Persuasion and Attitudes Flashcards
Attitudes
- Attitudes are evaluations of a target expressed with some level of intensity
- Represented by how we evaluate a person, a group, an object, an issue, or an ideology
- Vary in strength along positive and negative dimensions leading to attitudes that are positive, negative, ambivalent, or indifferent in terms of degree of intensity
How do Behaviours Change Attitudes
- Reduces cognitive dissonance
- Relies on self-presentation theory, as when unable to figuring out how one feels about smth, they will reflect on past acts
La Piere’s Study (1934) and Attitudes and Behaviours
- Intuitive assumption that attitudes or how we evaluate an object will influence how we behave towards it was brought up and very quickly questioned in 1930s with La Piere’s classic study
- He traveled around US with Chinese-American couple visiting 251 establishments and was only denied service at one (very low rate of refusal)
- However, he found that 90% if these services in later survey indicated refusal to serve Chinese-Americans, demonstrating attitudes uncoupled with behaviour
- Review suggested that attitudes only weakly predicted behaviour (r between 0.15 and 0.30)
- Led to the famous number 10% (attitudes explained by 10% of behaviour) and a crisis in confidence as it opposed initial assumptions and backbones to psychology
Factors that may impact the relation between Attitudes and Behaviour
- Attitudes sometimes conflict with other determinants of behaviour
- Attitudes based on direct experience more strongly predict behaviour than those based on second hand experience
- Attitudes less predictive when assessing general attitude and behaviour toward specific target
Morrison (1989) Correlation study on BC attitudes and the pill
- Questioned whether women’s attitudes toward BC predicted using the pill over the next 2 years
- IV was attitudes about BC and DV was frequency of taking the pill
- Asked one of four questions (what is your attitude toward BC; what is your attitude toward the BC pill; what is your attitude toward using the BC pill; what is your attitude toward using the BC pill in the next two years)
- Saw that the more specific the question, the more correlated the behaviour was with the attitude, showing the more general the attitudes were very low in correlation w with behaviour
Factors Affecting How Well Attitudes Predict Behaviour
- Need to match attitude to behaviour, as specific attitudes predict specific behaviours and general attitudes predict general classes of behaviour
- Self-presentational concerns (public vs true attitudes)
- Measuring Implicit attitudes (spontaneous/gut level bhvr prediction) and explicit attitudes (deliberate and reasoned bhvr predicition)
- Attitude Accessibility
- Attitude Strength
Attitude Accessibility
- Accessible attitudes are more predictive of bhvr, but they are not always accessible
- Studies manipulated accessibility through self-awareness (heightened S-A leads to heightened self-perception) and priming (a reminder of attitudes brings bhvr in line aka makes it more accessible)
- Planned behaviour best explained by combined influence of three factors on behavioural intentions which in turn influence behaviour
Theory of planned behaviour
- Used in many areas outside of psychology and very predictive of behaviour
Three factors influencing Theory of Planned Behaviour
- Attitudes (attitudes toward specific behaviour more important than general attitudes)
- Subjective norms (beliefs about how ppl around them view their behaviour)
- Perceived behavioural control (ease with which ppl think they can engage in particular bhvr)
Problems with Theory of Planned Behaviour
- It is very (limited to) rational and deliberative
- Intentions are not great predictors of behaviour
- Behaviours are sometimes more spontaneous and unintentional, driven by other factors (ex. habits are very nondeliberative actions and intentions do not predict habits)
- It does not take into account implicit attitudes and how behaviour can be influenced by implicit associations that mat be different than explicit attitudes
Recent Research on Predicting Behaviour from Attitudes
- Attitudes are a strong predictor of behaviour (rs up to 0.60 or 36% explained)
- Meta-analysis of about 100 studies reveals that self-reported attitudes significantly and substantially predict future behaviour
- Meta-analysis of about 100 studies using the IAT reveal that implicit attitudes predict behaviour
- r is about = 0.27 (7%)
- A second meta-analysis, much less positive, demonstrated the remaining controversy on IAT
- Explicit a better predictor in low self-presentation domains
- IAT, for ex., better for race-related attitudes (in high self-presentation domain)
Persuasion
A shift in attitude or behaviour as the result of the influence of appeals by other people or other sources; it is everywhere (inescapable ads)
What do ads and commercials try to accomplish?
Create a behaviour to purchase a product, like buying trident chewing gum, eating at Timmies, Shopping at Canadian Tire, etc.
How do ads do this?
Typically by creating a favourable, positive attitude toward the product in the consumer; based on major assumption, that if attitude is created it should lead to behaviour of purchasing a product
When does a behaviour follow from an attitude?
- Salience (differences in stimuli being more or less salient)
- Positive Associations
Ways to Manipulate Salience
Repetition and Complexity
Repetition
- The mere exposure effect (Zajonc)
- Novel stimulus followed by more exposure leads to more liking
- Attraction effect (more attracted to strangers in our class who we see more than strangers outside of class)
Simplicity
- We like what we know or expect (culture and beauty)
- Simpler is more quick and easy to like but that dwindles down over time
- Like sings on the radio that are catchy, we know the pattern already (normal/excited range of heart beat) but eventually we HATE them (Beegees and the revolution of anti-disco)
Complexity
- Less liking in the beginning, but more over time, longer lasting
- Like classical music: there are more subtleties in the music that you didn’t notice before that keep you interested
- Initial reaction can be negative and we might not like novelty in complexity, but eventually come around (Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring earned riots the first time played then second time was celebrated)
Positive Associations
Not just an evaluation of the product, but a cognitive link between product and positive event
Janis (1965) Study on Pepsi and Peanuts
- Had subjects sit down and view several persuasive messages (speeches)
- Allowing subjects to have pepsi & peanuts while watching the appeals (vs. not) increased the general appeal of each of the messages because subjects were in a better mood (higher mood -> more persuaded -> (+) link between message and mood -> higher appeal)
Positive Associations Ad Strategies
- Humour
- Attraction (attractive ppl)
- Famous ppl (Clooney and coffee)
- Musi
- Positive image, event, or ideal (Samsung TV ad)
- Nostalgia (positive associations and loss, mad men excerpt)
- Self/SE boosting (probably why nostalgia works, as it connects product to the self)
Elaboration Likelihood Model
- Two routes to persuasion:
1. Central or Systematic Route
2. Peripheral or Heuristic Route
Central Route to Persuasion
- Process by which people think carefully about the content of a message and are influenced by the strength and quality of the argument (condensed, the ideal that you reason and argue and arrive at better view)
- Requires motivation AND ability to process
- Process is effortful, more deliberative, and controlled
- Involves comparing arguments with prior knowledge, and generates thoughts
- Persuaded by strong arguments
Peripheral Route to Persuasion
- Process by which ppl are influenced by superficial cues in a message such as the length of the message, the attractiveness of the communicator, or the theatricality of the message (SAMSUNG ad w/o explanation but a bunch of positive stimuli combined and showed)
- Used when EITHER motivation OR ability to process are unmet
- Processing is automatic and effortless and involves a heavy reliance on peripheral cues and heuristics
- Persuaded by presence of peripheral cues (attraction)
CR is Influenced By…
- Personal relevance of the message (ie. whether it bears on our goals, concerns, and well-being)
- Knowledge about the issue (ie. the more we know, the more we scrutinize thoughtfully)
- Whether the message makes us feel responsible for some action (ie. we use it more when we have to explain it to others)
- SUM: Increased motivation and ability
PR is Triggered By…
- Factors that reduced our motivation
- Factors that interfere with our ability to attend to the message (ex. multitasking or cognitive load)
Three Components of Persuasive Communication
- Message (What was said)
- Source (Who said it)
- Audience (To whom)
Message Strategies
- Informational Strategies
- Message Tone
- Strength of Argument and Repetition
- Fear Appeals
- Emotion Appeal and Objective Statistics
- Primacy/Recency
Informational Strategies
- When people use a CR, the more info the better as long as the info is factual and not comprising weaker arguments
- When people use a PR, the longer the message, the better and more persuasive
Message Tone
- In order to be persuasive, better to take a less extreme position and convey moderate amounts of discrepancy (upside down U, the sweet spot between factual and discrepancy)
- Extreme arguments may be counterproductive because ppl spend more time scrutinizing points of contention and judge them as weak, ie. more likely to have ppl care more and think/pull apart argument more
Strength of Argument and Repetition
- Strong arguments are usually persuasive, while weak arguments are not
- Frequency of exposure to message can also impact attitude change
- Ex. college students listened to strong or weak arguments for using comprehensive exam before grad 1 or 3 times; strong arguments led to more support for exam, but effect magnified when message repeated 3 times
Fear Appeals
- Powerful tactic to persuade (ex. public health ads, political ads, etc.)
- However, fear appeals don’t always work because ppl perceive danger, but feel capable of acting against it; ppl believe in a just world and think bad things happen only to those who deserve it; and ppl assess the severity of the situation and the probability of smth bad happening
- Fear appeals are more effective when including strong (but not extreme) message and offering advice on how to cope w danger (graphic smoking video + pamphlet on quitting smoking = more effective than independent
- Ex of Homeland Security Advisory System (Terrorism)
Emotion Appeal and Objective Statistics
- Personal narratives and vivid images more effective than abstract statistics (seems to be more persuasive)
- Ex. story of ‘welfare queen’ more likely to change attitudes toward welfare than those given objective statistics or those who heard story and given statistics (Reagan &6 campaign)
Primacy Effects
Information presented first has the most influence; if decision is delayed primacy is more persuasive (Message 1, Message 2, […], Response)
Recency Effects
Information presented last has the most influence; if decision is immediate recency is more powerful (Message 1, […], Message 2, Response)
Source Strategies
- Credibility
- Attractiveness and Similarity
Credibility
- Refers to the Combination of expertise and trustworthiness
- Expertise effective especially when ppl are using PR, however trustworthiness is also crucial
- People are suspicious of ppl who have smth to gain (those who are paid more to persuade/say smth, like pharma compagnies, dentists, etc.)
- People are more persuaded by those arguing against their own self interest
- Ex, speech accusing corporation of polluting a local river more persuasive when author was a pro-corporation candidate compared to a pro-environment candidate
When the Credibility of the source matters and when it doesn’t
- Questioned whether the rants of an extremist on radio or Tv influence us and studied the Sleeper Effect
- Classic study involving Ps reading an essay on the possibility of nuclear submarines written either by Oppenheimer (more credible) or by a journalist from a propaganda newspaper and then had to share their attitudes immediately after and again 4 weeks later
- Showed that over time, ppl dissociate the source of the message and the message itself (it did not matter)
Sleeper Effect
A delayed increase in the persuasive impact of a non-credible source; however, only emerges specifically when ppl learn of the source after processing the information
Audience
Various characteristics about the receiver influence persuasion (ex. personality, age, mood)
Audience - Need for Cognition
- Personality variable that distinguishes ppl on the basis of how much they enjoy effortful cognitive activities (puzzles, reading, etc.)
- People high in need for cognition are more persuaded by high quality arguments, but less influenced by peripheral cues
Audience - Mood
- People more persuaded when they are in a positive mood (when eating, listening to pleasant music, viewing a pleasant scenery, etc.)
- Positive moods appear to activate the peripheral route allowing superficial cues to influence us
Audience - Age
- Younger ppl expected to be more susceptible to persuasion than older adults
- Relationship appears to be U shaped such that youngest and oldest show most attitude change, while middle show least
- Raises questions about the influence of ads on children (cartoons had a hard time airing in the 80s and 90s due to being tied to toys and other products, making them potential ads, and had them questioned based on what effects 30 minutes of such pro consumerism shows could have on kids)
Third-Person Effect
Assumption that ‘other’ ppl are more prone to being influenced by persuasive messages than we are
Media and Persuasion
- Evidence for media effects, but effects are surprisingly weak
- Maybe not influence specific choices for one product versus another, but may shape our conception of reality
- Media shapes what we think is important and true (agenda control) and its focus on various issues influence social perception (ex. only 24% of Ps not exposed to news stories on oil dependence rated it as most important current issue, compared to 50% of Ps exposed to 3 news stories on topic and 65% exposed to 6 stories
- It shapes general attitudes, leading to general behaviour, almost creating a culture w heavy investment, social identities and watching and knowing the release of products
Consumer Advertising
- Weak correlation between ad budget and revenue
- However, ads create awareness, loyalty, and positive associations with product
Political advertising
- Weak correlations between campaign ad spending and electoral success (mostly driven by late deciding voters)
- However, negative ads do appear to turn off potential voters
Public Service Announcements
- Weak effectiveness of such programs
- However, using scenarios to teach adolescents to turn away from requests for unsafe sex found to be more effective then ad based info dumps
Why are attempts at persuasion not always effective?
- Attentional Biases
- Selective evaluation of information
- Inoculation
- Previous Commitment
- Reactance
Attentional Biases
Ppl are inclined to selectively attend to information that confirms their original attitudes (Ps spent more time trying to listen to arguments in favour of marijuana than arguments against their position (engage w smth that they agree w more)
Selective evaluation of information
People also selectively evaluate info they agree vs disagree with (female caffeine users found an article about the dangers of caffeine use for women less convincing than male caffeine users and both male and female non-drinkers)
Ιnoculation
Exposure to weak versions of a persuasive message increases later resistance to that argument (like a vaccine)
Classic Study on Inoculation
- Assessed Ps’ support for truism
- Either RA to 1) persuasive attack on truism, 2) inoculated against attack with arguments against and counterarguments that refute attacks, or 3) provided support for truism prior to attack
- The baseline assessment was high in support, but post attack group 1 had almost half as much support, group 2 had slightly more support than group 1 and group 3 was the closest in support to the baseline with only a small dip
Previous Commitment
When ppl make public commitments to their attitudes, they are more resistant to subsequent counter-attitudinal messages
Reactance
- People react to threats to their freedom or sense of self by asserting themselves and perceiving the freedom as even more attractive
- We may shut down when we sense that someone is trying to influence us or we may counter-argue the message
- Ex. Ps told they had no choice but to believe that communist party should be treated the same as any other party less persuaded than the low key message
