Persuasion and Attitude Change

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Persuasion and Attitude Change
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Theories of Attitude Change

• Yale studies of persuasive communications
• Who says what to whom with what effect?
• Festingers theory of Cognitive Dissonance

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Yale studies of persuasive communications

• Source, Message, Audience
• Source characteristic Credibility
• Message characteristic Fear appeals
• Interacts with Audience characteristic
  self-esteem

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Pepsi Ad
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Pepsi Ad
US UR CR CS
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Pepsi Ad
Puppies Positive emotions
US UR CR
Positive emotions CS
Pepsi
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Festingers Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

• When Prophecy Fails
• Festinger, Riecken, Schacter
• Theoretical statement
• Experiments

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Festingers Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

• When Prophecy Fails
• Theoretical statement
• Experiments

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Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

• Inconsistency between two cognitions produces
  dissonance (e.g., between an attitude and a
  behavior)
• Dissonance is uncomfortable, creates a drive to
  reduce the tension
• Least important or most easily changed element
  will change (usually attitude)
• UNLESS--there is some external justification for
  the inconsistent cognition (the
  counter-attitudinal behavior)

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Dissonance Model
Motivation to reduce dissonance
Two inconsistent cogntions (e.g., an attitude
and a counter- attitudinal behavior)
State of dissonance
Attitude change
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Dissonance Model
Motivation to reduce dissonance
Two inconsistent cogntions (e.g., an attitude
and a counter- attitudinal behavior)
State of dissonance
Attitude change
Justification for counter- attitudinal behavior
UNLESS
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Dissonance Model
Motivation to reduce dissonance
Two inconsistent cogntions (e.g., an attitude
and a counter- attitudinal behavior)
State of dissonance
Attitude change
Justification for counter- attitudinal behavior
UNLESS
No dissonance
No attitude change
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Festingers Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

• When Prophecy Fails
• Theoretical statement
• Experiments

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Dissonance experiments

• Festinger Carlsmith (original experiment)
• Aronson and Mills (initiation)
• Jaccard (post-decisional dissonance)

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Festinger Carlsmith

• Subjects engage in boring task
• Subjects paid to lie (1 or 20)
• Subjects asked for their liking of task
• Cognitions
• C1 This task was boring
• C2 I said the task was interesting
  (counter-attitudinal behavior)
• Cant change behavior, so attitude
  changes--greater liking in 1 condition

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Aronson Mills

• Subjects experience initiation
• No initiation
• Mild initiation
• Harsh initiation
• Subjects listen to boring group discussion
• Cognitions
• C1 This group was boring
• C2 I endured considerable embarrassment to join
  this group (counter-attitudinal behavior)
• Attitude change in Harsh initiation group

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Jaccard--post-decisional dissonance

• Subjects engage in unrelated task
• Offered choice of 1 (popular) or 4 (less
  popular) record album as payment
• Induced to pick 4 (in dissonance condition)
• Attitudes toward albums rated
• C1 I like album 1 better
• C2 I chose album 4 (counter-attitudinal
  behavior)
• RESULT positive attitude change toward 4

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Y2K Predictions

• Prediction of government conspiracy using
  anticipated Y2K problems as a cover to further
  limit citizen rights
• Problems didnt happen
• Y2K--government hoax?
• Internet writers (calling attention to the
  conspiracy) forced government to back down