Discuss the relationship between persuasion and attitude change - Media Psychology

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Christopher Ball

Discuss the relationship between persuasion and attitude change.

According to Schwerin and Newell (1981), behavioural change cannot occur without attitude change having taken place. This process of changing attitudes with the ultimate goal of changing behaviour has led psychologists to look at the ‘Science’ of persuasion.

The Hovland-Yale Model, The model was initially designed to persuade the American public to increase levels of support in the closing stages of world war two. The basic principle of the model is who says what to whom.

Source factors are an important factor when it comes to persuasion; experts are more effective because they are more credible than non-experts. Research support for source factors Morton and Campbell (2008) examined the effects of information source on peers’ attitudes towards child with autism. Child with the mean age of 10 received information about an unfamiliar autistic child from different sources such as ‘teacher’, ‘parent’ and ‘doctor’. Children reported more favourable attitudes towards the child when the information was from an extra-familial source e.g. doctor, that when provided by a parent.

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Message factors are another important factor when it comes to persuasion and attitude change, messages are more effective if we think that are not intended to persuade us, a message is more effective if it creates a moderate level of fear. Research support for message factors come from Lewis (2008) provided support for the effectiveness of fear-arousal messages in a drinking campaign. Participants were are too watch two adverts and complete two questionnaires, the first accessing pre-exposure attitudes and behaviour and immediate  post exposure altitudes and intentions, and the second two to four weeks later accessing attitudes and behaviours.. They ...

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