‘compliance-gaining’ is used interchangeably with the word ‘persuasion’ in this article as they both refer to the same process. Compliance-seeking and compliance-resisting strategies used by Shona married couples, and the persuasive message dimensions used by sources in such influence interactions, are illustrated. In so doing, the sequence of the persuasive arguments and counter-arguments, as well as the clinching argument, in a persuasive message of a married Shona couple are identified. Furthermore, it is hoped that this research article will provide insight into Shona persuasion strategies and skills and contribute important perspectives to the existing body of knowledge of persuasion.