Theories of persuasion and attitude change

1. Theories of persuasion and attitude change Lecture 8

2. Attitude  behavior • Theories of persuasion (Yale school) • Theory of reasoned action (M. Fishbein & I. Ajzen • Theory of planned behavior (I. Ajzen) • Elaboration likelihood model (R. Petty & J. Caccioppo) • Assimilation-contrast theory (M. Sherif)

3. Elaboration likelihood model by R. Petty and J. Caccioppo John Caccioppo Richard Petty

4. Elaboration likelihood model • Two routes of persuasion: • Central – through quality of arguments • Peripheral – through peripheral cues • Length of the message • Source credibility • Source attractiveness

5. Central route The issue is important Recipient is focused on the message Message is easy to process Recipient is in a sad mood Peripheral route The issue is of no importance Distractors are present (e.g., noise) The message is difficult to process Recipient is in a good mood Determinants of central vs. peripheral route

6. Theory of reasoned action M. Fishbein & I. Ajzen Martin Fishbein Icek Ajzen

7. Attitude = result of rational decision • Rational decision – choice of the best alternative • Expected value of the chosen alternative • Probabilities x utilities of decision consequences • Choose this alternative which has the highest sum of products

8. Theory of reasoned action Attitude Behavioral intention Behavior Social norms

9. Attitude= result of rational choice Utility of A x Probability of A Utility of C X Probability of C Attitude Utility of B X Probability of B Utility of D X Probability of D

10. Social norms Expectation X X Motivation X Expectation Z X Motivation Z Norm Expectation Y X Motivation Y Expectation U X Motivation U

11. Examples • Attitudes towards EU • Consequences of entering EU vs. not entering EU • Evaluation (utilities) • Probability • Social norms • What others expect of me • Do I want to yield to the expectation • Attitudes towards removing own dogs’ shit from pavements • Consequences • Social norms

12. Theory of planned behavior Attitude Behavioral intention Behavior Social norms Control

13. Assimilation-contrast theory by M. Sherif

14. Judgments (descriptive, evaluative) • Absolute vs. comparative judgments • Harry Helson: Absolute judgments are never absolute • Evaluations are made with respect to some reference points • Reference points: • Adaptation level (point of „psychological neutrality”) • Anchoring points

15. Anchoring effects • Anchors – points of reference • Contrast effects • Comparison with an anchor – accentuates the difference • Assimilation effects • Comparison with an anchor attenuates the difference

16. Contrast effects in perception of physical stimuli 50oC 30oC 10oC

17. Attitude scales and assimilation-contrast effects • Types of scales • Likert scale – the majority of known questionnaires and attitude scales • Thurstone scale • Guttman scale (e.g. social distance scale)

18. Attitudes • Toward European Union • Abortion • Church • Paid education • Immigrants • Homosexuals

19. Thurstone Scale • Interval scale (items differ by equal intervals) • Each item described with two parameters; • Scale value (position on the domension of positivity-negativity towards the attitude object) • Variance (amount of agreement on how positive is the statement) Louis Thurstone (1887-1955)

20. Constructing the Thurstone scale • Collecting attitudinal statements (about 300) • Eliminate • Factual statements • Statements difficult to understand • Double negations etc.. • Competent judges (minimum 50) • 11 categories • „1” – statement expresses an exteremely positive attitude (e.g. „Without membership in EU Poland will never be a truly democratic country” • „11” – statement expresses an extremely negative attitude (e.g.”Our membership in EU will deprive us of our Polish culture and identity”) • „6” – neither positive nor negative („EU money helps build highways in Poland”).

21. Computing scale values of attitudinal statements N judges Statement 215 Statement 24 Statement 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Me=9.8 Me=2,6 Me=6.2

22. Computing scale values and measures of variance • Scale value = median (or mean) • Variance = quartile deviation (or standard deviation)

23. Selecting statements to the final version of the scale • Statements with scale values covering the whole scale in equal intervals (1,2,3,4...11 lub 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5.......10.5, 11.0 itp.) • Choice of statements with lowest variation

24. Administering the scale and computing the final score • Participant marks only these statements that he/she agrees with • Final score (attitude) = means of scale values of marked items

25. Thurstone vs Sherif • Criticisms of assumptions underlying the Thurstone scale • Competent judges are not competent • Competent judges have own attitudes • Attitudes act as anchors • Contrast effects • Assimilation effects

26. Assimilation-contrast theory (ego involvement) by Muzafer Sherif • Own attitude acts as an anchor • Beliefs that are close to own attitude  assimilation effects • Beliefs distant from own attitude  contrast effects • Categorization of beliefs • Latitude of acceptance („yes” – I agree with it) • Latitude of rejectance („no” – I don’t agree with it) • Latitude of noncommitment („I don’t know” or „both agree and disagree”)

27. Three latitudes High ego-involvement Low ego-involvement Number of opinions Latitude of acceptance Latitude of noncommitment Latitude of rejectance

28. Ego-involvement effects • The higher ego-involvement, the larger latitude of rejection, the smaller – latitude of noncommitment • The higher ego-involvement, the higher probability that the persuasive message will be categorized as „not acceptable”  boomerang effects in persuasion

29. Persuasion as communication • Yale school: Carl I. Hovland, Muzafer Sherif, Irving Janis • Processes of attitude change = processes of communication • Persuasion techniques = techniques of efficient communication

30. Yale School Carl I. Hovland Muzafer Sherif Irving Janis William McGuire

31. Persuasion as communication source message audience

32. Persuasion as an effect of: • Characteristics of the source of the message • Characteristics of the message • Characteristics of the channel • Characteristics of the audience

33. Persuasive source: role of credibility • Trustworthy • speaking fast (Miller et al.. 1976: fast speakers judged as more intelligent, objective and knowledgeable) • No perceived intention to persuade the audience • Arguing for a position against own • Competent • Confident tone • Effects of source credibility fade with time • Remembered message , not source  sleeper effect

34. Sleeper effect • A delayed impact of a message, occurs when we remember the message but forget a reason for discounting it. • Incredible source more effective after a longer lapse of time

35. Persuasive source: role of attractiveness • Physical attractiveness • Similarity vs. dissimilarity of a source • Message concerns subjective issues (tastes, preferences)  similar source more persuasive • Message concerns objective issues (facts)  dissimilar source more persuasive

36. Persuasive message: Role of emotions • Appeal to reason vs. emotions • Central vs. peripheral route • Type of audience (educated or not) • Influence of positive affect • Positive emotions  more persuasion • Role of fear • Fear or fear + behavioral instruction? • Curvilinear relationship?

37. Positive affect caused by eating facilitated persuasion

39. Persuasive message: construction of a message • One-sided vs. two-sided • Role of education • Previous or future exposure to counterarguments • Distance from attitude of the audience • Boomerang effects • With or without a clear conclusion • Effects of order: primacy vs. recency

40. One sided message is more persuasive if the audience initially agreed, to-sided – when disagreed

41. Persuasive message: primacy vs. recency

42. Persuasive message: role of the channel • Personal contact  more influence than media • Concrete example  more influence then dry statistical data • Written vs. video-taped • Difficult to understand messages  more persuasive when written • Easy to understand messages  more persuasive when video-taped • Power-Point presentations?

43. Susceptible audience • Self-esteem • Education • Gender • Age and generation • Involvement in an issue

45. Inocculation theory by McGuire • How to create resistance to persuasive meassages? • Vaccination: contact with a small dose of a virus  stimulation of antibodies • A small dose of arguments against own attitude  generation of counterarguments  bolstering the attitude

47. Attitudes as constructions

48. Attitudes: retrieved from memory or constructed on the spot? • Are attitudes really stable dispositions? • Effects of • Context of other questions • Induced affect (F. Strack) • Affect as information (N. Schwartz & Clore) • Availability heuristic • Thinking about reasons of attitudes (T. Wilson)

50. Affect as information hypothesis After: Schwartz & Clore, 1983)