Persuasion

1. Persuasion MAR 3503 February 7, 2012

2. A traditional model of persuasion

3. Untrustworthy sources can be persuasive! • …When they are arguing against their own interests • An experiment by Walster et al. (1966): • Ps read about a convicted criminal, Joe “the Shoulder” Napolitano, who argues either for • More powerful, stricter courts • More lenient courts and sentences

4. Untrustworthy sources can be persuasive!

5. When is a disliked source persuasive? • Again, when their messages are unexpected • Ps read a message by a new university administrator who: • …Is likeable or unlikeable • …Delivers a desirable or undesirable message Amount of opinion change Eagly & Chaiken, 1975

6. Dual process theories • System 1 (peripheral route): relatively fast, associative, based on simple heuristics, often automatic, requiring little cognitive capacity, often unconscious • System 2 (central route): relatively slow, rule-based, operating on high-effort, systematic reasoning, requiring cognitive capacity, often conscious when operating • Domains: judgment, decisions, attribution, person perception, stereotyping, persuasion

7. Elaboration Likelihood Model • Two routes to persuasion: • Central route: when the target is motivated and able to systematically process the message • Peripheral route: when they are not • The success of various source and message cues depends on which route a target is taking

9. Involvement and argument strength • Ps read an essay arguing in favor of comprehensive exams, either • At their own school (high involvement) • At another school (low involvement) • Arguments were either strong or weak • Hypothesis: Argument strength should have a larger impact on attitudes under conditions of high involvement Petty & Cacioppo, 1979

10. Involvement and argument strength Petty & Cacioppo, 1979

11. Involvement and argument strength Data: agreement with author’s position Petty & Cacioppo, 1979

12. Mood and argument strength • Ps are placed in a good mood or a bad mood by writing about happy or sad life events • Then they read weak or strong arguments in favor of a tuition hike at their school Bless et al., 1990

13. Involvement, message, and source • Issue: School should change to a trimester system, to be implemented either: • Next year (high involvement) • 10 years from now (low involvement) • Source is either likeable and presents 1 argument or dislikeable and presents 5 arguments • ELM makes unique predictions: • Central route will lead to more change with dislikeable source, while peripheral route will lead to more change with likeable source Chaiken, 1980

14. Involvement, message, and source Chaiken, 1980

15. Involvement, message, & expertise • Comprehensive exams to be instituted: • Next year (high involvement) • 10 years from now (low involvement) • Message contains 8 strong or 8 weak arguments • Message is attributed to a high schooler (low expertise) or a Princeton professor (high expertise) Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981

16. Involvement, message, & expertise Attitude change High personal relevance Low personal relevance Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981

17. Celebrity endorsements • Participants evaluate a magazine ad for a disposable razor • High involvement: Product would soon be market tested in their community, and they would have an opportunity to select a razor as a free gift • Low involvement: Product would soon be market tested in several distant cities • Strong or weak arguments • Endorsed by celebrities or random citizens Petty, Cacioppo, & Schumann, 1983

18. Celebrity endorsements Petty, Cacioppo, & Schumann, 1983

19. Celebrity endorsements Attitude change High personal relevance Low personal relevance Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981

20. Message strength vs. # of arguments • Comprehensive exams to be implemented in one year or 10 years (yes, again!) • Number of arguments: 3 or 9 • Argument strength: strong or weak Petty & Cacioppo, 1984

21. Message strength vs. # of arguments Attitude change Low involvement High involvement Petty & Cacioppo, 1984

22. Message strength vs. composition • Tuition hike, at one’s own school or a different school • Three sets of arguments: • 3 strong arguments • 3 weak arguments • 3 strong and 3 weak arguments Petty & Cacioppo, 1984

23. Message strength vs. composition Petty & Cacioppo, 1984

24. When does attitude change endure? • Attitudes formed via the central route: • Persist longer • Watts (1977): Ps either write or read a persuasive essay. Attitudes are assessed immediately and 6 weeks later • He found that writing and reading the essay produced the same amount of attitude change initially • But writing the essay led to more processing via the central route, and thus more change 6 weeks later • Are more predictive of behavior • Cornell housing study

25. Necessary psychological steps • Perceive the message • Favorably evaluate the message • Understand the message • Remember the message If any of these steps fails, information will be of no use

26. Perception

27. Favorable evaluation • Why might people not favorably evaluate a helpful message? • The medium • Not funny, interesting, likeable, fun • The message itself • People get defensive when they’re being criticized • Sometimes people just don’t like things

28. Understanding Costanzo et al., 1986

29. Remember this • Memory is not perfect • Information may even backfire

30. Persuasion process

31. Summary • Persuasion can happen through one of two routes: central and peripheral • Central route when people have motivation or ability to think about message • Peripheral when they do not • What cues work to change attitudes differs depending on which route is in use • Peripheral cues include superficial aspects of endorsers and number of arguments • Central cues include argument strength and expertise, • Central route attitude change is more likely to stick • Next time: When do people comply with requests?