Central vs' Peripheral Processing Chapter 7

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Central vs. Peripheral ProcessingChapter 7
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Elaboration-Likelihood Model (ELM Petty
Cacciopo, 1986)

• ELM says there are two routes to attitude change
• Central processing focusing on the content of
  the message evaluating the arguments for how
  good they are
• It is an effortful process

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Elaboration-Likelihood Model (ELM Petty
Cacciopo, 1986)

• Peripheral processing when people do not attend
  to the quality of the arguments they are
  persuaded by peripheral cues not relevant to
  the arguments (e.g., attractive/expert sources).
• All of Yale Model fits here!!

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When will people engage in central vs peripheral
processing?

• Central processing
• Key idea - Central route processing requires both
  ability and motivation!
• Ability People must be able to think
• Intelligence/comprehension
• If distracted, people are more persuaded by
  peripheral cues

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When will people engage in central vs peripheral
processing?

• Motivation People must be motivated to think
• Personal relevance
• Need for cognition

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When will people engage in central vs peripheral
processing?

• Peripheral cues are more persuasive when.
• people are uninterested
• people are distracted

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Manipulating Personal Relevance

• Qualifying exam study
• Students read essay in favor of comprehensive
  exams for seniors
• Relevance policy would take place now (high) or
  in 10 years (low)
• Arguments high quality or low quality
• Peripheral cues high status source or low status
  source

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Manipulating Personal Relevance

• Results
• When personal relevance high, quality of
  arguments mattered (central processing)
• When personal relevance low, source of message
  (peripheral cue) mattered

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Which route is better for persuading people?

• It depends.
• Attitude change is longer lasting more
  resistant to counterattacks with central route
  messages.
• Use peripheral messages if your argument is weak
  (boomerang effect)

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Persuasion Attempt
Audience Factors
Processing Approach
Persuasion Outcome
High motivation and ability to think about the
message
Deep processing, focused on the quality of
message arguments
Lasting change that resists fading and
counterattacks
Message
Low motivationor ability to think about the
message
Superficial processing, focused on surface
features such as the sources attractiveness
Temporary change that is susceptible to fading
and counterattacks
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Resisting Persuasion

• Attitude inoculation if exposed to a weak form
  of the argument, you are better able to resist
  stronger arguments later
• Kids and smoking

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What about subliminal persuasion?

• Subliminal perception is true.
• Arguments for subliminal persuasion
• Popcorn and Coke movie study
• Self-help tapes
• Subliminal messages in music

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What about subliminal persuasion?

• BUT.
• Research on self-help tapes
• ½ got memory tape, told weight loss tape
• ½ got weight loss tape, told memory tape
• No changes in memory or weight loss for anyone!
• Conclusion There is no subliminal persuasion!