PSY 321 Persuasion & Attitudes Dr. Sanchez

Today’s Plan: Persuasion Elaboration Likelihood Model: Last Week Persuasive Cues Self-persuasion Persuasion and Culture Film on advertising and persuasion

Message High motivation & ability ________ (focus on quality of message) Lasting change Low motivation & ability Temporary change _________ (focus on surface Features) Persuasion Attempt Audience Factors Processing Approach Persuasion Outcome

Features of the Source of a Message that can Serve as Persuasive Cues Expertise _________ Likeability –attractiveness –similarity –in-group status Number of sources

Other Persuasive Cues Number of arguments Reactions of others - “social proof”

Other Persuasive Cues Number of arguments Reactions of others - “social proof” Mood –classical conditioning –“how do I feel about it?”  misattribution –non-conscious mimicry and facial feedback

Classical Conditioning Neutral stimulus (Pavlov’s bell) Positively eval. stimulus (meat) Positive feelings (salivation) Presented in conjunction with Later... Previously neutral stimulus (bell) Positive feelings (salivation)

Persuasion Context…. Attitude ObjectWell liked object, setting, person Positive feelings Presented in conjunction with Later... Attitude Object Positive feelings, favorable attitude

Balance Principles Heider’s Balance Theory balance: occurs when we ______ with people we like and when we ______ with people we don’t like balance: occurs when we ______ with people we like and when we ______ with people we don’t like _______ is aversive _______ is aversive

Balance Principles you your friend Dalai Lama Balanced triad

Balance Principles Heider’s Balance Theory balance: occurs when we agree with people we like and when we disagree with people we don’t like balance: occurs when we agree with people we like and when we disagree with people we don’t like imbalance is aversive imbalance is aversive you your friend Dalai Lama you your friend Dalai Lama Balanced triad Imbalanced triad

Balance Principles you your friend Dalai Lama you your friend Dalai Lama Balanced triad Balance restored…

Balance Principles you your friend Dalai Lama you your (ex)friend Dalai Lama Balanced triad Balance restored…

Persuasion By Communication

What Makes an Effective Source? Believable sources must be _________ sources. The source must have two distinct characteristics: _______________ _______________

Who Do You Trust?

What Makes an Effective Source? (cont.) How likable is the communicator? Two factors influence a source’s likability: The similarity between the source and the audience. The similarity between the source and the audience. The physical attractiveness of the source. The physical attractiveness of the source.

Chaiken (1979)

Is The Source More Important Than The Message? It depends… How personally relevant is the message for the recipient?

Source vs.Message: The Role of Audience Involvement Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981

The Sleeper Effect

What Makes an Effective Message? How should the argument be presented to maximize its strength? Are longer messages better? If _________, the longer the message, the more valid it must be. If _________, the longer the message, the more valid it must be. If _________, message length is a two-edged sword. If _________, message length is a two-edged sword. Does presentation order matter?

Table 6.2: Effects of Presentation Order and Timing on Persuasion

What Makes an Effective Message? (cont.) Should the message use fear appeals or scare tactics? How strong is the argument? How strong is the argument? Does the message contain reassuring advice? Does the message contain reassuring advice? Are appeals to positive emotions effective? People are “soft touches” when they are in a good mood. People are “soft touches” when they are in a good mood.

Why Might Positive Feelings Activate the Peripheral Route? A positive emotional state is cognitively distracting, impairing ability to think critically. When in a good mood, assume all is well and become lazy processors of information. When happy, become motivated not to spoil the mood by thinking critically about new information.

Subliminal Messages Can subliminal messages influence behavior? We do perceive subliminal cues. But the cues will not persuade to take action unless one is already motivated to do so. But the cues will not persuade to take action unless one is already motivated to do so.

Figure 6.9: Subliminal Influence Strahan et al., 2002.

Audience Factors Very few people are consistently easy or difficult to persuade. People differ in extent to which become involved and take the central route. Need for Cognition: How much does one enjoy effortful cognitive activities? Need for Cognition: How much does one enjoy effortful cognitive activities?

Table 6.3: Need for Cognition Scale: Sample Items

Figure 6.10: Informational and Image-Oriented Ads: The Role of Self-Monitoring From J.M. Snyder and K.G. DeBono (1985) "Appeals to Image and Claims About Quality: Understanding the Psychology of Advertising," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, Copyright (c) 1985 by the American Psychological Association. Adapted with permission.

Audience Factors (cont.) To what extent does the message meet the psychological needs of the audience? Cultural factors play a subtle but important role. e.g., individualistic vs. collectivistic messages e.g., individualistic vs. collectivistic messages

Table 6.4: Strategies for Resisting Persuasion Jacks and Cameron, 2003.

Audience Factors (cont.) Has the audience been forewarned? Advanced knowledge allows time to develop counterarguments. Inoculation hypothesis Inoculation hypothesis Being forewarned elicits a motivational reaction. Psychological reactance Psychological reactance Effects of forewarning depends on personal importance of message.

Persuasion by Our Own Actions*

Role Playing: All the World’s a Stage What happens when we engage in attitude-discrepant behavior? Why does role-playing lead to enduring attitude change? Why can changes in behavior lead to changes in attitude?

Cognitive Dissonance Theory: The Classic Version We are motivated by a desire for ______________________. Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Inconsistent ________ arouse psychological tension that people become motivated to reduce. Can lead to irrational and sometimes maladaptive behavior. Can lead to irrational and sometimes maladaptive behavior. Insufficient justification for behavior can lead to dissonance Insufficient justification for behavior can lead to dissonance

Table 6.5: Ways to Reduce Dissonance

The Dissonance Classic Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959

Justifying Attitude-Discrepant Behavior Subjects experienced cognitive dissonance because had _____________. Contributions of Festinger & Carlsmith’s classic study: Showed the phenomenon of self-persuasion. Showed the phenomenon of self-persuasion. Contradicted the accepted belief that big rewards produce greater change. Contradicted the accepted belief that big rewards produce greater change.

Justifying Effort: Coming to Like What We Suffer For We alter our attitudes to justify our suffering. Aronson & Mills’ (1959) “embarrassment test” study The more we pay for something, the more we will come to like it.

Justifying Difficult Decisions: When Good Choices Get Even Better Whenever we make difficult decisions, we feel dissonance. We rationalize the correctness of our decision by exaggerating: The positive features of the chosen alternative The positive features of the chosen alternative The negative features of the unchosen alternative. The negative features of the unchosen alternative.

Figure 6.12: Necessary Conditions for the Arousal and Reduction of Dissonance

Alternative Routes to Self- Persuasion Self-Perception Theory: Self-persuasion through observation of own behavior. Impression Management Theory: What matters is not a motive to be consistent but rather a motive to appear consistent. Self-Affirmation Theory: Dissonance situations create a threat to the self.

Figure 6.13: When Self- Affirmation Fails Galinsky et al., 2000.

Theories of Self-Persuasion: Critical Comparisons