InQuizitive Week 7:Attitudes and Persuasion

Which of the following statements about source characteristics of persuasion are accurate and which are not?

Accurate; Trial jurors tend to believe eyewitness testimony more when it is delivered with high confidence. Sources that are credible tend to be persuasive. not accurate: The sleeper effect shows that noncredible sources can be persuasive initially but not after participants have time to think about the arguments. The attractiveness of the source only has a positive effect when the peripheral route (not the central route) is taken. The relative reliability of a source has no measurable impact on the likelihood of causing attitude change.

In some situations the ELM's peripheral route to persuasion may work fine, but in other situations persuading a person or group calls for taking the central route instead. For each of the following, decide if the condition described suggests a situation where the peripheral route may work or if the condition strongly favors using the central route to persuasion.

central: -The group you are trying to persuade is very knowledgeable on the topic. -A really strong argument will be required peripheral: -The issue has no bearing on the outcomes of the group you are trying to persuade. -The people you are trying to persuade will be unable to focus on the argument. -It is not important for the persuasion to be long-term.

Calvin has a negative attitude toward TV shows about crime and the law, but he agrees to watch How to Get Away with Murder with his friends. Which of the following could represent valid explanations of why Calvin's attitude about this type of show does not predict his behavior, and which could not?

Valid: Calvin's positive attitude toward Viola Davis, the star of How to Get Away with Murder, predicts his behavior better than his general negative attitude toward crime and law shows does. Calvin's friend Georgiana wants to watch the show while Calvin and his friends are at her apartment, and Calvin wants to be gracious to his hostess. Calvin is conflicted. He has a negative attitude about shows that misrepresent the reality of law enforcement, but he has a positive attitude about how fun they are to watch. Not: Watching the show is a conscious behavior, whereas Calvin's attitude can only predict automatic behaviors.

People can reduce the effects of inconsistency and—more generally—the effects of threats to self-- in two ways: - by dealing with the threat itself, or - by engaging in self--, such as by taking stock of one's positive qualities and core values

esteem, directly, indirectly, affirmation

Metacognitions are people's - thoughts about their thinking, and they can play a powerful role in persuasion. The key theory about that connection, the - hypothesis, states that when people have - confidence in their thoughts, they are more persuaded by what they are thinking.

secondary, self-validation, greater

With regard to the identifiable victim effect, we are more likely to be persuaded by the - plight of a - individual than by - numbers or statistics about people.

vivid, single, abstract

Which of the following statements about the sleeper effect and its impact on persuasion are accurate and which are not?

Accurate: It is the idea that a weak message from a highly credible source will fail to initially cause a shift in attitudes, but there will eventually be a delayed shift in attitudes. It occurs in part because people tend to dissociate the source of the message from the message itself over time. Not: It relates to the attractiveness of the source of a persuasive message. It is the idea that a persuasive message from an unreliable source will initially cause attitudes to shift, but that attitudes tend to shift back over time.

Which of the following statements about embodiment's effects on persuasion are accurate and which are not?

Accurate: Nodding and shaking the head can influence attitudes because they are cues of agreement and disagreement. Nodding has been found to increase thought confidence. Not accurate: Nodding can enhance confidence in unfavorable thoughts, resulting in more persuasion for a person who has unfavorable thoughts about an issue.

Which of the following statements about the dual-process approaches to persuasion are accurate and which are not?

Accurate: Sometimes people process persuasive messages very deeply, whereas other times, they process them somewhat mindlessly. The difference in the ways we process persuasive messages is similar to the difference between automatic and controlled processing. Not Accurate: Most persuasive messages are more effective when the receiver is on autopilot. Persuasive messages are more effective and lead to longer-term attitude changes when they are delivered by subliminal stimuli.

Robert Cialdini's concept of pre-suasion focuses on the - of persuasion, especially stressing the importance of the moment in time - a persuasive message is delivered. As such, he argues the best persuasion tactics will focus on influencing the - of the message recipient.

when, before, attention

Persuasion studies look at how to influence people's attitudes and - using either -processing or - processing. The two main factors in determining whether we will engage in one type of processing or the other are our - to devote time and energy—such as whether we have a personal stake, and our - to process the message in depth—such as whether we have sufficient cognitive resources to engage a message.

-behaviors, central, peripheral, motivation, ability These two routes differ based on whether people are alert and attentive (central) and or not (peripheral).

Which of the following statements about measuring attitudes are accurate and which are not?

Accurate Statement(s) One way to measure the strength of an attitude is to determine the centrality of the attitude in a person's belief system. Implicit attitude measures indicate attitudes that respondents may not be aware of holding or attitudes that may conflict with a belief that the respondent outwardly endorses. Inaccurate Statement(s) Implicit attitude measures rely on self-reports about attitudes. The Likert scale can be used to measure how quickly an attitude comes to mind.

Which of the following statements about the effect of audience characteristics on a message's persuasiveness are accurate and which are not?

Accurate: -It's best to avoid detailed, analytical messages to try to persuade people with low cognition needs. -When preparing one's arguments, one must take into account the overall mood of the intended audience, as matching the tone and content of the message to mood is more persuasive than other approaches. Not Accurate: -Using humor to lighten an audience's mood tends to backfire, since people are less susceptible to persuasive messages when in a good mood. -A person who makes decisions only after carefully considering multiple angles is more susceptible to peripheral persuasion than someone who doesn't.

Fear can sometimes (but not always) be an effective component of persuasive messages. Which of the following statements about the use of fear in shaping persuasive arguments are accurate and which are not?

Accurate: Messages that are overly fearful can lead people to deny the danger rather than to act against it. Fear works better when it is combined with information about how to address its source. Fear is not as effective when the fear-eliciting message is at a high level of intensity. Not Accurate; In one study, people given information on how to quit smoking that was not accompanied by fear tactics actually increased their smoking. In a comparison of the impact of fear versus the impact of information, each was found to be equally persuasive.

Which of the following statements about cognitive dissonance and culture are accurate and which are not?

Accurate: There is evidence that Asians experience greater dissonance when choosing for a friend than when choosing for themselves. There are cultural differences in the conditions under which people tend to experience dissonance. Dissonance is experienced by people of all cultures. Japanese people tend to experience cognitive dissonance only when they believe their actions will affect or be observed by other people. Not Accurate: East Asians are generally unlikely to show dissonance effects in the free-choice paradigm if they are led to think about other people's possible reactions to their choice.

Match each of the following advertising examples to the persuasion route it fits better—central processing or peripheral processing.

Central: An ad for a small craft brewery describes the varieties of hops and grains used to make the beer, as well a description of its brewing process. An ad for a health insurance provider details its range of coverage and its charges versus the charges of its competitors. Peripheral: A billboard on a busy expressway shows a comical cartoon lizard next to the logo for a car insurance company. A commercial for an airline shows members of the FC Barcelona team kicking around a soccer ball. During an awards show, an ad for a brand of smartphone with fast music and quick-cut shots of attractive young people having fun is shown several times.

Which of the following are circumstances when people use the central route to persuasion and which are not?

Circumstance: when they have high motivation to focus on the persuasive message when they attend carefully to the message when they consider the underlying logic of the message in detail when they are sensitive to the quality of the arguments Not circumstance: when the message is presented by a cherished celebrity spokesperson when they are heavily influenced by the attractiveness of the message source when they are exposed to information indicating consensus among experts

Which of the following are examples of high-quality persuasive messaging and which are not?

Examples: An opponent of a proposed new school tax tells a Tea Party group opposed to big government that the tax will increase the size of government. A proponent of a tax-increase proposal tells a group of environmentalists that the new tax money will enable greater conservation efforts on public lands. In a speech to voters, a candidate begins with, "The most important thing I want you to consider is ..." A billionaire tells an audience that he pays far too little in taxes and that the tax rate on his income group should be raised. Not examples: At a debate, the incumbent refuses to discuss her opponent's claim that she has allowed corruption to flourish within her administration. An animal advocacy group uses statistics on the number of abandoned pets and pets who aren't adopted and are euthanized to raise funds for an animal shelter, believing this will convince the public to contribute.

Which of the following are findings of the "forbidden toy" experiments relating to the use of mild versus severe punishments in induced compliance, and which are not?

Findings: Issuing a mild threat reduced the children's desire for the forbidden object. Issuing a severe threat did not reduce the children's desire for the forbidden object. Not Findings: Dissonance occurred only in the children who had been issued the severe threat. Issuing a mild threat was more effective than a severe threat at preventing the children from playing with the toy.

Ditto and Lopez (1992) that examined our tendency to be critical of information that challenges preexisting beliefs, in this case, about our personal health. "diagnostic" paper changed color or not was used to measure if they would be more critical of information that challenged their beliefs about their own health.

The results of this study confirm our tendency to selectively attend to and evaluate messages in a way that confirms our preexisting attitudes, thus illustrating the weak effects of the media in producing attitude change. bigger: deficiency lower: no-deficiency

Researchers use a variety of approaches to gauge the strength and importance of people's attitudes. One way is to measure the _____ of an attitude—how readily it comes to mind. To do so, they measure the time it takes a person to react to a question about that attitude—its _____. Another method is to determine the _____ of the attitude—or how core it is to the person's belief system—by looking at how strongly it is linked to other, related attitudes.

accessibility, response latency, centrality

Younger people are more susceptible to persuasive messages than adults. Which of the following statements about this fact are accurate and which are not?

accurate: Politicians and political parties that benefit from the support of the 18-to-25 demographic in one election cannot necessarily rely on it in the next one. Witness testimony by children in court is problematic. Not accurate: Advertisers do not direct messages at young people since they know that their attitudes are highly prone to change. In courtroom testimony of child abuse cases, child witnesses are often persuasive due to their certainty and confidence.

Dissonance occurs only when there is - choice (or the illusion of it) to engage in the behavior, when there is - justification for the behavior, when the behavior has - consequences, and when the consequences - foreseeable.

free, insufficient, negative, are

An uneasy emotional state may result when attitudes and behavior are -. Efforts to achieve - take different forms in different situations. One, -, may occur when people expend energy toward a goal that turns out to be disappointing. By justifying the energy spent attaining this goal, people try to - that the goal was, in fact, worthwhile.

inconsistent, dissonance reduction, effort justification, convince themselves

Which of the following are examples of induced compliance and which are not?

induced compliance: The movers Howard hired ask him to post a positive Yelp review in return for a chance at winning a $10 gift card. While writing the review, Howard reflects on the movers' work and his estimation of their services increases. A presidential candidate asks a tepid supporter to appear on his behalf on Meet the Press. After the appearance, the supporter becomes a fierce advocate for him. Not: After weighing the prospects of two opposing boxers, Arlen narrowly decides to bet on one over the other. But as soon as he bets, he has almost no doubt that his choice will win. An actor who thinks a certain auto manufacturer's cars are poor quality is paid millions to appear in commercials promoting the cars. After making the ads, his opinion of the cars doesn't change, since he knows he only did the ads for money.

One specific type of - route to persuasion involves delivering - stimuli—those presented below - awareness—to people who do not realize they have been exposed to these stimuli. Multiple studies have shown that using this technique can activate certain concepts - shape everyday thoughts, feelings, and actions, revealing a persuasive influence of these stimuli.

peripheral, subliminal, conscious, and even

Nodding one's head up and down while reading a persuasive message can result in more persuasion compared to shaking one's head—but only when the message is made up of _____ arguments. When the message arguments are ____, leading people to have mostly unfavorable thoughts about the persuasive topic, nodding can boost confidence in these thoughts and lead to _____ persuasion compared with shaking one's head.

strong, weak, less