Lecture 7- Persuasion Flashcards
What is the message learning approach to persuasion?
the “Yale Attitude Change approach”; Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953
When you encounter a persuasive message 3 things need to occur in order for attitude change to follow…
- Attention to message
- Comprehension of message
- Acceptance of message
What sentence sums up the factors invovled in persuasion?
Who says what to whom
How does who the communicator is have an effect?
- Credibility/ expertise= more likely to trust
- Attractiveness= attractive people are more persuasive
How does the study by Oosterhof and Todorov (2008) show credibility relates to persuasion?
Created an artificial data base about who looks most trustworthy
Look more trustworthy= more persuasive
What is the Sleeper effect? What study showed this?
- Sleeper effect= The tendency for messages from untrustworthy sources to become more persuasive over time (forget the source). In this way the memory for the message decays slower that the source of the memory. Huge problem today with fake news/ so many sources of information.
- Hoveland and Weiss, 1951= were trying to persuade participants on the value of nuclear energy. The two people presenting were either Oppenheim= expert or Pravda= soviet magazine with zero credibility. Their results showed that when attitude change was measured immediately after talks expertise had a huge effect in attitude change (Oppenheim more persuasive) but after 4 weeks the difference in attitude change had pretty much disappeared. Participants had forgotten where the information was sourced from and so trustworthiness was no longer a factor.
What did the study by Grady, R. H., Ditto, P. H., & Loftus, E. F. (2021). show about warnings to untrustworthy information?
-All news gets more believable over time (time 2), potentially mere exposure effect 2nd time= more likeable
-Difference between green (consistent with politics) and brown (inconsistent
with politics). Hostile media phenomenon- influenced by previous politic beliefs.
-In time 1 if they got a warning before (schema to process how they then
Receive subsequent info) it helps not after. At time 2 warning doesn’t matter
(sleeper effect)
How does regulatory focus relate to persuasion?
Messages that fit a person regulatory focus are more persuasive. Gain frame= drink grape juice cause results in greater energy. Prevention focus= reduce the risk of cancer + heart disease (helps you avoid a negative)
What is ‘truthiness’?
- The sense that something is true, makes it easier to process
- Messages that feel right elicit a positive emotional feeling
How do photos relate to a sense of truthiness?
When a statement is accompanied with a photo we are more likely to say that it is true/ be persuaded. Note: The photo did not provide any evidence it just makes the statement ‘feel’ more right
What is the word for ease of processing related to persuasion?
Fluency
Give an example of Perceptual fluency influencing persuasion?
Hard to understand font means we are less likely to think it is true
How does the essay example shown in the lecture explain the concept of fluency?
If you give a participant an easy to understand essay they will think the person is smarter and more trustworthy than if they wrote in more complex language
How does the roller coaster example presented in the lecture describe fluency?
Chunta
Vaiveahtoishi
Judged the sickness inducing ability of the rollercoaster. Name more hard to say= more likely to think make sick as decreased fluency.
What are fear appeals? Do they work?
NZ government often use in public service messages (e.g. drink driving)
Fear grabs to give attention
But too much fear prevent people from attending to message and results in no attitude change
There is an optimum level of fear (is a curvilinear function- think Yerkes donson curve)
What factors about the receiver of the information are important (whom)?
- distraction
- age
- self-esteem
- personality
