1) The document discusses theories of persuasion and unconscious learning from advertising, including the elaboration likelihood model. 2) The elaboration likelihood model proposes two routes to persuasion: a central route involving thoughtful consideration of arguments and a peripheral route involving superficial cues. 3) Several studies demonstrate that the effectiveness of arguments depends on issue involvement, available cognitive resources, and awareness of persuasive intent. Attitudes formed through the central route last longer.

1. Persuasion and Advertising
Psychology of Media – Fall 2011

2. Persuasion
• The process by which a person’s attitudes or
behavior are influenced by communication
with other people (Encyclopedia Britannica)

3. A new perspective in subliminal perception -
Cuperflain& Clarke
• Semantically active context;
• Visual primacy over verbal content;
• Familiarity;

4. Recent Perspective on Unconscious Processing
Pratkanis& Greenwald
• Accessibility Priming: Subliminal stimuli can
increase accessibility and speed of recognition
of semantically related stimuli that are
presented afterwards (Marcel, 1983, Doctor-
Bread > Doctor-Nurse)
• Mood Priming: Repeated presentation of
negative subliminal primes increased disliking
of a stimulus presented afterwards (and
viceversa, Barghand Pietromonaco, 1982).

5. Review of Literature on subliminal perception
• Our mind constantly builds associations
between element of our perception (inside
and outside of our awareness).
• The existence and importance of
unconscious learning,that is learning that
happens outside of our awareness and
attention;

6. What kind of learning?
• Is it a form of learning that we can use to prepare
a test for school?
- Not really: Recognition and Memory of the
subliminally presented stimuli are generally pretty
poor or absent.
• Is it a form of learning that we can use to sell new
products?
- Not even: Subliminally priming for obscure product
didn’t produce any result as compared with
priming for products that were already
recognized;

7. What kind of learning?
• So what’s the most popular for of subliminal
stimuli used in advertisement?
- Masked Stimuli?
- Not really;
- Sub threshold stimuli?
- Not even, they are actually either disturbing or of
difficult recognition…
- Peripheral Attention Stimuli?
- Actually yes! That’s what Movie Product
Placement is all about: It may not be great to
actually sell product but is fundamental for Brand
Image Building…

9. Elaboration Likelihood Model
(ELM)
Petty &Cacioppo1981

10. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Petty &Cacioppo1981
• It’s a model that summarizes decades of
apparently inconsistent research on persuasion,
by identifying two routes to persuasion:
• A Central Route;
• A Peripheral Route;

11. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Petty &Cacioppo1981

12. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Petty &Cacioppo1981
• Central route:
- Generates issue-relevant cognitive responses
(comprehension, retention, self generation of
issue relevant content) to a message in an
attempt to assess the true merits of the
position taken;
- Requires Motivation and Cognitive Resources;
- Produces lasting, robust changes in attitudes
and possibly behavior;

13. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
Petty &Cacioppo1981
• Peripheral Route:
- Attitudes change because they have been
associated with either positive or negative
“cues” (such as attractiveness of the
source/context, credibility of the source,
number of arguments produced);
- It is usually the preferred route in the absence
of either Resources or Motivation;
- Produces changes in attitudes that are
shallow and short lived;

14. ELM - Petty &Cacioppo1981
• Study 1, JPSP, 1981:
• Method:
- 144 UMass undergraduates;
- IVs:2(involvement)X2(argument)X2(source);
- Material: tape recorded voice arguing about the
introduction of COMPs;
- Personal involvement: COMPs in 1year Vs in 10yrs;
- Argument quality: Data, Stats Vs Anecdotal;
- Source Expertise: High School Vs Princeton Prof.;
- No Message condition: w/18 participants;

15. ELM - Petty &Cacioppo1981
Interaction of Strength of Arguments
with Level of Personal Involvement

16. ELM - Petty &Cacioppo1981
Interaction of Perceived Expertise of the Source
with Level of Personal Involvement

17. ELM - Petty &Cacioppo1981
• When a message concerns an issue of high
personal relevance the effectiveness of its appeal
is function of the content;
• When a message concerns an issue oflow
personal relevance the effectiveness of its appeal
is function of the form;

18. ELM - Petty &Cacioppo1981
• The No Message condition outlined the
possibility of a “boomerang” effect in
persuasion which was at its strongest when
weak arguments were delivered by a source
that was also perceived to be low in expertise.

19. ELM - Petty &Cacioppo1984
• Study 2, JPSP, 1984:
A study to test the characteristics of the peripheral
route: Could just the number of argument presented,
even if all weak, be a clue for peripheral persuasion?
- 168 UMass undergraduates;
- IVs:2(involvement)X2(argument)X2(number of arg);
- Material, Personal Involvement and Quality of
arguments were kept the same as the previous study;
- Number of Arguments: 3 Vs 9 arguments, either all
strong or all weak;

20. ELM - Petty &Cacioppo1984
• In Absence of a Relevant personal involvement,
the mere number of argument presented,
independently from their quality, acted as an
effective clue for peripheral persuasion.

21. ELM – Petty, Wells & Brock 1976
• A study to test the role of available cognitive
resources in determining the route of persuasion:
- Ivs: 2 (argument) X2 (distraction);
- Material: Listening to arguments for cutting in half
tuitions;
- Arguments: Strong Vs Weak;
- Level of distraction: Following an X on the screen
whose position was changed either frequently or
very rarely.

22. ELM – Petty, Wells & Brock 1976
- Distractiondisrupts the normal effect of
persuasion: weak arguments would have less
negative effect and strong arguments less
positive;

23. ELM – Petty &Cacioppo 1979
• A study to test the role of awareness of
persuasive intent in determining the route of
persuasion:
- Ivs: 2 (Personal Relevance) X2 (Warning);
- Material: Listening to (all strong) arguments
introducing COMPs;
- Relevance: Now Vs In 10 yrs;
• Awareness of persuasive intent: pps received or
not the communication that the message “was
designed specifically to try to persuade college
students of the desirability of changing certain
college regulations”

24. ELM – Petty &Cacioppo 1979
• Awareness of the persuasive intent of the
message reduced its persuasive potential,
even though the arguments presented were all
strong.

25. ELM – Petty &Cacioppo 1986
• A study on the consequences of route of
persuasion:
- Material: Listening to (all strong) arguments
about introducing COMPs;
- Relevance: Now Vs In 10 yrs;
- DV: attitudes checked immediately after and
then again in 2 weeks;

26. ELM – Petty &Cacioppo 1986
• Attitudes change in Participants for whom
personal relevance was high, and that were
therefore assumed to have used Central Routes,
lasted much longer than the peripheral route.