Attitude change is studied through internal processes and external persuasive influences. Cognitive dissonance theory posits that when two related thoughts are not consistent, the individual is motivated to reduce the uncomfortable arousal by changing one cognition or bolstering with consonant thoughts. Cognitive dissonance occurs after difficult decisions, through selective exposure to consonant thoughts and attitude-discrepant behaviour with insufficient external justification. The Cooper and Fazio model posits dissonance-generated arousal after attitude-discrepant behaviour where the consequences are experienced as personally significant. Attitude change in response to a persuasive message is a function of characteristics of the persuasive source, characteristics of the message itself and the context of the persuasion. According to the elaboration likelihood model, change occurs through conscious deliberation (central routes) or through a peripheral route of source attractiveness, distraction or appeal to heuristic rules. Central route persuasion occurs when the person is motivated to process the message and capable of doing so. Peripheral  route persuasion it more readily obtained but more transitory and superficial than central route persuasion. Resistance to persuasion occurs when the person is forewarned of the persuasion attempt, or expose to mild counter-arguments (inoculation effect). One must distinguish among changes represented by behavioural compliance, identification with the source and internalization of the message.

KEYWORDS:   attitude-discrepant behaviour, cognitive dissonance theory, elaboration likelihood model, heuristic persuasion, inoculation effect, persuasive message, persuasive source, post-decision dissonance, resistance to persuasion

1. Cognitive dissonance often occurs before making a difficult decision.

2. When people are given large bribes to say something that they don’t believe, they are likely to change their attitudes.

3. When cognitive dissonance occurs, it is a state of emotional arousal.

4. Evidence suggests that dissonance effects are significant primarily when linked to the person’s self-concept.

5. If a set of arguments immediately follow one after the other, then the argument presented last in the sequence will have the most impact (recency effect).

6. A difficult or complicated message will have a greater impact when presented in written form, while an easy-to-understand message will be more persuasive on videotape.

7. If you want children to develop strong beliefs about right and wrong, then restrict what ideas are exposed to them.

8. People are more able to resist attempts to persuade them if they are first made aware that the attempt will be made.

9. Cultural truisms are not vulnerable to persuasion.

10. A communication from an attractive source, with novelty or humour, is more likely to produce lasting attitude change than one which people must think about.

1. F  

2. F

3. T

4. T  

5. F  

6. T  

7. F  

8. T  

9. F  

10. F  

MCQ's for Chapter 5

1. Outline three basic principles of cognitive dissonance.

2. Outline four or five ways to reduce cognitive dissonance.

3. Outline four different areas of research into cognitive dissonance and describe an experiment for each

4. Describe the Cooper and Fazio integrated model of cognitive dissonance.

5. In analyzing persuasion, what are the four basic factors discussed in the text? Give examples of each.

6. How and when does fear arousal lead to attitude change? Why?  

7. Describe factors which help encourage resistance to persuasion.

8. Describe an experiment which shows how some combination of source, message, channel, and audience characteristics act together to influence persuasion.  

9. Outline the elaboration-likelihood model and indicate how it integrates much of what we know about attitude change.  

10. How does peripheral route persuasion occur?  

1. Discuss how you would incorporate information that would appeal to both central and peripheral processing in an appeal to borrow money from an acquaintance.

2. Imagine that you have a friend who has very conservative food preferences, and that you want to convince him to eat fried grasshoppers with you. How would you appeal to both central and peripheral route processing in your persuasive attempt?