Media and persuasion Flashcards
persuasion of media
persuasive effects of the media: it’s ability to change people’s attitude, attitude object- attitudes about many things
Hovland-Yale model- factors
based on cognitive psychology
identifies factors that effect how persuasive the media communication is:
source: who is persuading- e.g expert is more knowledgeable so more persuasive. Someone similar to us (qualls % moore)/ someone who speaks quickly (miller et al)
Message: content of what is said, can take different forms (advert. article, broadcast) e.g how much fear a health advert arouses. ones that are organised also tend to be more effective
Audience: nature of them: person being persuaded e.g levels of self esteem, higher levels tend to be more resistant to attitude change, compared to moderate/low levels which are likely to be persuaded.
Hovland and Yale model - process
factors interact with each other when the audience is knowledgable, a message which presents both sides of the argument is more likely to persuade them than a one sided argument as they’re see the counter arguments and refute the idea/messafe
attention: the audience has to notice before persuaded
Comprehension: they have to understand the message
REaction: acceptance or rejection
if a message is accepted then one is persuaded and their attitude has changed towards the attitude object
Criticisms of HY model
it is too simplistic
Describe the HY model
The model, which is based on cognitive psychology indignities various factors which affect who persuasive media communication is. First, persuasiveness depends on the source of the communication- for example an expert is seen to be more knowledgable than someone else, so is likely to be more persuasive. Secondly aspects of the message are important- such as fear a health advert argues. finally the nature of the audience is important, such as levels of self esteem: those with a high level are less likely to be persuaded/more resistant to a change of attitudes than those with moderate or low levels)
evaluation of HY model
McGuire argued that a successful advert is one that passes through all the stages: exposure, attention. comprehension, yielding (agreeing/disagreeing), retention (remembering the message) and decision to buy.
Adviser therefore has to maximise the chance of the advert reaching all the stages.
Mainly attention and comprehension are highlighted in the model:
(attention) the advert has to be attractive to keep people watching (speical effects. music, comedy, surprise, suspense
(comprehension) viewers need to understand the message e.g. the benefits of the product must be clear.
qualls and moore
asked 100 black and 100 white people to watch advert about beer
asked to rate advert and taste and evaluate beer
white viewers saw white actors moe positively and vice versa with black
source and audience can influence can influence how persuasive communication is
Elaboration likelihood model
how likely someone is to engage in careful thoughts about arguments made in persuasive media (deep processing)
if a person is persuaded through deep processing then persuasion has occurred through the central route
if a person is persuaded through superficial features (rather than the message) then persuasion has occurred though the peripheral route.
As persuasion via the CR is longer lasting, the higher the elaboration likelihood and the stronger the persuasion.
Central route explain using audience processing and outcome
audience: high motivation and ability to think about the message
Processing: deep processing focused on the quality of the message and argument
outcome: lasting change that resists fading and counter attacks
peripheral route: explain using audience, processing and outocme
low motivation or ability to think about message
superficial processing focused on surface features such as the communicators attractiveness or the number of arguments presented.
temporary change that is susceptible to fading and counter attacks
ELM description
the ELM explains that TV ads are effective because they can be tailored to the product and audience
it predicts that under some circumstances adverts are likely to be scuntisnied and in others given less though
Hard sell: when E is likely to be high should use hard sell
presetns information that’s factual, comparisons with other brands/ competitive pricing. Central route persuasion
Soft sell: when E is likely to be low- highlighting peripheral cues which do not require thought e.g good music, catchy slogan and visual appeal. the ad must suggest an aspirational lifestyle associated with the product e.g buying a car that will make you cool and feel young. the attractiveness, popularity and expertise of the presenter is also a peripheral cue. Peripheral route
Tailoring advert to product
carefully scrutinising a product involves cognitive effort so more likely to be done by someone who is motivated to think carefully
for products that are expensive and bought very rarely are likely to be thought about more carefully like computers, more than you’d think about which cereal to buy.
but for some products like cars- for which there are no real differences between rival brands, the advert is more suited to using peripheral cues instead such as appearance of the car
tailoring advert to an audience
some people are better at elaborating. Elaboration depends on : need for cognition interest background knowledge personal relevance
so if a product is directed mainly at a market that is likely to elaborate (e.g a specialist product) then the ad should emphasise detailed factual content and target the central route
ad targeted to a market less likely to elaborate: little interest or knowledge of the product, the advert should emphasise contextual content e.g a peripheral route.
but often the advertiser will not know the nature of the audience (how likely they are to elaborate) so they appeal to a diverse audience but containing a mixture of CR and PR to maximise their appeal. even pawl tin high NC switch off sometimes.
evaluation of ELM
haugtvdet et al found that attitudes of high NC people based more on product attributes and low NC people on peripheral cues.
vidrine et al
exposed student smokers to either a fact based leaflet about risks of smoking or an emotion based leaflet
to assess their NC
those with high NC responded better to the facts and low NC responded better to the images of the emotion leaflet
which explains that tv ads are effective when advertisers can tailor their advert to the product and the audience
example of CR for walking/promoting physical activity
the central route to persuasion requires cognitive effort; adverts are designed to capture
attention & persuade rationally with the use of facts and figures. Central route adverts to
promote walking should refer to health benefits and include factual or possibly scientific
information (eg effects of exercise on reduction of heart disease)
