Určeno pouze pro studijní účely 5. týden - Teorie přesvědčování a výzkum účinků masových médií Povinná četba: - Bryant, J., Thompson, S.:. Persuasion. In: Bryant, J., Thompson, S.:. Fundamentals of Media Effects. McGraw-Hill, 2002, pp. 153-167. -Nakonečný, M.: Sociální psychologic Academia. 2000 str. 131-156. - Klapper, J.: Contributory Aspects of the Communication and Communication Situation. In: The Effects of Mass Communication.Glencoe, Illinois 1960 str. 98-132. Klíčové pojmy: postoj, základní komponenty a funkce postoje, postojová, konverze, sleeper effect, jednostranné a oboustranné sdělení, základní přesvědčovací strategie v masové komunikaci. Sect/on Two Theory and Concept: 152 McCombs, M, & Shaw, D. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36,176-185. McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. (1993). The evolution of agenda-setting research: Twenty-five years in the marketplace of ideas. Journal of Communication, 43(2), 58-67. McLeod, D., & Detenber, B. (1999). Framing effects of television news coverage of social protest, journal of Communication, 49(3), 3-23. Miller, M., Andsager, J., & Riechert, B. (1998). Framing the candidates in presidential primaries: Issues and images in press releases and news coverage. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 75,312-324. Rogers, E. M., Dearing, J. W., & Bregman, D. (1993). The anatomy of agenda-setting research. Journal of Communication, 43(2), 68-84. Shaw, D., & McCombs, M., (Eds.) (1977). The emergence of American political issues: The agenda setting function of the press. St Paul, MN: West. Shoemaker, P., & Reese, S. (1991). Mediating the message: Theories of influence on mass media content. New York: Longman. WANG, T. L. (2000). Agenda-setting online: An experiment testing the effects of hyperlinks in online newspapers. Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, 15(2), 59-70. Wanta, W. (1988). The effects of dominant photographs: An agenda-setting experiment. Journalism Quarterly, 65,107-111. Wanta, W. (1997). The public and the national agenda: How people learn about important issues. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Wanta, W, & Chang, K. (1999, May). Priming and the second level of agenda setting: Merging two theoretical approaches. Paper presented to the International Communication Association, San Francisco, CA. Wanta, W., & Foote, J. (1994). The president-news media relationship: A time series analysis of agenda-setting. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 3S, 437-449. Wanta, W., & Ghanem, S. (in press). Effects of agenda-setting. In J. Bryant & R. Carveth (Eds.), Meta-Amlyses of media effects. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Wanta, W.,Stephenson,M. A., Turk, J. V,& McCombs, M.E.(1989).:Howpresident's state of the union talk influenced news media agendas. Journalism Quarterly, 66,537—541. Weaver, D., Graber, D., McCombs, M., & Eyal, C (1981)- Media agenda settingtn a presidential ekctioir. Issues, images and interest. New York: Praeger. Westley, B. H. (1978). Review of The emergence of American political issues: Tlie agenda setting function of the press. Journalism Quarterly, 55,172-173. Zhu, ]., Watt, J. H., Snyder, L. B., Yan, J. (1993). Public issue priorit}' formation: Media agenda-setting and social interaction. Journal of Communication, 43,8-29. ^«»v^.*-^ Persuasion Vie real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders. —Eric Hoffer, Tlie Passionate State of Mind, 1955 1 ersuasion research in mass communication examines the process ofattitude formation and change in audience members and the modification of behavior based upon attitude changeT)Its roots are in antiquity and it remains one of the most prolific realms of modern communication scholarship. Any individual or group that has some stake in influencing mass audiences stands to benefit from this particular arm of communication research. Advertising agents, consumer product manufacturers, politicians, and public service organizations are a few of the groups that use research findings to their practical advantage. Knowledge of persuasive influences is also important for consumers, voters, and otheraudience members who wish to protect themselves from being manipulated. (Persuasion research differs in an important way from most other areas of media effects research. Most persuasive messages are intentional; that is, they are designed to have an intended effect. Media effects in other realms of effects research (e.g., aggressive behavioráŕter viewing violence) are usually unintended. The exceptions to this would be some instances of fright reactions in horror films and certain gratifications obtained from media use. Persuasion involves certain processes of(attitude changeVPsychologistsR. E. Petty and J. T. Cacioppo have created a popular and computerized model to explain the processes that audience members experience as they are persuaded. Their Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion identifies two separate "routes to persuasion" or one of two bridges that must be crossed before persuasion can occur (Petty & Cacioppo, 1981,1986b; Petty & Priester, 1994, p. 98). After other theories of persuasion are presented, the Elaboration Likelihood Model will be discussed in detail in this chapter. Following a review, of the research tradition associated with studies of persuasion, we discuss the importance of attitudes, emotions, and behavior in the persuasion process. We then take a look at various models of persuasion, including models that link attitudes and actions. Finally, we examine recent directions and future trends in persuasion research. We should point out that 153 Určeno pouze this chapter excludes most persuasion studies related to advertising messages, health, political campaigns, and other types of communication campaigns. The research literature for each of these topics is so vast that we included a separate chapter for each. RESEARCH TRADITION When radio became popular in the early part of the 20th century, psychologists and sociologists began investigating the persuasive power of mass media. In the 1920s and 1930s, a respected social scientist found that propaganda messages had had powerful effects upon audiences during World War I (Lasswell, 1927). In the years between the world wars, several events provided additional evidence for the power of the media to influence the masses: In 1929 news of the crash on Wall Street brought nationwide panic; in 1938 Orson Wells's War of the Worlds broadcast resulted in cases of hysteria that received much publicity; finally—perhaps most significantly—Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany underscored the frightening potential for mass persuasion by means of media communication. During World War II, researcher Carl Hovland continued to learn about the effects of persuasive messages on attitude change through his study of soldiers who viewed military training films. Hovland found that the soldiers learned new information from the films, but the persuasive power of the fflrns in effect-ingchangesin attitudes and behavior was rather limited. Persuasion, Hovland found, was contingent upon any number of variables that served to moderate the effects (Hovland, Lumsdaine, & Sheffield, 1949). After the war, Hovland continued his research on persuasion at Yale University. His research priority became the identification of the moderating variables that acted upon the persuasive process. Hovland found that successful persuasion involved a process of three important steps: (1) listeners must pay attention to a message, (2) they must comprehend the message, and (3) they xnust accept the message. He identified a number of variables that affected the power of a persuasive message. These included the credibihty of the message source, the type of message appeal (e.g., did it arouse fear or motivate the listener), the order of the arguments presented (e.g., the different power of onesided arguments compared with two-sided arguments), identification of the audience member with certain groups, and specific personality characteristics of audience members. Much of the evidence for powerful and direct media effects during the early years was not based on the best research designs. For example, little effort was expended toward measuring people's attitudes prior to receiving the propaganda messages—a crucial factor in proving that attitude change had actually occurred due to the propaganda message. Social scientists continued to study the effects of persuasive messages in the 1940s and 1950s, using more rigorous empirical methods. H. Hyman and P. Sheatsley (1947) found that to be successful in changing attitudes, persuasive messages had to overcome certain psychological barriers. Other social scientists 154___________ Section Two Theory and Concepts >ro studijní účel v Credibility and likability of a message source affects the power of a persuasive message. Source: © AP/Photo/Richard Drew reported that persuasive campaign messages from the media had little effect on changing people's preferences for candidates in the 1940 presidential election (Lazarsfeld, Berelson, & Gaudet, 1948). P. Lazarsfeld and his colleagues determined that media messages served primarily to reinforce existing attitudes rather than to change anyone's opinion. Media messages did seem to influence certain members of the community who were respected for their knowledge of current affairs. These opinion leaders, as the researchers called them, had the personal influence to change the attitudes of others in the community. Thus, media influence was described as a two-step flow or indirect effects situation in which media messages influenced opinion leaders who, in turn, influenced others in the community via interpersonal communication (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955). Through the years, communication scholars have debated the extent to which mass mediated messages have the power to persuade audiences. Most recent research has shown that persuasion is not simply a stimulus-and-response-type situation, but a more complicated process that emphasizes the receptivity of the receiver, or his or her willingness to receive the message. ATTITUDE, EMOTIONS, BEHAVIOR, AND PERSUASION To understand the persuasion process, one must first understand the concept of attitude. A person's attitude can be defined as that person's "abstract evaluation of an object" (Chaiken, Wood, & Eagly, 1996, p. 702). Others have defined attitudes as "people's general predispositions to evaluate other people, objects, and issues favorably or unfavorably" (Petty & Priester, 1994, p. 94). Whatever the definition, most contemporary research involving persuasive effects places much importance on the critical role of attitudes in the persuasion process. Attitude is viewed as the all-important mediator that stands between the acquisition of new persuasive information and subsequent behavioral change. If the new information changes a person's attitude, then behavioral change is more likely. What actually causes a change in attitude? What internal processes come into play? Are people motivated to change their attitudes and behavior to gain rewards or avoid punishment, or do they make tire change due to some other reason? * «. 155 Chapter 10 Persuasion 156 One explanation of this complex process is the theory of cognitive dis- Section Two sonance (Festinger, 1957). The best way to understand Ulis theory is to define Ttary and Concepts each of its components. We have already learned that the term "cognitive" is used to describe mental processes or thoughts. "Dissonance" in this case refers to something being inconsistent. Cognitive dissonance occurs when atti- I tude and action become inconsistent with one another. For example, someone who is forced to make major dietary changes for health reasons would also have to make significant adjustments in his or her attitude, especially if the old way of eating was believed to be a "healthy" diet. According to L. Fes-tinger's theory of cognitive dissonance, this inconsistency causes the person anxiety that must be resolved. The way it is resolved is to bring the attitude in line with the actions. The new diet is soon believed to be more healthy than the old one. Festinger's answer to why people come to believe what they say was thus that inconsistency between what they believe (i.e., their attitudes) and what they say (i.e., their behavior) produces a negative state of arousal that can be reduced by changing attitudes to align them with behavior. (Chaiken, Wood, & Eagly, 1996, p. 704) Recent theorists have hypothesized that the discrepancy between behavior and attitude is not as important in producing attitude change as is the person's perceptions about the consequences of his or her actions (Cooper & Fazio, 1984). It is indeed plausible that people would be uncomfortable to think of themselves as willingly engaging in behavior with undesirable consequences. Having others think of oneself in this way should also create discomfort. However, if the role player adopts the advocated position, itwould no longer seem harmful to persuade others to hold the same attitnde. Attitude change thereby restores the role player's self-integrity and produces a favorable self-presentation as well. These self interpretations thus elaborate and clarify dissonance theory by providing a rationale for the generalization that taking responsibility for aversive consequences produces attitude change (Chaiken, Wood, and Eagly, 1996, p. 705). For another example, consider the person who has been brought up to believe that homosexuality is horrible. Perhaps the person has carried strong prejudices toward homosexuals, and has even cracked jokes about homosexuals, using derisive names. Suppose such behaviors would not be tolerated in the person's workplace, where co-workers, clients, or subordinates might be gay or lesbian. The person may even come to like and respect some co-workers who have different sexual preferences, adding to the dissonance between attitude and behavior. Rather than continue with absolute intolerance, the person might ease cognitive dissonance by changing attitudes toward the homosexual community. Many social scientists emphasize the connection between attitudes and emotions or affective components. Persuasive messages that contain emotional appeals can be powerful. Studies have found that emotions are very important in the formation and change of attitudes (Jorgensen, 1998). ire PÍRSUASION MODELS _J Jveloped variou: Through the years, a number of researchers have developed various model., ^ explain the persuasion process. Some of the major models are discussed below. Special emphasis is given to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, or ELM, which provides one of the most comprehensive explanations for persuasive processes in terms of mediated communications. McCuire's Communication/Persuasion Matrix Model W. J. McGuire (1985,1989) introduced a model to explain persuasion effects by identifying inputs and outputs. Inputs, or independent variables, include the source, the message, the recipient, the channel, and the context of the presentation of the message. Inputs are variables controlled by the person or group a ttempting to persuade or influence audience members. Outputs, or dependent variables, are variables that fall under the control of the individual audience members. These variables include exposure to the information; attention to the information; interest, comprehension, and acquisition of new knowledge; yielding to the weight of the message and changing the attitude; remembering of the information and new attitude; retrieval of the information; the conscious decision to act according to the new attitude; action based upon that decision; reinforcement of the new behavior; and consolidation of the new attitude. McGuire's model has several shortcomings (Petty & Priester, 1994). The first is its lack of detail regarding the process of actual yielding to a new attitude. Second, the model assumes that the input and output variables are sequential; that is, they must occur in the order listed in order to have persuasive effects. Yet more recent research has shown that the variables do not need to be sequential for persuasion to occur. The acquisition or learning and remembering of new information have been found to be independent of each other and even unnecessary steps in the persuasion process (Greenwald, 1968; McGuire, 1985; Petty McGuire's Matrix Model: Variables that Affect the Persuasive Power of a Communication Message Input Variables (Controlled by Communicator) Source Message Recipient Output Variables (Controlled by Receiver) Channel Context Exposure Acquisition Decision Attention Yielding Action Interest Memory Reinforcement Comprehension Retrieval Consolidation rčeno pouze & Cacioppo, 1981). For example, a person might acquire and learn new information but refuse to change his or her attitude, or a person might conceivably s misunderstand the information, learn it wrong, but still change his or her attitude in the intended way. Cognitive Response Theory In an attempt to explain the shortcomings of the matrix model, several researchers developed the theory of cognitive response (Greenwald, 1968; Petty, Ostrom, & Brock, 1981). According to this theory, an audience member does not yield to a new attitude after simply learning a new message Yielding depends upon cognitive responses to the message—or what he or she thinks about the message. The memory of what is thought about a message is much more important than a memory of the message itself. In some cases, however, persuasion has been shown to occur even when an audience member does not think about the content of a message. Cognitive response theory could not explain such instances (Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981). The Elaboration Likelihood Model Petty and Cacioppo (1981, 1986a, 1986b) extended the theory of cognitive response and developed a-theoretical model to explain the processes that occur ■when a person yields to a persuasive message. Their Elaboration Likelihood ModeliELM) explains the process of persuasion by identifying the likelihood of a person to elaborate cognitively or think very carefully about a persuasive message. The model proposes two distmctroutes that may be taken in order for persuasion to result: cenfral^ndperipheraTl The central route to persuasion requires much cognitive effort on the part of the audience member in order to judge the merit of the advocated position or persuasive message. The message recipient listens closely to what is said, then evaluates the information in light of past experiences and previous knowledge. During this process, the person forms opinions about the message—either favorable or unfavorable—and these play a major part in determining the success of the persuasive message. For example, news reports that cover debates on important national and international issues~usuaÜy require a great deal of cognitive processing on the part of the viewer or reader. Whether or not a spokesperson for a particular side in an issue persuades the reader or viewer to advocate a particular position depends upon central route processing of the information. The central route necessitates considerable cognitive effort on the part of the audience member. As a result, attitude changes resulting from the central route have shown several common characteristics, including: (1) accessibility, (2) persistency, (3) predictabüity of behavior, and (4) resistance to change (Petty & Priester, 1994, pp. 100-101). The[periphefal_roiite to persuasion may occur in any number of ways, none of which involves considerable cognitive effort. Simple cues in the context of the ro studijní účely mpRRap-p arp mnrp rps-nnnqihlp frtr thp rhancrp in af+ihidp fhart n nnrnrtcpfiil message are more responsible for the change in attitude than a purposeful effort to process and understand information. For example, a relaxing scene by a calm, crystal blue mountain lake in a television commercial might cause the viewer to experience a nice, contented mood that becomes associated with the mountain-fresh scented detergent that is being pitched. The viewer is persuaded to try the detergent because the commercial has conditioned a certain affective response—the nice, contented mood—that is associated with the product. The use of experts to pitch particular products is another example of the peripheral route to persuasion. More doctors use this aspirin..., more hospitals use this brand. . ., more dentists recommend this toothpaste. . . , are all examples of cues used to effectively shortcut the route to persuasion. Experts are supposed to be correct, the viewer infers; therefore, the message is judged as truthful and the viewer is persuaded to use the product (Chaiken, 1987). Another example of the peripheral route, the bandwagon effect, was identified by researchers for the Institute for Propaganda Analysis in the 1930s (Lee & Lee, 1939). Audience members were made to believe that many other people already supported the position of a speaker. They inferred that with so many people in agreement, the speaker's message must be True. Such an. inference served as a cue that the message of the speaker was valid, and the bandwagon-effect occurred (Axsom, Yates, & Chaiken, 1987). In contrast, persuasion by way of the central route has been shown to be more successful in long-term attitude change than persuasion through more peripheral routes. Peripheral route persuasion has been shown to be successful in the short run, but over a period of time the strength of the peripheral cues weakens. A person's mood and feelings may change, for example, or cues are no longer associated with certain messages. Petty and Cadqppo (1986a) found that in terms of resistance to attack and durability, attitude changes that occurred through the peripheral route were much weaker than those that occurred through the central route. 159 Chapter 10 Persuasion Predictions of the Elaboration LlkeJiTiood Model Wlien the likelihood for elaboration is high (e.g., when the message has personal relevance for the audience member, when there are few distractions), a person is motivated to listen to the message, mentally process, and evaluate the information. Peripheral cue variables are likely to have less impact in such a situation. When the likelihood for elaboration is low (e.g., when the message has low personal relevance or there are many distractions), the importance of peripheral variables increases significantly. Under such circumstances, the audience member is not likely to be motivated or able to process the message with careful thought. Wlten the likelihood for elaboration is moderate (e.g., when the audience member has some knowledge of the issue but uncertainty about its personal relevance), the recipient may evaluate the context of the message to determine whether the message should be processed. A contextual component would be, for example, the credibility or the attractiveness of a source. 160 In summary, as the likelihood of mental elaboration (careful processing of ~-------^ a persuasive message) increases, the central route to persuasion is dominant. Tto ™«i«i Counts As the likelihood of mental elaboration decreases, the peripheral route to persuasion becomes more important in the persuasion process. Variables that Motivate The strength of the central route to persuasion has led researchers to examine the variables that motivate a person to think carefully about a message. One of the most important of these variables is that of personell relevance of the message (Brickner, Harkins, & Ostrom, 1986; Leippe & Elkin, 1987; Petty, Cacioppo, &Haugtvedt,1992). Two important studies illustrate the strength of the personal relevance van-able. Petty and Cadoppo (1979b) told one group of undergraduates (high personal relevance group) that their university might start requiring each senior to pass a qualifying exam in his or her major subject in order to graduate. Another group of students (low personal relevance group) was told that a distant university was considering such a policy. The two groups of students then heard one of two radio editorials (either a strong argument or a weak argument) advocating the new policy. The researchers found that the high personal relevance group processed the messages more carefully than the low personal relevance group. As a message increased in personal relevance to the audience, strong arguments became more persuasive and weak arguments becameless persuasive. The other study, by R. Burnkrant and R. Unnava (1989) found that personal relevance could be increased by simply using the second person pronoun "you" rather than the third person pronouns "he" or "she." Those who received messages containing "you" were shown to listen and process the information more carefully. Like the other study, as the message mcreasedinperscmal relevance to the audience, strong arguments became more persuasive and weak arguments became less persuasive. Researchers have identified other variables that provide the necessary motivation for a receiver to think carefully about a message. One of these involves formulating a question rather than making an assertion in a message to provoke more thought processing on the part of the receiver (Howard, 1990; Petty, Cacioppo, & Heesacker, 1981; Swasy & Munch, 1985). For example, the famous soap commercial does not make the simple assertions: "Use Dial. Everyone should." Instead, it asks, "Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish every-• one did?" Another variable is that of using several sources rather than a single one to present arguments (Harkins & Petty, 1981; Moore & Reardon, 1987). "Peripheral Cue" Variables A number of variables have been shown to affect the persuasion process by means of the peripheral route. According to R. E. Petty and J. Priester, a peripheral cue can be defined as "a feature of the persuasion context that allows favorable or unfavorable attitude formation even in the absence of an effortful consideration of the true merits of the object or issue" (1994, p. 106). As the likelihood of mental elaboration (careful cognitive processing of a message) decreases, peripheral cues become more potent. Petty and Priester (1994) 161 decreases, peripheral cues become more potent. Petty and Priester (1994) reviewed the research findings to identify several variables that serve as sim-pie cues. These included: 1. The likability or attractiveness of the message source. 2. The credibility of the source. 3. The number of arguments the message contained. 4. How long the arguments were. 5. How many others were perceived by the viewer to agree with the position, also known as the bandwagon effect. The Role of Variables For persuasion to occur, three factors must be present. A source must deliver a persuasive message to a recipient. Variables that affect the persuasion process may take on different roles and impact any of the three factors. Source factor variables would include characteristics such as the attractiveness or credibility of the source. Research has shown that such variables serve as peripheral cues when the likelihood of elaboration is low, but are not as important as the quality of the argument itself when the likelihood of elaboration is high (Petty Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981). Research has also shown that such variables either enhanced or weakened the likelihood for persuasion, depending upon the strength of the argument (Moore, Hausknecht, & Thamo-daran, 1986; Heesacker, Petty, & Cacioppo, 1983; Puckett, Petty, Cacioppo, & Fisher, 1983). An attractive or expert source made a strong argument stronger and more persuasive, but the same type of source made a weak argument weaker and even less persuasive Variables that could be considered message factors would include all the informational items included in a message. When thelikelihood for elaboration is low, the informational items in the message serve as peripheral cues. When the likelihood for elaboration is high, the items are processed carefully and are not merely peripheral cues. Research has shown that the addition of weak arguments in support of a position for each of the low and high ELM conditions results in a different outcome. When informational items are peripheral cues, the addition of weak supporting arguments makes persuasion more likely, but when informational items are evaluated cogently as arguments themselves, weak additional arguments are less likely to affect persuasion (Alba & Marmorstein, 1987; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986a). - An example of a recipient factor would be a person's mood at the time the message is received. An experiment by Petty, Schumann, Richman, and Strath-man (1993) revealed several ways in which the recipient's mood influenced the persuasion process. Participants saw a product advertisement while watching one of two television programs, either a pleasant situation comedy or a neutral documentary. In the high involvement or high elaboration likelihood condition, participants were told they could select a free gift afterward from several brands of the product in the commercial. In the low involvement or low elaboration likelihood condition, participants could select from several brands of another kind of product than that depicted in the commercial. The study revealed that Chapter 10 Persuasion Určeno po u ZG 1^?___________ viewing the pleasant program not only made people evaluate their own moods Section Two more positively, but it made them evaluate the commercial product more pos- Theoryand Concepts iüvely as well. This was true for both the high- and low-involvement conditions, though it must be pointed out that more positive thoughts about the product were generated when the elaboration likelihood was high rather than low. Generally speaking, mood tended to affect a person's attitude directly when involvement (elaboration likelihood) was low, but when involvement was high, the effect of mood upon attitude depended upon the number of positive thoughts generated. Recent ELM Research In recent years several studies and integrative chapters have increased our understanding of the elaboration likelihood model. A team of researchers found a sleeper effect when a communicator elaborated on ideas included in an initial communication (Priester, Wegener, Petty, & Fabrigar, 1999). The sleeper effect occurred whenever persuasive influences increased rather than decreased with trie passing of tíme. Two other researchers provided an ELM approach to examining persuasive processes in the modification of attitudes due to aspects of identity or self-concept (Herning & Petty, 2000). And the ELM approach has been used to argue that persuasion is influenced by matches in a person's attitudes, identity, and self-schema (Petty, Wheeler, & Bizer, 2000). MODELS THAT LINK ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS A large body of persuasion research has addressed the connection between a person's attitude and his or her actions or behavior. Whether or not a person changes his behavior to come into line with a change in attitude depends upon a number of factors. Most of these factors are related to particular situations or the person's disposition (Ajzen, 1988). Scholars have developed two general purpose models that serve to explain the process that links a new or changed attitude with appropriate action or behavior. One model holds that behavior is a result of thoughtful reasoning; the other proposes that behavior is more spontaneous and is activated automatically. These two models are called, respectively, the reasoned action and planned behavior model and the automatic activation model. Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen introduced the reasoned action and planned behavior model with the assumption that "people consider the implications of their actions before they decide to engage or not engage in a given behavior" (1975, p. 5). The model hypothesizes that people make the decision to behave or not to behave in a certain way based upon two criteria. The person's attitude >ro studijní účely iäte: engages in a particular behavior, he or she carefully weighs the personal advan- __________163 tages or disadvantages of doing so. If engaging in the behavior comes at a cost, Chapter 10 that cost is considered and carefully weighed against the perceived benefits of Persuasion engaging in that behavior. Ajzen (1991) revised the model to include the notion of planned behavior. In addition to basing intentions for action upon attitudes and the behavioral norms of others, the expanded model reveals that intentions to act are also based upon the perceived control the person has over the behavior. Automatic Activation The automatic activation model proposes that behavior follows automatically whenever an attitude comes to mind. The process is spontaneous and does not involve any extended reflection or reasoning on the part of the individuaL R. H. Fazio (1990), the originator of the model, offered two contingent circumstances that allow attitudes to guide behavior automatically: (1) if there is spontaneous access to the attitude whenever the object of the attitude is present, and (2) if the object is perceived according to the attitude (if the attitude is favorable, it is perceived favorably; if unfavorable, it is perceived unfavorably). RECENT RESEARCH AND FUTURE TRENDS As we mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, the research literature related to the effects of persuasive media messages is so vast that we include separate chapters for the domains of advertising, health, political campaigns, and other communication campaigns. In this section we identify additional important research in recent years that has advanced our theoretical understanding of persuasive media effects. W. Wood (2000) reviewed recent research on message-based persuasion and identified different types of motives that produce attitude change or resistance. Research studies on these motives have examined the functions of attitude, sometimes using cognitive dissonance theory as a basis for investigation. Gender differences and emotions and their influence in the persuasion process have also interested researchers. M. Burgoon and R. S. Klingle (1998) reviewed research on the importance of gender differences in persuasive communications. They argued that, generally, men are more persuasive and women are more persuadable, but the sex of the communicator and the strategies of the persuasive message are important determinants. As for the connection between emotion and persuasion, P. F. Jorgensen (1998) discussed the importance of emotions in the formation and change of attitudes in the persuasion process. The link between attitudes and persuasion has received attention in recent years. Petty and Cacioppo (1996) surveyed the different theories related toper-suasion and changes in attitudes and beliefs. D. R. Roskos-Ewoldsen (1997) 164 accessible from memory are more likely to influence a person's reception of var- SectonTwo-------- ious messages. He also proposed a model to demonstrate the transactive rela- Ttoŕy«mi L,* tionship between persuasion and attitude accessibility. In the future, persuasion researchers will continue to identity and study the many variables at work whenever persuasive messages reach audience members. The important influences of individual attitudes and individual emotions on the power of persuasive messages appear to be especially illuminating in our ever-increasing understanding of the persuasion process. SUMMARY Persuasion research in mass communication examines the process of attitude change in audience members and the modification of behavior based upon attitude change. Persuasion is an intentional process. Research on the persuasive power of mass media began in the 1920s and 1930s when radio and films were popular. Harold Lasswell found that propaganda messages had had powerful effects upon audiences during World War I Several events provided evidence for the influential power of the medlar news of the Wall Street crash in 1929, Orson WeUs's War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938, and Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany. During World War II, Carl Hovland found persuasion was contingent upon any number of moderating variables- Hovland found that successful persuasion involved three steps: (1) listeners must pay attention to a message, (2) they must comprehend the message, and (3) rheymustacceptthemessage-TJiecredibiliiyofthemessagesource,the type of message appeal, the order of the arguments presented, identification of the audience member with certain groups, and specific personality characteristics of audience members all affected persuasive power of media messages. In the 1940s and 1950s, persuasion was studied using more rigorous empirical methods. Hyman and Sheatsley found that attitude change required persuasive messages to pass over certain psychological barriers. Katz and Lazarsfeld described media influence as a two-step flow or indirect effects situation m which media messages influenced opinion leaders who in turn influenced others in the community through interpersonal communication. Recent research has shown that persuasion is not simply a stimulus-and-response-type situation, but a more complicated process that eiriphasizesthe receptivity of the receiver. Most contemporary research places considerable importance on the critical role of attitudesin the persuasion process. Attitudes can be defined as "people's general predispositions to evaluate other people, objects, and issues favorably or unfavorably." Attitude is the mediator between the acquisition of persuasive information and behavioral change. McGuire's model explained persuasion effects by identifying inputs (variables controlled by the persuasive source) and outputs (variables controlled by audience members). The model has been criticized for its lack of detail regarding the process of actual yielding to a new attitude and its assumption that the input and output variables are sequential. r r v ľ The theory of cognitive response holds that yielding to persuasive mes- 165 sages depends upon audience members' cognitive responses to the messages. Chapter w The memory of what is thought about a message is much more important than Persuasion a memory of the message itself. Cognitive response theory does not explain instances when persuasion occurs even when an audience member does not think about the content of a message. Petty and Cacioppo's Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) extends the theory of cognitive response and explains the processes that occur whenever a person yields to a persuasive message. It identifies the likelihood of a person to elaborate cognitively or think very carefully about a persuasive message. The ELM proposes two distinct routes—central and peripheral. The central route requires much cognitive effort. Attitude changes resulting from the central route have shown several common characteristics: (1) accessibility, (2) persistency, (3) predictability of behavior, and (4) resistance to change. When persuasion occurs by means of the peripheral route, simple cues in the context of the message, the use of experts to pitch products, and the bandwagon effect are more responsible for attitude change than any considerable cognitive effort. As the likelihood of mental elaboration (careful processing of a persuasive message) increases, the central route to persuasion is dominant. As the likelihood of mental elaboration decreases, the peripheral route to persuasion becomes more important in the persuasion process. REFERENCES Ajzen, I. (1988). 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Tyto pocity, pozitivní i negativní, setrvávají a utvářejí u lidí jejich pozdější zkušenosti s ustavováním kongraence mezi j ástvím, chováním a postoji a chováním drahých lidí vůči nim, vytváří se tendence ke kongruenci s jejich pocity. Jestliže se u něklho vyvinuly negativní pocity vůči sobě samému, bude přitahován lidmi, kteří mají vůči němu negativní pocity a negativní chování. Ochranné mechanismy jsou užívány jak osobami s nízkým, tak i s vysokým sebehodnocením: experimentálně je prokázáno, že osoby s vysokým sebehodnocením se brání negativnímu hodnocení jiných osob lépe než osoby s nízkým sebehodnocením. Tyto tendence ke kongruenci jsou funkcí emocí, které nemají kognitivní aspekt a jejichž fyziologická báze způsobuje, že jsou rezistentní k modifikacím: „v jistém rozsahů je člověk iracionální bytostí ovládanou určitými emocemi, ne zcela kontrolovatelnými" (Secord a Backman). Osoby s pozitivním cítěním vůči sobě samým si budou také atribuovat pozitivní rysy, jako jsou inteligence, ohleduplnost, rěsponzibilita atd. Secord a Backman zdůrazňují v souvislosti s touto tematikou stabilizující efekty, sociální struktury, neboť stabilní sociální struktura vytváří také podmínky pro kongruenci, a to dvěma způsoby: 1. různé role individua urcují chování ostatních vůči němu, a to právě ve smyslu kongraence, 2. členství ve skupině zabezpečuje, že jedinec bude nejčastěji komunikovat s členy, kteří ho kon-gruentně „definují", a zabezpečují tak, že jeho chování bude kongruentní s jeho já. K problematice motivační funkce ega se vyslovili také A. Bandura a R.H. Walters (1963), pro něž je to především problém sebekontroly, a to prostřednictvím „vnitřního morálního činitele", který působí zase prostřednictvím pocitů viny a studu jako „interních sankcí". Stud je reakcí na aktuální nebo anticipované dezaprobace, Pocit viny rezulmje z negativního sebehodnocení, z odchylky od in-ternalizovaných morálních standardů, které platí v referenčních skupinách. Podle obou autorů to jsou ve všech kulturách zvyky, požadavky a tabu, které jsou zdrojem sebekontroly. Taje získávána dvěma způsoby: 1. učením na základě modelu a 2. zpevňováním. Přitom platí: '-. rezistence vůči pokušení vyvíjí klasické podmiňování emočních reakcí; - zvyk reagovat autopunitivně je výsledkem instrumentálního podmiňování. Konzistence morálního jednání je zprostředkována dvěma nezávislými gradienty generalizace: jeden reprezentuje situace, resp. situační elementy, které jsou společné (mají něco společného); druhý reprezentuje generalizace založené na verbálním označování (např. abstraktní označení určité události jako spravedlivé, hanebné, obětavé apod.). Větší či menší rozsah sebekontroly lze vysvětlit diskrimi-nativním učením v dětství („precizním diskriminativním tréninkem" rodičů uplatňovaným vůči dítěti). Člověk tak od dětství získává větší či menší rezistenci vůči deviaci od společenských standardů, v jejichž osvojování byl „trénován" rodinnou výchovou. K sebekontrole však patří také schopnost regulovat své jednání, resp. být motivován i v čase vzdálenými odměnami (očekávání odměny, časově vzdálené cíle). Sebekontrola je založena na „disciplinárních intervencích", které mají kořeny v „disciplinování" dítěte rodiči. P0STOJE :;.:;. / Pojem postoje vnesli do sociologie a sociální psychologie W. J. Thomas a F. Zna-niecki (1918-1920) svou rozsáhlou prací ö polském rolníkovi y Evropě a v Americe. Jejich definice postoje se sice neujala, ale jejich pojetí postoje bylo v podstatě přijato: postoj chápali jako „individuální protějšek společenské hodnoty" a hodnotou to, co je „objektem společensky důležitým". To je dalo by se říci kla-. sické pojetí postoje jako vztahu člověka k hodnotám, které zpřesnil G. W. Allport (1935): „Postoj je mentální a nervový stav pohotovosti, organizovaný zkušeností, vyvíjející direktivní nebo dynamický vliv na odpovědi individua vůči všem objektům a situacím, s nimiž je v relaci." Tato definice však vnesla do pojetí postoje jisté nedůslednosti, které spočívaly zejména v tom, že postoje byly směšovány s motivy. Ve skutečnosti však, jak prokázal již R. T. LaPierre (1934), mezi postojem a odpovídajícím jednáním může existovat rozpor; lidé nejednají vždy v souhlase se svými postoji. Podle Th. M. Newcomba (1950) zásadní rozdíl mezi postojem a motivem spočívá v tom, že postoj determinuje způsob jednání, kdežto motiv je příčinou jednání, vyjadřuje jeho psychologický smysl. Podle Newcomba nicméně „postoj je pohotovost k aktivaci motivu" a postoj sám lze pak definovat takto: „Postojem individua vůči nějaké věci chápeme jeho predispozici vůči této věci jednat, vnímat, myslet a cítit." Avšak také tato definice postoje nevyhovuje, je velmi povšechná, a nevyhovuje tak nejen teoreticky, ale ani výzkumné praxi, kde vzniká otázka, co vlastně měření postojů měří. A to je velká nevýhoda, neboť „měření postojů se stalo hlavní americkou živností" (D. Krech, R. S. Crutchfield a E. L. Ballachey, 1968). Uvedení autoři rozsáhlé Učebnice sociální psychologie chápou postoje jako „trvalé soustavy pozitivních nebo negativních hodnocení, emocionálního cítění a tendencí jednání pro nebo proti vůči společenským objektům". Mít vůči něčemu postoj znamená zaujmout vůči nějakému objektu, jímž může být cokoli (věc, událost, idea, bytost atd.), hodnotící stanovisko. V duchu tohoto pojetí jsme označili postoje jako „hodnotící vztahy" (M. Nakonečný, 1970). Kognitivní procesy nám přinášejí poznatky, v emocích prožíváme jejich význam a v postojích, které kognitivní a emotivní aspekty psychiky integrují, zaujímáme vůči objektům hodnotící vztahy, tj. přiřazujeme jim určitou hodnotu, jeví se nám v určité míře žádoucí nebo nežádoucí, dobré nebo špatné. V tomto smyslu vymezuje pojem hodnota C. Kluckhohn (1951): „Hodnota je explicitně nebo implicitně pro individuum nebo skupinu charakteristické pojetí žádoucího, které ovlivňuje volbu způsobů chování, jeho prostředků a cílů." To je ovšem užší pojetí 0ty jako něčeho pozitivního, v širším pojetí lze hovořit i o negativních hod-(P cjj.. Kluckhohn (in: T. Parsons a E. A. Shils, 1962) přijal později toto širší po- P#l -eti zčásti, setrval však u svého komplexního pojetí hodnoty, které odpovídá ß osnému převažujícímu pojetí komplexnosti postoje: „žádoucí" vyjadřuje afek- ) J, pojetí kognitivní ä volba („selection") konativní složku hodnoty (postoje). ^'V1 rfito smyslu pak precizovali pojem postoje D; Katz a E.Stotland (in: S. Koch, M^v „Postoj může být definován jako tendence nebo predispozice individua (p pováni určitého objektu, nebo symbolu tohoto objektu, určitým způsobem. 0 pováni spočívá v připisování vlastností, které mohou být umístěny v kontinuu /i^nací-nežádóucí' nebo :,dobrý-špatný'. Postoje jsou v tomto smyslu produk-|/ hodnocení, komplexního procesu, v němž jsou, jak již bylo naznačeno, inte- 'ér ft1? kognitivní, emotivní a kohativní složky psychiky. Slovy vyjádřené hod- 1 p „i sepak označuje jako mínění, pevně vytvořené, zafixované hodnocení jako 0p ygdčení. Obojí je víc než pouhé vědění, vyjadřuje subjektivní význam ob-> Pro su^Je^ct hodnocení, což poukazuje na to, že dominantní funkci v hod- fj-1 fll mají emoce. Kolem emocionálního jádra hodnocení (postojů) se organi- ) p kognitivní a konativní složky tohoto vztahu. wytOfa byl již naznačen vztah postojů a jednání: obecně lze říci, že postoje de-? if)ují způsob jednání, resp. jsou konzistentní se způsoby jednání, pokud to si->v „ dovoluje. Např. ocitne-li se osoba, vůči níž má subjekt pozitivní vztah (po-A v nějaké nouzové situaci a je-li subjekt dostatečně motivován k jednání [ftl{Uejícímu pomoc, bude se snažit jí tuto pomoc poskytnout. Avšak je známo, p^.Aé nechávají „ve štychu" i své přátele, když situace nedovoluje, aby jim po- \p .j; např. když projev takové pomoci je politicky nebo jinak riskantní nebo p 0 hrozí, že bude potrestán. Z těchže důvodů nemusí veřejně vyslovené mí- P n í V> t^é vyjadřovat skutečný postoj subjektu. Proto jsou respondenti dotazníků "V fících k měření postojů anonymní. Postoj tedy zakládá určitou konativní pojí? v°st:' JeJ'^ reahzace v příslušném jednání však závisí na situačních podmínit Vyšetřovatel, jemuž je vyšetřovaný nějak sympatický, se může pokusit pojí'' aoüt mu nenápadně nebo tajně pomoc, jestliže to okolnosti dovolují. Jestliže je/ povolují, sympatie zůstává, ale může se projevit jen vlídnějším zacházením, '0 ^ ■ d^ se nemusí projevit vůbec. Zda je vyšetřovanému poskytnuta pomoc, či iíPij, závisí ovšem také na postoji vyšetřovatele k vyšetřování, ke spravedlnosti 'p rpjké postoje vytvářejí systém propojených vztahů jako pojmy, ale na rozdíl p ,5tému pojmů, kde se uplatňují logické relace, se v systému postojů uplatňují J g psychologické. W. Herkner (1991) navrhl, aby se rozlišovalo mezi „postoji J^ -vání" a „postoji k podnětu nebo k pojmu", neboť s obojím jsou spojena odli 0, očekávání a odlišné souvislosti: např. pozitivní postoj k politickému pro-ij^-ij sociálnědemokratické strany může být spojen s negativním postojem dí^nSti na politických manifestacích této strany. v K druhé straně je však nutno uvažovat také vliv jednání na postoje, zejména AfiU které je spojeno s vykonáváním určité role. Tak např. S. Lieberman (1956) rokázal změnu postojů provázející změnu pracovní role u průmyslových dělníků: ijich postoje se měnily ve směru jejich nového pracovního zařazení a v průběhu času se tyto změny zvětšovaly. Lieberman je měřil na „promanažérských postojích"; ti, kteří se stali pomocníky mistrů, zvyšovali své sympatie k „manažérské pozici" a ti, kteří se stali pomocníky ve. skladu, přizpůsobovali své postoje této pozici. D. G. Myers (1993) to vyjádřil následujícím grafem a výrokem: „Kariéra, kterou si zvolili, ovlivnila nejen to, co činili v zaměstnání, ale také jejich postoje" - vyvinuli postoje odpovídající jejich nové roli. • { procento promanažérských -------- - pomocníci mistrů postojů pomocníci ve skladu 100 90 80 70 60 50 ^ + ~* 40 <^ + ** .»""^ . — " _______1 30 ^"^V^ 20 10 0 před změnou po 1 roce po 2-3 letech Změny v postojích, odpovídající nově převzatým rolím (podle D. G. Myerse, 1993). , : Podle D. Stahlberga a D. Freye (in: W. Stroebe, M. Hewstone a další, 1992) souhrnně vzato dřívější studie o vztahu postojů a chování nebyly nijak zvláště plodné, neboť byly příliš globální ä nediferencované. Proto pozdější autoři navrhují, aby byla otázka těchto vztahů postavena jinak, např. „Za jakých podmínek stává souvislost mezi postoji a chováním?", „Které jiné faktory určují těsnost souvislosti, jestliže byla nalezena?" a „Kterými prostředkujícími proměnnými ovlivňují postoje chování?" D. G. Myers (1993), který problém vztahu postojů a chování široce diskutuje a dospívá k oboustranné závislosti obou těchto proměnných, soudí, že myšlení nás přivádí k akci, ale také akce nás přivádí k myšlení; když něco činíme, rozvádíme ideu činu, za který se cítíme odpovědni, a to, co jsme učinili, pokládáme za správné a spravedlivé. Podle Myerse pak tři teorie vysvětlují, proč naše akce ovlivňují naše postoje: - teorie sebeprezentace říká, že lidé ,,momtorující své chování" doufají, že učiní dobrý dojem a budou adaptovat své p^^^Ä*b^%o&isPÄ s jejich akcemi; - teorie disonance vysvětluje změny postojů tím, že pociťujeme napětí, když jednáme v rozporu se svými postoji, a abychom ji redukovali, své chování vnitřně ospravedlňujeme; * ■ ^™ - teorie sebe-percepce říká, že činíme určité inference, když pozorujeme své vlastní chování, a když jsou naše postoje křehké nebo obojetné, ocitáme e v pozici vnějšího pozorovatele sebe samých, „odůvodňujeme" si své chování, abychom se nedostali do vnitřních rozporů (inference příslušného postoje). > I. Ajzen a M. Fishbein (1977) učinili pokus vysvětlit vztah mezi postoji a chováním na základě empirického materiálu a vyjádřili tento vztah následujícím schématem: Mínění osoby, že chování povede k určitým výsledkům, a její zhodnocení těchto výsledků. Mínění osoby, že jisté osoby nebo skupiny očekávají, že by měla, resp. neměla toto chování uskutečnit, a její motivace splnit toto očekávání. postoj k chování relativní důležitost postojových a normativních rozvah subjektivní norma chování (podle Stahlberga aFreye, 1992) Tato teorie („theory of reasoned action" - „zdůvodněné akce") vychází, jak naznačuje schéma, z vnitřní interakce vlastní tendence subjektu k určitému chování a sociálního tlaku na toto chování nebo proti němu. Výsledkem je postoj k vlastnímu chování a význam předcházejícího srovnávání, které má povahu rozhodování mezi vnitřním a vnějším tlakem. To pak vede k úmyslu chování provést, či nikoli. Pokud se motivace týče, vystupuje zde ve dvou směrech, které lze chápat jako vektory: je to motivace vlastního chování (např. navázat kontakt s určitou osobou) a motivace podrobit se postoji vztažných osob a skupin (např. „co by tomu řekli rodiče"), To může vyvolat konflikt apetence-averze. Rada empirických nálezů tuto teorii potvrdila, jiné však poukazují na neúplnost proměnných, s nimiž operuje. Stahlberg a Frey uvádějí následující příklad této teorie: Osoby budou vykazovat aktivní šetření energií, jestliže věří, že zaprvé šetření energií povede s velkou pravděpodobností k pozitivním důsledkům, jako např. k zajištění zdrojů energie pro příští generace, resp. s malou pravděpodobností k negativním důsledkům, jako jsou škody na životním prostředí (postojové komponenty), a že zadruhé přátelé, rodina a kolegové jsou toho mínění, že by měli šetřit energií, a jsou posléze motivováni chovat se způsobem, který odpovídá očekáváním vztažných osob (komponenta subjektivní normy). . nr Podle W. Herknera (1991) vystupují diskrepance mezi postoji a chováním ednoduše proto, že chování je závislé na naučených a/nebo z jiného důvodu vy-ořených anticipacích důsledků chování (odměny a tresty); proto mohou vystupovat diskrepance mezi postoji a způsoby chování. Ty mohou podle jiných autorů vystupovat i proto, že mohou existovat rozpory mezi postoji a potřebami, např. jedinec má odpor ke krádežím, ale jestliže dlouho hladoví, může se pokusit ukrást nějaké jídlo, v nouzové situaci vůbec se člověk může vzdát celé řady svých původních postojů, což může znamenat jen jejich dočasnou změnu. U lidí, u kterých je chování zaměřeno výhradně na vnější zpevnění, a u nichž tedy není vyvinuto sebetrestání za inkonzistentní chování, bude postojově diskrepantní chování vystupovat velmi často, neboť je situačně podmíněné (W. Herkner). Tlak na postoj mohou tedy vyvíjet jak vnitřní stav individua (potřeby), tak i vnější okolnosti (zábrany vyjadřovat před některými lidmi své skutečné postoje nejen vůči nim, jestliže je na nich subjekt závislý). Typickým příkladem takové diskrepance je licho-cení (ingraciace) osobám, jichž si subjekt ve skutečnosti neváží, ale od nichž za to očekává odměnu. Je-li postoj silnější než vnější tlak (subjektivní norma), bude chování záviset více na postoji k chování a intenci, a naopak (ve smyslu teorie „uváženého jednání"). Vnitřní skladba postoje: Již zde bylo poznamenáno, že každý postoj má tři komponenty, kognitivní, emotivní a konativní (snahovou). Jedna z nich může být dominantní, ale obvykle jsou vyvážené: dominuje-li kognitivní komponenta, hovoříme o smýšlení, dominuje-li emotivní komponenta, označuje se to slovem sentiment. M. J. Rosenberg a C. I. Hovland (in: C. I. Hovland a M. J. Rosenberg, 1960), kteří vytvorili jednu z teorií postoje, vyjadřují jeho vnitřní skladbu následujícím schématem. Postoj je zde chápán jako konstrukt, jeho komponenty jako, hypotetické'konstrukty odvozené z pojetí postoje a jeho pozorovatelných projevů (postoj je chápán jako „predispozice odpovídat na určitou třídu stimulů určitou třídou odpovědi"). měřitelné nezávisle proměnné intervenující proměnné , afekt měřitelně závisle proměnné podněty (osoby, situace, sociální problémy, sociální, skupiny a ostatní objekty postoje) reakce sympatického nervového systému verbální vyjádření emocí postoje ■ kognice- * chování- vnímaní verbální vyjádřeni mínění pozorovatelné jednání, verbální vyjádření vztahující se Ujednáni Kognitivní komponenty (smýšlení): zahrnují to, co subjekt o objektu svého po- stoje ví, jeho poznatky o objektu postoje. LJ - Emotivní (afektivní) komponenty: zahrnují emoce, které objekt postoje v subjektu vyvolává (sympatii, antipatii, hněv atd.). - Konativní komponenty (behaviorální predispozice): vyjadřují snahu či pohotovost chovat se vůči objektu postoje určitým způsobem. Emocionální komponenta určuje sílu postoje, neboť mu propůjčuje subjektivní význam: extrémně pozitivní nebo negativní postoje jsou nejsilnější a souvisí s osobností jedince tak, že plní určitou integrační funkci (viz dále o funkci postojů). Emočně silně akcentované postoje, zejména předsudky, mohou být zcela iracionální a mohou být provázeny falešnými informacemi. Emotivní komponenta postoje tedy určuje jeho intenzitu a tato intenzita postoje může být vyjádřena pozicí v prostoru kontinua od extrémně pozitivního přes neutrální k extrémně negativnímu postoji: postojové kontinuum (šipky naznačují gradaci postoje) 0 l — -- 1 + + + + + +»l 1 ^ zcela středně mírně mírně středně ^1 zcela negativní negativní negativní s f pozitivní pozitivní pozitivní neutrální (ambivalentní) Neutrální postoje se týkají nevýznamných objektů, případně objektů, o nichž subjekt nic neví (respondenti je vyjadřují pozicí „ani-ani" nebo „nevím" apod.). Zato extrémní postoje, vyjádřené např. výrokem „Jsem rozhodně za znovuzavedení trestu smrti", jsou nejintenzivnější, jako takové jsou také nejvíce odolné proti změně, ale frekvence těchto postojů v populaci bývá poměrně malá. Vztah intenzity a frekvence postoje vyjadřuje následující obrázek. intenzita 01 o .* Q) proti neutrální pra Vztah intenzity a frekvence postoje. Funkce postoje: Postoje mají určitý individuální význam, nejsou to epifeno-mény, nýbrž zkušeností organizované vztahy k hodnotám. D. Katz (1960) rozlišuje následující funkce postojů: * ^ - Instrumentální, adjustační nebo utilitární funkce: Pozitivní postoje si subjekt vytváří vůči objektům, které jsou asociovány s odměnami, jsou zdrojem aktuálních nebo očekávaných odměn, a negativní postoje pak vůči objektům asociovaným s tresty nebo očekáváním trestů - vyjadřuje tím určité zobecněné zkušenosti (např. negativní postoj k manželství jako společenské instituci může být ■ vyjádřením zklamání z vlastního manželství nebo podceněním hodnot, které přináší, či nedůvěrou, že tyto hodnoty přinese právě jemu, apod.). - Ego-defenzivní funkce: Postoje mohou chránit integritu osobnosti, např. tím, že redukují úzkost nebo kompenzují negativní složky sebepojetí tím, že podceňují negativní vlastnosti, které si subjekt připisuje (např. nedostatek odvahy nebo důvěry), chrání jedince před uznáním nepříjemných pravd o jeho činech a vlastnostech (liberalistické postoje mohou být např. druhem sebeobrany proti příliš volnému způsobu života, který jedince znejisťuje). - Hodnotově expresívni funkce: Subjekt může nacházet uspokojení v tom, že vyjadřuje své postoje a zasazuje se za jejich realizaci, např. v politickém nebo náboženském životě, může se demonštratívne hlásit k postoji, který vyjadřuje jeho sebehodnocení, případně mu umožňuje odreagovat určité afekty (např. bojovná religiozita nebo naopak ateismus či vyjádřený politický názor umožňují odreagovat napětí z kritického vztahu ke společenským poměrům). - Kognitivní funkce: Každý člověk má tendenci k uspořádání poznatků o světě i o sobě samém, nacházet určitý řád, chápat smysl událostí a vztahů mezi nimi, strukturovat svou zkušenost, a tato tendence se projevuje i ve vytváření postojů, které spojují poznávání a cítění v určitý systém hodnot - nejde tu ovšem jen o funkci čistě kognitivní, nýbrž také o subjektivní význam poznatků. Existuje tedy subjektivní význam postojů, a to tzv. postojů „centrálních", které vyjadřují vztahy k významným objektům (např. k rodině, zaměstnání, druhým lidem, k sexu, zábavě, vedení domácnosti a k hodnotám, které člověk uznává za významné, jako je např. láska, přátelství, svoboda atd.). Naproti tomu „periferní" postoje se týkají méně významných objektů (např. vztah k americké zahraniční politice nebo ke stánkovému prodeji apod.). Ovšemže platí, že významnost objektu je subjektivní a že pro majitele činžovního domu bude významný vztah k vládní politice nájemného, která bude lhostejná člověku, který bydlí v rodinném domku a nájemné ho nezajímá. A právě tento subjektivní význam postojů zakládá jejich výše uvedené funkce. Hodnotících vztahů má člověk mnoho a ty vytvářejí určitý systém postojů, interindividuálně velmi různý, s různou úrovní jednotnosti, konzistence, neboť postoje jsou mezi sebou různě propojené. Tendence ke kognitivní konsonanci, která zahrnuje i konsonanci emotivní, směřuje ke sjednocování postojů, k souladu v systému postojů, který je však opět založen na psychologických, a nikoli formálně logických vztazích. Např. negativní postoj k náboženství nemusí vylučovat pozitivní vztahy k různým s náboženstvím souvisejícím objektům, jako je např. bible nebo katedrály, u nichž může být např. obdivována jejich hodnota estetická a jiná. Avšak negativní poměr k náboženství vylučuje pozitivní poměr k církevnímu kléru jako. celku, což však opět nevylučuje pozitivní poměr třeba k místnímu panu faráři. Jednotnější postojový systém je odolnější vůči změnám, je stabilnější, svědčí o psychologicky pevně propojených vztazích, které vyznačuje nějaká ideová dominanta (např. konzervatismus). V tomto smyslu vyjadřuje systém postojů různé úrovně hodnocení, od specifických až po nejobecnější, která jsou označována jako ideologie. uroven ideologie uroven postoje uroven zvykových reakci uraven specifických ř* r\ r\ r\ hodnoceni U \J w ~ -4------ ------► I---------------------------1---------------------------1 . negativní postoj pozitivní postoj ''■-" ---------------------------->- ~<---------------------------- ~+---------------- ------:-----------► inkongruentní změny Druhy změn postojů (podle Kreche, Crutchfielda a Ballacheye, 1968). Současně uvedení autoři formulovali dvě hypotézy týkající se změn postoje: - ,2a jinak stejných podmínek je vždy lehčí navodit sourodou než nesourodou změnu." - „Čím je postoj extrémnější, více multiplexní, konzistentnější, čím je propojenější a shodnější, čím více slouží potřebám a je centrálně hodnocený, tím se poměrně lehčeji dosáhne sourodá změna." H. C. Triandis (1975) pak na základě empirických poznatků u faktory změn postoje: II II I určil následující y - důvěryhodnost zdroje informace - atraktivita zdroje informace - moc zdroje informace - styl, struktura a obsah informace To jsou však v podstatě hlediska omezená na experimentální přístup. Poněkud širší pojetí podmínek, za nichž dochází ke změně postoje, mají E. F. Mueller a A. Thomas (1974): - „Prolomení hodnotové struktury": V extrémním případě, který je ovšem nezákonný, ale byl, jak jsme již uvedli, používán proti zajatým americkým leteckým důstojníkům Číňany v období korejské války, je tzv. „mytí mozku" („brain washing"). Spočívá v pokračujícím pokořování jedince až do doby, kdy začne pochybovat o svém dosavadním smýšlení; pokořováním se podkope víra v sebe sama a vezme se člověku možnost vyrovnat sé s pochybováním. Současně de-privaeí všech životních funkcí (jedení, pití, spaní) se dosáhne stavu infantilní závislosti, který se neočekávanou náhlou změnou denní rutiny ještě vystupňuje. Když se v jedinci vzbudí pocit, že „není nic", „naočkuje se" mu, žádoucí postoj, který je nucen veřejně demonstrovat. - Vytvoření motivace pro přijetí nového hodnocení: Nejprimitivnější formou je mučení (násilí, zamezení spánku, sociální izolace), jímž se jedinci odebírá osobní sebeuznání a udržují se v něm pocity viny, zeje za všechno, co se s ním děje, zodpovědný. Tím se vytvoří pohotovost přijmout vše, co je mu předloženo.M&existuje člověk, který by mohl tomuto tlaku odolávat, jak o tom svědčí moskevské procesy z třicátých let, kdy se souzení přiznávali k nejtěžším „zločinům". Uplatňuje se nejen potřeba zbavit se nepříjemností, ale i potřeba osobní integrity a souhlasu, v němž se spatřuje naděje na záchranu. - Cvičení nového postoje: Jestliže se zničí identita jedince, je schopen přijmout vše, co se mu nabídne. Opakováním se pak nově přijaté udržuje. To jsou tři způsoby, resp. tři fáze „mytí mozku", které vedly u postižených ke skutečné změně smýšlení: tak se dosáhlo změny antikomunistických postojů v pro-komunistické u zajatých amerických důstojníků. Neméně dramatický je vliv psychického traumatu, napĚ? znásilnění, které může u postižené ženy přivést radikální změny v postoji k sexu, a tím i vůči mužům určité kategorie nebo vůči mužům vůbec. Vlivné jsou tedy především přímé osobní zkušenosti, ale jde také o druh postoje: mnozí lidé, kteří byli přímými svědky nacistických nebo komunistických zvěrstev, změnili radikálně své původní politické postoje a stali se z nich odpůrci nacismu a komunismu. Zveřejnění otřesných hygienických poměrů na chicagských jatkách, k němuž došlo ve dvacátých létech, přineslo vlnu vegetariánství. Otec, kterému zemřelo malé dítě, může ztratit svou dosavadní víru v boha, ale naopak mnozí vězňové nacistických a komunistických koncentračních táborů se stali věřícími teprve jako vězňové. Uplatňuje se zde tedy osobnost subjektu, význam a propojenost postojů, které má. JI Proti určitému přesvědčení (silnému integrovanému postoji), které má být z nějakých důvodů změněno, se používá přesvědčování, které se opírá o racionální a emocionální, případně kombinovanou argumentaci. Přesvědčování či přemlouvání se označuje jako persuáze a J. Grác (1985) je definuje jako „takové ovlivňování, při kterém se recipient pod vlivem přesvědčovatele dobrovolně, zainteresovaně a zúčastněně ujišťuje o zdůvodněnosti nějakéholstanoviska". Jde tu tedy o profesionální činnost, prováděnou v rámci psychagogiky nebo psychoterapie (persuázivní psychoterapie), kde se uplatňují jiné podmínky než v běžné inter-personální interakci. W. S. Howell (1969) uvádí následující kroky siřeji pojatého přesvědčování: 1. vzbuzení a udržování pozornosti přesvědčovaného, 2. vyvolání příslušných motivů, 3. spojení motivu s přesvědčováním a 4. vytvoření specifické reakce, která je žádoucí, a její upevnění. Různé náboženské sekty vyvinuly různé postupy přesvědčovaní vytypovaných osob, které se snaží získat za souvěrce a členy sekty; některé z těchto postupů jsou slabší formou „praní mozku". V přesvědčování se uplatňuje logická či racionální a emocionální argumentace, případně kombinace obojího. Emocionální argumentace působí primárně nachy, ale podstatně méně na chování a její vliv je spíše okamžitý, časem slábne. Proti afektogenní argumentaci, která vyvolává strach, si může subjekt vytvořit obranu („mně toto nebezpečí nehrozí"). Za určitých okolností se může vytvořit tzv. „bumerangový efekt", tj. postoj, proti němuž se argumentuje, se může naopak ještě více upevnit. Dochází k tomu zejména, když se „těžké argumenty" uvádějí na začátku přesvědčování, když se uvádějí příklady, které neodpovídají zkušenostem přesvědčovaného, když se přesvědčující osoba zabývá jen svými důkazy a opomíjí vyvracet důkazy druhé strany a ovšem když se v přesvědčování objevují protimluvy. Přesvědčování musí vtáhnout do hry motivy přesvědčovaného (např. „musíte se šetřit pro své děti, které vás budou potřebovat"), musí aktivovat přirozené tendence přesvědčované osoby. Na německé vojáky byl během druhé světové války shazován leták s tímto textem: „Kdo pokračuje ve válce, bojuje proti svým dětem." Emocionální argumentace je v podstatě sugestivní vliv, založený na přesvědčivosti určitých evokovaných emocí a aktivaci podvědomých sklonů a tužeb. Racionální argumentace nemůže od působení na emoce zcela abstrahovat, neboť ty hrají v postojích zásadní roli. Používá se při tom různých osvědčených postupů, např.: - rymus ano-odpovědí: přesvědčování se navodí jako diskuse, v níž se přesvědčovanému přihrají za sebou jdoucí otázky, na něž musí odpovědět „ano", a pak se náhle prezentuje určitá nabídka či argument působící ve směru přesvědčování; existuje tendence odpovědět rovněž „ano"; - technika spoluběžce: lidé chtějí činit a vyznávat to, co činí a vyznává většina; proto je důležité přesvědčit je, že to, co by měli učinit nebo jaký postoj by měli zaujmout, činí a mají všichni jako něco samozřejmého. Přesvědčování je vlastně indoktrinací, a má tedy i své aspekty etické, nejen čistě psychologické. J. P. Guilford (1959) zjistil, že existují lidé s tendencí k „defini-tivnosti", tj. se sklonem mít ve věcech jasno a odmítat neurčitosti, kteří nesnášejí dvojznačnost. M. Rokeach (1960) užil zde již zmíněného pojmu zavřená mysl pro uzavřenost některých osob vůči novému poznání, což je vlastně druhem dogmatismu. Charakteristické pro mnoho lidí je tzv. „černo-bílé rrtyšlení", které ignoruje fakt, že objekt může.být nahlížen z různých zorných úhlů, a tak vykazuje různé vlastnosti, není jen „černý", nebo „bílý", velmi často bývá „černo-bílý". Zkušený subjekt má k dispozici vztažná schémata, která reprezentují určité uspořádání jeho zkušeností, a tedy i určité .uspořádání jeho životního prostředí a světa vůbec. Podstatnými prvky těchto schémat jsou kognitivní konstrukce a s nimi spojené emoce, které vytvářejí určitý systém významů. Jako taková vy- :. stupují tato vztažná schémata jako činitelé interpretace situací. Plastický příklad ťohouvádí Th. M. Newcomb (1950): dřevorubec vidí strom úplně jinak než botanik, nahlíží ho ve svém vztažném schématu jako dřevo, které se hodí ke kácení k prodeji apod. Přisuzuje mu hodnotu, která vyplývá z jeho vztažného schématu k tomuto objektu, a tak „odpovídající posouzení vnímaného objektu není určováno jen jeho vlastnostmi, nýbrž také souvislostmi, v nichž je objekt vnímán" (Newcomb). Když prší, může strom sloužit jako přístřešek jak dřevorubci, tak i botanikovi. „Jinak voní seno koním a jinak zamilovaným," napsal polský satirik J. Lee. Člověk se učí uspořádávat objekty vnějšího světa pomocí myšlení i cítění: „V každém případě je vztah mezi předmětem a potřebou určován nejen samým předmětem, nýbrž i vztahem mezi předmětem a stávajícím vztažným systémem. Existuje-li vztažný systém, dostává se předmět do yztahu k redukci popudu, a je tím utvořen nebo posílen pozitivní postoj vůči němu. Je-li vztažný systém nahrazen jinýmfvstupuje předmět do vztahu k silnějšímu popudu a povstává negativní postoj neboje tento postoj posilován" (Newcomb). Rozhodující roli tu opět hrají asociace objektu s emocemi subjektu. C. Leuba a G. Lucas (1945) provedli experiment s hypnotizovanými pokusnými osobami. Každá z nich byla postupně uvedena do šťastného, kritického a úzkostného stavu. Vždy, když byla z toho kterého stavu probuzena, byly jí exponovány obrázky představující mnohoznačné sociální scény a pokusná osoba je měla interpretovat. Po druhém a po třetím hypnotickém stavu byly pokusným osobám předvedeny tytéž obrázky současně se sugescí, zeje nikdy předtím neviděly a že o nich nic nevypovídaly. Pokusné osoby po probuzení z každého uvedeného hypnotického stavu interpretovaly předložené obrázky, které byly stejné, v nových významech, které odpovídaly předcházejícímu stavu. Např. po vsugerovaném pocitu štěstí dávaly pokusné osoby odpovědi „Dobře se baví", „To je prima", po kritickém stavu „To je děsné", „To se nehodí", po úzkostném stavu ..Domnívám se, že zde něco neklape", „Nikdy se neví, jak to dopadne". Postoje se utvářejí a mění vždy v určitém kontextu, který je dán z jedné strany psychickým stavem subjektu a z druhé strany celkovou situací. Zůstaneme-li nyní u daného tématu změn postojů, lze říci spolu s již zmíněným Triandisem, že informace nepůsobí nikdy sama o sobě, nýbrž v kontextu dané situace a svého zdroje, tj. důvěryhodnosti, atraktivity a moci informátora, svou strukturou a ve vztahu k psychickému stavu příjemce. Tyto druhy informační vztažnosti byly v sociální psychologii podrobně zkoumány. W. Herkner (1991) zachycuje tyto vztahy následujícím schématem, v némž plné šipky znázorňují základní vztažné aspekty přijímání informace subjektu: předmět postoje informátor sdělení I subjekt-příjemce Pozitivně hodnocení informátori (komunikátoři) jsou v přesvědčování úspěšnější než neutrálně nebo negativně hodnocení. Hodnocení se týká důvěryhodnosti komunikátora (jeho odbornosti, podobnosti se subjektem, ať už je to podobnost zájmová nebo podobný sociální původ, ale i jeho vnější vzezření, napr. oblečení, chování a další). „Tytéž argumenty jsou účinnější, když zjevně přicházejí od pozitivně hodnoceného (důvěryhodného) komunikátora," píše Herkner a uvádí následující tabulku, která to dokazuje výsledky empirického výzkumu. objekt postoje procento pokusných v oče osob, které vykazovaly změnu kávaném směru velmi důvěryhodný průměrně důvěryhodný komunikátor antihistamin atomové ponorky ocelářský průmysl kina 22,6 36,0 22,9 ... 12,9 13,3 0,0 -3,8 16,7 průměr 23,0 6,6 Jde o výsledky experimentu, který provedli C. I. Hovland a W. Weiss (1951), kteří četli pokusným osobám krátký článek o uvedených čtyřech objektech postojů. Jedné skupině pokusných osob bylo sděleno, že článek pochází z důvěryhodného zdroje (odborný časopis, autor-vědec), druhé skupině, že pochází od méně důvěryhodného zdroje (populárního časopisu). Uvedená procenta změn vyjadřují procento změn v očekávaném směru minus procento změn v opačném směru. Důvěryhodný komunikátor tedy změnil v průmětu téměř u 1/4 pokusných osob jejich postoje, zatímco méně důvěryhodný dosáhl změny jen u necelých 7 procent. Nicméně v jednom případě (kino) se objevil opačný výsledek. Herkner to vysvětluje tím, že je to výjimka způsobená „ne optimálním pokusným materiálem" (na kino si lidé vytvářejí vlastní ustálené názory). Th. M. Newcomb, R. H. Turner a Ph. E. Converse ( dující podstatné podmínky změny postoje: (1965) formulovali násle- „Změna postojů závisí na.recepci nových informací, které z hlediska zainteresované osoby se takovým či jiným způsobem vztahují k objektu postoje." - „Postoj vůči nějakému objektu se změní, jestliže se změní kognitivní obsah jiného, s ním spojeného objektu." První podmínku lze formulovat také tak, že „postoje vůči objektům podléhají změně tehdy, když nové informace vyvolají změnu vnímaného obsahu objektů". Jako příklad uvádějí: objev, že ten skromný člověk v pomačkaném modrém obleku je slavným autorem novel, které jsme obdivovali, přináší dávku nových informací a je pravděpodobné, že změní náš postoj vůči němu. Podle uvedených autorů rozhodující není změna emocí vůči danému objektu, nýbrž nové informace o něm. V uvedeném příkladě budeme autorovi novel připisovat dvě negativní vlastnosti: 1. nedostatek důstojnosti a 2. ,jeho zmačkaný oděv". Změní se obraz „obdivovaného autora", nejprve se změní kognitivní obraz objektu a následně také emocionální vztah k němu. Obě výše uvedené podmínky změny postoje jsou vlastně komplementární. Pokud se týče emocionálních vztahů k objektu, podle Newcomba, Turnéra a Converse existuje následující tendence k vystupování těchto vztahů: emoce: objekt: I nízký stupeň centrálnosti (psychologicky odlehlý) malé spojení s cíli jedince malá zásoba informací V souvislosti s tímto přehledem lze pak tezi těchto autorů, že nejprve se mění informace ö-©bjektu a pak emocionální vztah k němu, poněkud upřesnit v tom smyslu, že změnu postoje nevyvolávají jakékoli informace o objektu postoje, ale pouze informace emociogenní, takže kognitivní a emocionální změny jdou přinejmenším ruku v ruce, paralelně. Současně je nutné připomenout výběrový vztah subjektu k informacím a fungování principu kognitivní konsonance, resp. diso-nance, jakož i celkový situační kontext (příjemná či nepříjemná situace, důvěryhodnost komunikátora, způsob a struktura jeho sdělení a další). Rozhodujícím faktorem změn či rezistence postoje je sama osobnost či subjekt postoje, jeho psychologické vlastnosti, k nimž patří i míra ovlivnitelnosti, případně sugestibility, která negativně koreluje s mírou inteligence (vysoce inteligentní osoby jsou málo sugestibilní), a ovšem již mnohokrát zmíněná subjektivní významnost postoje, související s jeho stabilitou. Mnohými autory je zpochybňována existence ovlivnitelnosti jako obecné vlastnosti a ovlivnitelnost je spíše rozpouštěna ve vlivech vnějších činitelů, což se zdá být jednostranné, neboť ovlivnitelnost souvisí také nepochybně s vnitřním stavem subjektu. Čím pozitívnejší je vztah člověka k sobě samému, tím menší je jeho ovlivnitelnost (L. Berkowitz a R. M. Lundy, 1957). Ovlivnitelnost je jednak osobnostní rys a jednak souvisí s aktuálním stavem subjektu a se strukturou situace. Předsudky jsou zvláštním druhem postojů a již slovo samo naznačuje, že jde o něco předem vytvořeného, převzatého. Slovo předsudek má pejorativní význam, protože je obvykle- ale nesprávně - spojováno s negativními a neodůvodněnými postoji, obvykle vůči určitým menšinám (např. předsudky vůči cikánům, dříve vůči židům - rasisticky založené předsudky). Avšak předsudky mohou také souviset s atribucemi určitých vlastností určitým jedincům, a to nejen negativních, ale i pozitivních: typickým příkladem je atribuování žáků učiteli (inteligent-ní-pilní, málo inteligentní-líní). G. W. Allport (1954), který napsal obsáhlou monografii o předsudcích, upozorňuje na to, že latinský původ tohoto slova (prae-judicium, předpojatý úsudek, ale také ve smyslu předvídavém) prošel historicky třemi stupni transformace, než se ustálil na současném významu, který New English Dictionary (podle Allporta) vymezuje takto: „Cítění, příznivé nebo nepříznivé, vůči osobě nebo věci, apriorní nebo nezaložené na aktuální zkušenosti." Sám Allport pak podal následující definici předsudku („prejudice"): „Odvratný („ad-vertive") nebo hostilní postoj vůči osobě, která náleží ke skupině, jednoduše proto, že náleží kě skupině, a proto se předpokládá, že má závadné („objectionable") kvality připisované této skupině." Typickým příkladem takto pojatého předsudku jsou rasistické předsudky. V tomto smyslu mohou mít předsudky nejen individuální, ale i skupinovou formu (heterostereotypy - obrazy jedné skupiny o jiné, nepřátelské skupině). Za podstatné znaky předsudků lze pokládat: 1 .jsou to emočně silně akcentované „postoje", 2. jako takové jsou velmi odolné vůči změnám. „Kognitivní komponenta předsudku je označována jako stereotyp" (H. W. Bierhoff, 1993). Také předsudky jako jiné extrémní postoje mohou být „výrazem hluboko ležících rysů osobnosti" (Th. Adorno a spolupr., 1950). Blíže funkci předsudků objasňují Krech, Crutchfield a Ballachey (1968): „Předsudky mohou sloužit různým funkcím, např. mohou ospravedlňovat patologické nepřátelství, zdůvodňovat kulturně nepřijatelné potřeby a chování ve službě kulturně přijatelných aspirací, pomoci zvládnout potlačené potřeby, zdůraznit city sobectví, ochránit proti ohrožení sebeúcty, pomoci k bohatství, poskytnout .rozumné' vysvětlení, proč člověk zůstává chudý." Podle uvedených autorů rasové předsudky „slouží podpoře agrese navozené frustrací", a to hospodářskou, sociální, politickou nebo sexuální, zejména chronickou. Citovaní autoři se odvolávají na výzkum A A- Campbella (1947), v němž se ukázalo, že „osoby, které byly odhadnuté jako nespokojené s je-jich vlastní ekonomickou situací, projevovaly nepřátelské postoje vůči židům čas-těji než ty, které byly ekonomicky uspokojené". A dále poznamenávají, že předsudky mohou sloužit maskování potlačených impulzu chamtivosti, krutosti a dalších. Příkladem jsou příslušníci nacistických zvláštních komand, jejichž úkolem za druhé světové války bylo vyhlazovat židovské obyvatelstvo na dobytém území bývalého Sovětského svazu aktéři si počínali při tom neobyčejně sadisticky (zabíjení žen a dětí), protože přijali nacistický předsudek o „židovských podlidech" a protože jim přijetí tohoto předsudku umožňovalo, alespoň mnohým z nich, od-reagovávat vraždením své potlačené sadistické: sklony. Předsudky mnoha cikánů vůči bílé rase jim zase umožňují okrádání a olupování příslušníků této rasy. Předsudky tak mohou vystupovat ve funkci „domnělého alibi" (Krech, Crutchfield a Ballachey). Dále se podle těchto i jiných autorů v předsudcích uplatňuje potřeba prestiže: někteří lidé stojící na nejnižším stupni žebříčku společenské prestiže si najdou jiné lidi, vůči nimž se mohou cítit nadřazení, např. u Američanů to mohou být Mexičané nebo černoši. V rasových předsudcích je předmět těchto předsudků interpretován vždy jako něco nižšího, méněcennějšího (nacistické pojetí židů jako „podlidí" apod.). Rasisticky založené osoby tak mohou kompenzovat komplex vlastní inferiority: v nacistické ideologii byla proti „podlidem" postavena skvělá „árijská", resp. nordická rasa. Avšak byly zkoumány i jiné než jen rasové předsudky, které nejsou jen čistě psychologickou záležitostí, např. proč jsou „krásným lidem" přisuzovány pozitivní sociální vlastnosti a naopak. Podle D. G. Myerse (1993) nastává od šedesátých let změna v pojetí předsudků; nejsou spojovány již jen s projekcí nepřátelství, ale jsou chápány také jako „produkt normálního myšlení". Myers má ovšem na mysli sterotypy, hovoří však o kognitivních zdrojích předsudků, za něž považuje hlavně vnímanou podobnost a odlišnost, která se uplatňuje nejen ve vztazích mezi jednotlivci, ale i mezi skupinami. Podle G. W. Allporta (1954) „etnické předsudky jsou antipatie založené na chybných a nepružných generalizacích", což je však charakteristika, která platí o všech druzích předsudků. Mnohé předsudky se týkají lidské fyziognomie, např. spojování dobromyslnosti s kulatým obličejem, energie s vystupující bradou, smyslnosti s masitými rty apod. Také v těchto případech jde o chybné generalizace, které přecházely z generace na generaci, ale jejichž historický původ je již sotva zjistitelný. Pověry je možno chápat také jako druh postojů, a to výrazně iracionálních, jejich vymezení však vyžaduje další specifické znaky, které by odlišily pověru a víru. G, Jahoda (1969), který napsal monografii o psychologii pověry, poukazuje na ne-schůdnost různých pokusů definovat pověru, např. nepravděpodobností existence jejího předmětu nebo obsahu, protože „každý nový objev dezaktualizuje část starých soudů o tom, co je a co není pravděpodobné, a vytváří základy nových oceňování". Kromě toho určitá pojetí pověry, která je chápána jako něco pejorativního, posouvají do její oblasti fakticky všechny náboženské systémy, i tzv. „vyspělé", jako je např. křesťanství. Existují kultury, např. afričtí Ašanti, které jsou veskrze pověrečné. Víme např., že strach z tnnáctky, víra v uhranutí, v možnost obcování s duchy zemřelých, v „kočku přes cestu" apod. jsou pokládány za „hrubé pověry". Avšak jak je odlišit od víry v „orgonovou energii" nebo v „moc Ducha svatého", aby byly šetřeny naděje zbožných? Pověra je, podle Jahody, druhem bludného myšlení a má, jak jinak, kořeny v nevědomí. Teorie postoje: Podle W. H. Bierhoffa (1993) je nejdůležitější teorií postoje v současnosti „teorie plánovaného jednání" J. Ajzena (1988, .1991), která byla vyvinuta z „teorie odůvodněného jednání", zde již zmíněné. Bierhoff sám shrnuje tuto teorii v následujících tezích: - Chování jsou bezprostředně předřazeny behaviorální intence, které umožňují předvídat chování, pokud je pro osobu kontrolovatelné. - Vnímaná kontrola chování se vztahuje na rozsah, v němž je chování subjektem kontrolovatelné. Intendované chování je tím pravděpodobnější, čím větší je důvěra ve vlastní schopnosti uskutečnit je. - Behaviorální intence jsou ovlivňovány třemi činiteli: vnímanou kontrolou chování, postojem vůči. chování a subjektivní normou (tyto koncepty byly vymezeny již dříve). V různých oblastech chování mají tyto faktory různý význam. - Každý z těchto tří predikátom intence má základ v mínění, a sice v mínění o chování (postoje), v mínění o normách a v mínění o kontrole. Jejich posuzování vychází z modelu očekávání-hodnota (tj. ze subjektivního odhadu pravděpodobnosti dosažení cíle). Empirické ověření této teorie ukázalo, že behaviorální intence a vnímaná kontrola jednání jsou nezávislé a nejdůležitější predikátory chování. Teorie pak podle Bierhoffa umožňuje předpovídat změny postojů, zejména na základě ovlivňování mínění argumenty. Podle našeho soudu je to teorie jednostranně kognitivistická a vztahující se opět, jako většina podobných teorií, spíše na uměle vytvořené než skutečné životní podmínky chování. Jinou teorii „dynamiky postojů", která není tak úzce kognitivistická, vytvořil J. M. Rosenberg (1960), který spolu s R. P. Abel-sonem také formuloval ekonomický princip: při převádění inkonzistentní struktury v konzistentní bude z různých možností vybrán postup, který je spojen s nejmenší kognitivní činností. komun,kace idii n i Sociálně žijící druhy zvířat spolu komunikují, sdělují si určité informace, dorozumívají se. Funkce dorozumívání je zřejmá, je to především upozorňování, např. na nalezenou pastvu nebo na nepřítele, ale také na vzdálení se od stáda apod. Různé druhy zvířat vyvinuly různé způsoby komunikace, např. prostřednictvím dotyků, pachů, skřeků a další. Známý je tanec včel medonosných, vlastně určité pohyby, kterými včela při návratu do úlu signalizuje svým družkám směr a vzdálenost vydatné pastvy. H. a M. Fringsovi (1964), kteří se zabývali komunikací zvířat, chápou dorozumívání se jako vnitrodruhovou záležitost: ,'Jk vlastnímu dorozumívání dochází tehdy, když vysilatel i odběratel signálů náleží k témuž druhu". Vábí-li např. rozehřáté lidské tělo komáry, není to dorozumívání, ale vábí-li samička motýla svým tělesným pachem samečka, je to komunikace. Složitější je to s vůní květů, která jako chemický signál vábí včely nebo jiný hmyz, neboť existují rostliny, které vydávají vůni nebo pachy v určitých obdobích dne nebo noci, kdy se odbývají lety hmyzu, který je může opylit. Také lidé emitují feromony, které mphou mít účinky na druhé pohlaví, aniž si jejich pach uvědomuje. Je to také komunikace? Jinou záhadnou formou lidské komunikace je telepatie, druh mimosmyslového vnímání určitých.informací, jehož fyzikální i fyziologická podstata není dosud objasněna. Odborník na lidskou komunikaci C. Cherry (1966) píše, že člověk vyvinul diferencovaný systém komunikace, který činí možným jeho sociální život: „Komunikace je v podstatě sociální záležitost." Specifickými formami lidské komunikace je mluvená a psaná řeč O^zyk); komunikace činí lidský a sociální život vůbec praktickým, znamená organizaci, má sociální funkci. Cherry nepodává žádnou definici komunikace, ale říká, že není komunikace bez systému znaků a pravidel operování s nimi; znaky pak něco reprezentují, jsou to signály, symptomy a symboly, které mají určitý sdílený význam, jsou nositeli informace. Příkladem je slovo „pozor", které na něco upozorňuje, slovo „dům", které označuje, slovo „vstupte", které vybízí, nebo gesto, které vyjadřuje pokyn, a jiné, které vyjadřuje hrozbu. „Komunikace znamená, že informace přechází z jednoho místa na druhé" (G. A. Miller, 1951). To znamená, že informace je předávána jednou osobou druhé osobě nebo si ji jedinec obstarává sám z určitého zdroje, např. ze slovníku. V prvním případě, a o ten nám půjde, je komunikace sociální akt, který může být jednosměrný, nebo, rozvíjí-li se např. v rozhovor, je to druh interakce. V tomto smyslu, komunikace jako druh sociální interakce znamená jednostranné sdělování nebo vzájemnou výměnu informací. Jejím prostředkem jsou nejen slova a gesta, ale chování vůbec, Contributory Aspects of the Communication and the Communication Situation Introduction 1/ AniOUS aspects of mass communications themselves and of the situations in which communications occur have been found to be related to the effectiveness of persuasion. In reference to most such variables, existing data do not permit valid distinctions to be drawn between their contribution to processes of reinforcement and their contribution to processes of conversion. They have simply been found to render persuasion generally more (or less) effective. They may thus be said to increase somewhat the ease of reinforcing existing opinion, and to reduce somewhat the difficulty of achieving conversion. AVc will here make no attempt to define the "communication situation," but will regard it from a broad point of view as including: (1) the immediate source of communication; (2) the medium through-which it is transmitted; (3) the content of the 93 W W [v] Contributory Aspects oj Communication Situal tualion 99 communication itself; and (4) certain miscellaneous aspects of the social situation in which the communication is received. The effects of some of these variables will be found to be explicable, to some degree, in terms of i.he'extra-communication, mediating factors, such as predispositions, group norms, and the like, which have already been discussed. But this theoretical orientation does not seem capable of wholly explaining their power. Rather than indulge in long and undocumented conjecture, the author has elected to regard them, at least' JEo'r the time being, as residual variables, whose processes of effect are not yet. wholly clear or classifiable. Their existence is acknowledged in generalizations numbers 4 and 5—particularly number 5—which frankly serve, in the present tentative state of the generalizations, to take note of residual phenomena. All of the communication and situation variables to be discussed will, however, be recognized as constituting an order or class obviously unlike the cxtra-eum-munication factors to which generalizations 1 through 3 refer. The Source AUDIENCE-IMAGE OF THE SOURCE The source of a communication, or, to be more exact, the source as conceived by the audience, has been 'shown to influence the persuasive efficacy of the communication itself. In general, sources which the audience holds in high esteem appear to facilitate persuasion, while sources which the audience holds in lov.' esteem appear to constitute at least a temporary handicap. The possible bases of such esteem are perhaps infinitely variable. Audiences have been shown, for example, to respond particularly well to specific sources because they considered them of high prestige,.highly credible, expert, trustworthy, close to themselves, or just plain likable. The influence of sources which, the audience considers highly u [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 100 credible or less credible, trustworthy or untrustworthy, and the like, has been extensively investigated by the Yale Communication Research Program.1 Ilovlaiid and Weiss (1951), for example, presented college students with a series of four articles dealing respectively with the sale cf anti-hislamine drugs, the 'possibility of building atomic-powered submarines, the causes of a steel shortage, and the future'of the motion picture industry. Kaeh of the articles was attributed for one half of the group to a source previously established as having "high credibility," and for the other half to a source established as having "low credibility." Communications attributed to high credibility sources were more often considered "fair" than were the same communications when attributed to low credibility sources, and their conclusions were more often considered "justified." The major differential, however, occurred in regard to opinion change. Net change in the direction intended by the communication was found, directly after exposure, to be three and one-half times as great among those who read the communications attributed to the high credibility sources as it was among those who read the same communications attributed to low credibility sources. Tliis differential does not, however, appear to be permanent. Opinion tests administered a month later showed no significant difference between the groups. The amount of change in the high credibility group had decreased, while the amount in the low credibility group had increased. Investigating this phenomenon further, Kehnan and Hovland (1953) "pursued a study generally similar to that of Hovland and Weiss (1951), except that the topic involved treatment of juvenile delinquents and the source was varied in reference to apparent competence and fairness (versus bias) as well as mere credibility. Immediate differences of the same general order were observed, and the same drift toward similarity occurred over a space of three weeks. At that.time, Kelman and Hovland "reinstated" the ■ ■ ■ r r v ^% T II I ^% I I ^^\ I I ť k ^^ [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation J01 source in the course of an opinion test. The differences between the two groups immediately reappeared, although the amount of opinion change did not rise to quite its original level among those for whom the communication had been attributed to a "hi«h credibility" source. These phenomena are not easy to explain. The drift, including the upward drift of the "low credibility" group, is not due to their simply forgetting the source. Hovland and Weiss in fact found that the two groups could name the source equally well a month after the exposure. They suggest that persons "must be less likely with the passage of time to associate spontaneously the content witJi the source and that . . . the passage of time serves to remove recall of the source as a mediating cue that leads to rejection."2 This hypothesis, however, has yet to be validated. A single discrepant note among these findings is provided by Mandeli and Hovlaud (1952). They exposed two groups to a communication advocating devaluating the currency, ascribed in the case of one group to a "suspect" source, and in the. cast: of the other to a "non-suspect" source. No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of immediate opinion change. Hovland, Janis, and Kelley (1953) suggest that this discrepant finding may manifest the differing importance of various components of credibility, such as "intention, expertness, and trustworthiness."3 Despite this one discrepant note, and despite the still hazy knowledge of the causes of the shift over time, the weight of evidence from the Yale studies is quite consistent. It indicates that sources regarded as credible, trustworthy, and the like facilitate persuasion, while sources which the audience regards negatively confer a handicap which is partially overcome by the passage of tune. .'*"■' The findings of the Yale Communication Research Program are in general accord with those of various less exhaustive or less, precisely focused studies. Beltelheim and janowitz (1950), for iy [ V ] Contributory Aspects oj Con ommunicalion Situation 102 example, mailed anti-Semitic literature attributed to various sources to 50 Gentile males. They found the propaganda was more likely to be effective if ascribed to a known Jew; the readers apparenllv regarded such authorship as "objective." Freeman and Weeks (1955) found that experimental subjects Avho liked Drew Pearson to begin with were more apt than those who did not to assume opinions or to modify their existing opinions in tlie direction of his "predictions" after hearing a tape of one of his broadcasts. Kishler (1950) found that the degree to which subjects held Catholic priests in high esteem was crucially related to the amount they learned from the film Keys of the Kingdom and to the extent to which their opinions were modified in the direction of religious tolerance. His findings underline the importance of the audience's image of the source, as opposed to the actual source. The film was in fact a commercial production which dealt with a Catholic priest, who was, of course, portrayed by a professional actor. The power of prestige sources to assist persuasive communication appears to be.manifest in the peculiar sales ability of some of the more luminous stars in mass media's galaxy. At least part of their audiences apparently regard the stars as sources (rather than as transmission belts), and apparently additionally regard them as parent surrogates, as love objects, or, in extreme cases, as persons approaching omniscience. At the height of her career, for example, Kate Smith succeeded in obtaining "thirty-nine million dollars of [war] bond pledges in the course" of an 18-hour radio marathon/1 Some of the purchasers apparently bought their bonds merely because Kate Smith advised it. Queried as to what they thought of her, such persons replied that "She talk how the mother talk to the children." "You know what she says is true. Next to God she conies when she tells it to you."15 There is some evidence and much reputable conjecture that even lesser luminaries achieve considerable audience prestige [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Siluati from the mere fact of their being carried by the media. The unrealistic audience concepts of such celebrities as Smith, Arthur Godfrey, and various others are similarly believed to be, in part, a product of their position on the media. Both of these poinls will be discussed below in reference to the effects of the mass media themselves upon the persuasive power of the communications they disseminate. For the moment, it need-merely be noted that prestige sources facilitate persuasion, and that being featured by the media may very well increase prestige. " V SPECIALIZED SOURCES Highly specialized sources, directed to special interest, occupation, or age groups, and thus not in a true sense mass media, have been observed to bé especially persuasive for their particular audiences. Most such appeals are made in print since the expense of radio, television, or screen production for small audiences is ordinarily prohibitive. The audiences for such specialized publications apparently regard the publication as voicing their own personal interests and they are thus more likely to accept its advice. Lazarsfeld, Berel-son, and Gaudet (1948), for example, found that in Erie County, in 1940, the Farm Journal was mentioned as a concrete influence upon changes in vote intention as frequently as Collier's, despite their great difference in circulation, and the Townsend publication as frequently as Life or the Saturday Evening Post.0 The effectiveness of such specialized publications is probably increased by the fact that exposure to them is likely to be highly selective and in accord with group norms and interests. It is quite possible that persuasiveness may even be correlated with degree of specialization, i.e., that very highly specialized publications are still more persuasive than the ordinary run of specialized publications. A recent study of how doctors came to adopt a new drug, for example, found some indications that learned journals devoted to special branches of medicine were more influential among such specialized practitioners than were the journals directed to the Určeno pouze f V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 104 profession as a whole.7 Such highly specialized publications are probably regarded by their readers as peculiarly "expert" sources. The Media Per Se AUDIENCE IMAGE OF THE MEDIA The mass media are themselves invested with an aura of prestige by a large portion of their audience. The process involved can no longer be traced in detail, nor has it been explicitly documented by attitude studies. But it is a matter of common observation that the media are regarded by many in their audience with considerable awe, and that media recognition or «■spousal ipso jacto confers a degree of jjreslige upon the concept, person, or agency so recognized. Lazarsfeld and Merlon (1948) are particularly cogent on the topic. They observe that The mass media confer stains on public issues, persons, organizations, and social movements. Common experience as well as research testifies that the social standing of persons or social policies is raised when these command favorable attention in the mass media. In many quarters, for example, the support of a political candidate or a public policy by The Times is taken as significant, and this support is regarded as a distinct asset for the candidate or the policy. Why? For some, the editorial views of The Times represent the considered judgment of a gronp of experts, thus calling for the respect of laymen. Uiit this is only one element in the status conferral function of the mass media, for enhanced status accrues to those-who merely receive attention in the media, quite apart from any editorial sup- . port. The mass media hestow prestige and enhance the authority of individuals and groups by legitimizing their status. Recognition by the press or radio or magazines or newsrecls testifies that one has arrived, that one is important enough to have been singled out from the large anonymous masses, that one's behavior and opinions are significant enough to require public notice. The operation of this status conferral function may he witnessed most vividly in the adver- aijni uceiy Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation. WS tising pattern «if testimonials to a product by "prominent people." Within wide circles of the population (though not within certain selected social strata), such testimonials not only enhance the prestige of the product but also reflect prestige on the person who provides the testimonials. They give public notice that the large and powerful world of commerce regards him as possessing sufficiently high status for his opinion to count with many people. In a word, his testimonial is a testimonial to his own status. . . . The audiences of mass media apparently subscribe to the circular belief: "If you really matter,, you will be at the focus of mass attention and. if you are at the focus of mass attention, then surely you must really matter."8 Hoyland (1954) has also remarked upon this "halo" effect of media prestige and called for further, research on its processes and components. The prestig.. of media transmission apparently acts, among other ways, to increase the persuasion potential of communications. Waples, Berelson, and Bradshaw (1940), for examples concluded from a study of case histories that "an attitude frequently changes from a subordinate to a dominant position when it is justified by the authority of print,"3 and we would probably be justified in ascribing similar power to the other media. One might postulate that the broadcast media and films have some, degree of similar authority. The prestige native to the media, some writers believe, is sufficient to allow them to build media personalities into the kind of "prestige sources" which are in themselves aids to persuasion. Merton has shown, for example, that Kate Smith's phenomenal success in selling war bonds was due in no small measure to her having been variously built up as a "symbol of sincerity, [and] of truth" and a person "competent in public affairs,"10 whose advice was ipso facto to be trusted. Arthur Godfrey, Walter Winchell, and various other luminaries, current or faded, may probably be assumed, despite the lack of precise documentation, to be or to have been similarly persuasive for at least parts of their audience. Mr. Winchell's advices, for example, have been credited ts of Communication Situation 106 with causing major stock market fluctuations and with hindering the national campaign for anti-polio inoculations. DIFFERENTIAL TERSUASIVE POWER OF THE SEVERAL MEDIA Considerable research on the relative persuasive power of the several media bears out the widespread belief that they are in fact differentially persuasive. Although some generalizations may be hesitantly drawn, the data more clearly indicate that the relative powers of the media differ markedly from one persuasive task to another..-.. - . Ä series of laboratory studies, pursued for the most part in the pre-televisipn years before 1935, indicated rather consistently that formal face-to-face contact (e.g. lecture) was more efficiently persuasive than radio (or such approximations as tapes), and that radio was more efficiently persuasive than print. The typical procedure and findings are exemplified in the work of Wilkie (1934) whoexposecl three matched groups of university students to texts on Avar, religion, birth control, and economic issues, The identical material was presented to one group by a lecturer, to another group via a wired speaker, and to the third group in printed form. The lecturer was found to be the most effective in modifying opinions, the wired speaker next most effective, and the printed material least effective. Similar findings were obtained by Knower (1935, 1936) under roughly similar circumstances. Cantril and Allport (1935), after reviewing a number of experiments, also lend their support to the apparently unanimous opinion that personal address is superior in persuasive power to mechanical aural appeal, which is in turn superior to printed appeal.11 ■ Experiments that compared the effects of single and multiple media exposure typically found multiple media exposure to be more persuasively effective. Rose (1948), for example, cites several much earlier studies in justification of his stand that religious and racial prejudice can be more effectively fought by [ v ] Contributory Aspec -*■!-. i^J v [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 107 combined media appeal than by a campaign using a single medium. The findings of such laboratory experiments cannot, however, be automatically generalized to real life situations/Laboratory subjects are ordinarily artificially motivated to pay attention to communications, and the material to which they "are exposed is typically controlled with regard to length, content, etc. Insofar as possible, all conditions but one, viz., the médium, are held constant. Under normal conditions, however, nonsuch constancy obtains. The audience may set down the newspaper or switch' off the radio or TV set at will. Some may be exposed to one brief communication by radio, while their neighbors are exposed to six, two, or none by print or television. In short, the conditions under which the persuasive powers of the media are compared in the laboratory cannot be assumed to obtain in the work-a-day world. Despite these different conditions, findings generally similar to those of the laboratory experiments were obtained by Lazars-feld, Berelson, and Gaudet (1948) in their study of the effects of the 1940 election campaign among voters of Erie County, Oiiio. Personal influence—here informal, as opposed to the formal lectures of the laboratory studies—-was observed to be more effective than radio, which was in turn observed to be more effective than print. The investigators advance various conjectural bases for this hierarchy, most of which concern the degree to which the audience member is personally involved, or feels himself to be personally involved, in the communication situation. Such conditions, the authors believe, are at their height in personal contact, are reduced in radio listening, and are still lower in reading. If personal involvement is really critical, television, might be expected to be more persuasive than radio, and second only to personal influence. Oddly enough, no studies of the relative persuasive efficiency of radio and television have reached the public domain.12 Stoufler (1940) has suggested, and others have echoed, íly [ v ] Contributory Aspects of Comi another reason for the apparent pen ommunication Situation 103 another reason for the apparent persuasive superiority ofv radio over newspapers. Print, he notes, readies an audience with a somewhat higher education level than the overall audience for radio. The less educated, he suggests, may also be less critical and more suggestible. A very different picture of the relative persuasive powers of the media emerges from the exhaustive study reported by Katz and Lazarsfcld (1955). These investigators, as previously noted, identified changes that had taken place among 800 women over a period of some months.in regard to food purchasing habits, personal fashion preferences, and opinions on public issues. They also inquired into how respondents had come to attend particular movies. Although the study was specifically focused on llie role of . personal influence, many such changes and decisions were found to have taken place without any recollected personal influence whatever. In approximately 60 per cent of the opinion changes in reference to public issues, for example, no personal influence could be discovered.1'1 Where personal influence did play a part, however, it was typically found to be more effective than any of the mass media, although the degree of its superiority varied from one topic of decision to another. The relative influence of the other media was found to vary so widely among the several topics as to defy any attempt at generalization. The study clearly suggests that personal influence is more persuasive than mass communication, but that no mass medium can be assumed to be generally or always more persuasive than any other mass medium. The nature of the topic must be taken into account, and to do so properly ordinarily involves extensive research. The earlier findings of the laboratory studies and the later findings of Katz and Lazarsfeld are not easy to reconcile. We would seem, however, to be justified in concluding that: (1) All other conditions being equal, as they are in the laboratory, face-to-face contact is móre efficiently persuasive than fe,. [ V J Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 109 radio, which, in turn, is more efficient than print. TV and films probably rank between face-to-face contact and radio, but this latter point has not been empirically demonstrated. (2) All other conditions are, however, rarely equal outside of the laboratory. The media are, to begin with, differentially attended. Some topics, furthermore, may be susceptible of better presentation by visual rather than oral means, or by print rather than by film, while for other topics no such differences exist. Tlie relative persuasive power of the several media is thus, in real-life situations, likely to vary from one topic to another. Personal influence, however, appears to be generally more persuasive than any of the mass media. MULTI-MEDIA USAGE SUPPLEMENTED BY FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT The combined use of several media plus face-to-face contact, formal or.informal, is believed by botii master propagandists and by social scientists to be a peculiarly effective technique of persuasion. Comparative studies of this technique as opposed to appeal through more limited channels are sparse indeed. Staudohar and Smith (1956.) found that the film Twelve 0'Clock IHgh produced more favorable attitudes toward discipline among Air Force trainees when it was preceded or supplemented by a lecture than when it was presented alone. More or less similar findings are i reported by a few other studies, but these latter typically employed such poor methodology as to inspire little or no confidence in their findings. The problem is, in short, almost untouched by disciplined research. Combined appeal has, however, characterized various highly successful propaganda campaigns. The Nazis, for example, supplemented their domestic media campaigns by local discussion groups, and the same technique is typically employed by Communist governments Avhenever they come to power.14 The singular persuasive successes of Father Coughlin in this country in the 1940's likewise followed upon his U n [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation HO simultaneous use of newspapers, pamphlets, radio, and, local dis- | cussion groups. Such multi-media usage, supplemented by face-to-f ace contact, not only places the propaganda before the somewhat different audiences of the several media, but probably derives extra persuasive power from two other sources. The mere presence of the message on mass media probably confers status on the speaker, on the movement as a whole, and on the local group, whose members may come to regard themselves as part and parcel of a national enterprise.15 In addition, the local organization may f unction as a primary type group, whose norms are tailored to the goals of the communications. UNIQUE ADVANTAGES ATTRIBUTED TO THE SEVERAL MEDIA Certain characteristics of each medium are believed by various social scientists to provide that medium with unique capabilities as a persuasive instrument. Some of these characteristics are patenlly obvious, others have been documented, and some remain purely conjectural. None has been explicitly shoivn to contribute to persuasion, but because all/have been thought to do so by careful observers, they seem worthy of at least brief mention. Print, alone among the media, allows the reader to control the occasion, the pace, and the direction of his exposure, and permits him easy re-exposure. More easily than other media, print allows a topic to be developed to whatever length and with whatever complexity seems desirable. A series of laboratory experiments, mostly conducted during or before the 1930's, suggests, but does not conclusively prove, that print produces superior retention of complex factual material than does oral presentation, but that the same advantage does not obtain in regard to simple material.10 As noted before, print may be readily used to reach small and specialized audiences for which other media would be prohibitively expensive. It is traditionally associated with culture, and may carry a higher prestige for some people than do the other media. In addition, print is believed by some observers to demand ^^V ^^ 1r I I ^^1 II ^^\ I I ' [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situati nation 111 a more active, creative participation on the part of the reader than is demanded of the audiences of other media, because the communication is less "structured"; it does not confront the reader with a visible or audible speaker, as do film, radio, and TV, and therefore permits him greater freedom to assign or imagine nuances, interpretations, and the likeť The reader is thought to be less personally involved than is the radio listener or screen viewer in the sense that he does not feel that lie is being personally addressed, but, at the same time, to be iritfce involved in the sense that he is forced to participate creatively in this more impersonal type of communication. Such creative participation is supposed by some observers to be persuasively advantageous,'7, but the hypothesis has never been tested. It may be added that creative participation, if it exists, seems not unlikely to produce at least occasional critical reactions and at least at such limes, to hinder persuasion. The broadcasting media, i.e., radio and television, and particularly television, are able to provide their audiences with a sense of participation, personal access, and "reality" which approximate faceTto-face contact. In addition, the two media reach virtually the entire population, including certain groups such as the very old, the very young, and the less educated,'who are not so easily accessible to the other media, and who may be more suggestible. Radio (or other types of purely oral presentation) was found by the experiments cited above to produce greater retention of simple material than does print, especially among the less educated and less intelligent. Radio is believed by some writers to allow greater "structuring" or creative participation than does the concrete imagery of TV. It is perhaps the most easily used of all the media, but it is also the most casually attended and seems now to serve more typically as a source of background entertainment than as a target of concentrated atten- tion." The visual media, i.e., television and film, are widely believed to he uniquely effective simply because they are visual. Both f v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 112 media have been observed to command more complete attention from their audiences than do the other media and to he at times completely preoccupying, especially for children. A group of related studies published in 1933 revealed that most children and many adults tend to accept unquestioningly all presumably factual information in films, and to retain such information peculiarly well. A series of later studies, taken as a whole, provides contradictory findings in regard to whether material presented over television is or is not better retained than comparable material presented by lecture, print, or radio.19 ; Facc-to-fnce contact may be carried out on a more personal basis than media contact, and may be tailored continually to the specific resistances and sensitivities of the listener. It is frequently part and parcel of the process of opinion leadership, and is commonly the channel through which the impressive power of group norms is brought to bear.20 : TECHNICAL MEDIA USAGE Any medium may, of course, be used well or poorly, and the manner in which it is used may obviously affect the degree to which its persuasive messages are effective. Format,-volume, pace, camera angles, and a thousand other variables similarly associated with production techniques have been found to aflect the overall effectiveness of given communications. The vast literature on the topic cannot conceivably be reviewed within the scope of a single volume, nor is the present author qualified to review it- The appropriate specialized journals and certain summaries of long-term research programs may serve as points of departure for interested readers."1 Content Characteristics Various characteristics, devices, and techniques of content have been found to be related to the persuasiveness of com- [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 113 munications. We will here consider six of the more widely discussed devices and techniques. Specifically, we will survey the data relative to the effects of: f 1) presenting only one side of an argument, as compared with presenting both sides; (2) drawing explicit conclusions, as compared to leaving the conclusions implicit; (3) "threat" appeals; (4) repetition and cumulative exposure; (5) "canalization" and providing release from tension: and (6) order, emphasis, organization, and the like. ONE SIDE VERSUS TWO SIDES Communication research has been almost perennially concerned with the question of whether persuasion is more effective when it presents only one side of an argument or when it also cites opposing arguments. A-series of experiments on the topic was conducted during the war years by the Information and Education Division of the War Department and reported by Hovland, Lumsdaine, and Sheffield (1949). In general, the investigators found that presentation of "both sides" was more effective in converting the highly educated, but that one-sidedness was more effective in converting the poorly educated. One-sidedness also proved generally more effectivé'ämong men originally favoring the advocated view, i.e., as a technique of reinforcement. Presenting both sides in apparent but illusory impartiality was also found to be likely to boomerang for either of two reasons. If the pretense to impartiality is in any way suspect, the two-sided-ness becomes peculiarly ineffective; omission "of one relevant argument against the stand taken by the programs was more noticeable in the presentation using arguments on both sides than in the presentation in which only one side was discussed."22 On the other hand, if the impartiality is loo nearly complete, the propaganda may become a truly balanced presentation, in which case it will tend to be without effect. Waples, Berelson, and Brad-' shaw (1940) noted long ago that when "readers are confronted [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 114 with arguments both for and against an issue, the effects tend to cancel out."23 Confirmatory findings are provided by Thistlewaite and Kam-inelzky (1955), who exposed 750 United States Air Force cadets and 400 high school students to various versions of a taped communication favoring United Slates participation in the Korean War. Some of the tapes included refutations of known counterarguments, others elaborated upon those counter-arguments before refuting them, and others did not mention the counter-arguments at all. The last were found to be generally most effective in inducing attitude changes in the intended direction. Versions containing refutations, furthermore, were found likely to be "discounted" by the audience; their suspicions were apparently aroused by such a nod toward impartiality. Two-sided communications appear, however, to be more efficient "inoculators" than arc one-sided communications, Lums-daine and Janis (1953) subjected groups of college students to one-sided and two-sided versions of an alleged radio program to the effect that the Soviet Union would not soon be able to produce atomic arms in quantity. Both versions produced a net change in the desired direction in excess of 60 per cent.".All subjects were then exposed to a communication expressing the opposite point of view. Net change in the direction of the original communication was thereafter found to have, dropped to 2 per cent among the group originally exposed to the one-sided communication, but to have remained above 60 per cent for those who originally heard the two-sided communication. Being made aware of counterarguments had apparently inoculated the group against their subsequent use. It must be noted, however, that one-sided communications seem able to serve as efficient inoculators provided thai audience members arc required to commit themselves publicly after being exposed to the communication. In two experiments reported by Ilovland ct al (1957), high school students were divided into control and experimental groups, both of which were exposed to acti iHiini :itooIy/ ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 115 communications relative to lowering the draft age.25 The experimental groups were then asked to write out their own views for a publication to be. distributed among their schoolmates, while the control group simply filled out anonymous questionnaires. Both groups were then exposed to a second communication which opposed the views expressed in the original one. Net change in the direction of the second communication was four limes as common (25 per cent: 6 per cent) among the control group as it was among the experimental group in one experiment, and more than ten times as common (32 per cent: 3 per cent) in a . second experiment in which the strength of the commitment procedure was increased. Put another way, the committed experimental group resisted the second communication far more than did the uncommitted control group. There were also some indications, which were not, however, statistically significant, that the commitment demand reduced the persuasive effect of the first communication. Opinion changes in the direction of the first communication were more common among the control groups than among the-experimental groups in both experiments, although, as previously indicated, such changes were far loss stable than were the changes in the committed group. Whether one-sided presentation and required audience commitment is a more or less effective inoculator than two-sided presentation without commitment is not yet known. The relative value of one-sided and two-sided communications, as indicated by studies to date, is succinctly summarized by Hovland, Janis, and Kelley (1953), who note that 1. A two-sided presentation is more effective in the long run than a one-sided one (a) when, regardless of initial opinion, the audience is exposed to subsequent counterpropaganda | except as indicaled below], or (b) when, regardless of subsequent exposure to counter-propaganda, the audience initially disagrees with the commentator's position. 2. A two-sided presentation is less effective than a one-sided i f 1 lie audience initially agrees with the commentator's position and is not exposed to later counterpropagamla.20 f Communication Situation 116 It may be added that two-sided presentations are generally less effective than one-sided presentations for persons of lesser education and are particularly susceptible of boomeranging. It is also lo be noted that a one-sided presentation is an efficient "inocu-lator" among persons who are thereupon required publicly to commit themselves on the issue; whether this procedure is a more efficient inoculator than a two-sided presentation without commitment has not yet been tested. EXPLICITNESS VERSUS IMPLICITNESS Research evidence strongly indicates that persuasion is likely to be more effective if the communication draws explicit con-elusions, rather than allowing audience members to draw the conclusions themselves. As noted at some length above, a considerable number of studies have found that communications designed to produce attitude conversions may succeed in communicating facts without producing the altitude changes which are expected to follow. In such instances, the explicit material, i.e., the facts, are successfully communicated, whereas the implicit goal of the communication is not attained. But, as we have pointed out, another variable is involved in many such studies. The explicit material is typically relatively objective, whereas the implicit goal usually involves overcoming existing attitudes, which are, to varying degrees, ego-involved. It is not possible on the basis of existing data wholly to disentangle the effects of these two variables, and it seems prob-aide that both are actively at work. One single study on this general topic involves material which is not likely to be ego-involved, and on which the audience is unlikely to have strong pre-existing opinions. Mandeli and Hovland (1952) exposed students to tape recordings of an alleged radio program dealing with the advisability of devaluating currency. The two versions employed were identical, except that conclusions were explicitly drawn in one and not in the other. Net change in the direction intended was 47.9 per cent for the group hearing the I I ■ ■ r r v [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 117 explicit version as compared with only 19.3 per cent for those hearing the implicit version. Boomerang effects, futhermore, occurred among 11.4 per cent of the audience for the non-explicit version, but only among 3.3 per cent of the audience for the explicit version. Action in accord with the recommendations of the communication likewise seems to become more probable as the suggestion for action becomes more explicit. Cartwrighl (1949) concluded, after a study of war bond appeals, that "the more specifically defined the path of action to a goal,"27 the more likely it is that the path will be followed. Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955') likewise found that the "more specific the suggestion which a personal contact makes, the more likely it is that his or her advice will be followed."28 ; Wiebe (1951) has pointed out at some length that it is easier to sell commodities over TV than it is to sell good citizenship, because specific action may be more easily suggested and action outlets more easily provided. These considerations go beyond the simple question of explicitness versus implicitness, but in a sense they take root in that distinction. EXTREME'THREAT APPEALS"^ A series of f airly recent studies presents remarkably consistent findings to the effect that persuasive communications which employ threat appeals are likely to be less effective as the threat becomes more extreme. An audience whose anxieties have been too highly stimulated apparently tends to recoil, rather than to learn or to consider. A now classic study on the topic was performed by Janis and Feshbach (1953). They presented three groups of high school students with three versions of ah illustrated lecture on dental hygiene. All versions cited the dangers of dental neglect and recommended specific procedures of tooth care. The three versions differed, however, in the degree to which they emphasized the possible dire consequences of dental neglect. Tests adminis- iy [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Comi tered a week before and a week after It; cts of Communication Situation 118 tered a week before and a week after the lecture revealed that the recommended procedures were adopted most widely by the group exposed to the minimum threat version (36 per cent net change), jj next must widely by the group exposed to the moderate threat (22 per cent net change), and least widely by the group which was most strongly threatened (8 per cent net change). Differences between the groups were still apparent a full year later. A second and somewhat similar study by Janis and Milholland (1951.) suggests that a strong threat is in itself preoccupying and mav thus hinder learning of other material in the communication. ITovhuul, Janis, and Kelley (1953) discuss both of these studies and conclude that "when fear is strongly aroused but not fully relieved by the reassurances contained in a persuasive communication, the audience will become motivated to ignore or minimize the importance of the threat."30 They caution against over-generalization of the findings, suggesting that they might not .; hold, for example, when the threat is immediate and certain, and the communication suggests a mode of escape. Related findings are provided by various other studies. Bettel-heim and Janowitz (1950), for example, found that anti-semitic propaganda was less likely to be effective when it attacked such pillars of society as Felix Frankfurter and Bernard Baruch. By suggesting that such "symbols", were not to be trusted, the propaganda created anxiety and became more likely to be rejected; some of the respondents in fact tore up the pamphlets. Canncll and MacDonald (1956) see threat-avoidance as a possible explanation for their findings that smokers read fewer articles about cigarettes and cancer, and were far less often persuaded that a causative connection existed, than were non-smokers.' Kaufmann (1952) has pointed out the considerable implications of these various findings for civil defense programs and for international propaganda. Emphasis on the horrors of possible bombing may be a peculiarly ineffective way to stimulate the populace to civil defense efforts. Voice of America and Radio Free Europe emphasis on the horrors of Communism may be a 5 l [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situat; similarly inefficient way to induce listeners in free countries t take active measures against the threat REPETITION, VARIATION, AND CUMULATIVE EXPOSURE Belief that repetition in itself helps to make persuasion successful is manifested by current advertising techniques, often asserted by public opinion experts, and, to a lesser extent, attested by communications research. A campaign designed to improve the public's attitude toward the oil industry, for-example, Was found to have produced the greatest altitude changes in regard to those points.of view which were most often reasserted.32 Rose (1948), reviewing various earlier studies, concluded that repetition, particularly repetition at intervals, increased the persuasive effectiveness of pro-tolerance propaganda themes. His genera] position is in accord with the views of such psychologists as Thorndike and such practitioners as Joseph Goebbels/3 Analyses of the more successful campaigns of persuasion suggest, however, that although repetition is of value, sheer parrot-like reiteration may begin to irritate the audience. Repetition with, variation, on the other hand, serves both constantly to remind the listener or reader of the goal of the persuasion, and, simultaneously s to appeal to several of his needs and drives. Thus Barllett (1940)-proposed, without citing supporting data, that It is not sheer repetition that is.influential,■hut repetition villi variations . . . so . . . some new welcoming tendency stands a chance of being brought into play.34 Research generally supports Barllett's stand. Repetition with variation is believed by Merlon (1946), for example, to have contributed heavily to the success of Kate Smith's war bond marathon. Merton identifies some 60 appeals, each to some degree distinct from any of its fellows, and all aimed at the same goals: the creation and reinforcement of the desire to buy a war bond and the intensification of that desire to the point of actual purchase or pledge. "Each new entreaty sought out a new vulnerability in some listeners," and repeated exposure to these varying [ v ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 120 appeals reinforced the growing response-tendency in individual listeners.35 Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet (1948) not only found that varying appeals were peculiarly successful in campaign propaganda, but also that a certain degree of ambiguity apparently "increased the effectiveness of appeals by rendering them susceptible of various interpretations. Cartwright (1949), sum-mariziii"- the findings of research on war bond sales, concluded that "the more goals which are seen [by an individual] as attainable by a single path, the more likely it is that a person will take that path."30 Thus persons given more than one type of reason to buy bonds were found more likely actually to do so. The data on effectiveness of repetition are considerably more conclusive than arc the data on the seemingly related topic of cumulative exposure to propaganda. Annis and Meier (1934) found exposure to seven editorials precisely as effective as exposure to fifteen; and Hovland, Lumsdaine, and Sheffield (1949) found that exposure to two Army orientation films produced no consistently greater results than exposure to a single (but different) film in the same series. On the other hand, Peterson and Tluirstonc (1933) found the effect of cumulative exposure to films on the same topic to be in all respects greater than the effect of single exposure, and the findings of these investigators are in part substantiated, in reference to other media, by Lazarsfeld, ßerdson, and Gaudet (1948) and by Merton (1946). These contradictory findings regarding cumulative exposure are difficult to reconcile with the more consistent findings regarding repetition with variation—particularly since repetition with variation is, after all, built into cumulative exposure. "CANALIZATION" AND RELEASE FROM TENSION Social scientists, public relations experts, and the like have commonly observed that persons are far more amenable to having their existing needs implemented than they are to developing entirely new needs. Communication research generally confirms tliis view, strongly suggesting that persuasion is more likely i ■ ■ r . ě'. i \^ || u» i | [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation to be effective when it can make the opinion or behavior it espouses appear to the audience to be a mode of satisfying their existing needs. To create new needs and to impel the audience to a particular mode of satisfying them appears a far more difficult task. Thus Cartwright (1949), reporting on a series of studies on mass persuasion in the interests of the Treasury Department, considers it unlikely that such campaigns can create new needs. "To induce a given action by mass persuasion," he believes, "this action must be seen by the person as a path to some goal that he has."3' Likert (1954) takes essentially the same position on a somewhat more abstract plane in proposing that appeals must be related to what Lewin called the "life space" of the audience. A manuscript "ostensibly dictated" by Joseph Goebbels suggests . that existing audience attitudes may be directed toward new objects by the use of words which are associated with the existing attitudes;38 such symbol transference is, of course, part of the conscious or unconscious stock in trade of virtually all successful propagandists. The efficacy of advertising, with which, however, we are not here primarily concerned, is believed by some observers to be. largelydire to its almost exclusive concern with such canalization. Even before the days of formalized motivation research, which in effect identifies semi-conscious or unconscious consumer needs and suggests modes of partially sating them, Lazarsfeld and Merton (1948) observed that Advertising is typically directed toward the canalizing of pre-existing behavior patterns or attitudes. It seldom seeks to instill new attitudes or to create significantly new behavior patterns.39 The same authors caution'; however, that . . . the leap from efficacy of advertising to the assumed efficacy of propaganda ... is as unwarranted as it is dangerous . . . mass propaganda typically meets a more complex situation. It may seek objectives which are at odds with deep lying attitudes. It may seek to reshape rather than to canalize current systems of values.40 .:.'.;.[ T ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situati Wiebe (1951) draws a similar if more detailed distinction between "merchandising commodities and citizenship on tele- vision."11 nevertheless, various successful propaganda campaigns have wittingly or unwittingly assumed for a time the cloak of canal-izers. Some of the success of Kate Smith's marathon broadcast in the interest of war bond sales was due, Merton (1946) believes, to her providing a handy way in -which people who were just about ready to buy anyway could implement their intentions. -"Her drive was perceived [by such persons] as an immediate and convenient opportunity for removing any lingering doubts ... [as a way] to convert an intention into a commitment."42 Smith furthermore made the act of purchase a mode of releasing a whole range of existing needs and tensions, many of which she first further stimulated. She reminded her audience of the sacrifices being made by servicemen, by other purchasers, and by herself, eliciting a feeling of guilt from which relief could now be attained. By couching "her appeal ... in terms of 'we,' 'our' and 'us' . . . [she] provided surcease from individuated, self-cenlcrcd activity and from the sense that the war is too big for the individual's effort to count.'"'3 She related bond purchasing to bringing the boys back home, and, finally, she communicated, at least to her more avid fans, the feeling that buying a bond would involve personally assisting their idol. The needs which a communication may offer to implement are, of course, boundless, and cannot here be listed. The essential point is that communications which seem to the audience to promise relief from such existing needs are more likely to be widely persuasive than those which are faced witli the task of creating needs to begin with. ORDER, EMMIASIS, ORGANIZATION, AND THE LIKE Virtually hundreds of studies have investigated the influence upon both instruction and persuasion of aii almost endless list of variables related to the organization of content aud to techniques [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 123 J I .% of presentation. Included among such variables are the number of topics treated;" the position (first, last, or intermediate) of the topic, and the order of arguments (strong before weak, or weak before strong);4" the form of the presentation (monologue versus dialogue; documentary with "visuals" versus siraight-foru-ard presentation; etc.) ;40 clearly defined organization versus poorly defined organization;47 and a host of technical matters pertaining to size of print, position of pictures, radio montages, television camera angles, duration of shots, and the like. ■-"?-" Numerous studies of such matters have been performed in the course of a continuing research program which has been pursued at Pennsylvania State University for more than a decade.48 Almost equally extensive programs have been pursued by or for the various armed services, and the Yale Communication Research Program has recently focused its intensive light on the same general area.40 Many of these investigations are educationally oriented, aimed at maximizing the pedagogical efficiency of the media. Recently burgeoning studies of educational broadcasting and television have added to the already copious literature. No attempt can be made here to survey or cite the findings of this vast literature. To collect and digest the studies, to identify and compare those that are comparable, to take into account those that are not comparable, and to present the sum of it all is a task which would necessarily occupy a considerable staff for several years. The compilation-would obviously be tremendously useful, and it is to be hoped that.the. necessary human, and financial resources will be somehow brought to bear before the literature becomes so vast that it can no longer be surveyed at all. Caution should perhaps be sounded, however, against generalizing the results of any such individual studies with which the reader may come in contact. In reference to many topics, the findings are almost infinitely variable. The history of investigation of "order" provides a superb example of such variability. In 1925 Lund, on the basis of an experiment, formulated his "law of primacy in persuasion." Specifically, he proposed that the first rppn [ v ] Contribut ■ibutory Aspects of Communication Situation 124 point of view on a given issue to which an audience was exposed was likely to be more persuasively effective, and remain more persuasively effective, than any later counter-arguments on the same subject. The notion bas persisted and is slUl occasionally expressed today, although in point of fact Lund's findings did not remained long unchallenged. During -the next twenty-odd years a considerable literature appeared dealing with the relative effectiveness of first versus last position, and of climactic (weak argument first) versus anti-climactic order. Hovland (1954) ably reviews this literature and points out that virtually all possible orders of effectiveness have been observed in various studies. Hovland et al (1957) again review the literature and report as well on a considerable series of similarly focused studies recently pursued at Yale University. According to Hovland The general picture which emerges from the experiments in which both sides of an issue are presented successively is that concern as to the danger of first impressions becoming lasting impressions is probably exaggerated, at least for situations where representatives of both sides have an opportunity to present their views. The public is not necessarily permanently swayed by the view to which it first lends an car, or biased by the man who first captures its attention. The present group of experiments'indicate the conditions under which the danger of the first side's prevailing is likely to be pronounced and also permit- some specification of procedures which minimize such a danger. The combined findings from all of the different studies reported suggest that the side of an issue presented first is likely to have a disproportionate influence on opinion under the following conditions: (1) when cues as to the incompatibility of diíTerěntitems of information áre absent, (2) when the contradictory information is presented by the same communicator, (3) when committing actions [or-a public nature] are taken [by the audience] after only one side of the issue has been presented, (4) when the issue'is an unfamiliar one, and (5) when the recipient lias only a superficial interest in the issue (low cognitive need). When one deals with situations in which exposure to both sides cannot be assumed, but where the recipient himself controls whether he will expose lum-self to the second side after hearing the first, additional factors [such as the selective processes] favoring primacy become involved.00 .ommunication Si [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 125 Under conditions other than those enumerated above, "the law of primacy" does not seem to be particularly valid. Tims, die findings about order of presentation remain variable, and as yet so tied to specific situation factors as to be susceptible of little generalization. Similar, if in some cases less exhaustive, variety exists regarding the findings of many of the other variables pertaining to organization and presentation. Other bodies of findings, though more consistent, pertain to such topically or technically specific situations that they can hardly be generalized without further replicative but varied research. Above all, however, the literature is so vast, and much of it is so specifically focused, that it cannot be surveyed or summarized within the scope of this volume, nor, very possibly, within any other single volume. Climate of Opinion The persuasive success of a communication may be affected by the climate of opinion in which it is received. In general, a communication in accord with lbe prevailing climate of opinion seems more likely to attract other people to its position than does a communication which echoes a minority point of view. This general statement, however, is subject to various qualifications. THE BANDWAGON EFFECT A vast body of research has demonstrated that people will adopt opinions simply because they believe those opinions to be in accord with the majority view. The classic studies by Sherii (1936) and Asch (1952) deal with judgments about moving lights, relative length of lines, and the like, and are pertinent though they are topically irrelevant to the present volume. Wheeler and Jordan (1929) modified student opinion on campus issues simply by making the majority view known. Sorokin and [ v ] Contributory Aspects of Comm .unication Situation 126 BaldyrcfF (1932) played two identical records of a symphony to a group of listeners previously informed that one record was "unanimously judged" by a group of music critics to be the better; 96 per cent of the subjects thought one superior to the other, and 59 per cent agreed with the, alleged choice of the experts; only 4 per cent recognized that the records were identical. The same desire to stay with the larger crowd has been widely observed to affect opinions outside the laboratory and has become familiarly known as "the bandwagon effect." Lazarsfeld, Berel-8011, and Gaudet (1948), for example, found numerous persons in Erie County whose vote decision was based entirely and consciously on this single criterion. One respondent reported, for example, that "Just before the election it looked like Roosevelt would win'so I went witli the crowd. Didn't make any difference to me who won, but / wanted to vole for the winner."1'1. Hovland (1954) has suggested that to persons who board the bandwagon, the majoriLy view serves as a "cue for the anticipated reward of social approbation."52 THE RESISTANCE OF SMALL MINORITIES As attractive as the bandwagon may be, it is not likely to lure members of small, deviant minorities, who seem to be ipso facto peculiarly resistant to change. Cooper and Dinerman (1951), for example, ranked various messages in the anti-prejudice film Don't Be A Sucker according to how widely they were accepted by persons who had not seen the film. Before-and-after tests of persons exposed to the film revealed that those messages with which a bare majority originally agreed were accepted relatively widely among the large minority which originally^disagreed. But messages with which a very large majority originally agreed had lüde or no effect on the small minority which originally disagreed. Cooper and Dinerman suggest that when deviant minorities" are very small they are likely to consist of people who are particularly firm in their beliefs, and who have /already with- n ( iní ni ipo \/ [v] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 127 stood the arguments which have convinced most others. Hovland, Lumsdaine, and Sheffield (1949) advance the same explanation to account for the resistance of soldiers who were totally unaffected by the film Battle of Britain, which favored U.S. aid to England during the early war years. The population as a whole, they point out, favored aid to Britain; those who still opposed it were not likely to be converted by the" arguments of the film. Coleman, Katz, and Menzel (1960) noted a similar^phenomenon among physicians adopting a new drug; after the great majority in a given town had adopted the drug, there remained a smali, highly resistant minority whose members either adopted the drug much later, or never adopted it at all. Studies which are not primarily concerned with mass communication suggest that members of such deviant minorities derive considerable strength from each other, i.e., from the knowledge that there is at least some support for their opinion. Asch (1952), for example, found that individuals were far more likely to maintain their own opinions, in the face of contrary group opinion, if they were supported by even one other member of the group. Coleman, Katz, and Menzel (1960) found that doctors who are friends are more apt to follow similar therapeutic practices wherusuch practices are still a matter of controversy than they are when the practices have the general sanction of the medical community; during the period when majority support is unobtainable, the friends seem to provide support for each other. Theoretical Considerations Various aspects and characteristics of communications and of the communication situation have been treated in this chapter. In general, these variables are riot particularly related to the relalive likelihood that communications will reinforce or change the existing opinions of their audiences. All are, however, related to the [ v ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation U.o general ability of communications to persuade, whatever their task or goal may be vis-á-vis particular audience members. Put another way, judicious exploitation of the devices and techniques cited in this chapter is likely to increase somewhat the ease with which a given communication reinforces sympathetic views and simultaneously to reduce somewhat the difficulty it faces in converting persons holding opposite opinions. These several factors and characteristics are covered by the last of the five generalizations proposed in the Introduction. That generalization proposes that "the efficacy of mass communication, cither as a contributory agent or as an agent of direct effect, is affected by various aspects of the media themselves or of the communication situation (including, for example, aspects of textual organization, the nature of the source and medium, the existing climate of public opinion, and the like)." This generalization, unlike the preceding four, serves to noře that such variables exist, rather than conjecturally to explain their process of influence and effect. The sole point which the generalization makes regarding that process is that it differs from the process of mediation cited in the first three generalizations. Generalization number 5 is accordingly of only very limited organizational and theoretical helpfulness. It serves to underscore generalizations 1 through 3, and that in two ways: (1) It removes from the province of those generalizations a group of factors which pertain to the communication itself or to the communication situation; (2) It thus underscores the propositions that the forces cited in the earlier generalizations are external to the communication, that they mediate the elTect of the communication upon its audience, and that they in fact constitute a class of factors as yet only hazily defined, but clearly distinct from such other factors as the textual characteristics of the communication itself, or the nature of its source. The present author has repeatedly asserted that he considers Ä ^1 čelv tuation 129 [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation all of the generalizations exploratory, and that he considers their emendation to be both inevitable and desirable. Generalization number 5, which is essentially an acknowledgement of what the other generalizations do not cover, is particularly in need of such Summary Various aspects of the communication itself and of the communication situation appear to be related to the persuasive efficacy of mass communications. 1. Sources, or, more precisely, the audience's image of sources, affects the audience's interpretation of the communication and its persuasive effectiveness. Sources regarded as credible, trustworthy, or high in prestige apparently abet persuasion; while sources inspiring more negative images apparently hinder persuasion. The differential effect tends, however, to disappear with the passage of time. Highly specialized sources appear to be more persuasive for their own specialized audiences than are more general sources f or the same audiences. 2. The mass media are themselves widely regarded with awe and apparently confer status on the. persons and concepts for which they are vehicles. 3. The several media appear to be in themselves differentially effective as channels for persuasive communication, over and above the fact that they normally draw on somewhat different audiences. a. In laboratory experiments, wherein all conditions other than the media are kept'constant, formal personal appeal is typically found more effective than radio, which is in turn found more effective than print. Television and films may be hypothesized to fall between personal appeal and radio. b. In real life situations, informal personal appeal has been rronn [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 130 consistently found to be more effective than any mass, medium, but it is nevertheless not essential to successful persuasion. The relative efficacy of the mass media varies so widely from one topical area to another as to defy generalization. Multi-media usage supplemented by face-lo-face ^contact is believed to be peculiarly effective and lias characterized various highly successful propaganda campaigns. c. Each of the media has been ascribed various advantages .which arc believed, but rarely demonstrated, to be related to that medium's persuasive capabilities. These include such characteristics as the unique ability of print to permit the audience member to govern his rate of exposure, and the ability of the broadcast media to provide the audience member with some sense of personal participation. Other such characteristics are cited above too briefly to be susceptible of further summary, d. The degree of technical efficiency with which a medium is used may obviously affect its persuasive efficiency. Variables pertaining to presentation techniques (pace, camera angles, etc.) are discussed in a; literature far too vast to be here reviewed. 4. Various content characteristics and devices appear to be related to the ability of mass communications to persuade. a. Two-sided presentation (i.e., citation of arguments on both sides of the question) is more effective than one-sided presentation as a device for converting the highly educated, and as a safeguard against later counter-propaganda. One-sided presentation, however, is more effective in converting the less educated, is generally more effective as a reinforcing device, and is less likely to boomerang. It is an efficient inoculator against later counter-propaganda provided that the audience members are required publicly to commit themselves; whether it is more effective under these conditions than two-sided presentation is not yet known. b. Persuasive communications which explicitly state conclusions are more likely to be effective than those which allow audience members to draw their own conclusions. Action recom- ^Jrl § 'qntributory Aspects of Communication Situation elv mendations, also, seem more likely to be followed as they are ■* " the more specific and explicit. c. Communications which evoke extreme fear are less likely to persuade the audience to take precautionary actions than .are communications which do not so strongly emphasize the threat. d. Repetition, particularly repetition with variation, has been consistently found to increase the efficacy of persuasion. Cumulative exposure to propaganda, however, has on some occasions been found to be more effective and on other occasions has been found to be no more effective than single exposure. e. Communications which offer Avays of implementing ("canalizing") the existing needs of their audiences are more likely to be successfully persuasive than communications which undertake to arouse new needs and then suggest ways of satisfying them. This distinction is peculiarly pertinent to the difference between "merchandising commodities and [merchandising] citizenship"03 or other attitudes. f. Hundreds of studies have investigated the effects of variables pertaining to organization and presentation, such as the order of topics and of arguments, montages as opposed to no montages, camera angles, etc. The literature on these topics is so vast and, the findings so varied and often so specifically focused that years of collation would be prerequisite to any general summary. 5. Persuasive communications in accord with majority opinion, or which are believed by their audience to be in accord witli majority opinion, are likely therefore to be effective among members of the minority who do not share the opinion. If, however, the minority is extremely small, it is likely to be composed of persons who are particularly resistant to conversion. The resistance of such deviants appears to be intensified when they are aware that other people, or even one other person, think as they do. 6. Theoretical Considerations. The topics of this chapter are covered by the fifth of the five generalizations proposed in the [ V ] Contributory Aspects of Communication Situation 132 Introduction. That generalization serves to note that certain phenomena and processes are not covered by the preceding generalizations. It is less helpful in regard to the topics to which it refers than it is in underscoring the characteristic identity and processes of the factors to which it does not refer—i.e., those covered by the preceding generalizations. účely Part Two THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC TYPES OF MEDIA MATERIAL x) studijní i