Lecture 3: Persuasion and Social Norms Flashcards
What is the:
Yale Model of Persuasion
(Hovland, Janis, & Kelly, 1953)
Who says what to whom with what effect?
Researchers were interested in propaganda by the US government in WWII. A series of films were shown to soldiers to see whether or not they actually boosted morale. What the researchers found was that it didn’t initially seem to work (from the reports of the soldiers a few days after). However, nine weeks later, they measured the soldiers’ attitudes again, and they found that the soldiers who had seen the films felt more positively about the war and fighting in the war.
This has been called the sleeper effect—when we know that we are being persuaded, we tend to disregard the information. However, after a certain amount of time, when we are no longer conscious of the bias, the effects of the message start to sink in.
How does the argument quality affect persuasion?
Message characteristics include the message’s quality, vividness, length, familiarity, context, etc. High quality messages are generally more persuasive than low quality messages (duh!). High quality arguments are generally clear, logical, and tailored to the values of the audience,
What are examples of audience characteristics?
Audience characteristics include the person’s age, personality, mood, as well as their motivation to process the message. Generally, young people are more persuadable and happy people are less likely to think about things deeply.
Define:
dual process model
A type of theory which provides an account of how a phenomenon can occur in two different ways, or as a result of two different processes. The dual process model of persuasion is called the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM).
What is the:
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
This model states that persuasion can occur through two different “routes” or types of processes: the peripheral route and central route. The role of cognitive responses varies across people and situations. At certain times, when motivation and ability are high, cognitive responses will be key to determining persuasion outcomes. At other times, when motivation and/or ability are low, the use of simple cues or rules will be key.
What is:
elaboration
Refers to the thoughts (the cognitive responses) that someone has in reaction to a persuasive message. When elaboration occurs, a persuasive appeal will be successful if it leads to favourable reactions, and unsuccessful if it leads unfavourable reactions.
What motivational factors influence which route is your audience going to take (central vs. peripheral)?
- Is the audience motivated to think carefully about this persuasive communication?
- Do they believe environmental issues are relevant to them?
- Do they feel a sense of personal responsibility for their attitude toward the environment?
- Do they have a lot of knowledge about environmental issues?
- Do they enjoy thinking deeply about things (i.e. have a high need for cognition)?
What kinds of individuals are more likely to take the central route?
Some people enjoying thinking more than others—these individuals have a high “need for cognition.” They are motivated to put more time and effort into processing persuasive messages.
- The Need for Cognition (NFC) Scale (Cacioppo & Petty, 1984) described measures for individuals with a high need for cognition.
- Examples of items include: “I find satisfaction in deliberating hard and for long hours” and “I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems.”
What are the two key factors that influence your audience’s ability to process information systematically?
- Information Complexity
- Opportunity to Concentrate (i.e. Do they have the cognitive resources to sit down and process this information?)
How does Petty et al.’s (1981) experiment provide empirical support for the ELM?
- In this experiment, participants were asked about their attitudes towards comprehensive exams in colleges.
- The researchers manipulated the message quality (strong evidence with statistics vs. weak, anecdotal evidence), message source (a professor vs. a high-school student), and self-relevance (whether the policy was to be implemented at their own school vs. another school).
- Their hypothesis was that if it was not self-relevant, students would take the peripheral route. This means the expert source will be more important (expertise heuristic) and they’re going to rely on peripheral cues. Content won’t be important. If it’s self-relevant, they’re more likely to take the central route and pay attention to the argument quality (regardless of the source).
Flowchart: How should we appeal to our audience?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/198/956/190/a_image_thumb.png?1476718507)
What are the differences in the attitudes formed via the peripheral vs. central routes?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/198/956/192/a_image_thumb.png?1476718508)
How can we encourage our audience to take the central route?
Find ways to increase their motivation and ability!
- Emphasize how personally relevant the issue is, as well as the personal responsibility of the person
- e.g. “There are about 61 trees per person on this Earth. How will you use yours? Will any be left when you leave?”
- Make sure your message is easy to comprehend.
- Reduce any surrounding distractions.
How do the motivational and processing principles relate to the ELM?
- Striving for mastery will motivate people to want to listen to authority.
- Seeking connectedness will motivate us to try and be more knowledgeable about the group.
- Valuing “me and mine” will motivate people to want to support their own biases, so either supporting something they agree with or disagreeing with something they don’t like.
- Conservatism will be reinforced through the central route.
- Accessibility will determine what peripheral cues affect us.
What role does guilt play in persuasion?
Many ads use guilt in order to persuade the audience. They must be careful not to provoke too much guilt, which tends to lead to anger. The right amount of guilt can activate connectedness and self-protection motives that lead us to adopt the behavior (e.g. quit smoking) or buy the product that will reduce our guilt.