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CHAPTER 7: MESSAGE FACTORS
Chapter objectives
This chapter focuses on message factors including message structure, the impact of one-sided
versus two-sided messages, and conclusion drawing on attitudes. It discusses evidence and
explores issues involving types of evidence that are most persuasive. The chapter provides in
depth coverage of fear appeals and examines psychological dynamics of fear message effects.
The latter portion of the chapter explores such language factors as speed of speech, powerless
language, and language intensity on attitudes.
Terms and issues to know
Conclusion drawing
Danger control
Efficacy (Response efficacy & Self efficacy)
Evidence
Frame
Gain frame vs. loss frame messages
Guilt appeals
Illusion of invulnerability
Intense language
Meta-analysis
One-sided versus two-sided messages
Polls
Chapter outline
I. Understanding the Message
A. What you say and how you say it influences people
B. Message construct needs to be broken down
C. Key message factors are:
2. Message content appeals and arguments
3. Language how communicators use words/ symbols to persuade an audience
II. Message Structure
A. One or Two Sides
2.
position and the opposition
4. Meta-analyses are studies of other studies
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5. -sided messages influence attitudes more than
6. Refutational two-sided messages gain persuasive advantage by:
a. Enhancing the credibility of the speaker
b. Providing cogent reasons why opposing arguments are wrong
B. Conclusion Drawing
2. Audience attention wanders: best to present detailed and forceful conclusion
4. ges clearly or explicitly articulating an overall conclusion
are more persuasive than those that omit a conclusion
a. Minimizes chances individuals will become confused
C. Continuing Issues
1. Context and modality matter
3. Messages delivered interpersonally should be structured differently than those
relayed over the television and via the internet
III. Evidence
A. Evidence: ctual statements originating from a source other than the speaker, objects
not created by the speaker, and opinions of persons other than the speaker that are
offered in support of the speaker
proposition and perceive the evidence to be legitimate
F. Evidence must be processed
G. Connection to the ELM
1. When people are highly knowledgeable evidence will be processed centrally
H. You can have too much evidence which creates confusion
I. The Other Side of Evidence: The Case of Case Histories
2. Vivid case studies exert particularly strong effects on attitudes
4. Graphic narratives are more compelling than statistics
6. Engage the imagination
8. Use both evidence and narrative
J. Summary
2. Cannot simply differentiate message factors
IV. Fear Appeals
A. The Psychological Fear
1. Fear: an internal emotional reaction composed of psychological and physiological
2. Fear Appeal: a persuasive communication that tries to scare people into changing
3. Fear appeals invariably work
5. Arousing fear does not always produce attitude change
7. Fear appeals can fail and can backfire if they scare individuals too much
9. People harbor these illusions for three reasons:
a.
10. The Illusion of invulnerability is a major barrier to fear appeals success
B. A Theory of Fear Appeals
1. Extended Parallel Process Model
2. A fear arousing message contains two basic elements (problem & solution)
a. Threat
3. The two cognitive processes at the core of the model are:
a. Danger control
b. Fear control
i. Occurs when people face a serious threat, but focus inwardly on the fear,
C. Applying Theory to the Real World
2. Does not provide a precise way to design the optimum fear appeal
4. Guilt appeals:
a. Like fear, guilt is a negative emotional response, one that has affective and
cognitive components
b.
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e. Guilt appeals can backfire when recipients perceive that the speaker is applying
V. Language
A. Speed of Speech
1. Speech rate does not inevitably change attitudes
3. Effects depend on the context
4. Speaking quickly can suggest:
6. Fast speech may be a façade to disguise a lack of knowledge
8. Faster speech is not inherently more effective than slower speech
B. Powerless versus Powerful Speech
1. Powerless speech
a. A constellation of characteristics that may suggest to a message receiver that the
communicator is less than powerful or is not so confident
b. Primary components
i. Hesitation forms
ii. Hedges
e. Can be effective when communicators wish to generate good will rather than
project expertise
f. Powerful speech
C. Language Intensity
2. Used to alter attitudes
3. Includes specific/graphic language
a.
4. May have strong effects when people do not have well-developed attitudes
D. Political Language
1. Includes powerful speech, metaphors, intensity, etc.
3. The frame
a. nizing idea for making sense of relevant events and suggesting what
(Gamson, 1989, p. 157)
b. Candidates make certain aspects of an issue salient or promote one way of
VI. Conclusions
A. Contemporary research builds on early research dating back to Aristotle
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B. We can divide the message into three components: structure, content, and language
appeals
C. Two-sided messages are more persuasive than one-sided messages, provided they
refute the opposing side
D. It is typically better to draw the conclusion explicitly than implicitly
E. Evidence enhances persuasion, with different types of evidence effective under different
Discussion questions
1. Consider an issue that your class is likely to be neutral about or slightly against. Create a
persuasive speech on this topic with two versions. One version will be one sided
arguments only while the other will be two-sided/ refutational. Half of the students in the
persuade? Why or why not? Discuss
3. Summarize the Extended Parallel Process Model. According to EPPM, when should fear
appeals work?
4. Create a 60 second mock commercial that uses a fear appeal. Take into account when