Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

Q.1 Define encoding. What are those in-built characteristics of language which
make encoding difficult in communication?

Answer:
Encoding is the process of converting data from one form to another. While "encoding"
can be used as a verb, it is often used as a noun, and refers to a specific type of
encoded data. There are several types of encoding, including image encoding, audio
and video encoding, and character encoding. Media files are often encoded to save disk
space. By encoding digital audio, video, and image files, they can be saved in a more
efficient, compressed format. Encoded media files are typically similar in quality to their
original uncompressed counterparts, but have much smaller file sizes. For example, a
WAVE (WAV) audio file that is converted to an MP3 (.MP3) file may be 1/10 the size of
the original WAVE file. Similarly, an MPEG (.MPG) compressed video file may only
require a fraction of the disk space as the original digital video (.DV) file.

In-built characteristics of language which make encoding difficult in

communication
In basic terms, humans communicate through a process of encoding and decoding. The
encoder is the person who develops and sends the message. As represented in Figure
1.1 below, the encoder must determine how the message will be received by the
audience, and make adjustments so the message is received the way they want it to be
received.

Encoding is the process of turning thoughts into communication. The encoder uses a
“medium' to send the message — a phone call, email, text message, face-to-face
meeting, or other communication tool. The level of conscious thought that goes into
encoding messages may vary. The encoder should also take into account any ‘noise
that might interfere with their message, such as other messages, distractions, or
influences. The audience then 'decodes', or interprets, the message for themselves

Decoding is the process of turning communication into thoughts. For example, you may
realize you're hungry and encode the following message to send to your roommate: “I'm
hungry. Do you want to get pizza tonight?” As your roommate receives the message,
they decode your communication and turn it back into thoughts to make meaning.
Communication Process
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

Of course, you don't just communicate verbally—you have various options, or channels,
for communication. Encoded messages are sent through a channel, or a sensory route,
on which a message travels to the receiver for decoding. While communication can be
sent and received using any sensory route (sight, smell, touch, taste, or sound), most
communication occurs through visual (sight) and/or auditory (sound) channels. If your
roommate has headphones on and is engrossed in a video game, you may need to get
their attention by waving your hands before you can ask them about dinner.

The transmission model of communication describes communication as a linear, one-

way process in which a sender intentionally transmits a message to a receiver (Ellis &
McClintock, 1990). This model focuses on the sender and message within a
communication encounter. Although the receiver is included in the model, this role is
viewed as more of a target or end point rather than part of an ongoing process. You are
left to presume that the receiver either successfully receives and understands the
message or does not. Think of how a radio message is sent from a person in the radio
studio to you listening in your car. The sender is the radio announcer who encodes a
verbal message that is transmitted by a radio tower through electromagnetic waves (the
channel) and eventually reaches your (the receiver's) ears via an antenna and speakers
in order to be decoded. The radio announcer doesn't really know if you receive their
message or not, but if the equipment is working and the channel is free of static, then
there is a good chance that the message was successfully received.

The interaction model of communication describes communication as a process in

which participants alternate positions as sender and receiver and generate meaning by
sending messages and receiving feedback within physical and psychological contexts
(Schramm, 1997). Rather than illustrating communication as a linear, one-way process,
the interaction model incorporates feedback, which makes communication a more
interactive, two-way process. Feedback includes messages sent in response to other
messages. For example, your instructor may respond to a point you raise during class
discussion or you may point to the sofa when your roommate asks you where the
remote control is. The inclusion of a feedback loop also leads to a more complex
understanding of the roles of participants in a communication encounter. Rather than
having one sender, one message, and one receiver, this model has two sender-
receivers who exchange messages. Each participant alternates roles as sender and
receiver in order to keep a communication encounter going. Although this seems like a
perceptible and deliberate process, you alternate between the roles of sender and 3,
receiver very quickly and often without conscious thought.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

The transaction model of communication describes communication as a process in

which communicators generate social realities within social, relational, and cultural
contexts. In this model, you don't just unicate to exchange messages, you communicate
to create relationships, form intercultural alliances, shape your self-concepts, and
engage with others in dialogue to create communities. In short, you don't communicate
about your realities, communication helps to construct your realities (and the realities of
others).

The roles of sender and receiver in the transaction model of communication differ
significantly from the other models. Instead of labeling participants as senders and
receivers, the people in a communication encounter are referred to as communicators.
Unlike the interaction model, which suggests that participants under and receiver, the
transaction model suggests that you are simultaneously a sender and a receiver. For
example, when meeting a new friend, you send verbal messages about your interests
and background, your companion reacts nonverbally. You don't wait until you are done
sending your verbal message to start receiving and decoding the nonverbal messages
of your new friend. Instead, you are simultaneously sending your verbal message and
receiving your friend's nonverbal messages. This is an important addition to the model
because it allows you to understand how you are able to adapt your communication for
example; adapting a verbal message in the middle of sending it based on the
communication you are simultaneously receiving from your communication partner.

Q.2 what is propaganda? What are the various techniques (devices) of propaganda
which are being used in mass communication?

Answer
What is Propaganda? Propaganda is the management of collective attitudes by the
manipulation of significant symbols. (Lasswell, 1927 p. 627)

A consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the
public to an enterprise, idea or group (Bernays, 1928, p. 52 in 2005 edition)

An expression of opinion or action by individuals or groups deliberately designed to

influence opinions or actions of other individuals or groups with reference to
predetermined ends. (Miller, 1939)
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

A process which deliberately attempts through persuasion-techniques to secure from

the propaganda, before he can deliberate freely, the responses desired by the
propagandist (Henderson, 1943, p. 83)

The attempt to affect the personalities and to control the behavior of individuals towards
ends considered unscientific or of doubtful value in a society at a particular time.(Doob,
1948, p. 240)

Biased communication is a sophisticated term for propaganda, a word feared or

avoided by all objective people and therefore a source of darkness and obscurity since
nobody wants to talk about it but nevertheless everybody uses it. (Dovring & Lasswell,
1959, p. 5)

The deliberate attempt by some individual or group to form, control, or alter the
attitudes of other groups by the use of the instruments of communication, with the
intention that in any given situation the reaction of those so influenced will be that
desired by the propagandist (Qualter, 1962, p. 27)

A set of methods employed by an organized group that wants to bring about the active
or passive participation in its actions of a mass of individuals, psychologically unified
through psychological manipulation and incorporated in an organization. (Ellul, 1965, p.
61)

Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate

cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of
the propagandist. (Jowett and O'Donell, 1986, p. 7 in 2015 edition)

Any conscious and open attempt to influence the beliefs of an individual or group,
guided by predetermined end and characterized by the systematic use of irrational and
often unethical techniques of persuasion (Smith, 1989, p. 80).

Communication to convey a message, an idea, or an ideology that is designed primarily

to serve the self interests of the person doing the communicating (Taylor, 1990, p. 7)

Mass suggestion or influence through the manipulation of symbols and the psychology
of individual.(Pratkanis and Aronson, 1992 P.11)

Propaganda represents the work of large organizations or groups to win over the public
for special interests S. through a massive orchestration of attractive conclusions
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

packaged to conceal both their persuasive purpose and lack of sound supporting
reasons (Sproule, 1994, p. 8).

Communications where the form and content is selected with the single-minded
purpose of bringing some target audience to adopt attitudes and beliefs chosen in
advance by the sponsors of communications. (Care 1997, p. 20)

Strategically devised messages that are disseminated to masses of people by an

institution for the purpose of generating action benefiting its source (Parry-Giles, 2002,
p. xxvi)

The organized attempt through communication to affect belief or action or inculcate

attitudes in a large audience in ways that circumvent or suppress an individual's
adequately informed, rational, reflective judgment.(Marlin, 2013, p. 12)

Propaganda is manipulation of the rational will to close of debate (Stanley, 2015, p. 48).

Various techniques (devices) of propaganda which are being used in mass communication
Propaganda has been an effective tool to shape public opinion and action for centuries.
Since propaganda and public relations both share the goal of using mass
communication to influence public perception, it can be easy to conflate the two.
Propaganda, however, traffics in lies, misinformation, inflammatory language, and other
negative communication to achieve an objective related to a cause, goal or political
agenda. Though propaganda techniques can be employed by bad actors on the world
stage, these same concepts can be utilized by individuals in their interpersonal
relationships. Regardless of how propaganda is employed, these common techniques
are used to manipulate others to act or respond in the way that the propagandist
desires.

Bandwagon

The desire to fit in with peers has long been recognized as a powerful force in society.
Propagandists can exploit this longing by using the bandwagon technique to appeal to
the public. This common propaganda technique is used to convince the public to think,
speak, or act in a particular way simply because others are.The public is invited to jump
on the bandwagon” and not be left behind or left out as the rest of society engages in
what they perceive to be correct behavior

Snob Appeal
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

In an attempt to appeal to the general public's aspiration to belong to society's high

class, propagandists can use snob appeal as a selling technique. This technique
involves convincing the public to behave in ways that o are agreeable to the
propagandists and serve their purposes. In order for this technique to be successful,
propagandists have to first position themselves as having a product, idea or opinion that
is worthy of elite status. Many publicists in charge of public relations for companies
employ a similar technique as a way to maintain the perception that the business
creates and sells high-quality goods.

Vague Terms

Propagandists sometimes achieve their goal of swaying public opinion simply by using
empty words. When employing this technique, propagandists will deliberately use vague
terms meant to entice. Examination of the terms, however, can reveal that they offer no
real definition or commitment to meaning. The goal of this type of propaganda can be to
offer generalities that provoke audiences to expend their energy on interpretation rather
than critiquing.

Loaded Words

Words have power when it comes to public relations, and it's no surprise that many
propagandists use a technique involving loaded words to sway public opinion. When
attempting to convince the public to act, propagandists may use excessively positive
words or those with agreeable associations. If the goal is to hinder action,
propagandists can select words that are highly negative to communicate with the public
such as those that inspire fear, anger, or doubt. A simple and effective means of loaded
words USA name-calling, which many political groups have used to disparage
opposition, quell dissent, and scapegoat groups of people.

Transfer

Propagandists may attempt to associate two unrelated concepts or items in an effort to

push what they're selling to the public. With the technique of transfer, propagandists
conjure up either positive or negative images, connect them to an unrelated concept or
item, and try to move the public to take action. Commonly, propagandists can associate
the glory or virtue of a historical event with their product or the action that they want the
public to take. Conversely, transfer can also be employed as a means to convince the
public to not take an action, lest they suffer a disagreeable fate.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

Unreliable Testimonial

Propaganda can hinge on the ability of an unrelated person to successfully sell an idea,
opinion, product, or action. In modern day advertising, companies may enlist celebrities
to help sell their products as part of their public relations efforts. Oftentimes, these
celebrities don't have any personal experience with the products or background with the
science utilized to create them, but their testimonial can increase sales simply because
they provide a recognizable and sometimes trustworthy face to the public. Viewers of
this type of propaganda put their faith in the testimonial rather than judging the product,
idea, or company on its own merits.

Q.3 What does readability research deal with? What is the importance of readability
research? Discuss the history of reliability measurement.

Answer
What is readability?

Readability is a measure of how easy a piece of text is to read. It can include elements
of complexity, familiarity, legibility and typography. Readability formulas usually look at
factors like sentence length, syllable density and word familiarity as part of their
calculations.

Why does readability matter?

The written word is used to communicate a whole host of ideas and information. But,
what if without even being aware of it, your writing was stopping people engaging with
your content?

Readability scores measure whether content is likely to be understood by your intended

reader.

What is a readability score?

A readability score can tell you what level of education someone will need to be able to
read a piece of text easily. The score identifies a grade level approximate to the number
of years of education a person has had.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

For example, a Flesch-Kincaid readability score of around 8 is roughly equivalent to a

reading level of US grade 8 - ages 13-14. When text is too difficult or awkward to read,
messages may not be engaged with or understood. On the flipside, when writing is too
simplistic, your audience might feel patronized or just plain bored. Either way, the
readability of a given text influences the extent to which people engage with and take on
a message.

Where did readability scoring come from?

The idea of readability came about in the 1920s. As the numbers of children going to
secondary school increased, figuring out exactly what children should be taught became
a hot topic.

Advice arrived in 1921 in the form of 10,000 words, listed in Edward Thorndike's The
Teachers' Word.

The list highlighted to teachers the words they should be instilling in a student's
vocabulary. Each word was assigned a value based on Thorndike's calculation of the
breadth and frequency of use.

ReFrom this, the catalyst for research into readability was born.

By the late 40s, a number of new readability measures had emerged that generated
scores based on syllable counting and sentence length.

For example, Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease scores are between 0 and 100. With a
score of 70 to 80, equivalent to seventh grade - age 12 - is fairly easy to read. The new
scores were often mapped to a grade level, such as with the Flesch-Kincaid and
Gunning-Fog Grade Levels. With both formulae, a score of 7-8 is ideal.

Why does readability matter?

Readability is a widely applied principle, valued across a vast spectrum of professions

and sectors.

Here are just a few examples of why it matters and to who.

 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

1 Teacher How do they decide what texts are appropriate for their students?
Education is the foundation of society. This places a huge responsibility on teachers to
educate effectively.

One of the many factors that bear on the success of teaching is whether an instruction
is appropriate for level for the learner.

Too easy and they'll be bored. Too difficult and you risk disengaging them altogether.

Readability scores help educators choose the correct level of books.

Back in 1975, the UK education policy A language for life set out that:

"A particularly important teaching skill is that of assessing the difficulty level of books by
applying measures of readability. The teacher who can do this is in a better position to
match children to reading materials that answer their needs."

It's now over forty years later and the use of readability scores in the choosing of set
texts remains influential.

A survey by the US National Council of Teachers of English found that 84% of

respondents identified readability level as a factor that influenced the books they chose.

While some have highlighted its limitations, readability provides an essential measure
by which to choose appropriate text.

2 | Digital marketers Increase the likelihood of people engaging with your

brand

As Neil Patel mentioned in his Content Marketing Institute blog, "content that people
love and content that people can read is almost the same thing". This isn't quite true,
badly executed ideas can also be easily read. However, readability plays a vital role in
getting people to your website and ensuring they engage with your content when they
get there.

This makes readability a pretty important factor for success in digital marketing.
Unfortunately, the readability of web content varies massively between sites.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

A study of wine websites looked at the copy from the 20 most popular wine brands in
the US. The results didn't read well, but they did produce a consensus on two areas.

1. Everybody loves wine - no surprise there!

2. Content that was readable converted better across demographics.

Less sophisticated consumers wouldn't engage in unclear messages about wine. At the
same time, more sophisticated consumers appreciated information being conveyed
clearly.

Lawyers It's time to simplify legal documents

"Have you read the terms and conditions?” “Yes,” we say, even though

99% of the time this is a lie.

That said, if those terms and conditions were a matter of life and death we'd at least
take a glance.

The difficulty here is that important legal documents, such as wills, are often written in a
way that people can't understand.

A recent study by the University of Colorado Springs investigated how people

comprehend legal language in wills.

It revealed that people have significant difficulty understanding key legal concepts.

Increasing readability improved a lawyers ability to apply legal concepts and for them to
be understood.

Supplying explanations in plain English for difficult to understand legalese was found to
be effective, as well as ethical.

Given that most older adults have a will, the idea that its contents may not have been
fully understood is worrying

Government Transparent policies

It's the responsibility, and moral duty, of any government to clearly communicate their
ideas and plans. However, as you soon realize when reading government policy, this
isn't often the case.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

To counter, there are campaigns in the UK and the US that aim to help governments.
Promotion of plain English and readable content is their core message.

But what are the criteria by which we can judge whether something is written clearly and
concisely? You guessed it, readability scores.

In the US, following the introduction of the Plain Writing Act of 2010, the efforts of
government bodies to present their policies clearly is audited annually by the center for
plain English - PLAIN.

PLAIN produces a report with the readability scores for each government department.
Those with poor communication are held accountable.

In Holland, the Dutch government made great use of the CEFR readability score. After
producing a tone of information the general public couldn't understand and wasting
taxpayers’ money, they adopted readability. Sometimes, you need to learn the hard
way...

5 Healthcare How to ensure patients are getting the right messages around
their care and treatment
What is lupus? How long does flu last? Is bronchitis contagious?

J. Whatever the condition or sickness your suffering from, Google has an answer.
Although, the information 5* available is often numerous, scary, and very quiestionable.

As the average American reads at an eighth-grade level, medical material should be

written at a fourth to sixth-grade level. As recommended by the US National Library of
Medicine.

However, one report - A comparative analysis of the quality of patient education

materials from medical specialties - showed that content from all of the 16 tested
medical specialties was too complex for the average reader. This led to possible issues
in diverse areas, such as plastic surgery, family medicine and neurology.

When my toddler fell down the stairs, my wife and I went into full-on protective parent
mode. First, we checked on him and gave him a cuddle. Thankfully, it wasn't a bad fall,
but it did scare us.

The next thing we did was head to Google for advice on what to do next. We needed to
know what danger signs to look for and if we should take him to hospital or not.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

I'd hate to have been reading advice that was too difficult to understand quickly.
Especially when panic, stress and a crying toddler is added to the mix.

How can readability scoring help you?

Readability scores don't just point out problems, they provide a tool by which to address
them. They help writers ensure content, in all it's glorious uses, can be clearly
understood.

Readability scoring provides a gauge by which writers can improve the quality of their
writing. But, it's not always easy to understand results. Which is why we created
Readable and developed a one size fit all readability rating?

Q.4Discuss dissonance theory in the context of information seeking and avoidance

both in interpersonal communication and mass communication

Answer
Many early studies of communication, whether of mass or interpersonal communication,
have assumed that individuals seek, or at least pay some attention to, sources of
information. This assumption is deeply embedded in Western culture, at least as far
back as Aristotle's statement that “all men, by nature, desire to know" (circa 330 BC).
For this reason perhaps, the emphasis in research on communication and on
information seeking has been on active acquisition of information (e.g., in Lasswell's
1948 characterization of surveillance of the environment" as being one of the three
functions of communication”).

Most discussions of information seeking also focus on the benefits of acquiring data.
Many models of the information-seeking process (e.g., Ellis, Kuhlthau, and Wilson) do
not even consider that information seeking may not take place in cases in which people
recognize their ignorance about a topic. As in Aristotle's time, it is assumed that people
want to know; looking for information is a natural aspect of being human.

Yet, it has also long been noted that people may avoid information, if paying attention to
it will cause mental discomfort or dissonance. As Maslow once put it: "we can seek
knowledge in order to reduce anxiety and we can also avoid knowing in order to reduce
anxiety". He recognized that sometimes we would rather not know that we are at high
risk for a disease or disastera tendency familiar to communication researchers,
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

especially those involved in information campaigns, as well as health information

professionals and researchers.

The tendency to avoid, ignore, or deny information has always been somewhat of an
anomaly in human behavior. How have communication theories and information-
seeking models dealt with it? The idea of the "selecting” messages naturally
emphasizes the information that is selected, not that which is ignored. The authors are
interested in the latter in this paper. In addressing this issue, we first examine the
evolution of relevant concepts and theories and then explore how some information-
seeking models incorporate the notion of avoiding information.

The Evolution from selection to rejection

The notion of avoiding information has a long history in the communication literature
and a much longer one in the discipline of psychology. Perhaps as far back as James's
writings on will and attention and certainly in Freud's theories about psychological
defenses (repression, suppression, and denial), psychologists have discussed the
tendency of humans to allow uncomfortable thoughts or memories to slip away. An early
characterization of avoidance was that of an intentional selection of some stimuli rather
than others. Hyman and Sheatsley's “selective exposure” (1947) has been cited as a
reason why attempts to use the mass media to change attitudes or behavior (e.g., in
health promotion campaigns) sometimes fail. They characterized some people as
"chronically uninformed" and "hard to reach."

On the basis of their studies, Hyman and Sheatsley observed that humans tend to seek
information that is congruent with their prior knowledge, beliefs, and opinions and to
avoid exposure to information that conflicts with those internal states. The hypothesized
need for "consistency” (in thought and perhaps in emotion) also contributed to the
growing research (now close to a thousand studies) on "cognitive dissonance”.
Festinger's ideas about avoiding dissonance were rooted in theories of social
comparison (i.e., the tendency to evaluate oneself through comparisons with the
abilities, achievements, and opinions of others), a stream of thought that continues in
psychology (e.g., Trope and Swann). Festinger had demonstrated that under certain
circumstances people prefer to seek out information consonant with their knowledge.
Later experiments by Frey showed that such preferences differ by whether the situation
is serious and whether those involved have an opportunity to do something about it. In
general, if nothing can be done to change an outcome, people have a greater
willingness to deal with dissonant information.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

Research on "fear appeals" considered another possibility: purposeful rejection of

information. In 1953, Janis and Feshback found that extreme attempts to frighten
people into practicing good dental hygiene, by showing them pictures of mouth cancer
and deformed teeth, were not very effective. They hypothesized that such strong
arousals lead an audience to "ignore" the threat, whereas milder portrayals are better at
leading them to confront the underlying problem. Information about possible threats
creates tensions in the minds of audience members, who must in turn find some way to
resolve the tension. If the threat is extreme, or if any potential responses are not
expected to be effective, then an attractive alternative is to ignore the threat entirely,
which in turn promotes consistency. A key consideration, then, is the mechanism by
which people evaluate messages.

One unsettled issue regarding avoidance is the degree to which it is triggered by the
situation that a person faced, as opposed to a trait that a person possessed
permanently. Rokeach saw it as a tendency for people to have either an "open" or a
"closed" mind. Those with an open mind were more likely to approach new information
than to avoid it. Seeing avoidance as a trait found new adherents in the 1980s, when
psychologists interested in coping behaviors developed a related typology that
addressed the emotional component of threatening information. Information-seeking
styles were characterized as either monitoring" or "blunting” [19, 20). Individuals who
are monitors scan the environment for threats, individuals who are blunters tend to
avoid threatening information or distract themselves from it. As many as one-third of
patients choose to distract themselves when faced with threats they see as
uncontrollable.

Since the 1980s, instruments have been developed to measure coping behavior, in
particular the degrees of hypothesized monitoring and blunting among patients and
other subjects. The most widely used instrument, the Monitor/Blunter Style Scale
(MBSS), poses four scenarios (one directly health care related), each accompanied by
eight statements that respondents check if they agree with them. Examples of blunting
statements include "I would try to sleep” and “I would go to the movies to take my mind
off things." An article by Rees and Bath reviews implementations of the scales and
questions the reliability of the dichotomous (i.e., check/no check) version of the blunting
scale. Recent investigations, (e.g., Petersson et al. 3) have found only the monitoring”
scale of the MBSS to have predictive validity. Fogel has illustrated a successful
application of the "Brief Cope" scale, which includes subscales on denial and self-
distraction akin to MBSS blunting items.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

More recent researchers of fear appeals ans Witte) have teased out distinctions in the
way that people evaluate information directed at them in public campaigns. Attempts to
control danger operate in parallel with the way people manage their fears and anxiety.
They may protect themselves from danger by accepting suggestions for avoiding
disease, or they may obviate their fear by rejecting the advice entirely as ineffective or
too difficult to carry out. How people assess threatening messages is determined by
several factors that have to do with the nature of the hazard itself, their perceptions of
the effectiveness of responses to the threat (response efficacy), and their beliefs about
their own ability to carry out effective responses (self-efficacy). High anxiety coupled
with feelings of low self-efficacy are likely to invoke fear-control responses like denial,
anger, guilt, or hopelessness

5 What is persuasion? How attitude can be changed.

Attitudes are general evaluations of objects, ideas, and people one encounters
throughout one's life (e.g., "capital punishment is bad”). Attitudes are important because
they can guide thought, behavior, and feelings. Attitude change occurs anytime an
attitude is modified. Thus, change occurs when a person goes from being positive to
negative, from slightly positive to very positive, or from having no attitude to having one.
Because of the functional value of attitudes, the processes that change them have been
a major focus throughout the history of social psychology

Dual Process Approach to Attitude Change

According to dual process models of attitude change, research on this topic can be
organized according to two general types of processes: (1) those that occur when one
puts forth relatively little cognitive effort, and (2) those that occur with relatively high
cognitive effort. The amount of thought and effort used in any given situation is
determined by many variables, all of which affect one's motivation or ability to think.
Some examples include one's personal preference for engaging in complex thought, the
personal relevance of the attitude object, and the amount of distraction present while
attempting to think. Furthermore, both high- and low-effort processes can operate
whether or not a persuasive message is presented.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

Low-Effort Process

When factors keep one's motivation and/or ability to think low (such as when the issue
is not personally relevant or there are many distractions present), attitude change can
be produced by a variety of low-effort processes. These include some largely automatic
associative processes as well as simple inferential processes.

Associative Processes

Classical Conditioning. One way to produce attitude change in the absence of effortful
thought is to repeatedly associate an initially neutral attitude object with another
stimulus that already possesses a positive or negative meaning. For example, imagine
that every time you saw your uncle as a child he took you to the zoo. Assuming you
enjoy going to the zoo, you will likely start to feel more positively toward your uncle. If,
instead, every time you saw him he took you to the doctor to get your immunization
shots, the opposite result is more likely. Although research on this process has
demonstrated that it is most effective for previously neutral stimuli (such as novel words
or objects), significant attitude change has also been found for positive and negative
attitude objects as well. One series of studies found that repeatedly pairing words
related to the self (e.g., I and me) with positive stimuli caused significant increases in a
later measure of participants' self-esteem. Thus, continually associating an attitude
object or message with something you already like (e.g., an attractive source) can lead
to positive attitudes.

Affective Priming Another process that involves the association of two stimuli is called
affective priming. In this process a positive or negative stimulus (e.g, words such as
love or murder) is encountered just prior to a novel attitude object (rather than following
it, as occurs in classical conditioning). When this happens, one's reaction to the positive
or negative stimulus will come to color the evaluation of the new object, producing
attitude change. Imagine, for instance, that you are at an unfamiliar restaurant and are
about to try a totally new dish. If this meal is brought to you by a very attractive waiter or
waitress, your positive reaction toward this server is likely to influence your initial
attitude toward the food. Although this attitude may change as you interact with the
attitude object (.e. when you eat the food), the initial positive evaluation will make it
more likely that your final attitude is also positive.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

Mere Exposure In both of the processes discussed so far, an attitude is altered by the
attitude object's association with a positive or negative stimulus. In contrast, research on
the mere exposure effect has found that repeated exposure to an object in the absence
of association can also change attitudes. Quite simply, this process requires only that
one is repeatedly exposed to an attitude object. When this occurs, the attitude toward
the object becomes more positive; possibly due to the fact that the object has actually
become associated with the absence of anything negative. The strongest mere
exposure effects occur when the repeated attitude object is low in meaning (e.g., novel)
or is presented outside of conscious awareness. One intriguing implication of this
phenomenon is that mere exposure might help to account for the preference a newborn
infant shows for his or her mother's voice. As the child develops in the womb, one
stimulus that is repeated every day is the mother's voice. Thus, mere exposure to this
stimulus should cause the child's attitude toward the voice and subsequently its source)
to become positive, enhancing the mother-child bond.

Inferential Processes

Balance. One simple inferential process of attitude change involves cognitive balance.
Stated simply, balance is achieved when people agree with those they like and disagree
with those they dislike. When this is not the case, one experiences a state of unease,
and attitudes are likely to shift to brin balance. For instance, suppose you discover that
you and your worst enemy both love the same band. When this occurs, you are likely to
experience an uncomfortable state of imbalance, and to rectify this inconsistency, one
of your attitudes will likely change. Thus, upon learning the information, you may come
to find your previous enemy much less distasteful or, alternatively, feel less positively
toward the band.

Attribution At its most general level, attribution concerns the inferences that people
make about themselves and others after witnessing a behavior and the situation in
which it occurred. Although this topic is highly studied in and of itself, its research has
also outlined a number of processes that can create low effort attitude change. One
attribution process, which occurs when people are not well attuned to their own beliefs,
is self-perception. In this process, people infer their own attitudes from their behaviors,
just as they would for someone else. Thus, people can infer that if they are eating a
peach or watching a pro-peach advertisement, they must like peaches, even if they
hadn't considered this possibility before. When this inference is made, it produces
attitude change, making their attitude toward peaches more positive.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

In a related phenomenon, called the over justification effect, people come to infer that
they dislike a previously enjoyed activity when they are provided with overly sufficient
rewards for engaging in it. Research has demonstrated this effect by providing children
with candy or other rewards for engaging in an activity they had previously performed
merely for its own sake (e.g., coloring). When this happens, the children infer that they
were performing the activity for the reward, not for its mere enjoyment, and their attitude
toward engaging in the behavior becomes less positive

Heuristics One final process through which low-effort attitude change can occur is
through the use of heuristics, or simple decision rules based on prior experiences or
observations. Although there are countless heuristics, some examples are "experts are
usually correct" and "bigger is better.” When motivation and ability to think are low,
people can use simple rules like these to form evaluations. For instance, in deciding
what new music is good, someone might simply walk over to the bestseller section at
the local music store and survey the current top selections. By basing their opinions on
the rule that the majority is usually right," they establish positive attitudes toward those
artists they discover in this section and avoid more effortful (and costly) processes such
as critically listening to each performer's music. Or, instead of thinking carefully about all
of the arguments in a persuasive message about a new pain reliever, a person might
simply count the arguments and reason, the more arguments, the better."

High-Effort Processes

There are also attitude change processes that require a greater use of mental
resources. When a person is motivated and able to invest high effort in making a
judgment about an issue or object, attitude change can occur due to characteristics of
his or her thoughts (e.g., whether the thoughts are favorable or unfavorable), his or her
estimation that good or bad outcomes will be tied to the attitude object, or the person's
realization that he or she holds conflicting beliefs about a set of attitude objects.

Cognitive Responses When people's attitudes change through the use of high
cognitive effort, some of the most important aspects to consider are their actual
thoughts (cognitive responses) toward the attitude object and any persuasive message
that is received on the topic. Although there are a number of different aspects to
consider, three components of thought have proven especially important in producing
change. The first, and most obvious, is whether thoughts about the attitude object or
message are largely favorable or unfavorable. By examining the ratio of positive to
negative thoughts, the likely amount of attitude change produced can be approximated.
 Course: Communication Theories - I (5635)

Semester: Spring, 2020 Level: M. Sc/PGD (Mass Communication)

Assignment No. 2

If there is a greater proportion of favorable than unfavorable thoughts, your attitude will
change in a positive direction. The opposite is true if there are a greater proportion of
negative thoughts. A second important dimension concerns how much thinking is done.
For example, the more positive thoughts one has about an attitude object, the more
favorable the attitudes will be. The third, and final, aspect of thought is related to
confidence. When thinking about an attitude object or persuasive message, people will
have varying confidence in each of their discrete thoughts.