Test 2 Flashcards
What is Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) framework
perceptions/reactions to health-related risks
what does RPA assume?
(in some cases) risk can motivate self-protective health behavior
What can understanding attitudes about risk help?
- more accurately predict responses based on risk perceptions
- more effective health campaigns.
what are the two dimensions of perceived risk
1) susceptibility
2) severity
what is susceptibility
degree to which a threat is likely to occur
“how likely it is to occur”
what is severity
noxiousness of a threat
“how bad will it be if it happens?”
what are the two perceptions of perceived efficacy
1) self efficacy
2) response efficacy
what is self efficacy
ability to cope with/prevent threat
“can I mitigate/prevent threat?”
what is response efficacy
effectiveness of strategies meant to cope with/prevent threat.
“will the strategies recommended to mitigate and prevent the treat work?”
what are the 4 possibilities of the RPA framework
1) response
2) avoidance
3) proactive
4) indifferent
what happens when you are responsive in the RPA framework
- take action
- ideal
- high risk and high efficacy
- most motivated to enact self-protect
- confident taking action to prevent/reduce risk
what happens when you “avoid” in the RPA framework
- high risk and low efficacy
- challenging
- conflicting motivations
- concerned of risks but feel unable to cope with it
- don’t feel they can prevent it from happening.
what is the proactive possibility in the RPA framework
- low risk and high efficacy
- not motivated by risk
- may take action because they believe that a behavior may be preventative (ex. airborne sunscreen in the moonlight)
what is the indifferent possibility in the RPA framework
- apathetic
- low risk and low efficacy
- least motivated to enact self-protect
- feel not at risk & unable to cope with threat.
what steps should be taken during the RPA framework and persuasion.
step 1) segment audience based on RPA
step 2) target msg best address each groups RPA
what is an optimistic bias
- focus on perceptions of relative risk
- people think self less susceptible to health risk
- a possible explanation as to why people don’t take preventative steps
what is another explanation of why people do not take preventative actions
egocentrism. people believe their self protect more extensive/effective than others (eg. thinking you eat more healthily than you do)
what is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
explain response to msg that contains an argument/peripheral cues.
argument: content of a message
peripheral cues: info external to message content
what does the ELM make predictions about
responses to a single message
what is a dual process model
-explains two routes individuals process persuasive msgs (develop +/- attitude)
what are some assumptions of the ELM
- people are motivated to hold “correct” attitudes. -what is ‘correct’ is subjective
- incorrect attitudes are maladaptive - neg. consequences due to attitude
what are the two routes of message processing
central route
and
peripheral route
what is the central route in message processing
- attitude change is a function of message content and elaboration
(elaboration: the extent to which a person thinks about the issue-relevant arguments contained in a message)
careful scrutiny of message content
what is the peripheral route in message processing
shapes attitudes without need to engage in extensive issue-related thinking
EG. agreeing w/ message cuz source is credible, simple
what are some of the determinants of the processing route in ELM
- motivation
- ability
- central processing
- peripheral processing
in ELM, what are some factors that influence motivation
- involvement in the message topic
- need for cognition
- personal responsibility for your attitude
in ELM, what are some factors that influence ability
- able to process
- distraction
- background knowledge of topic
- message clarity
in ELM, what causes central processing
high motivation + high ability = central processing
quality of the arguments contained in message shud determine influence of msg on attitudes
in ELM, what causes peripheral processing
low motivation + low ability = peripheral processing
peripheral cues determine msg evaluation and influence of the msg on attitudes
explain the utility of the ELM
- understand 2 ways ppl respond to persuasive msgs (central & peripheral processing)
- identifies two elements that determine nature processing (motivation & ability)
- possible construct better persuasive msgs
What is the Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM)
a dual-process message processing model
what are some key assumptions of HSM
- individuals are cognitive misers (seek to minimize cognitive activity, not that people are lazy)
- sufficiency principle (ppl want to know as much as they need to in order to make decision, no more, no less)
in HSM, what are the two types of message processing
- systematic processing
- heuristic processing
what is systematic processing in HSM
- careful scrutiny of message content
- similar to central processing in the ELM
what is heuristic processing in HSM
- makes possible evaluation of message w/out scrutininzing the aruguments made
- “mental shortcuts”
Explain HSM and Message Processing
- heuristic processing is our default state
- systematic processing occurs when people have sufficient motivation & ability
- dual processing possible (heuristic & systematic processing)
what are key differences in HSM and ELM
- HSM dual processing, ELM only one route
- heuristics more specific in terms of HSM, as “mental shortcuts”
- HSM starts w/ assumption ppl are cognitive misers
What is the Unimodel
- argues against the dual process models
- beliefs formed on basis of appropriate evidence
- info relevant to conclusion
In Unimodel, if motivated and able…
people will process whatever evidence is relevant
the distinction between central cues and message arguments is irrelevant
what is the message learning approach (MLA)
attitude change involves a chain of responses:
1) ATTENTION to the persuasive message
2) COMPREHENSION of its content
3) ACCEPTANCE/YIELDING to what is comprehended
4) RETENTION of the position agreed to
what are some MLA assumptions
1) must LEARN arguments in msg for change to occur
2) must REMEMBER arguments to persist change over time
3) yielding to argument determined by INCENTIVES (gain reward, avoid costs)
In MLA, who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?
- source = who
- message = what
- channel = medium
- receiver = to whom
- attitude change = what effect
(EG, ppl who, just by being them r persuasive…beyonce, oprah, etc)
what is credibility
- it is perceived (credible to some, not credible to others)
- it is situational (one can be a credible source bout some topics, but not others)
- it is dynamic (perceptions of source credibility can change over time)
what perceptions make up credibility
- expertise
- trustworthiness
in relation to credibility, what is expertise
- technical knowledge
- source well informed bout topic
- we accept advice from “experts”
what is a caveat
when being an expert is not enough.
weak evidence, experts shud act like experts
how can perceptions of expertise be increased
- titles, exp, certificates/education
- cite sources for evidence
- nonverbal behavior
- confidence
in relation to credibility, what is trustworthiness
- perception that a source will tell what he/she believe is the truth
- honesty, integrity
- trust can be as important as expertise
- some cases, trust more important
how can perceptions of trustworthiness be increased
- speak against own interests
- signs/symbols of trustworthiness
- association w/ other trust sources
- overhead messages (persuaded by msgs not supposed to hear)
what are some other facts about credibility
- expertise and trustworthiness are relative
- E & T do not have to be related. may think expert, but not trust
- often all components of E&T do not exist in one speaker
What is the sleeper effect
-changes in the effect of msgs from high & low credibility sources may not be the same over time
- absolute sleeper effects
- relative sleeper effects
what is the absolute sleeper effect
msg from high credibility source loses effect over time, whereas msg from low credibility becomes more effective
what is the relative sleeper effect
- both msgs become more ineffective over time
- msg from high credibility souce incurs greater loss in effect relative to low credibility source
what are some possible explanations for the sleeper effect
1) forgetting model
2) disassociation model