Sixteen right-handed men heard 12 brief cue questions pertaining to each of four tasks. Each cue ... more Sixteen right-handed men heard 12 brief cue questions pertaining to each of four tasks. Each cue question was followed by the announcement of a single trait adjective, which was either positive, neutral or negative. Judgments of self reference and volume discrimination evoked greater relative left hemispheric EEG activation than judgments of evaluation and rhyme. Differential hemispheric EEG activation was not affected, however, by the depth-of-processing. Once the assigned task was completed, affect-laden (positive or negative) adjectives elicited less relative left hemispheric EEG activity than neutral words.
Subjects performed orthographic or semantic orienting tasks while preparing an overt response (pr... more Subjects performed orthographic or semantic orienting tasks while preparing an overt response (pressing one of two buttons). Electromyographic (EMG) activity of lip and nonpreferred forearm muscles and heart rate were monitored. Only lip EMG activity distinguished the extent of covert processing, evidencing greater activity during the semantic than sensory task. In contrast, increased nonpreferred forearm EMG and cardiac activity accompanied the behavioral response. It was concluded that general semantic and autonomic activity serve biological needs, but in addition, there are specific patterns of physiological response that are intrinsic to covert information processing.
Advances in psychophysioiogical method and theory have made it possible and fruitful to study the... more Advances in psychophysioiogical method and theory have made it possible and fruitful to study the physiological response components that accompany particular types of information-processing activity. This article surveys these advances, briefly tracing the development of psychophysiology. A review of a program of research using the electromyogram to augment the study of processing depth and affectivity illustrates the principles and utility of psychophysiology. Implications for the study of mental processes in cognitive/ experimental and social psychology are discussed. The thesis of this article is that "mental processes" are accompanied by focal sites of muscular activity, typically at sites in the musculature involved during the "acting out" of one's thoughts, and that the amplitude of somatic responses decreases as the distance of measurement from these focal sites increases. The implication of this thesis is that electromyographic (EMG) responses provide a powerful supplement to the verbal and more overtly behavioral (e.g., chronometric) responses that are used in studies of covert information processing. The purposes of the present article are to (a) trace briefly the evolution of the area of psychophysiology, out of which grew interest in, resistance to, and then evidence for the utility of the electromyogram in studies of mental processes; (b) outline briefly the evidence for and theoretical accounts of the notion that particular mental processes are accompanied by somato-visceral patterns of activity; and (c) illustrate the procedures for and theoretical benefits of monitoring covert bodily responses (specifically, skeletomuscular responses) in research on the extent and affectivity of ongoing information processing. The earliest writings to address the relationships between psychological and physiological phenomena are probably those of the ancient Greeks (e.g.,
Source and message factors in persuasion: A reply to stiff's critique of the elaboration likelihood model
Communication Monographs, Sep 1, 1987
Methodological Factors in the ELM
Springer eBooks, 1986
In the preceding chapter we outlined the postulates of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. In the r... more In the preceding chapter we outlined the postulates of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. In the remainder of this volume we will review the evidence for the ELM. Before turning to this, however, it would be useful to cover some general methodological issues that arise in testing the ELM. We will first briefly address the procedures we have employed to assess attitudes and attitude change in our experiments. Then we will discuss procedures for assessing and operationalizing the three basic constructs in the ELM: argument quality, peripheral cues, and message elaboration. Finally, we discuss individual differences in the likelihood of message elaboration.
Consequences of the Route to Persuasion
Springer eBooks, 1986
In the preceding chapters of this monograph we have outlined how the Elaboration Likelihood Model... more In the preceding chapters of this monograph we have outlined how the Elaboration Likelihood Model accounts for the initial attitude changes induced by persuasive messages, and we have reviewed the evidence for the ELM. We have seen that there are two qualitatively different routes to persuasion, which are moderated by a continuum of elaboration likelihood. When the elaboration likelihood is high, people follow the central route to persuasion as they attempt to scrutinize the issue-relevant information presented. This processing may proceeed in either a relatively objective or a relatively biased manner. When the elaboration likelihood is low, people follow the peripheral route to persuasion. Under this second route, attitudes are influenced by relatively simple cues in the persuasion context that either become directly associated with the advocacy or allow an inference as to the likely correctness or desirability of a particular attitude position without necessitating a personal evaluation of the issue-relevant arguments presented. The last postulate of the ELM proposes that there are at least three important consequences of the route to persuasion: attitudes formed or changed via the central route will show greater temporal persistence, resistance to counterpropaganda, and prediction of behavior than attitudes formed or changed via the peripheral route. In Chapter 1 we provided the justification for this postulate. In this chapter we review the evidence for this proposition.
This chapter reviews contemporary issues in attitudes and persuasion. We describe controversies r... more This chapter reviews contemporary issues in attitudes and persuasion. We describe controversies regarding the underlying bases of attitudes and the debate over whether attitudes are stored memorial representations or constructed on the spot. We review the notion of implicit attitudes with particular attention paid to the various ways in which researchers conceptualize this construct. Next, we review current research on attitude change using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) as an organizing framework. The ELM postulates that various motivational and ability factors affect the likelihood of thinking about a persuasive message in either a relatively objective or a biased way. When the likelihood of thinking is low, processing such as classical conditioning, affective priming, mere exposure, balance, self-perception, persuasion heuristics influence. When the likelihood of thinking is high, more cognitively effortful processes are responsible for attitude change. When thinking is high, the number, valence, and confidence in thoughts are important determinants of persuasion. Attitude change can occur in the absence of an explicit persuasive message as research on role playing, mere thought, and dissonance processes demonstrate. A number of theories describe the processes by which information is integrated and combined into an overall summary evaluation. The chapter concludes with a discussion of whether attitudes literally change, or whether old and new attitudes can coexist and jointly influence behavior. Keywords: attitudes; cognitive response; influence; persuasion
The Roles of the Self in Priming-to-Behavior Effects
Psychology Press eBooks, Jul 5, 2005
Page 264. 11 The Roles of the Self in Priming-to-Behavior Effects S. CHRISTIAN WHEELER, KENNETH G... more Page 264. 11 The Roles of the Self in Priming-to-Behavior Effects S. CHRISTIAN WHEELER, KENNETH G. DEMARREE, AND RICHARD E. PETTY Research has shown that the activation of stereotypes and traits can influence subsequent behavior. ...
Attributional Approaches
Routledge eBooks, Feb 20, 2018
Combinatory Approaches
Routledge eBooks, Feb 20, 2018
Self-persuasion Approaches
Conditioning and Modeling Approaches
Intricacies of the Elaboration Likelihood Model
We have now presented the major postulates of the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the evidence f... more We have now presented the major postulates of the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the evidence for these postulates. In reviewing the evidence for the ELM we have focused deliberately on variables and instances that were straightforward and relatively unambiguous in interpretation. Although it would be nice if we could have provided an exhaustive list of variables that serve as peripheral cues and variables that affect message processing in either a relatively objective or a biased manner, we have already seen that this is not possible. For example, we have argued that the effects on information processing of some variables may shift from relatively objective to relatively biased as the variable reaches very high levels. Thus, although increasing personal relevance and message repetition may generally enhance subjects’ motivation and/or ability to see the merits of strong arguments and the flaws in weak ones, we have suggested that when personal relevance or message repetition reach very high levels, the initially objective processing may become biased as the person becomes motivated to reject the advocacy (Cacioppo & Petty, 1979b; Petty & Cacioppo, 1979b). In short, some variables have multiple effects on information processing. In addition, we have seen that some variables may affect information processing under certain conditions, but serve as peripheral cues in other contexts.
The Motivation to Elaborate in a Relatively Objective Manner
Springer eBooks, 1986
We have now discussed some of the major variables that can affect a person’s ability to scrutiniz... more We have now discussed some of the major variables that can affect a person’s ability to scrutinize issue-relevant arguments in a relatively objective manner. Motivational variables are also important in affecting the elaboration likelihood. If a person is highly able to process a message but lacks the requisite motivation, little processing will occur. In this chapter we first discuss three situational variables that exert an important effect on motivation to process—the personal relevance of an issue, personal responsibility for message evaluation, and the number of message sources. Then, we discuss an individual difference variable we have developed that assesses motivation to think—the need for cognition.
In a recent meta-analysis, questioned our conceptualization of and evidence for the effects of in... more In a recent meta-analysis, questioned our conceptualization of and evidence for the effects of involvement on persuasion , 1986). In particular, they concluded that (a) what we had termed issue involvement represented two distinct types of involvement (outcome-versus value-relevant), (b) each type of involvement had unique effects on persuasion, and (c) outcome involvement effects may be obtained only by 1 group of researchers. We argue that although 2 distinct research traditions of involvement have emerged, our original position that the 2 categories of involvement induce similar processes in persuasion situations remains viable. Evidence from Johnson and Eagly's meta-anatysis shows that as both types of involvement increase, argument quality becomes a more important determinant of attitudes. The greater message rejection found with involvement in value as compared with outcome studies can be explained in terms of confounding factors. Finally, we note that the outcome involvement effects that we reported initially have been replicated by other investigators, including Johnson and Eagly. In a recent article in this journal, Johnson and Eagly (1989) reported a meta-analysis of the accumulated research on involvement and persuasion in which they concluded that it was useful to distinguish between value-and outcome-relevant involvement.l In addition, they suggested that although effects for the first type of involvement were robust, effects for the latter type of involvement may be obtained only by one group of researchers. In this article, we question both of these conclusions and provide a brief critique of their meta-analysis. In Johnson and Eagly's (1989) view, value-relevant involvement (VRI) occurs when the topic of a persuasive communication is "linked to important values" (p. 290) such as freedom or equality , and outcome-relevant involvement (ORI) occurs when the topic of the message is linked to the recipient's "currently important goals or outcomes" (p. 292), such as obtaining a college degree. Johnson and Eagly criticized those who have postulated that the two constructs have similar effects in persuasion contexts (i.e., , and they provide two primary arguments for the validity and utility of their distinction. First, they noted that the two kinds of involvement stem from distinct "traditions of experimentation" (p. 293) with "distinct bodies of research that reflect... different ways that researchers have thought about involve-
In their thought-provoking target article, Kruglanski and Thompson have raised a number of intere... more In their thought-provoking target article, Kruglanski and Thompson have raised a number of interesting and important questions about the need for dual or multiprocess conceptualizations of persuasion over a single process model. As we outline in this response, we actually concur with much of what Kruglanski and Thompson have to say. We think that much of their disenchantment with the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, 1981, 1986) can be traced to some fundamental misunderstandings of the theory. With the plethora of dual-process models of judgment that now exist in psychology, this is understandable. Nevertheless, an important disagreement remains as 156 COMMENTARIES
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