Exam 2 (Persuasion)

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) 🎯

A model explaining two routes to persuasion:

• Central route: careful, thoughtful processing

• Peripheral route: quick, surface-level cues

Shows how people change attitudes differently depending on motivation and effort.

Elaboration Likelihood Effects on Attitude Change 🎯

• Central route: Leads to strong, lasting attitude change because people carefully evaluate the message.

• Peripheral route: Leads to weak, temporary attitude change because people rely on superficial cues.

Your motivation and ability to process info determine which route influences you.

Central Route Persuasion 🔍

When people are motivated and analytical, they process messages deeply.

Leads to lasting attitude change because people understand and agree with the message.

Example: Debating politics with someone who really cares about the issue.

Use _____ when the audience is interested and motivated (e.g., debates).

Peripheral Route Persuasion 🎭✨

When people are not motivated or distracted, they are persuaded by things outside the message — like a speaker's attractiveness or fame.

Leads to temporary attitude change.

Example: Buying a product because a celebrity endorses it.

Use _____ for quick decisions or less involved audiences (e.g., ads).

Cognitive dissonance (Podcast)

Mental discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

We try to reduce dissonance by changing our attitudes or justifying behavior to feel consistent.

What Does Cognitive Dissonance Tell Us About Our Minds? 💡

Our brains crave consistency; when faced with conflict, we adjust our thoughts or actions to reduce discomfort and restore balance.

What Experiments Show Us Evidence of Cognitive Dissonance? 🔬😰

• Effort Justification: People value things more if they worked hard for them.

• Insufficient Justification: People change their attitudes when they have little external reason for their behavior.

Both show how people reduce mental discomfort by changing beliefs or attitudes.

Effort Justification Paradigm 💪➡️❤️

People who put a lot of effort into something tend to value it more to justify their hard work.

Experiment: Participants who endured a tough initiation liked the group more afterward, even if it wasn't fun.

Insufficient Justification Paradigm 💸

When people do something they don't want to for little reward, they change their attitude to reduce dissonance.

Experiment: People paid $1 to lie about a boring task convinced themselves it was actually enjoyable, while those paid $20 didn't need to change their attitude.