Communication Theories: ELM, Cognitive Dissonance, Social Judgment, Cultivation, Agenda-

Setting, EEPM & Sensation Seeking

ELM
Define persuasion
Persuasion involves one or more persons who are engaged in the activity of creating, reinforcing, modifying, or
extinguishing beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, and or behaviors within the constraints of a given
communication context
Who are Petty and Cacioppo?
Elaboration Likelihood Model
What is ELM? When was it originally created?
A model that suggests we process persuasive messages in two different ways, 1986
Elaboration: cognitive attention; Likelihood: probability you will spend time thinking about the object of the
persuasive attempt
What are the two routes to persuasion?
Centrally- high elaboration
Peripherally- low elaboration
Can we use both at the same time?
We may use both simultaneously, but in any given persuasive encounter we tend to favor one route over another
Which is more effective for long lasting persuasion?
Centrally
What conditions are necessary for central processing? Peripheral?
Central- receiver’s degree of involvement is high, multiple sources giving multiple messages, receiver has high
need for cognition
Peripheral- receiver’s degree of involvement is low, single source for message, receiver has low need for
cognition
What counts as peripheral cues?
Credibility, liking, consensus, number/length of arguments, reciprocity, consistency, authority
What is a heuristic?
A simple decision rule, cognitive shortcut
What was Bono’s speech about?
Requesting aid for Africa
How did the class respond to Bono’s speech?
Didn’t really feel connected
Why did the class respond this way?
He’s not a super credible source, ideas are impractical didn’t apply to us
What was the class reaction to the college tuition video?
Thought it was biased and didn’t give the whole story. But we paid more attention to it because it applied to us.
Did it use objective or biased elaboration?
Biased elaboration- top down thinking in which predetermined conclusions color supporting data
What is the need for cognition?
Someone that enjoys thinking

Cognitive Dissonance
What is cognitive dissonance?
A distressing mental state caused by inconsistency between a person’s two beliefs or a belief and an action
When will we experience it?
With big decisions, with two equally good options,
What are the three attitude object relationships?
Consonant (in harmony), dissonant (in disharmony), or have no relationship
How do we manage dissonance?
Denial, change the relative proportions of consonant and dissonant elements (rationalization), transcendence
(restoring consistency by referring to higher purpose), modifying (alter the importance of the issue), selective
exposure, communicating (persuade others to change their beliefs or convince them you are justified)
What is selective exposure? What does selective exposure mean for the influence of mass media?
People prefer to be exposed to information that supports their current beliefs. We normally assume powerful
effects of the mass media- this implies that MM effects would be blunted
What are the steps in the decision making process?
Conflict, Decision, Dissonance, Dissonance Reduction
What elements of decision-making lead to the most dissonance?
How close the choice was, relative importance of the decision, difficulty of reversing the decision
Will giving you one dollar or 20 dollars to lie lead to the greatest dissonance? Why?
$1- you lied for barely any reward
What is the goal of inducing dissonance?
People feel perception that they have a choice: minimal justification for action induces a shift in attitude: the
less justification, the greater the likelihood that attitudes will change to reduce dissonance
What do rewards have to do with dissonance?
The smaller the reward – greater dissonance
Who is Festinger?
Cognitive Dissonance

EPPM and Sensation Seeking:

What is a fear appeal?
Scare tactics- messages designed to scare people by describing/showing the negative things that can
result from not following the message’s recommendations.
What is EPPM?
How individuals react to communication about a threat, the effectiveness of persuasive messages that
use fear appeals
What does it mean that we use a dual processing model?
Fear and Efficacy
What is necessary for a fear appeal to be effective?
It needs to show the negative things that happen and provide a threat and efficacy
What is danger control? Fear control? Self-efficacy? Response efficacy?
Danger control- target takes action to reduce danger: protection motivation, adaptive changes
Fear control- target takes action to reduce fear; defense motivation, maladaptive changes
Self-Efficacy- person’s belief that he/she can take steps to prevent the threat
Response Efficacy- person’s belief as to whether a recommended action will actually avoid the threat
Who is Witte?
Kim Witte- Michigan State University, published EPPM in 1992
When are we likely to engage in each?
Danger Control if perceived efficacy
Fear Control if perceived threat -> fear
Which types of responses do we want when we use a fear appeal?
Danger control
Can messages be too scary?
Yes
What happens when they are?
Maladaptive changes and defense motivations

Social Judgment Theory

What is a “latitude of..”
Range of ideas a person views as… Acceptance, Rejection, Non-commitment
Who is Sherif?
Social Judgment Theory
What are reference groups?
Groups that members use to define their identity
What is the role of ego-involvement is social judgment?
Extent that an issue is linked closely to a person’s life and importance of that issue to a person:
MessageAssessment of Ego-InvolvementLatitude of Acceptance/Non-commitment/Rejection
What is meant by contrast and assimilation?
Contrast Effect: perceptual error whereby people judge messages that fall within the lat. of rejection as
further from anchor
Assimilation Effect: like social identity/deindividuation, people judge messages within lat. of
acceptance as closer to anchor
How does the boomerang effect work?
If you’re trying to persuade someone to move their latitude of acceptance, and go into latitude of
rejection you get the Boomerang effect: attitude change in the opposite direction of what the message
advocated; listeners driven away from rather than drawn to an idea
How can you use social judgment theory in persuasion?
You try to persuade someone by keeping your message at their furthest point in lat. of acceptance from
anchor and gradually push latitude back
Who has wider ranges of latitude?
Latitude of Rejection- people with high need for cognition
Latitude of Non-commitment- people with low need for cognition
When should you use ambiguous messages?
High credibility, saying things that sound good so they fall in within latitudes of acceptance but avoide
real issues- “safety vs. gun control” - politicians

Cultivation Theory:
What is cultivation theory?
TV world does not reflect real world, TV forms cultural mainstream, Mean World Syndrome
What constitutes light and heavy viewership?
Heavy- four hours per day
What is mainstreaming?
The blurring, blending, and bending process by which heavy TV viewers develop a common socially
conservative outlook through constant exposure to same images and labels
How pervasive is television?
235 million Americans with TV, 79% with more than one tv
How much violence do most people see on TV?
Average 18 year old- 200,000 violent acts and 40,000 murders
What is the hypodermic model of media influence?
Old view: holds that messages reach people directly
What is the social media model of media influence?
New view: holds that people’s social networks affect their exposure and reactions to mass media
messages
What is the mean world syndrome?
The greater the exposure to mass media, the more a person’s view of reality will approximate the
world of TV. Heavy exposure leads to perceptions that people can’t be trusted. Violence is happy and
normalized- desensitized.
How does Gerbner define violence?
Dramatic violence- overt expression or threat of physical force as part of the plot (rules out verbal
abuse, idle threats, and slapstick)
What is the “new populism”?
Political right (lower taxes, more police protection, stronger national defense, against big government,
free speech, homosexual marriage, abortion, affirmative action) with favor of greater funding for
Social Security, health services, and education
What are Orwellian and Huxleyian views of mass media?
Orwellian- “1984”: Big brother, coercive mind control through media
Huxleyan- “Brave New World”: people drug themselves into a state of constant equilibrium
What are the assumptions of Cultivation Theory?
TV is a common shared experience, forms cultural mainstream, normalizes status quo BUT confuses
correlation with causation, and ignores individual variation, plus heavy viewing (4 hours?)
How accurate are heavy television viewers’ perceptions of violence?
1/10 chance of being involved in violence this week (1 in 10,000), criminal activity 10x worse than
reality, 5% involved in law enforcement (.28%)
What are the consequences of television becoming our storyteller?
Puts margins of American society into symbolic double jeopardy
What are general critiques of media theories?
Theories are difficult to support/refute; lots of mediating variables; can’t change just one element to
check effects
Who is Gerbner?
Cultivation Theory

Agenda Setting:
What is Agenda Setting? Framing?
Agenda Setting: the mass media have the ability to transfer the salience (importance) of issues on their
news agenda to the public agenda
Framing: the central organizing idea for news content that supplies a context and suggests what the
issue is through the use of selection, emphasis, exclusion, and elaboration
What constitutes significant coverage of a story?
Newspapers: front page, 3 column inside story, lead editorial
TV: first 3 stories or over 45 seconds
Why does agenda setting occur?
Press must be selective in what to report
Who sets the agenda?
Editors and Broadcasters, politicians, PR + Corporations
Does the media tell us what to think or just what to think about?
With framing they may not just tell us what to think about but also how to think and what to do about it
What percentage of stories get media coverage?
25%
What percentage of stories come from PR and press releases?
50%