Persuasion
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Outline
McGuire’s Attitude Change Model Yale Programme Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) Fear Appeals
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Persuasion
Persuasion: Changing attitude and behavior based on exposure to information about the attitude
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
McGuire’s Model of Attitude Change (1968)
AttentionAttention
ComprehensionComprehension
AcceptanceAcceptance
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Yale Conditions for Successful Persuasion
Audience: Who is object of persuasion
Source: Who is persuading Message Factors
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Yale Programme
Audience Need for cognition Ability Motivation
Source Expertise Trustworthiness Likeability Attractiveness
Message Organization Content
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Audience: Need for Cognition
Need for Cognition: Extent which people enjoy effortful cognitive activities
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Audience: Need for Cognition
1. I would prefer complex to simple problems.2. Thinking is not my idea of fun.3. I would rather do something that requires
little thought that something that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities.
4. I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot of thinking.
5. I prefer my life to be filled with puzzles that I must solve.
6. I only think as hard as I have to.
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Audience: Need for Cognition(Cacioppo, Petty, & Morris 1983)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Low High
Need for Cognition
Per
suas
ion
.
Strong arguments
Weak arguments
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Source Credibility(Hovland & Weiss, 1951)
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Medicine Atomicsubmarines
Steel shortage Movie theaters
Perc
ent C
hang
e
.
High Credibility
Low Credibility
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Source Credibility
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
Immediately After 4 weeks
Pers
uasi
on
.
Persuasive Message
No Message
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Source Credibility: Sleeper Effect
(Reardon, 1981)
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
Immediately After 4 weeks
Pers
uasi
on
.
High Credibility
Low Credibility
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Source Credibility: Sleeper Effect
Sleeper Effect: Persuasive message with a discounting cue results in higher persuasion over time
Three necessary conditions for Sleeper Effect: Message itself is persuasive Discounting cue initially suppresses attitude
change Discounting cue must become dissociated from the
message over time Sleeper Effect disappears if audience is
reminded of the sourceDr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Source Attractiveness(Chaiken, 1979)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Attractive Less Attractive
Per
cent of P
eople
who
Sig
ned
Pet
itio
n
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Message
Organization Introduction: Implicit Main body
One sided: Only give pros Two sided: Give pros, cons, and evidence
against cons Conclusion: Explicit
Content
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Message: Number and Quality of Arguments (Petty & Cacioppo, 1984)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
3 9 3 9
Number of Arguments
Per
suas
iven
ess
.
High Involvement
Low Involvement
Weak Quality Strong Quality
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Yale Programme
Source
Message
Receiver
AttentionAttention
ComprehensionComprehension
AcceptanceAcceptance
Attitude Attitude ChangeChange
+ + BehaviorBehaviorChangeChange
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Yale Programme
Strength: Identify factors that influence persuasion Much research confirmed conclusion
Weakness: Does not explain how persuasion (acceptance) actually occurs
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Educational Implications
Source: Ensure you portray the following: expertise, trustworthiness, likeability
Message: Keep your lessons organized Provide quality and many examples for
your course content
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1980)
Elaboration: Think about a message More elaboration, less superficial cues influence
attitude Two Routes to Change Attitudes
Central Route: Think carefully about an issue Peripheral Route: Attitudes changed by
superficial cues Attitudes changed through central route
have different outcomes than attitudes changed from peripheral route
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1980)
Central Route: Attitudes change based on quality of
argument Attitudinal Outcomes
Greater persistence Greater prediction of behavior Greater resistance to counter-persuasion Boomerang effect: Negative opinions of
message Possible if arguments are weak or false information
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1980)
Peripheral Route: Attitudes changed by superficial cues
Attractiveness Expert Endorsement Number of Arguments
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Motivational Factors Personal relevance of message Need for cognition
Ability Factors: Availability of cognitive resources Relevant knowledge
High Motivation and Ability leads to central route
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Elaboration Likelihood Model
Strength: Identify conditions to determine what influences processing of persuasive message
Weakness: Processing of message is not exclusively central or peripheral Elaboration continuum: Low elaboration
(low thought) to high elaboration (high thought)
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Educational Implications
Ensure students process information through the central route. Motivation: Make lessons personally
relevant Ability
Reduce distractions Ensure students have relevant background
knowledge
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Fear Appeals(Janis & Feshbach, 1953)
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Low Moderate High
Fear in Appeal
Perc
ent W
orrie
d
.
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Fear Appeals(Janis & Feshbach, 1953)
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
Low Medium High
Fear in Appeal
Perc
ent B
ehav
ior C
hang
e
.
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Fear Appeals
Consequences of not taking action are severe, but not exaggerated
Problem is relevant to audience Suggest a specific action that can be taken
to prevent the portrayed consequence Audience believes the proposed solution is
effective Solution is easy
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Bias Assimilation(Lord et al., 1979)
Participants: Strong beliefs about capital punishment as deterrent against homicide
Procedure: Read summary of two “authentic” research studies – one that supported and one did not. Also read a critique of each study.
Findings: Students thought studies with same viewpoint were more convincing and better conducted than the opposing view
Conclusion: After reading evidence on both sides, more convinced of correctness of initial position than at the beginning of study
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Bias Assimilation
Bias Assimilation: After examining data on both sides of an issue people believe evidence on own side more compelling
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Revision
According to McGuire’s Model of Attitude Change, what are the three steps in persuasion?
According to the Yale Programme, what are the three major factors that influence persuasion? Describe a few ways that determine the effectiveness of
each factor. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, what
determines whether a message will be processed through the Central or Peripheral route?
What will make a fear appeal effective?
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos