Communication- Argumentation and Persuasion

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COM 470: Argumentation and Persuasion

Week 7, Tuesday, 10/6

Overview

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Thursday’s class – activity and review for Exam 2

Reminders:

Exam on Tuesday, 10/13

Discuss Cognitive Dissonance Theory on Thursday, 10/15

Please read Chapter 9 and Case study 10

Discuss Inoculation Theory on Saturday, 10/17

Please read Chapter 5, pp. 108-115; Case study 9

Thought….

Think about some of television commercials. How do these make the best use of persuasion?

Doritos/SuperBowl – relate and humor (dogs thru screens)

Geiko – fun and humor/ fast paced even with plot (?)

Pepsi – motor expressions and excitement and pride

DisneyWorld – peripheral not paying attention to details; just fun in Disney; characters to appeal to children

Dunkin Donuts – Gronk or Ortiz; know the audience; credibility ~ peripheral route

To Begin….

Both of these commercials are for the same product. Why did they have two different ones?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv1qDKmo-ss

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7fLa/2014-ram-1500-truck-of-the-year

Central route – second commercial; things into car to make it best; fact at end

Peripheral route – first commercial; humor, persuading on ad not product; appeals to everyone (with use of the song)

Audience assumptions – some want facts others want feeling; reach more people; trying to find out who likes facts or the superficial

ELM – Two routes to persuasion– this is a continuum

Central Route

High products/high involvement

Care about message and what said

Less subject to counter-argument

Need high motivation and ability to understand message

Carefully examine arguments

Attitudes changed/formed under route last longer

Peripheral Route

Don’t care as much about the message

More emotion based

Influenced by outside factors

Rely on peripheral cues (heuristics)

Message not as direct

Low elaboration/easier less stressful processing

Attitude change not as strong

Motivation to procesS

Factors influence the degree of elaboration

Involvement (personal relevance), and this referred outcome involvement

Personal responsibility – centrally process if responsible for outcomes

How likely to be impacted – central route; genuine interest in topic; relate to it; could happen to you

Impression you get from the message

Incongruent information – receiving something unexpected from your own values/beliefs

Need for cognition– innate need to think

Ability to process

Message comprehension – ability the information to be understood; organization and word choice

Distraction—good or bad; persuasion could happen – peripheral route

Prior knowledge

Message repetition

Audience demographics could influence ability to process~prior knowledge and also word choice

Connect to the person the in the message

Central Route

Elaboration valence—the more positive the issue-relevant thoughts are by the receiver the more successful the persuasive efforts will be

Two major influences on elaboration valence (positive or negative)

Pro-attitudinal messages are more persuasive than counter-attitudinal

Counter-attitudinal messages can be persuasive though

Thus argument strength becomes important

Stronger arguments will be more persuasive (~ quality)

Peripheral Route– Peripheral cues

Mental shortcut

Source credibility

Attractiveness

Rewards and punishments – rewards

Humor (and emotions)

Number of arguments

Audience reaction

Consensus – other believe it, it must be true

Liking

Influence of variables

The key question is when a variable is likely to play a given role; ELM offers a “general rule”

When elaboration is low, a variable is more likely to serve as a peripheral cue

When elaboration is high, a variable is more likely to influence elaboration valence

When elaboration is moderate, a variable is more likely to influence the degree of elaboration

Message Persuasion Guidelines

Identify common objective you want to share with the audience

Identify if you want to central or peripheral

Know audience attitudes, involvement (personal relevance), values, level of cognitive understanding, considerations of motivation and ability to process; argument is good quality; know if audience will be distracted; know prior knowledge

If a large audience, use both the peripheral and central routes to persuade

Adapting persuasive messages

Messages should be adapted to the audience’s likely level of elaboration

Can also attempt to influence the likely degree of elaboration

When one expects counter-arguing, it might be better to limit the amount of elaboration

Adapting messages -- Argument strength

High-quality message is defined as one that is more persuasive when people pay close attention to the message

This definition does not help to explain what makes an argument strong

Messages that promote a more desirable outcome are more persuasive and considered stronger

It is expected that messages about outcome likelihood might have similar effects

Let’s ReCAP

In groups, answer the following questions:

1. Is the Apple 1 advertisement aiming at central or peripheral processing for its audience? What are the elements of central or peripheral processing be used?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs1HoLs4SD0

2. Is the Apple 2 advertisement aiming at central or peripheral processing for its audience? What are the elements of central or peripheral processing be used?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT4ZbwgIK3w

3. What type of audience would these two commercials be directed to? What are they assuming about the audience?

Brief Review – Elm and Emotional Appeals

In this Nationwide Mutual Insurance advertisement, what emotional appeals are being used and what action tendencies are being elicited? Is the advertisement relying upon peripheral or central processing? Why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TDG9EKEi-I

In this CDC anti-smoking advertisement, please explain how it is using (or not using) the steps and criteria for an effective fear appeal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb0zDUzSktY

Next time…

Discuss more of the ELM and its application

Review for Exam 2