Social psychologists have found that as the discrepancy between the views of a speaker and those of an audience increases, the attitude change in the audience also increases to a point but decreases when the discrepancy becomes too large, particularly if the communicator is viewed by the audience as having low credibility. Suppose that the degree of change can be approximated by the function f(x) = - x* - 8x° + 32x, where x is the discrepancy between the views of the speaker and those of the audience, as measured by scores on a questionnaire. Find the amount of discrepancy the speaker should aim for to maximize the attitude change in the audience. The amount of discrepancy to aim for is on the discrepancy scale. (Type an integer or decimal rounded to the nearest tenth as needed.)
Minimization
In mathematics, traditional optimization problems are typically expressed in terms of minimization. When we talk about minimizing or maximizing a function, we refer to the maximum and minimum possible values of that function. This can be expressed in terms of global or local range. The definition of minimization in the thesaurus is the process of reducing something to a small amount, value, or position. Minimization (noun) is an instance of belittling or disparagement.
Maxima and Minima
The extreme points of a function are the maximum and the minimum points of the function. A maximum is attained when the function takes the maximum value and a minimum is attained when the function takes the minimum value.
Derivatives
A derivative means a change. Geometrically it can be represented as a line with some steepness. Imagine climbing a mountain which is very steep and 500 meters high. Is it easier to climb? Definitely not! Suppose walking on the road for 500 meters. Which one would be easier? Walking on the road would be much easier than climbing a mountain.
Concavity
In calculus, concavity is a descriptor of mathematics that tells about the shape of the graph. It is the parameter that helps to estimate the maximum and minimum value of any of the functions and the concave nature using the graphical method. We use the first derivative test and second derivative test to understand the concave behavior of the function.
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