week 11 ics

Reading 13-11

Not all information-processing theory involves learning from news and advertising.

Much of this work is devoted to how people interpret and react to persuasive messages.



Elaboration likelihood model 1980 (ELM): a dual process theory describing the change of attitudes. 

  • a model of persuasion

  • based on assumption for social reasons, people are motivated to hold “correct behavior”

  • people are “cognitive misers”



Petty and Cacioppo: There must be something more than the efficient use of cognitive capacity that motivates these different information-processing strategies

 

In other words, not everyone is willing or able to process information in a way that will get them to that correct attitude, at least not all the time. Sometimes they take an easier, more automatic route to their opinion. You can hear echoes of dissonance theory and social categories from our earlier discussion of attitude change.



Peripheral route:  an indirect route that uses peripheral cues to associate positivity with the message.

  • Attractive sources

  • Catchy jingles

  • Political party labels

Heuristics: Simple decision rules that substitute for more careful analysis of persuasive messages. 

Heuristic-systematic model: Dual-process model of information processing that argues for the parallel operation of systematic and heuristic processing.

  • Argues that people process information systematically and heuristically, but it sees these two processes as working together.

  • A dual processing model
    → recognizes concurrent parallel modes of information processing that are qualitatively different.

  • Assumes people are cognitive misers

Sufficiency principle: we will exercise only as much systematic processing as is necessary (sufficient) to meet that need.










Lecture 13-11

The Elaboration Likelihood Model and The Persuasion Knowledge Model

Media user → Information processing → Persuasion effect



Persuasive communication: information that is intended to change or bolster a person’s attitude or course of action and is presented in written, audio, visual, or audiovisual form.

  • advertising

  • public service announcements

  • campaigns



Elaboration likelihood model 1980 (ELM)

How does attitude change take place?

  • The amount and nature of thinking that a person does about a persuasive message is a very important determinant.

  • How much people think and how they think about a specific message → thinking behavior of the receiver

  • Determines the route of information processing (thorough vs. superficial)



Processing routes

2 routes (= way of information processing)

  1. Central route

Message elaboration: careful thinking about and examining information central to the topic (issue relevant thinking)

  1. Peripheral route

Mental shortcut based on cues (heuristics)



Dual processing model

Outcome variable = attitude change

Attitude can be predictive of behavior 

Attitude = Evaluative response (positive or negative) to a stimulus (the so called attitude object)



Motivation: do you want to think?

  • Personal relevance

  • Personal responsibility (characteristic of situation)

  • Need for cognition (characteristic of person)

Ability: Can you think

  • Distraction (characteristic of situation)

  • Prior knowledge (characteristics of person)



Processing routes & Persuasion

High motivation & motivation & ability → Central route → Persuasion = enduring attitude

  • Good argument quality 

  • Initial (positive) attitude





Initial attitude

People who have given the topic a lot of thought, or who have strong prior attitudes about a topic, are often biased, which makes it difficult to persuade them  if they do not agree with your message.

  • Even with strong arguments and high elaboration

= Biased elaboration (vs. objective elaboration)




Differences in attitude change

Strong attitude is:

  1. accessible

  2. persistent and stable

  3. resists counter arguments

  4. predicts behavior



Weak attitude is

  1. less accessible

  2. temporary

  3. easy to change

  4. less predictive of behavior



Continuum

Processing can be partly central, partly peripheral.


Low elaboration likelihood High elaboration likelihood

Peripheral processing Central processing



Research ELM

Topic: comprehensive exam at university

  1. Manipulate “motivation” via personal relevance

  • Policy for next year (high personal relevance)

  • Policy for in 10 years (low personal relevance)

  1. Argument quality (for central processors)

  2. Source expertise (for peripheral processors)





ELM recap

People like to hold correct attitudes, but the extent  to which they can and want to put effort in this differs per issue, situation, person

How thorough people process a message depends on their motivation & ability

Central route = attitude is relatively enduring, resistant, and predictive of behavior

Peripheral route = attitude is relatively temporary, susceptible and predictive of behavior.



Critique to ELM

  • What is a strong argument?

  • Individual differences?

  • Focuses on cognitive processes (thinking), not much attention for affective processes (emotions).



What is advertising?

Paid nonpersonal communication from an identified sponsor, using mass media to persuade or influence an audience.



Paid mediated form of communication from an identifiable source, designed to persuade the receiver to take some action, now or in the future.




Three dynamics that drive the evolution of advertising.

  1. (new) media and formats

  2. (new) “consumer” behaviors

  3. extended effects of advertising



New definition

“brand-initiated communication intent on impacting people”



Timeline

1920 - Selling in print

1950 - Paid content, mass media, persuade an audience

- Elaboration Likelihood Model

2000 - Persuasion Knowledge Model

2020 - Brand initiated communication, impacting people

- Influencer marketing



Why is influencer marketing effective?

  • Include sponsorship seamlessly in their editorial content and engage their audience to interact with those contents

  • Build close relationships with their followers, by exposing their private lives.

  • Induce interactivity by engaging their followers and even responding to their followers’ comments.

  • Are considered experts and trustworthy sources of advice.



Parasocial relationships: are socio-emotional connections that people develop with media figures such as celebrities or fictional characters.



The bright side of influencer marketing

  • Can be used to stimulate behavior change for the good

  • Raise awareness on social issues

  • Propagate a healthy sustainable lifestyle



Perceived expertise

  • Influencers specialize themselves

  • Trusted sources of advise 



The dark side of influencer marketing

  • Meet the demands of sponsor and followers

  • Share private information

  • Limited labor protection

  • Limited research 

  • Fit fluencers communicate idealized body images

  • Children are vulnerable audiences due to limited advertising literacy

  • Evoke feelings of envy

  • Lack of transparency and improper disclosure





The role of disclosures

Influencer marketing - collaborations and sponsorships - are less clear than traditional advertising

Disclosures are recommended - or even required, but influencers are hesitant.

Activate persuasion knowledge