MESSAGE DESIGN ISSUESConstructing Persuasive Messages10/10/2012

InputsSource (who?)Message (says what?)Channel (via which media?)Audience (to whom?)Destination (regarding what?)

Greatest level of control by campaign planners

SourceThree characteristic of source:

Credibility – source’s perceived expertise and trustworthiness Issue-advocacy ads (who speaks for who’s benefits?)

Attractiveness – source’s pleasantness, beauty, familiarity, similarity

Power – compliance

Cognitive process and persuasive impactTheory of Source Monitoring (Negiyan & Grabe, 2007)

Memory & schematic (prior) knowledge Content and source identification perceptions Format and time affects

The structure of argument

Audience belief system Media genres – format characteristics, message structure

(folk-story structure?) music, sound

Types of argument Use of logic or rhetoric Arrangement of argument

Types of appeals (Reeves, et al., 1991) Logical (use language of evidence and facts) Emotional (language, imagery)

Message variables

Message variables, cont.Message-style variables

Using factual examples vs. abstract principles Literal vs. figurative language Toulmin’s Structural Model of Argument

Claims (positive or negative) using fact, value, or policy Warrants (implicit or explicit) Data (first, second, and third order)

Effects based on length and frequency Time of spot; size and detail of print ad; amount of information Frequency (repetitive ads)

Image vs. IssueContent and effect (Johnston & Kaid, 2002)

Political Ads How can voters make rational decisions? Image construction as manipulation

Campaigns ethics will this influence audience’s decision? Issue content Image content

More issues in political ads than TV news Issue of dramatizationHard vs. soft sell

Can you dichotomize these two?

Channel variablesMedia use

Which audiences? Which media? Which content? Which time?

Evidence Evidence for intended television effects on purchasing behavior Evidence for unintended television effects within programs

Arguments and excuses for lack of evidence effects We can control the input, but not the outcome

Audience variablesA Mediational Theory of Susceptibility to

social influence Personality Abilities Motivations

Special target groups (Pfau et al., 2002) Political party affiliation

Destination: campaign intentionBeliefs, attitudes, and behavior

Favorability to the topic increase positive attitudes/feelings and behavior

Change in one of the three tends to affect others

Persistence of persuasive impact Decay in attitudes varies greatly depending on source

credibility, subtlety of argument, order of presentation, channel

Inducing resistance to persuasion Many approaches, e.g., prior commitment, pre-anger/increased

self-esteem, anchoring initial stand, educate about critical thinking, resistant models, and inoculation

Output: How persuasion works?Mediators of persuasive impact

Multiple paths, e.g., peripheral with source credibility or central with situation Sequences of the mediating processes Communicating recall and liking

Decision process evoked by persuasive communication Cognitive calculation of costs and benefits Cognitive shortcuts to “bringing to mind” Remote ramifications and generalization carry-over Subjective norms and valued “others” beliefs/feelings

Symbolism and LanguageCicero’s five canons of rhetoric

Invention Arrangement Style (expression) Memory Delivery

Know the audience how they decode message

Symbolism and Language, cont.Cultural competency

Certain symbols or language is specific to certain culture Violation of normative expectations

Verbal intensity (metaphors)Verbal immediacy (direct/immediate speech)