Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion.

Abstract

It was suggested that there are two basic routes to persuasion. One route is based on the thoughtful consideration of arguments central to the issue, whereas the other is based on peripheral cues in the persuasion situation. To test this view, undergraduates expressed their attitudes on an issue after exposure to a counterattitudinal advocacy containing either strong or weak arguments that emanated from a source of either high or low expertise. For some subjects, the communication was high in personal relevance, whereas for others it was low. Interactions of the personal relevance manipulation with the argument quality and expertise manipulations revealed that under high relevance, attitudes were influenced primarily by the quality of the arguments in the message, whereas under low relevance, attitudes were influenced primarily by the expertise of the source. This suggests that the personal relevance of an issue is one determinant of the route to persuasion that will be followed.

Cites (6)

1. Levels of processing: A framework for memory research
   Craik, Fergus I.M., Lockhart, Robert S. · 1972 · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior
2. Experimental Design: Procedures for the Behavioral Sciences
   Kirk, Roger · 2013
3. Controlled and automatic human information processing: I. Detection, search, and attention.
   Schneider, Walter, Shiffrin, Richard M. · 1977 · Psychological Review
4. “The Need for Cognition.”
   Cacioppo, John T., Petty, Richard E. · 1982 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
5. Effects of message repetition and position on cognitive response, recall, and persuasion.
   Cacioppo, John T., Petty, Richard E. · 1979 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
6. Effects of rhetorical questions on persuasion: A cognitive response analysis.
   Petty, Richard E., Cacioppo, John T., Heesacker, Martin · 1981 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Show all 6 references

Cited by (57)

1. The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion
   Petty, Richard E., Cacioppo, John T. · 1986 · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology
2. Measuring the involvement construct
   Zaichkowsky, Judith Lynne · 1985 · Journal of Consumer Research
3. Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement
   Petty, Richard E., Cacioppo, John T., Schumann, David · 1983 · Journal of Consumer Research
4. The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion
   Petty, Richard E., Cacioppo, John T. · 1986 · Communication and Persuasion
5. Maximizing business returns to corporate social responsibility (CSR): The role of CSR communication
   Du, Shuili, Bhattacharya, C.B., Sen, Sankar · 2010 · International Journal of Management Reviews

See all 1,930