1. Figure 1: Screenshot from animated cartoons
Life Sciences Institute
The persuasiveness of British accents in enhancing parental self-efficacy towards children’s oral health
Zoe Adams
BACKGROUND
THEORY
RESEARCH QUESTION
The problem
Attitudes
Which British accent is the most persuasive for each trial group in enhancing parental self-efficacy for child tooth brushing and sugar snacking?
“Dental caries is a global disease with few populations exempt from its effects” (Pine et al., 2004a, p.86).
Pine et al. (2004b) found that the key cause of caries in children aged 3-4 was the parents’ attitude to their perceived ability to deliver effective and regular tooth brushing, known as the Brushing Parental Efficacy Factor.
Both explicit (controlled) and implicit (automatic) attitudes are flexible and susceptible to context
Stereotypes are linked to accents
Implicit attitudes are similar to stereotypes in their automaticity
METHODOLOGY
Therefore it is important to measure explicit and implicit attitudes
Stage 1: Laboratory experiments
1. Priming experiment (implicit measurement)
Reaction time test to 130 trivia statements in six accents. This is then repeated in written form afterwards in a less time pressured environment where there is no potential for accent effect. The combination of the two answers reveals persuasion / dissuasion:
2. Matched Guise Test (explicit measurement)
a. Six extracts about a neutral topic (directions) each followed by: ‘How likely are you to follow the advice of this AA man?’
b. Six extracts with oral health advice to gauge the effect of context, each followed by: ‘How likely are you to follow the advice of this dentist?’
Persuasion
Petty and Cacioppo’s (1986) Elaboration Likelihood Model proposes two routes to persuasion, central and peripheral:
The solution
Exposure to the message
This motivated a clinical trial in Newham, Dundee and Kent. Parents read storybooks to their children which contain behaviour change techniques. These aim to increase parental self efficacy, i.e. confidence in establishing daily tooth brushing and controlling dietary sugar.
The storybooks are being drafted into eight animated cartoons with voice overs (Figure 1), necessitating a study on the persuasive effects of different British accents.
Recipient’s motivation/ability to process the message
Focus on argument quality
HIGH LOW
Focus on heuristic cues, e.g. accent
(Central) (Peripheral)
Statement: Hot water is heavier than cold
Pine et al. (2004b) showed that parents lack time and knowledge to effectively manage their children’s oral health behaviours. They will therefore have low motivation/ability and take the peripheral route. This strengthens the persuasive power of heuristic cues, e.g. accent.
What can affect the persuasiveness of a message?
Recipient factors: Dogmatism, self-esteem, need for cognition
Communicator factors: Credibility, social attractiveness, authority
Reaction time: True
Written form: False
Outcome: Persuaded
Figure 1: Screenshot from animated cartoons
Language attitudes
Attitudes to Received Pronunciation: Expertise, prestige, authority (Giles, 1970)
Attitudes to regional accents: Friendliness, trustworthiness (Giles & Powesland, 1975)
Stage 2: Randomized clinical trial
Using the lab results, participants from Dundee and Newham will watch one animated cartoon a week for two months. A pre-/post-intervention Oral Health Behaviour Questionnaire will measure changes in parental self-efficacy.
Different accents possess different but essential persuasive attributes, highlighting the complex relationship between persuasion and British accents
- Giles, Howard Evaluative reactions to accents. Educational Review
- Giles, Howard and Peter F. Powesland Speech Style and Social Evaluation. London and New York, Academic Press.
- Petty, Richard E., and John Cacioppo The Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion. Advances in experimental social psychology 126.
- Pine, Cynthia et al. 2004a. Developing explanatory models of healthy inequalities in childhood dental caries. Community Dental Health 21(1)
- Pine, Cynthia et al. 2004b. International comparisons of health inequalities of childhood dental caries. Community Dental Health 21(1)
Supervisors: Jenny Cheshire, Cynthia Pine and Erez Levon