Question 1

Recall that Hamill and colleagues (1980)conducted a study on factors that influence attitudes.The researchers first assessed each participant's attitude toward welfare.In one condition,participants read a vivid story about a woman who exploited the welfare system and "lived like a queen" at taxpayers' expense.In another condition,participants were given statistical information about welfare that suggested that the "welfare queen" example was atypical.In a third condition,participants were given both types of information (i.e.,the story and the statistical information).Finally,each participant's attitude toward welfare was measured a second time.The results showed that

Accepted Answer

The study found that participants who read the vivid story about the welfare queen were more likely to change their attitudes toward welfare than those who read statistical information or a combination of the story and statistics. Therefore, the best answer is C, as the participants were more likely to change their attitudes in response to the story.

Question 2

Petty and colleagues (1981)asked students to read either eight weak arguments or eight strong arguments in support of implementing a comprehensive exam at their university.Some students were told that the exam would be initiated the following year,and others were told it would be initiated in ten years,well after their graduation.Finally,the researchers varied the expertise of the source of the arguments; that is,participants were told the arguments were generated either by a local high school class or by a prestigious "Commission on Higher Education." The researchers measured students' attitudes toward the exam.What was the main result of this study?

Accepted Answer

When students thought the exam was far off in the future, they were more influenced by the credibility of the source than by the strength of the arguments.

Question 3

Stacie listens to a radio commercial for toothpaste.She finds the soothing voice of the announcer appealing,so she buys the toothpaste he advocates.This illustrates the research finding that when people primarily attend to aspects of a message that are tangential to the substance of the message,they are taking the ________ route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

The scenario illustrates the peripheral route to persuasion, where the listener is primarily swayed by peripheral cues like the soothing voice of the announcer, rather than the substance of the message itself.

Question 4

Imagine that you have to convince an audience to adopt your opinion on health care reform,but the specific arguments that your team has selected for your presentation are weak.According to research on attitude change,what should you do to increase your chances of being persuasive despite your weak arguments?

Accepted Answer

Stating your arguments with confidence can increase persuasiveness, as confidence can make the speaker appear more credible and trustworthy, even if the arguments themselves are weak.

Question 5

Which of the following message recipients does NOT display a characteristic that is known to impact the susceptibility to persuasion?

Accepted Answer

Ethnicity (being a Latino man, in this case) is not directly linked to characteristics known to impact susceptibility to persuasion in the context provided. Other options mention traits directly related to persuasion susceptibility, such as need for cognition, age, and attitude certainty.

Question 6

According to the ________ model,some types of persuasive appeals will be more effective when the target audience is unmotivated and thinking mindlessly,while other types of persuasive appeals will be more effective when the target audience is alert and attentive.

Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the question pertains to the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), which suggests that the effectiveness of persuasive appeals depends on whether the target audience is engaging in systematic processing (i.e., motivated and thinking mindfully) or heuristic processing (i.e., unmotivated and thinking mindlessly). Therefore, the most appropriate choice here is option C, elaboration likelihood.

Question 7

Imagine that your local campus police officers need help solving a crime.They have two witnesses whose accounts of the event are inconsistent,and they suspect that at least one of these witnesses might be lying.Whom should the local police call to best assist them in detecting whether either witness has lied?

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that Secret Service agents are better than the average person at detecting lies, making them more suitable for this task compared to the other options listed.

Question 8

Nancy is gathering information about different cars in order to decide which car she wants to buy.According to the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion,Nancy will be more likely to process this information through the central route if

Accepted Answer

According to the elaboration likelihood model, the central route of persuasion involves deep processing of information in which the individual is personally motivated and willing to devote time and energy to the information. Therefore, Nancy will be more likely to process the information through the central route if she is personally motivated to gather information about different cars.

Question 9

Samantha wants to persuade her roommate Larissa to allow her to get a dog.Samantha's arguments for wanting the dog are not very strong,but they are uplifting.According to research on mood and persuasion,when should Samantha approach Larissa if she wants the best chance of persuading her roommate?

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that when people are in a positive mood, they are more likely to be persuaded. Therefore, Samantha should approach Larissa when she is listening to beautiful music, as this is likely to put her in a positive mood and increase the chances of her being persuaded.

Question 10

Andy,an advertising executive,wants to use subliminal advertising to encourage people to buy his product.What effect will the use of subliminal advertising likely have on product sales?

Accepted Answer

Subliminal advertising is controversial and its effectiveness is debated. There is no conclusive evidence that it leads to a significant increase in product sales. Therefore, it is unlikely that sales will be affected by the use of subliminal advertising.

Question 11

As you drive in to school,you hear a random radio-show caller arguing that sun exposure really has not been proven to cause skin cancer and that some research suggests that skin cancer is completely genetic and not related to sun exposure at all.At the time,you think that this is a silly argument and that the caller does not know what she is talking about.However,two months later,you go outside without wearing sunscreen and you find yourself remembering that you had read something about how the sun actually does not cause skin cancer.In this situation,________ has influenced your attitude.

Accepted Answer

The sleeper effect occurs when we forget the source of information but remember the information itself. In this case, the caller's argument may have seemed silly at the time but after two months, the information remained in the listener's memory, leading to a change in attitude. This change in attitude is an example of the sleeper effect.

Question 12

Recall that Carl Hovland and his colleagues broke down persuasive messages into three components.Which of the following questions emphasizes the component called source characteristics?

Accepted Answer

The question "Are people more likely to buy a brand of aspirin that is recommended by the American Medical Association?" directly addresses the source characteristic component of persuasive messages - the credibility, expertise, and attractiveness of the person or organization delivering the message.

Question 13

According to the textbook,which route to persuasion is most likely to lead to long-lasting attitude change?

Accepted Answer

The central route to persuasion involves thoughtful consideration and scrutiny of the information presented to make a judgment, which leads to long-lasting attitude change compared to the peripheral route that relies on superficial cues such as attractiveness or expertise of the communicator.

Question 14

Imagine you spend an afternoon watching television and notice that all of the commercials have one common theme: an attractive athlete or actor endorsing a product.Why do advertisers hire attractive people to endorse their products?

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that attractive endorsers can increase the persuasiveness of a message through the peripheral route, which relies on superficial aspects such as likability and trustworthiness. As attractive people are generally perceived as more likable and credible, their endorsement can positively influence consumer attitudes towards a product. However, it is important to note that the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements may also depend on factors such as the relevance of the endorser to the product and the match between the spokesperson's image and the brand's identity.

Question 15

Who is most likely to be influenced by peripheral cues when processing a televised message from an antilittering campaign?

Accepted Answer

Peripheral cues are external factors that can influence our judgment without necessarily engaging critical thinking. Being distracted by a conversation with his roommate makes Doug more prone to relying on peripheral cues, such as the attractiveness or likability of the spokesperson or a catchy jingle, rather than processing the message's content.

Question 16

Joanna does not think carefully and deliberately about what a politician says during a debate.Instead,she attends to the politician's winning smile and boyish good looks.Joanna is attending to the ________ route to persuasion.

Accepted Answer

Joanna is not paying attention to the substance of what the politician is saying, but rather superficial qualities like his appearance. This is characteristic of the peripheral route to persuasion, which involves focusing on surface-level characteristics rather than engaging in careful thinking about the message being presented.

Question 17

Imagine you are a participant in the 1967 study by Leventhal and colleagues,in which participants either (a)watched a scary film about lung cancer,(b)read a pamphlet of suggestions for how to quit smoking,or (c)watched the scary film and also read the pamphlet.According to the results,you would be most likely to quit smoking if you were in condition

Accepted Answer

According to the results of the study by Leventhal and colleagues, participants who watched the scary film and also read the pamphlet were most likely to quit smoking. This suggests that the combination of fear and specific suggestions for quitting smoking may be more effective than either one alone. Therefore, condition C would be the best choice for someone who wants to quit smoking based on the findings of this study.

Question 18

________ exemplifies a message characteristic,whereas ________ exemplifies a source characteristic.

Accepted Answer

The content of a speech is an example of a message characteristic because it pertains to what is actually being communicated. The credibility of a communicator is a source characteristic because it relates to the perceived trustworthiness or expertise of the person delivering the message.

Question 19

Which of the following advertising strategies BEST illustrates an attempt to persuade people through the central route?

Accepted Answer

The presentation of research demonstrating the effectiveness of a particular product is an attempt to persuade consumers by appealing to their cognitive and rational processes, which is the central route to persuasion.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about the effects of subliminal stimuli is most accurate?

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that subliminal exposure to thirst-related words can lead thirsty people to drink more. However, the other options are not supported by empirical evidence and are more the stuff of urban legends or pop psychology.

Quiz 8: Persuasion