6.1 Persuasion and Attitude Change
3 min read•august 7, 2024
Persuasion and attitude change are key aspects of media influence. They explore how media messages can shape our beliefs and behaviors through different processing routes and psychological mechanisms.
Understanding these concepts helps us recognize how media affects our opinions. From to , persuasive strategies are constantly at work, making it crucial to critically evaluate the messages we encounter daily.
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Central and Peripheral Route Processing
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- (ELM) explains how people process persuasive messages through two distinct routes: central and peripheral
- involves careful consideration and evaluation of the message's arguments and evidence
- Occurs when individuals have high motivation and ability to process the message
- Leads to more enduring attitude changes that are resistant to counter-persuasion
- relies on superficial cues and heuristics rather than the message's content
- Occurs when individuals have low motivation or ability to process the message
- Results in temporary attitude changes that are more susceptible to counter-persuasion
- Cognitive responses refer to the thoughts and reactions individuals generate while processing a persuasive message
- Favorable thoughts lead to persuasion, while unfavorable thoughts lead to resistance
Factors Influencing Processing Routes
- Motivation to process the message depends on factors such as personal relevance, need for cognition, and level of involvement
- High personal relevance (health issues) increases motivation to process centrally
- Individuals with high need for cognition tend to engage in central route processing
- Ability to process the message is influenced by factors such as prior knowledge, message complexity, and distractions
- Prior knowledge about the topic facilitates central route processing
- Complex messages or distracting environments hinder ability to process centrally
Attitude Formation and Change
Attitude Formation Processes
- Attitudes are learned evaluations of objects, people, or ideas that can be positive, negative, or neutral
- Classical conditioning forms attitudes through repeated pairings of a neutral stimulus with a positive or negative stimulus
- Pairing a product with pleasant music in advertisements
- Operant conditioning shapes attitudes through reinforcement and punishment of behaviors
- Receiving compliments for expressing a particular opinion reinforces that attitude
- Observational learning leads to attitude formation by observing and imitating others' attitudes and behaviors
- Children adopting their parents' political views
Attitude Change and Resistance
- suggests that individuals strive for consistency among their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors
- Experiencing dissonance motivates individuals to change attitudes or behaviors to restore consistency
- Justifying a counter-attitudinal behavior (writing an essay supporting a position one disagrees with) can lead to attitude change
- proposes that exposing individuals to weakened counterarguments builds resistance to persuasion
- Providing refutations to common counterarguments in a political campaign
- Selective exposure and confirmation bias contribute to resistance by seeking information that confirms existing attitudes and avoiding disconfirming information
- Engaging with news sources that align with one's political ideology
Persuasive Strategies
Source Characteristics and Credibility
- Source credibility refers to the perceived trustworthiness and expertise of the message source
- Doctors and scientists are often perceived as credible sources for health information
- Trustworthiness is the belief that the source is honest and unbiased
- Non-profit organizations may be seen as more trustworthy than for-profit companies
- Expertise is the belief that the source has knowledge and competence in the relevant domain
- Celebrity endorsements are more effective when the celebrity has expertise related to the product (athletes endorsing sports equipment)
- Likeability and attractiveness of the source can also enhance persuasion through the peripheral route
- Physically attractive models in advertisements
Message Framing and Emotional Appeals
- Message framing presents information in terms of gains or losses to influence decision-making and attitudes
- Gain-framed messages emphasize the benefits of adopting a behavior (exercising improves health)
- Loss-framed messages highlight the costs of not adopting a behavior (not exercising increases risk of disease)
- Emotional appeals use positive or negative emotions to enhance persuasion
- Fear appeals emphasize the negative consequences of not adopting a recommended behavior (graphic anti-smoking campaigns)
- Humor appeals create positive associations with the message and increase liking of the source
- Insurance companies using humorous commercials to make their brand more memorable and likable
Key Terms to Review (20)
Advertising: Advertising is a form of communication that aims to promote products, services, or ideas to a target audience through various media channels. It plays a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior and attitudes by utilizing persuasive messages and visual elements. Understanding advertising helps to see its influence on social behaviors, emotional responses, and societal norms.
Boomerang Effect: The boomerang effect occurs when a persuasive message intended to influence an audience actually backfires, leading individuals to adopt the opposite of the intended attitude or behavior. This phenomenon highlights the complexities of persuasion and communication, showing that messages can produce unintended consequences, especially when audiences react negatively to the perceived threat or pressure associated with the message.
Central route processing: Central route processing refers to a method of persuasion that involves careful and thoughtful consideration of the content and arguments presented in a message. This approach typically occurs when individuals are motivated and able to engage with the information, leading to deeper cognitive processing and more stable attitude change. The effectiveness of this route relies heavily on the quality of the arguments rather than peripheral cues.
Cognitive dissonance theory: Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that individuals experience psychological discomfort when holding two or more contradictory beliefs, attitudes, or values. This discomfort leads to an internal drive to reduce the inconsistency by changing beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors, thereby fostering persuasion and attitude change. The theory highlights how individuals seek harmony in their thoughts and actions, which is crucial in understanding media exposure and its effects on viewers' beliefs and attitudes.
Demographics: Demographics refer to the statistical characteristics of a population, often used to classify groups based on attributes such as age, gender, income, education level, and ethnicity. Understanding demographics is crucial for analyzing how different segments of the population respond to various forms of media and persuasive messages, influencing strategies for attitude change and effective communication.
Elaboration Likelihood Model: The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) is a theory that explains how people are persuaded and how their attitudes change based on the level of elaboration or cognitive processing they engage in when exposed to persuasive messages. This model suggests that there are two routes to persuasion: the central route, which involves careful and thoughtful consideration of the content, and the peripheral route, where individuals rely on superficial cues or heuristics. Understanding ELM helps to analyze how media messages can effectively influence attitudes by leveraging either route.
Experiments: Experiments are systematic investigations designed to establish causal relationships between variables by manipulating one or more independent variables and observing the effect on dependent variables. They are a fundamental method in quantitative research, allowing researchers to control for extraneous factors and draw conclusions about how certain conditions can influence attitudes and behaviors.
Fear Appeal: Fear appeal is a persuasive communication strategy that aims to elicit fear in the audience to influence their attitudes or behaviors. By presenting a threat and highlighting the potential negative consequences of inaction, fear appeals can motivate individuals to adopt certain behaviors or beliefs in order to avoid the feared outcome. This technique relies on both emotional and cognitive processes, making it a powerful tool in persuasion.
Foot-in-the-door technique: The foot-in-the-door technique is a psychological strategy used in persuasion, where a small request is made first to gain eventual compliance with a larger request. This method relies on the idea that once someone agrees to a small request, they are more likely to agree to a subsequent larger request due to feelings of commitment and consistency.
Inoculation Theory: Inoculation theory is a psychological concept that suggests individuals can be protected against persuasive messages by being exposed to weaker forms of opposing arguments. This exposure acts like a vaccine, strengthening the individual's preexisting attitudes and beliefs, making them more resistant to future persuasive attempts. The theory is significant in understanding how attitudes can be changed or reinforced in the face of contrary information.
Leon Festinger: Leon Festinger was a prominent social psychologist best known for developing the theory of cognitive dissonance, which explains how individuals strive for internal consistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. His work has had a profound impact on understanding persuasion and attitude change by illustrating how conflicting beliefs can lead to discomfort and motivate changes in attitudes to restore harmony.
Peripheral Route Processing: Peripheral route processing refers to a way of thinking about persuasive messages where individuals focus on superficial cues rather than the actual content of the message. This approach often involves emotional responses, visual appeal, or the credibility of the source, leading to attitude changes that may not be as enduring or resistant to counter-persuasion compared to those formed through deeper processing.
Political Campaigns: Political campaigns are organized efforts to influence the decision-making process within a specific group, primarily aimed at winning elections. They often involve strategic messaging, public relations efforts, and grassroots mobilization to persuade voters. Campaigns can shape public perception of candidates and issues, thereby playing a crucial role in the political landscape.
Reactance: Reactance is a psychological response that occurs when an individual perceives a threat to their freedom of choice or autonomy. This reaction can lead to a motivation to restore that lost freedom, often resulting in opposing or resisting persuasive messages or attempts at influence. It highlights how people may push back against perceived coercion, impacting how attitudes can change through persuasion.
Robert Cialdini: Robert Cialdini is a renowned social psychologist known for his research on influence and persuasion. His work has significantly contributed to understanding how individuals can change attitudes and behaviors through strategic communication techniques. Cialdini identified key principles of persuasion that highlight the psychological mechanisms behind why people comply with requests, making his findings essential for anyone interested in media effects and persuasive communication.
Social media campaigns: Social media campaigns are organized efforts to promote a specific goal or message through various social media platforms, often involving content creation, audience engagement, and strategic messaging. These campaigns leverage the power of social networks to reach targeted audiences, influence attitudes, and drive action, making them a crucial tool in both marketing and social change initiatives.
Social Proof: Social proof is the psychological phenomenon where individuals look to the behavior of others to guide their own actions, especially in uncertain situations. This concept highlights how people tend to conform to what they perceive others are doing, leading to changes in attitudes or behaviors based on group norms. Social proof is crucial in shaping opinions and can significantly influence decision-making processes in various contexts.
Surveys: Surveys are research tools used to collect data from a specific population through structured questionnaires or interviews. They play a vital role in understanding media effects by providing insights into people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding media consumption and its impact.
Target audience: A target audience is a specific group of consumers identified as the intended recipient of a particular message or campaign. Understanding the characteristics, preferences, and behaviors of a target audience is crucial for effectively crafting persuasive messages and influencing attitudes. By tailoring content to resonate with this group, communicators can enhance engagement and increase the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.
Television commercials: Television commercials are short audio-visual advertisements that air on television, aimed at promoting products, services, or brands to a mass audience. They play a crucial role in shaping consumer perceptions and attitudes through persuasive techniques and emotional appeals, often employing storytelling and visual imagery to engage viewers.