The document discusses how positive moods can influence message processing and the effectiveness of fear appeals. Specifically, it states that when people are in a positive mood, they are more influenced by peripheral cues like source expertise than argument quality. It also suggests that positive moods may reduce cognitive capacity or motivation to critically evaluate arguments. The document then discusses how fear appeals work best when they arouse a high level of fear, emphasize severe threats that are relevant to the audience, and suggest the audience can do something to alleviate the threat.

1. UNIT 13 Emotion and Persuasion

2. POSITIVE MOODS

3. RAZRAN’S (1940) STUDY

4. Mood & Central Processing

5. 1. Judgments of Expertise Source expertise (a more peripheral cue) carries a greater weight than argument quality when the audience is experiencing a positive mood.

6. 2. Judgments of Argument Quality This is not as influential when people are in positive moods compared to when they are in neutral moods.

7. Explanations (neither one has been proven better than the other)

8. 1. Lack of Motivation People like their good moods so may spend more energy thinking about maintaining them than about the quality of arguments in a message.

9. 2. Lack of Capacity Because positive moods activate positive memories which reduce the person’s cognitive capacity to critically evaluate arguments from incoming messages.

10. Fear Appeals Appeals that emphasize possible harmful consequences that may befall the receivers if they do not make the attitude or behavioral choices recommended by the source.

11. Effectiveness of Strong vs. Weak Appeals

12. Messages that induce greater fear generally will enhance the effectiveness of the message

13. Success at Arousing Fear Some appeals may be shocking or gory and ineffective, but not necessarily because they arouse too much fear. The appeal actually has to arouse the fear.

14. Perception of what Fearful 1. Fear is different for everyone. 2. Fear appeals also work differently on different groups. -- ANTI-____ Ads aimed at teenagers and adults

15. Conditions Necessary For Fear Appeals to Work

16. Severity of Threat The consequences of not complying with the fear appeal must be severe enough to bring about action. - IF you don’t comply you will DIE!!!!

17. Audience Vulnerability to threat (relevance) The threat must be relevant to the audience. It must directly effect the audience. -- I’m invulnerable – nothing will hurt me!!!!

18. The Audience is able to do Something Doing what I say alleviates the threat!