Question 1

Who is more likely to use the central route to persuasion when attending to a communication about health insurance reform?

Accepted Answer

James, who is undergoing extensive treatment after his auto accident, is more likely to use the central route to persuasion when attending to a communication about health insurance reform because it directly affects his personal situation and well-being.

Question 2

Armando is listening carefully to a persuasive communication and thinking about the arguments. He is using the ________ route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

The central route to persuasion involves carefully considering and evaluating information presented in a persuasive message, which is what Armando is doing. This is in contrast to the peripheral route, which involves being swayed by superficial factors such as the speaker's appearance or other non-substantive qualities. The heuristic and direct routes are not commonly used terms in the study of persuasion.

Question 3

All other things being equal, when a communication is more ________, people are more likely to pay attention to it and process it through the central route.

Accepted Answer

When a communication is self-relevant, it is more personally meaningful to the audience, causing them to be more engaged and pay closer attention to the message. This increases the likelihood that they will process the information through the central route, which involves careful consideration and evaluation of the message's content.

Question 4

The central route to persuasion is to ________ as the peripheral route is to ________.

Accepted Answer

The central route to persuasion involves using logical arguments and evidence to persuade someone, while the peripheral route focuses on superficial or surface characteristics such as attractiveness or credibility of the source.

Question 5

Your municipality is in need of tax revenues, and a volunteer asks you to sign a petition that supports raising taxes on liquor and cigarettes rather than increasing property taxes to generate revenue. You neither drink nor smoke, and you do not own property. If the volunteer wants to persuade you to sign the petition, she should

Accepted Answer

The answer of Your municipality is in need of tax...

Question 6

As a persuasive communicator, your goal is to influence the opinions of your audience. You are most likely to benefit from an audience that is slightly distracted when

Accepted Answer

When your arguments are rather weak, a slightly distracted audience is less likely to scrutinize them closely, making it easier to influence their opinions.

Question 7

Consider the following statements: "I would prefer complex to simple problems" and "I like tasks that require little thought once I've learned them." People's responses to those statements capture their

Accepted Answer

The statements are measuring people's need for cognition, which refers to the extent to which individuals enjoy effortful cognitive activity. Those who prefer complex problems and enjoy tasks that require thought even after learning them have a higher need for cognition.

Question 8

Donald didn't attend carefully to the substance of the persuasive communication, but instead paid attention to some irrelevant cues. He's using the ________ route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

In the peripheral route to persuasion, people are influenced by incidental cues such as the speaker's attractiveness or the emotional appeal of the message, rather than the content of the message itself. This is consistent with Donald's behavior, as he is paying attention to irrelevant cues instead of the substance of the persuasive communication.

Question 9

Imagine that you are trying to promote a new type of low-fat snack food to a group of people in the grocery store. You know that these people are high in the need for cognition. What type of persuasive communication would you deliver?

Accepted Answer

People high in need for cognition are motivated to think deeply and critically about information. Delivering a message with several high-quality arguments would appeal to their desire for thorough and thoughtful information processing. This type of communication would be most effective in convincing them to try the new low-fat snack food.

Question 10

"Don't bother me with the so-called facts," asserts your Uncle Joe. "If it's good enough for Barack Obama, it's good enough for me." Which of the following statements about your Uncle Joe is most likely true? He will

Accepted Answer

The answer of "Don't bother me with the so-called facts,"...

Question 11

According to the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion, people who ________ are most likely to take the ________ route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

According to the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion, people who are motivated to pay attention are most likely to take the central route to persuasion. These individuals are willing to engage in careful and thoughtful processing of the message, considering the arguments and evidence presented. They are more likely to be persuaded by the strength and quality of the message, rather than superficial cues or peripheral factors.

Question 12

A commercial comes on for an arthritis crème. Lachlan has been having some pain in his knees lately, so he's both motivated and able to attend to the commercial. Therefore, he is more likely to use the ________ route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

Lachlan's personal experience with knee pain makes him more motivated to attend to the commercial and process the information using the central route to persuasion, where he carefully considers the message and its arguments. The peripheral route (A) would involve more superficial cues like the commercial's music or visuals. The heuristic route (B) involves mental shortcuts or rules of thumb, which may not be applicable in this situation. The relevant route (D) is not a commonly used term in the study of persuasion.

Question 13

Research by Petty, Cacioppo, and Goldman (1981) found that when students are not involved in an issue, their opinions are influenced more by the ________ than by the ________.

Accepted Answer

The research by Petty, Cacioppo, and Goldman (1981) found that when students are not involved in an issue, their opinions are influenced more by the credibility of the speaker than by the quality of the arguments. This suggests that people rely on heuristics or mental shortcuts, such as the credibility of the source, when they lack personal involvement or knowledge about an issue.

Question 14

All of the following except the ________ are examples of peripheral cues that might influence people taking the peripheral route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

Strength of a persuasive argument is a central cue that would influence people taking the central route to persuasion. The other options (length of the message, credibility of the presenter, and attractiveness of the speaker) are all examples of peripheral cues that could influence people taking the peripheral route to persuasion.

Question 15

Researchers systematically varied the quality of persuasive communications that advocated comprehensive exams for college students, and also varied the prestige of the communicator. Further, some student participants were led to believe that such academic reforms might be carried out in the near future, whereas others were led to believe that such reforms wouldn't occur until long after they had already graduated. Those students who believed that the reforms were a long time in coming were more influenced by communicator prestige than by the quality of the persuasive arguments. These findings support the assertion that ________ route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

The results suggest that message relevance (i.e. whether the academic reforms would happen soon or not) influenced whether people used the central or peripheral route to persuasion. Those who believed the reforms were far in the future were more likely to use peripheral cues like the communicator's prestige to make their decision, while those who believed the reforms were imminent were more likely to use the quality of the persuasive arguments (central route).

Question 16

Researchers systematically varied the quality of persuasive communications that advocated comprehensive exams for college students, and also varied the prestige of the communicator. These researchers found that when some students believed that their university was considering such examination, those students used the ________ route to persuasion, and were influenced by ________.

Accepted Answer

When students believed that their university was considering the exams, they were motivated to process the information carefully, using the central route to persuasion, and were influenced by the quality of the persuasive arguments.

Question 17

Based on research about the effectiveness of argument strength versus prestige of the source, which of the following is true about the importance of argument strength?

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that argument strength is generally more important than prestige of the source in determining persuasiveness. Stronger arguments are more likely to be effective in persuading someone compared to weaker arguments, regardless of the source delivering the message. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as when the audience has a high personal involvement or emotional connection to the topic at hand, in which case the source's prestige or expertise may be more influential.

Question 18

According to the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion, you are more likely to be influenced by the central route when you are

Accepted Answer

According to the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion, the central route is more likely to be used when the individual is willing and able to give their full attention to the message. This occurs when the individual is motivated to process the information in depth and has the cognitive resources to do so.

Question 19

In general, people who are ________ are more likely to use the central route when attending to a persuasive communication.

Accepted Answer

People who are high in need for cognition tend to be more analytical and enjoy processing information in a detailed manner. When presented with a persuasive communication, they are more likely to use the central route, which involves careful evaluation of the message and its arguments. This is in contrast to the peripheral route, which involves less scrutiny of the message and more reliance on cues such as the speaker's credibility or attractiveness. Therefore, being high in need for cognition increases the likelihood of using the central route in persuasion.

Question 20

Chloe voted for the first time in the 2008 elections. She was very motivated to understand campaign issues and to make an informed choice at the polls. She read the newspapers and watched the television debates between the candidates. Motivated and informed when she watched the presidential debates between John McCain and Barrack Obama, Chloe was most likely to pay attention to

Accepted Answer

Chloe was motivated to understand campaign issues and make an informed choice, so she would have paid attention to the candidates' disagreements on education issues during the presidential debate. The other options (A, C, and D) are more about the candidates' appearance or communication style rather than the substance of their policies.

Quiz 7: Attitudes and Attitude Change: Influencing Thoughts and Feelings