1

A Rationale for
Studying Persuasion
John S. Seiter and Robert H. Gass

Some lime ago. one of (he author ... \\ i.I\ imitcd 10 hi" "on ... ,",ccond grade c1a ...... rool1l 10 tal"-

about

'pcr~uasion.'

the :-.ubjeci the author

tC~lchc ...

and rC\l!i.Jn.:hel" at a univcr..,ity. The

t;CC-

and graders. the: author wa ... told. were hu\ illg care!.!f year:- and parent' with all 'orts of
professions were making appearallce:... The author said he would he happy to do it. though
privately he had his douhts. Pcrhap" hc'u \cell Ino man) mo\'ic\ \\ ilh "career day"
scenes-featuring o\,crzc<.Ilous parent ... speaking to cla ... sroorns of \quirmy. fidgety children. Wh;Hcvcr the ca..,c. he wa ... ,ure about nne thing: He was going to hu\ 'c to adapt to an
audience prone to "ants in the pant .... "
On presentation day. aftc;" a quid. definition of pep'Iuasioll (involving a chocolate
bribe for all those who li . . tcned do\cly), the author and <;;;econd grader, tried a few simple
experiments. In one. they watched eommerciab that made certain products (c.g., dolls,
car ..... cerea l) appear much more dalliing and irre,i . . tib lc than they were when ...een or
ta . . ted in the classroom. Onc ad featurl!u a child \I.' ho. IIllIllCdi .. lIcly after eating a particular
brand of cereal. became popular. hmfy. and ... k.il1ed at ... katehoarding. But when \"cvcnll of
the sl!cond graders "'<lmpled the cercal thl!mselvl!s. none seemed hairicr (a\" if they would
want [0 he!) and none \1,.-(-1'" able to replicate the ... "atehoard stunts. The author \Va . . pleased
with his result.... The second gradcr:-. \;ccmcd to under:-.tand that there were a lot of sneaky
ways people try to pcr\"uadc them. So. after warning them anollt a few other mes:-.ages they
shou ld watch Ollt for (e.g .. tho ... e il1\'ol\'ing. drug\" and cigarette ... ). the author pas ... ed out
Snickers and went on hi ... v... a). cOl1\inccd he'd done a line job.
It did not take long to di ... cO\'cr he wa" mistaken. Ju<;;;t a few day\" later, in fact. a
fj",hing trip with hi, \,,011 turned Into a discu\sion of mo~quitoes, Ilies. bullies. and persuasioll. all of which had made hi ... son ... li ... t of "bad thing\"." Thai \\a\" when the author rcaliled he might have spent loa much of hi ... pre ... cntalinn time on entcrlainmcnt and snacks
whi le neglecting to di\;cu ...... the good thing' per ... uasioll can accompli . . h. He also wondered
about hi\" reputation. Arter all. If pcr'LltI,ion were "hao" and hc taught it. what "ind of a

Chapter 1 A R01;OIwh' for Studying Per.w(lsioll

villain did hi!o. !-Ion think he was? Of course. if hi5, son or classmates had been thinking such
thoughts, they wouldn't be the fI,,1. Indeed, from time to time, those who study and teach
social inlluencc have been criticized harshly. In the fifth century B.C., for example. Plato
derided the first teachers of persuasion for "making the worse appear the better reason"
(Corbell, 1971, p. 598). Later. in the mid-1970s, Simons ( 1976) noted:
From a number of quarters Ihc~c day .... persuasion is under attack for being a manipulative
acti\ity. Its highest critic ... equate notjusl some persuasion. but all persuasion with decep~
(ion and rote-playing, domination and exploitation. (p. 35)

More recently still. femini:-.{ scholars have characterized traditional rhetoric. that is. persuasion. as a type of communication that devalues the lives and perspectives of others. and
a means by which persuaders attempt to feci good about themselves by denigrating others.
By way of example, Foss and Griflin (1995) wrote:
The value of the ~elr for rhelor~ in this rherorica l system comes from the rhelor's ability to
dClllon.'ttrate .'tuperior knowledge. ski lL.... and qualifications- in other words. authority-in
order to dominate the perspectives and knowledge of those in their audiences .... The act
of changing others not only establishes the power of the rhelor over other!:. but also devaluc" the lives and pep"pcctivcs of other". (p. 3)

With such criticisms in mind (and reputations at stake!). we thought it essential that
the iIHroduclory chapter 10 Ihis text set forth a rationale for studyi ng persuasion as well as
provide a brief ethical backdrop for exami nin g such a study. Before we do so, however,
we think it important to address two related issues. First. considering that critics of persuasion seem to emcrge and recmerge with some regularity. you might be wondering whether
the study of persuasion has suffered as a result. At first glance. one might be tempted to
conclude thai this is the case. When examining this issue. for example, Miller and
Burgoon (1978) initially noted:
While il would be hyperbolic to state Ihal Ihe gum. arc silent on the persuasive battleground. their roar ha~ grown ... poradic and muted. No longer are the pages of journals glutAs a result of these disciplinary trends.
led with the results or per~lIasion studies.
bedrock pessimists proclaim thaI per~lIasion research is a dying enterprise. while skeptics
content themselves with the observation that it has become an area of limited, secondary
import. (p. 29)

Though observations such as thes.e paint a grim picture. such skeptics and pessimists
are mistaken. To be certain. upon funher inspection. Miller and Burgoon (1978) concluded that the study of persuasion has not wavered; it has simply changed focus and direction. Thus. while traditional studies examining linear. "one-to-many " persuasive
attempts are less in evidence now, you'lI find a host of srudies on new persuasion topics.
including those on compliance gaining and deception. In other words, skeptics concluding
that persuasion re~cnrch has diminished were looking in the wrong places. Persuasion is a
dynamic area of srudy. On the one hand. scholar ly interest in topics may change as a result
of socia l. per\onal. or political climates- hence the large amount of research on mass per-

Chapter I A Rationale for Studying Persuasion

suasion and propaganda during the I940s, especially in World War II, followed by examinations of social protest and resistance to persuasion during the 196Os. when there was a

greal deal of political unreSI and distrusl of governmenl On the other hand. scholarly interest in specific topics may not fade forever. Instead, interest in various aspects of persua-

sion may be cyclical. This ebb and flow of interesl is evidenced by research on cognitive
dissonance, which flourished in Ihe 1950s and I 960s, entered a period of Ihe doldrums in
Ihe I 970s and 1980s.' and then reemerged as a vilaltheory with importanl implicalions for
persuasion in the 1990s. At one point. Leon Festinger, who created Cognitive Dissonance

Theory, Slopped conducling research on the Iheory altogether. In a Iranscriplion of his remarks al a 1987 symposium (cited in Harman-Jones & Mills, 1999), he said, "I ended up
leaving social psychology .... I left and Slopped doing research on the theory of cognitive
dissonance because I was in a total rut. The only thing I could think about was how correct

Ihe original slalement had been" (p. 383). In a recent volume by Harmon-Jones and Mills
(Eds.) devoled to cognitive dissonance, however, Aronson (1999) underscored the imporlance of Ihe theory and "ils reemergence in the 1990s as a powerful means of predicting
and changing human behavior in a variety of areas, including those thaI have abiding social importance" (p. 103). In short, then, despite what skeplics and pessimisls might say.
persuasion research has never gone out of fashion; it has just changed iLs style and has on

occasion broughl back inlo fashion styles of old.

In addition to noting the unwavering nature of interest in persuasion research. a second point we would like to make before offering our rationale for studying persuasion is
that we do not disagree with all that critics of persuasion have to say. That is. we agree that
plenty of people have used persuasion for the wrong reasons, sometimes with tragic consequences. Focusing on such instances alone. however, strikes us as seeing the glass half

emply. Think, for example, as the author and his son did for the rest of Iheir fishing Irip, of
all Ihe good Ihings that persuasion mighl accomplish. Withoul persuasion, how does a
physician urge a diabetic patient to layoff sweets or get more exercise? How does a friend

gel her drunken buddy 10 accept a ride rather than drive himself home? How does a
mother warn her five-year-old child never 10 take rides from strangers? How do civil
righls aClivislS speak OUI against racism or world leaders lobby for peace agreements? We
hope you see our pain!. The list of good things that can be accomplished through persuasion is endless.
The arguments of some critics, however, focus less on the ends of persuasion and
instead point accusing fingers at the means by which persuasion is accomplished. For example. the feminist scholars we mentioned earlier take issue with traditional persuasion
because it embodies an adversarial view of communication encounters in which one
person is trying to do something to another. In contrast, their approach, an "invitational
approach" to rhetoric, emphasizes cooperation and dialogue. One person is trying to communicate with another.

We respecI this poinl of view. Indeed, we would be among the first to acknowledge
that in our patriarchal society, people often fail to recognize incentives for cooperative
communication. They presume that communication encounters are competitive or
adversarial in nature. They overlook their interdependence and view communication as a

win-lose process. They neglecI shared or communal approaches 10 problem solving and
decision making.

Chapter I A Rationale for STlldyillg PnslI(lsioll

While cooperative. dialogic encounters may be the ideal to which we should all aspire. we believe that there are many situations in which people have to roll up their sleeves
and persuade. 2 Imagine. for example. that you observed an injustice being committed by
one person against another. You could begin by inviting the aggressor to engage in a dia-

logue in the hope of arriving at a mutually satisfactory outcome. But what if the aggressor
spurned your invitation'? Would you simply say, "Oh well, I tried" and resign you rself to
the fact that the world is full of injustices? We think it would be better to resort to persua:-.ion. to engage in an active effort 10 change the mind of the aggressor. We see dialogue
and persua~ion as complementary, not alllilhclical, forms of communication . There are
lime~. we submit. when one has {J moral obligation to try 10 change others' minds ami
behm'ior. And as wcve argued elsewhere (Gass & Seiter, 2(03), we think the motives of
persuader!-. have as much to do with the ethical defensibility of their innuence attempts as
the means of persuasion used. The women's suffrage movement was a persuasive campaign. So was the women's rights movement that began in the 1970s. So are the efforts to
...ecure basic human rights for women throughout the world. We don't think that women
who lOil in sweatshops. or who live in poverty. or who are denied the most basic education ... or medical care. or who are forced to marry against their will, mind too much if others lise persuasion to try to improve their lot in life. Persuasion is essential precisely

becau,. dialogue sometimes fails.

From an ethical standpoint. then. we ... ide with Plato's student. Aristotle. who had
this to say about persuasion:
If it j!,! urged thai an abuse of the rhetorical faculty can work great mi.!.chief. the same
charge can be brought against all gOQ{lthings (save virtue itself). and especially <'lgainstthe
most useful things such as strength. health. wealth. and military skil l. Rightly employed.
they work the greatest blessings. and wrongly employed. they work th e greatest harm.
( t355b)

In other words. we take the position that persuasion is amoral. or as McCroskey (1972. p.
269) called it. "ethically neutraL" Persuasion. much lik e any tool. can be used for good or
bad. It all depend!<" on the motives of the tool u~er- Hitl er versus Gandhi. Osama bin
Laden \ersus Martin Luther King. Jr.. Jim Jone~ versus Mother Teresa. In short. the gla~s

i, neither half empty nor half full-it's both.

Although we believe that this point addresses the previously mentioned critici ... ms of
persua ... ion. there are additiona l and perhaps even more compelling reasons for reading a
book such as this. First. critics who argue against the ~lUdy of social influe nce by pointing
their finger~ at unethical pen.uaders provide what we consider one of the best reasons for
studying per~uasion: self-defense. The fact that unethical persuaders are lurking around
corners. plying their trade on unsuspecting wrgets. is no reason to stop studyi ng persllu... ion. On the contrary. we believe that ~lIch a response on ly makes them more s uccessful.
Instead. by learning the tricks of their trade. we are in a better position to defend ourselves
against unethical persuaders. This, of course. was what the author was lrying to accom plish with his second-grade audience. By expos in g some of the bells and whistles advertisers use to appeal to children, he hoped to make the chi ldren more crit ical consumers of the
persuas.ive messages they receive. What better way to di~arm those who might try 10 ma-

Chapter I A Ratiollall' for Studyill/-: Persllwioll

nipulate or coe rce us into do in g ~o m c thin g thal '~ not in our best inte rest? Learn ing about
pe rsuasion is an exccllent dc fense !
We reali ze. of course. th at by stud yin g persuas ion people may beco me more e ffec
ti ve per:-, uaders the mselves. Th is. we be lieve. is anothe r va lua ble reaso n for studyin g so
cial intlucnce. Whil e so me critics mi ght shudder at th is prospcc t, we view the abilit y to
influence oth ers as a fund ame nt al ingredi ent of communi cati on competence. And we are
not a lone. For example. in an ex te nsive rev iew o f communi cati on competence researc h
fro lllilluitiple fi e ld,. Spitzbe rg and C upach (1 984) reported th at an indi vidual' s abilit y to
adapt e ffec ti ve ly in order to ac hi eve goa ls is perh aps the most universall y accepted aspect
of communi catio n competence. Th is abil ity, th ey noted . j, a c ruc ial part o f be ing we ll adj usted that , when ab ~e nt , " is oft en associated with abn orm al or eve n patho logical ori enta
ti ons" (Spitzbe rg & Cupach. 1984. p. 36). Co mpete nt com mu nicators are persuas ive. They
know how to adapt successfull y in orde r to ac hi eve thei r goa ls.
With the above in mind . it makes no se nse to us to suggest th at the stud y of such an
impo rtant co mmuni ca ti on abi lity be avo ided . Imag inc. for exa mpl e, a co mmun ica ti on
t e~lc h e r te lling a stude nt. "I wan t you to be ab le 10 organ ize your ideas: usc solid reaso ning
and ev ide nce: have good cOlllmand of lan guage : and lise move ment, ge~ tures, and eye
co ntact efTec ti ve ly- hw 11 01 if you are going 10 persuade anyolle of onylhillg!" Imagi ne a
teac her te lling a c lass, " Yo u need to be able to e ngage in ac ti ve lis tening, to paraphrase
othe rs' ideas. to e ngage in pe rce ptionchec king. to self-di sc lose in the here and now- bUl
11 01 if yO/l re /I~rill g 10 c(}IH'iIlCe someoue of .wmelhillg.' Bei ng an e ffec ti ve persuader is
pari a nd parce l of be ing a co mpete nt communi cator.
Ha vin g made Ollr bias c lear, we feel it 's important to pa u ~e for a mome nt 10 point
o ut. as others have (see Kellerman. 1992: Spitzberg & Cupac h. 1984). thaI cO mpelel1l
co mmuni cators are not onl y e ffect ive in ac hi ev in g the ir goa ls but a lso do so in appropriate
ways. Here. we emphasiL.e the word approp riate. Whil e we have no qu a lms abo ut teac hin g stud ent s to become more effec tive persuaders. we be li eve th at th e power 10 persuade
ca rri es with it an o bli gati o n 10 persuade ethi call y.
Happil y. the re see ms to be in c rea~ in g and co ntinucd interes t in ethi cal issues surroundin g persuas ion. By way of exa mple. Robert C ialdini ( 1999) has co mpared ethi cal
pe rsuade r"> 10 "s leuths:' Unlike 'bu ng lers." who use ineffecti ve strategies. or "smu gg le rs:'
wh o re ly o n un scrupulou s tac ti cs. "s leuths" stud y a persuas ive silUati on in order to de
ve lo p the most e ffec ti ve tactics. ye t they also make sure th at the tacti cs they use are elhi
ca l. S imilarl y, Broc kri ede (1974) co mpared e thical pe rsuaders (or arg uers) to " lovers."
Unlike ;scducers." who use tri cke ry and deceit to achi eve the ir goals, or " ra pi ~ l s, " who
u ~e th rea t ~ or force, " Iove rs" res pect others' d ig nit y, are ope n to oth ers' arg ume nts. and
stri ve fo r eq ualit y. Finall y. as we've already noted. pers uas ion itself is amora l. Thi s sugges ts to U ~ thal decisions regardin g how ri ght or wrong any give n influe nce aHe mpt is
depe nd largely on the natu re o f the situati on fi nd on th e motivc:-> of Ihe pe rsuader.' Eve n so.
we believe thai a few general guide lines appl y to a lmost eve ry influence att empt. We can
not overemphasizc, for exampl e. the importan ce of res pecting others a nd looking out for
the ir welfare. especiall y when th ey are morc vulne rable th an ot hers (e.g .. children). We
believe th at persuasion is ge nerall y more e thi cal whe n people are made aware that they are
be in g influe nced and whe n th ey ha ve unconditiona l freedo m to say " no" to influence
att empts.

Chaple r I A Rmiollalefor STudying Persllasion

In addition to its defen~ivc and instrumental benefits, there is another reason for
studyi ng persuasion. Before offe ring our final reason, thou gh. we wish to point out one
mo rc thin g about persuasion's detractors. Specifically, those who argue against the stud y
of persuasion are themselves com mittin g a Til quoque fallacy, that is. accusing another of a

simi lar wrong. In the process of criticizing persuasion . such critics are relying on persuasion themselves. They would like to persuade you 1/01 to study pe rsuasion, not to use
persuasion. or to use persuasion less. This approac h raises an interesting dilemma: How
can one commun icate one's beliefs. op ini o ns. va lues. views. positions, preferences or
'dru ther<.; withoU/ employing persua!\ion?4
We have nOled elsew here (Gass & Seiter, 2003) th at influence attempts, whether
implicit or explic it. are ubiquitous. Look around yo u. Eac h day you are bombarded w ith
messages, adverti sements. logos, and countless ot her influe nce attempts. Consider, for example. ~ome of the following figures:
More Ihan $200 billion per year is spenl o n advert ising in Ihe Uniled Siaies (Berger,
2000),
If all the money spent o n advertising were divided up. it woul d work oul to about
$800 per person inlhe Uniled Siaies per year (Berge r, 2000).
The average person in the United States is ex po!\ed to more than 3.000 advertising
message, per day (Bo rchers, 2002: Dupo n!. 1999: S im o ns, 2001: Woodward &
Denlon. 1999).
Besides th al. think of the ot her co nt exts in whi ch you are exposed to inilue nce attempts.
Per!\uasion is an obv iolls and indispensable co mpone nt in a number of professions, including cou nseling. law, management. po litics. sales. social work . teaching. and the ministry.
It can be found ab undantl y in the sc ie nces. th e arts, interpe rsonal inte ractio ns. and secondgrade classrooms, just to name a few. Moreover. depending o n the way one defines
persuasion (see chapter 2), it ITiay be virtua ll y im poss ible flOf to influence others. Appeara nces, for example . eve n if unintentionally communicated. ca n be influential. Thus. babyfaced people lend 10 be perceived as honesl (Brownlow, 1992), and bald candidales are
less likely 10 gel elecled Ih an Ihose wi lh a full head of hai r (S ige lman, Dawson, NiIZ, &
Whicker, 1990). Peop le who use a 101 of eye conlaCI lend 10 be more persuasive (Segri n,
1993), and attract ive people are mo rc believable than unattractive ones (Seiter & Dunn ,
2000). Heav ier people are less likely 10 earn hi gh salaries Ihan slim people (Argy le, 1988),
and tall people are more likely Ihan sho rt peop le 10 gel jobs (A rgyle, 1988), In short,
avoiding persuasion wou ld be diffi cult. if not impossible. Even critics of persuasion cannot avoid it. Clearly. e ngagi ng in persuasion is an inex tricable part of being human .
This statement. to us. provides the most co mpe llin g reason for studying pers uasion .
Specifically. if we humans ever hope 10 understa nd ourselves, how can we ig nore one of
the major underlying impulses for human com muni cation ? Studying persuasion can and
doe~ te ll us a great deal about how hum ans produce. shape. perceive, interpret, and respond to l11e~sages. It provide!\ insigh ts into the ~ocja l and c ultural forces that give rise to
influence att em pts. among them pres ide ntial debates, social protests, religiou s cults, and
health campaigns. It di spe l ~ vari o us "common sense" assumptions about th e ways III
wh ich persuasion " really" works, In s hort, as Miller and Burgoon ( 1978) argued:

--,

Chapter I A Rationale for Studying PerSftasiOIl

No matt er hO\\ ferve ntl y !',ollle well-meaning indi vidual s try to deny or wish the fact away,
concerning contro l a nd influe nce will remain an integ ral aspect of humanity 's
daily cOlllmunicati ve ac ti vities. Gi ven the centrality of these questi o ns. it seems both foolhardy and frui tl c!-.s to a~~UIllC that Ollr unde rstandin g of human com munication can go on
advancing wi thou t conti nu ed research attention to the persuasion process. (p. 45)

que!-. ti o n ~

It is in this spi rit th at we present and hope you will approach this collection of readIngs. It contu ins what we bel ieve are so me of the finest ideas from so me of the most important pe rsuasion sc holars of our time. The collection is organized into four parts.

I. Part I lays the grou nd work for study by examining conceptuali zations of persuasion,
the hi story and nature of the tield. and the ways in which persuasion functions.
2. Part II exa mines important variabl es in the process of persuasion. Specifically, it
discusses co mmuni ca tor characteristics-source credibility, argumentativeness,
verba l agg ressive ness. and ge nder-and how they affect the creation, se nding, and
receiving of persuasive messages. This section also examines elements of persuasive messages the mselves. both verbal and non verbal.
3. Part III explores the strat eg ies and processes by which people seek and resist compliance. It includes a theoretical disc ussion of how compliance-gaining messages
are produced. as well as an explorati on of sequ enti al persuasion tactics, fear appeals.
decepti on. and inoculation.
4. Part IV exa mines soc ial intluence in seve ral contexts. Specifically. it analyzes persuasio n <I!o. it takes place between doctors and patients, in interpersonal relationships.
and between e mpl oyees. buyers. and sellers in organizational contexts.
D e~p ite its cri ti cs. persuasion, as you will see, is a study with a rich past, a promising future. and widesp read conte mporary inte rest. We hope we have convinced you that it
is a topic we ll worth stud ying. We also hope you find the topic of persuasion as fascinating a ... we do and thai yo u enjoy reading thi s collec ti on as much as we enjoyed editing and
co mpilin g it.

Noles ________________________________________________________
I. In 1978. Milkr and Burgoon argued that attribution and equity theories had ended the reign of
cognili ve dissonance and OIhcr cogni ti ve cons i ~tency theories.
2. In fairnt" ....... \\c ... llOuld note that some femini~1 scholars admit that pe rsuasion is sometimes neces
.. ary (Fo .... & Griflin. 1995).
J. Clearly. the number of per.-.uasive si tuations that cou ld be debated is endless and could fill vol~
uJ1le~. Though we do not havc rool11 to consider suc h "i tuati ons here. for a more detailed di sc ussion. see
Ga .. ~ & Se iter (200J). chapter 16.
4. Again. to be fair. we should note th aU~ome feminist critics (see Foss & Griffin. 1995) say that their
appro;lch. knov.n a ... ill\i tational rhetoric. iii not designed 10 "change" anything (indeed. that would be per
<"ua<"ion) . In<.,lead. thcy ~ay:
Although invil;lIional rhetoric i~ nol designed to create a specific change. such as the transformation of
..ystem .. of oprre~~ion into ()ne~ that va lue and nurture individuals. it may produce such an outcome.
(p. 16)

Moreo\er. \\ hile ,>uch cri ti cs cla im they are not attempting to characteri ze trad itional approac hes to
rhetoric (i .e .. PCNI<I ... ion) a .. "mi ... guidcd: one ha~ to wonder whether some of the language they use to

Chapter 1 A Rarimw/t' for Smt/\'illg Per,HW.\';OIl

characterize pcr'>uasion. for example. thai 11 "devalue'> live ... and per... peclive..... (p. J I. "infringc~ nn OIhcr...
rights 10 choose" (p. 3). comititute\ "a ~lI1d of lre<.,pa\sing on the per-iollal integrity of OIhcr..," (p. 3), and
Icad ... to the "denigralion" of other,' per..pecti ... C5 Cp. 6~is persua"i ... e. \\ hcthcr it \\;1\ intt!ndcd to be or
nol.

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Corbell, E. P. J. (1971 J. Cla.fJi{'{/1 rhewncfortlle modem Sl/Idf'lIt (2nd ed.), New York : O"ford Univl!r:-.ity

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{'olioll M01/0Krap},,\', 62.2-1 R.
Gas~,

R, H.. & Seller. J. S. (2003). PerwasI()// ..wl'ial,1!I7I1ellce, alit/ compliance Kaining (2nd ed.). Boo;ton: Allyn & Bacon.
HannonJones, E.. & Millo;. J . (1999). COf{lIiln'e cli\'wJf/(lI/a: Prowess on (I pi\'owl theory ill .wcilll psy
chology. Washington. DC : Amcrican P"ychology.
Kellerman, K. (1992). COlllmunlcation: Inhercmly ... trat~gic and primarily aUlOmatic. ComllllmicOIio1/
MOl/ograph:;. 59. 288-300.
McCro ... key. J. C. (1972). AI/ intmdllC'fioll to rhetoriCllI cOImmmicCllio1l (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Ilall.
Miller. G. R .. & Burgoon. M. (1978). Per... ua\iOll rel'>earch: Re\iew and commentary. In B, R. Ruben.
(Ed.). Commlmicari(m yellrl)(J(I~"2 (pr 29-47). New Brunswick. NJ: International Communication
A"sociation.
Scgrin, C. (1993). The effect!'.. of non\ocrbal bcha\ ior on outcomes of compliance gaining attempt ... , COIIImunication StIIt/ies, -14, 169- 187.
Seiter. J. S .. & Dunn. D. (2000). Beaut)' and bclic\'ablhty in f\exual harassment cases: Doe~ phy!'..ical at~
tractiven!.!ss affect perception" of veracity and the likel ihood of being harassed? Cmm/ll/lliwtiol1
Research Reports. 17 (2). 203-209.
Sigc1man, L., Dawson, E., Nitz, M .. & Whicker, M. L. ( 1990). Hair loss and electability: The bald truth .
JOlln/lil o/Nofll'erbaIBehm'ior. 14.269-452.
Simons. 1-1 . W. (1976). Persua.\ion: Um/el"sullldillf{. practice. lind lInlilysis. Reading. MA: Addison
Wesley.
Simons, H. W. (200 I ). Persulision inmciet.\'. Thousand Oak.... CA: Sage.
Spitlbcrg. B. H., & Cupach. W . R. (1984). Illterpersollal commullication compete"Cl', Beverly Hil l\, CA:
Sage.
Woodward. G.
& Denton. R. E. (1999). Per.w(lsiml lIIId influence ill American life (3rd ed.). Prospec t
Heights. IL: Wadsworth .

c..

Part

I
Preliminaries
Definitions, Trends, and
Theoretical Underpinnings
in the Field of Persuasion

Like most "part I s:' this first ~ect ioll sets the stage for all that follows. It does so by adsome preliminary questions involving the s tudy of persuasion----queslions of the
"what?," "when?," "where ?," "why." and "how?" variety. We hesitate. however, when
ca ll ing these queMions "preliminary." Indeed. to us the term preliminary implies the techni cal and detailed material that one mu st labor through before getting to the "good stuff:'
in mu ch the sa me way that one needs to finish one's spinach or broccoli before e njoying
dessert.
Contrary to s uch connotations, we find the material covered in this sec tion appealing and fascinating . Thus (at the risk of pushing metaphors too far), rather than think of
this sec tion' ~ chapters as "warm-up aCls" or "appetizers" we consider them "main events"
or "main cour~c~" in and of themselves. And (a t the risk of mixing metaphors), we view
thi~ section as the first reel of u movie that grabs one's attention and lays Ollt the basic
characters and foundations for toe plot that follows, Although on the one hand the chapters
in Ihi~ sec tion provide a background for understanding mnterial later in the book. they
address issues that not only cOl1linue to intrigue (and vex) per~uasion scholars but in many
ways. dictate the ways in which rc~earch and theori zing about persuasion are done.
As we've already not cd, eac h chapter in this section addresses basic questions about
persuasion, social int1uence, and compliance gain ing. Chapter 2 examines the "what" of
persuasion . As the saying goes, "Before beginning a hunt, it is wise to ask someo ne what
you are looking for before you begin looking for it" (Milne, 1995, p, 55), This chapter,
then. addresses questions about " the nature of the beast." In short, it offers a definition of
(h'es~illg

10

Pan I Preliminaries: Definitions, TremJ.~, and Theoretical Ufl(lerpi""ill~r\

persuasion and related terms such as influence and compliance gai ning. As you wi ll see.
the study of persuasion has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last few decades,
This chapter argues that such changes invite a reexamination of how pcrsuasion is conceptualized, It focuses specifically on two criteria- whether persuasion i~ intentional, and
whether it is successful- that scholars have used to define pef'ua,ion. It also discu,ses the
implications of using or not using such criteria to limit what is studied in the field. After
reading the chapter. we think you will see that understanding "what" pcr'\uasion is involves a lot more than consulting a dictionary. We also hope the chapter will help you
better understand the terms "persuasion." "social influence." and "compliance gaining"
when you encounter them later in the text.
If chapter 2 is the "what" chapter, chapter 3 is the "when and wherc" chapler. In it.
Daniel O'Keefe provides a road map for research and theory in persuasion. explaining
when and where the field got its start, where it has been, and where it may be heading.
Besides showing us "the lie of the land," we think this chapter is important because it
invites us to explore the ways in which the field has expanded and how we have as a result
developed new understandings about persuasion. At the same time, this chapter place~ the
complexity of variables related to persuasion into perspective and underlines the importance of understanding how specific context~ influence the proces~ of persuasionconcepts that, as you will see, become important later in this text. Although the "trends"
and "prospects" laid out in thi s chapter represent just one author's perspective 011 the field.
we like this portrayal and find it a compelling and inforJ11alivejourney.
Finally. chapters 4 and 5 focus on theories of persua~ion or. more specillcally. the
"how" and "why" questions of social influence. What is a theory? According to Littlejohn
(1996), in its broadest sense, a theory is simply an explanation of a phenomenon. Thl!ories
are comprised of a set of related concepts or propositions that help us underMand how
something functions or why it works the way it does (Infante. RanceI'. & Womack. 1997).
Theories not only explain how or why persuasion works. they al~o offer the prospect of
prediction and control. By way of illustration. Kim Witte's theory and model of fear appeals, described in chapter 13, not only explains how fear appeals function but a lso predicts the specific c ircumstances in which they will or will not be effective and offers
insights into controlling their use for maximum persuasive effect. In addition, good theories are heuristic-they generate research, aid in discovery, and are "vital to the growth of
knowledge" (Littlejohn. 1996. p. 32).
The theories presented in chapters 3 and 4 meet all of these criteria. Chapter 3 provides a brief overview of some of the moM influential theories in the discipline. wherea~
Richard E. Petty, Derek Rucker, George Bizer, and John T. Cacioppo. devote chapter -l
entirely to one theory, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). which i, arguably one of
the most important contemporary theories of persuasion. The ~copc of its influence i\ reflected in the number of places where it is cited in the other chapters of thi, book. The
ELM helps us understand the ways in which multiple variables (such as communicator
characteristics, credibility, message factors, (he nalUre of contexi. and so forth) come into
play in the process of persuasion. As you'll see, persuasion is rarely a simple. linear process, like a cue ball knocking an eight ball directly into a corner pocket. Instead, persuasion involves interactions among a number of variables. like pool balls banking off the
cushions of a pool table or ricocheting off one another before finally dropping into a

Part I Preliminoril'.v: Definitions. Trnlll\. lIlId Theon'tical UlldellJillllillg.\

11

poc ket. This chapter not only demonstrates such co mpl exi ty. it lays out the key proposition s of rhe ELM. and also addresses recelll criticis ms of the theory.
We hope you find the chapters in this part informative and enlighten in g. After reading them. you should have a much better understanding of what pe rsuasion is. where it
slands. and how it functions. Moreover. although we said carlier that we would like you to
co nsider thi s section more of a main course than an appetizer, we hope that this first batch
of chapters will whet yo ur appetite for all th ose that follow.

Referellces_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Infan te. D. A .. Rancer. A. S .. & Wom;'lck. D. F. (1997). BlIildillg ("{)/J/II//mic(//ioJ/ theory Ord cd.). Prospect Height s. IL: Waveland Press. Inc.
littcjohn. S. W. (1996). Theorie.\ of human communication (5th cd.). BOl,ton: WnJs-.worth Publishing
Compnny.

Milne. A. A .. ( 1995). Pooh's lillIe illstrtlclitm book. New York: DUHon Book<..

2
Embracing Divergence
A Definitional Analysis of Pure and
Borderline Cases of Persuasion
Robert H. Gass and John S. Seiter

Scholars in various disciplines devote considerable attention to defining their terms. Consider the field of communication, for example. Dance and Larson ( 1976) reported well
over 100 different definitions of the term "communication" in the literature. Much of the
wrangling over what constitutes communication has centered on issues such as intentionality (Is communication necessarily intentional?), symbolicity (Is communication limited
to symbo li c action?), and the number of participants required (Does communication require two or more persons?).
Similar concerns have surrounded definitions and conceptualizations of the term
"persuasion," though admittedly on a lesser scale. More than a dozen and a half definitions of persuasion have appeared in writing over the last two decades (see table 2.1). Yet
ahhough articles addressing the merits of competing definitions of communication have
appeared with regularity in communication journals (e.g., Andersen 1991; Bavelas, 1990:

Beach. 1990: C levenger. 1991: Cronkhite. 1986: Dance, 1970: Gerbner. 1966; Milier.
1980; Motley. 1990a. 1990b. 1991: Shepherd. 1992). rew or no recent articles have addressed issues related to definin and conceptualizing persuasion or its closely related
terms, influence and compliance gaining (Di ll ard, 1988). This is hardly because the issue
has been settled. To the contrary. many current definitions of persuasion are incompatible.
It appears that as persuasion research has evolved over the last two decades. notions about
w hat constitutes the study or persuasion have become less and less distinct.
Still in evidence are "trad itional" studies or persuasion, typified by public or one-tomany investigations a imed at belief. attitude, or behavior change. Such traditional studies
are apparent in heahh awareness campaigns designed to reduce smoking, increase seat belt
usage, promote safe sex, or prevent drug use (see for example, prau, Kenski , Nitz. &
Sorenson. 1990: Pfau, Van Bockem, & Kang. 1992: prau & Van Bockem. 1994; Witte.

13

14

Part I Preliminaries: Definitions, Trends, and Theoretical

TABLE 2.t

Underpiwljng!1'

Assorted Definitions of Persuasion over the Past Three Decades

"A conscious uucmpt by one individual or group to change the attitudes. beliefs, or behavior of
another individual or group of individuals through the transmission of some message."

Bettinghaus, E. P., & Cody, M. J. (1994). Persuasive communication (6th ed.). Fort Worth, TX:
Harcourt Brace, p. 6.
"Persuasion is the coproduction of meaning thaI results when an individual or group of individuals
uses language strategies andlor visual images to make audiences identify with that individual or
group."

Borchers, T. A. (2002). Persuasion in the media age. Boston: McGraw-HilI. p. 15.

"Persuasion is the name we give to the type of communication that brings about change in people."

BOSlrum, R. N. (1983). Persuasion. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, p. 8.

"We define persuasion as a conscious symbolic act intended to form. modify. or strengthen the
beliefs. opinions, values, aUitudes, and/or behaviors of another or ourselves."

Burgoon. M., Hunsaker, F. G., & Dawson, E. 1. (I 994). Human Communication (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, p. 177.
"Persuasion is intended communication that affects how others think. feel. and/or act toward some
object. person. group or idea."
Cegala, D. 1. (1987). Persuasive commLmication: Theory and practice (3rd cd.). Edina. MN:
Burgess International, p. 13.
"Persuasion is the process by which language and symbolic actions infiuence Choice-making by
others."
Cooper. M., and Nothsline, W. L. (1992). Power persuasion: Movillg an allciellf art illto the media age. Greenwood, IN: Educational Video Group, p. 2.
"Persuasion involves one or more persons who are engaged in the activity of creating, reinforcing.
modifying. or extinguishing beliefs, aUitudes, intentions, motivations, and/or behaviors within the
constraints of a given communicat.ion context."

Gass. R. H., & Seiter 1. S. (2003). Persuasion, social influence, and compliance gahling (2nd
ed.). BaSIon: Allyn & Bacon/Longman, p. 34.
"Persuasion takes place when a motivator is able to either change or con finn an existi ng attitude in
the minds of listeners."

Hazel, H. (1998). The power of persuasion (2nd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hulll, p. 2.
"Persuasion is a transactional process among two or more persons whereby the management of
symbolic meaning reconstructs reality, resulting in a voluntary change in beliefs. attitudes. and/or
behaviors."

Johnston, D. D. (1994). The art and science a/persuasion. Madison, WI: William C. Brown. p. 7.
"Persuasion is the co-creation of a state of identification or alignment between a source and a receiver that results from the use of symbols."

Larson, C. U. (2001). Persuasion: Reception and responsibility (9th ed.). Belmont, CA:
Wadswonh, p. 9.

15

Chapter 2 IIIhracillg Dil'ergellce

TABLE 2.1

COlllillued

"Persuasion is a complex. continuing. interactivc process in which It ... ender and receiver arc linked
by symbols, verbal and nonverbal. th rough which the persuader attempt" to innuencc the pcrsuadee
to adopt a change in a given all itude or behavior becaU'>e the pcr\uadce ha~ had hi, perceptions
enlarged or changed."

O'Donnell. Y., & Kable . J. (1982). Per.\'[/{/siOf1: All il11eractiledepelldellcy approach. New
York: Random Hou se. p. 9.
"A successful intentional effort :u innuencing ,mother'" mental ,tate through communication in a
circumstance in 'Which the pcr,uadee ha.'. some mC:I'iure of freedom ."

OKeefe. D. J. (2002). Persuasion: Theory and re.\earcl! (2nd cd.). Newbury Park, NJ: Sage.
p. 17.
"Persuasion is an activity or procc:-'i in which a communicator ancmph to induce a change in the
belief. alti tude. or beha\ ior of another pe r~on or group of per,on ... through the tran,mi"ion of a
message in'l context in which thc pcr..uadee h;]" ,>ollle degree of free choice:'

Pe rlofr. R. M. ( 1993). The dynamics of persuasioll. Hillsdale. NJ: Erlballm. p. 15.

" We use the teml persuasion to refer to any in ... tance in which an active attempt is made to change a
person'~ mind."
Pe n y. R. E .. & c'lcioppo. J. T. ( 198 I ). Allitudefl lIlIll persuasioll: C/assic alld ('olliell/pora,.y per
spec/ilres. Dubuqu e. IA : William C. Brown, p.--t.
"We define [persuu"ion[ <I" the :-haping. changing or reinforcing of receivers' respon,>c"" including
atlitude~. emotions. intention .... and behavior ... :'
Prau. M .. and Perot. R. ( 1993). p(JI'.\lIasil'e cOlJlflllllliclf!;oll campaigns. BaSIOn: Al lyn & Bacon.

p.6.
" Persua sio n is, in all case:., the activity of demon<.;trating and allempting to change the behavior of
at l ea~t onc person through symholic interaction. It i... consciou ... ami occurs (a) when a threat to at
least one person'" goals is ob... erved and (b) when the "ouree and degree of thi .. threat are suffi
cientl y important to warran t the expenditure of effort involved in IlCr... ua ... ion."

Reardon, K. K. (1981). Persllasion: Theory and cOlllext. Be\erly Hills. CA: Sage. p. 25.
"The phrase 'being persuaded' applies to silllation~ where behavior ha ... been modi lied by symooli c
transactioll'i (messages) which arc sometime:.. but not always. linked with coerc ive force (indi
reetly eoe rci\e) and which appeal to the rea ...on and emotion:- of the pcr'>on(s) being per'iuaded."

Roloff. M. E., and Miller, G. R. (1980). Persl/wioll: Nell' direcrimu ill theory lIfid research.
Beve rl y Hills. CA: Sage. p. 15.
" Persua~ i on

is human communication designed to innuence the autonomous judgments and action ...

of Olherl!. ...

Simons. H. W. (200 1). Persuasio/l i'l society. Tholl!'!and Oak!'!. CA: Sage. p. 7.
[Persuasion isl "any message that is intended to ... hapc. reinforce. or change the responses of an
olher, or other...: (based on Mill er's 1980 definition)

Stiff. J. B .. & Mongeau. P. A. (2003). Persurlsil'(' communication. New York: Guilford Press.
p.4.
(con/iI/lied)

16

Pari I Prl'limillurie\ LJej;lIilioll\, r'Hld"

L -\ III .E 2.1

tllltl

11Il'(!Idfntl Clldl'lpillf1 illg.\

Continued

Without ulli:ring a ... peedl\.: ddulIUUIl. Irl'nholm ,I.lle ... Ilhll Pl'r'>Ua~i{)n cmtxldic\ the 1011u"lI1g
char'H;tt.:ri<;tlc,,= Pcr<,ua ... iol1 i ... ",;,-ml"loll(' .lml nOllt'ocn.:i\c:' It ...:reatc<;. reinforce .. , or dl:lIlge, re"pon\c .. :' it i .. "tran,aCIHlnal," anLl it i .. uhiquitou,."

Trenholm. S. (1I.)X9) Pl'nllll\iollll//(/ weial i,lllul'IIn'. Englewood Cliff... , NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Pcr ... ua ... 101l cncompa ...... c ... the proct.: ...... c ... h) whidl lan guage and aclion'" IIltluC/H.:c the choice-

makmg of \lup,d'>c'" ,JIld nlhc ......

Williams, M. R.o & Coopcr. M.

I),

(2002). Power pt'rwlIsion: Mm'ing (III (If/ci'111 or! illfo lite

IIIt,dia Ogl' (JnJ cU,), Greenwood. IN' Educational Video Group. p. 4.

Pcr .. ua,>ulIl I' thc prot:c,>,> of prcpann!! Jmltkli\cring \-crbal and /loll\'erbalme",,,age<., to aUlOnomOll' Indl\-idual..; in onkr to ,lltcr or ,>1!"cngtht'll their attitude..;, helief", and behavior..;."

Woodward. G C. & Denton. R I (1992).1'('1"\//(/\/011 Will mj1ut!flce in American life (2nd ed.).
Pro ... pect I kighl'>. IL: Waveland, p, 21

199-'- 1995). O\'CriaYlng ... uch traditional invc ... llgmionl" art: more recent. "nontraditional"
~tlHJII!!o, of per... ua~inn. empha"'l/tng IIH~rpt.'r ... onal or face-tn-face intluence. The wealth of
... lUdic ... on compliance gaming. cOlllpliance re ... l ... tlng. deception. and deception detection
rcnect thi ... recent trend. \\hich can he charactcri/cd ~h a \\'::uep,hcd era in persua ... ion research. A ... Bo~tcr (1995) cOllllllented . "arguahly. in the 1a ... 1 15 year... the study of compliance-gaining mev~age beha\ ior ha" heiLi the alLcnlioll of cOllllllunication scholars a~ much
a .... if not more than. any other ... in glt.! topic III the di~l:ipli[lc" (p. 91). More recently, Wil ... on (199X) noted that ... cholarly inten.: ... t ill t'omplianl:e gai ning "is H!ry much alive" (p.
273).
Thi ... evoluti on. or di\ergencc, in rc ... carch interc~h ha~ ...eryed only to muddy the
definitional water.... Thu~. it remain ... unclear whether ... tudies of compliance gaining and
deception repre ... cnt an extcn ... lon of per ... ua ... ion rc ... ertn:h or ... eparate lines of inquiry altogether (Burgoon & Dillard. 19(5). lhi ... lack of l:larit) i ... unfortunate when one considcr~
the lI11portl.lnce of definlllOlh 10 theOJ) huildlllg ~tnd "'l:hoJarly inquiry. In this regard,
Di.IIKe ( 1970) noted that in the pmce ...... of l'on ... trm.:ting theories. a definition determines the
behaVIOral field ob~c['\ed. which In turn affect" th e pnnciplc\ deriycd, the hypothe~es generated. and the system of law ...... tilted. Gl!orge Gerbner ( 1966) !o,imilarly argued that "thc
choice of' a problem for ... lUdy and re ...earl:h, the allocation of resources. and the assessment
of the rc\eyance of contrihutlon .... depend upon delinition!':o." (p. 99).
Tht! fal:t that per ... ua ... ion re ... carch ha ... undergone a major transformation, and that a
dh ergence in research method ... and foci has developed. invites a reexamination of how
per ... uasion ... hould be defined and concep tuali/ed. Because definitions limit what is studied in a field. they may also limit \ariahlcs that arc given attention and in turn the ways in
which we think and built! theoric ... of l:olllmunication. As Burke (1966) noted, onc's
choice of terminology not only rcncch attention, it ~elects and deflects attention as well
(1'.45).
To this end. \\ie provide an anaJy . . i~ of t\NO fundamental criteria upon which prevail ing definition ... of pcrsua ... ion are based. illustrated by an accompanying djagrammatic rep-

Ch;.tptcr 2 Embracing DiI'ergeflce

17

resentation. and suggest useful ways in which persuasion may be distinguished from
closely related concepts such as influence. or social influence as it is often called, and
compliance gaining.

Boundaries and Limitillg Criteria

We wish La acknowledge from the outset that we maintain no illusions about there being a
"corrcct" definition of persuasion. Various scholars and researchers conceptualilc persuasion differently and therefore subscribe to varying definitions of the tenn, And although
there are some commonalities among some definitions. there are as many differences as
there are similarities. The current transition from "public" persuasion to "interpersonal"
persuasion has done little to clarify boundaries. Rather, as Boster (1995) noted. the emphasis on compliance-gaining research has had the effect of broadening the focus of study.
Studies on the use of touch as a compliance-gaining strategy, for instance. have broadened
the persuasion construct to include nonverbal behavior, as opposed to more traditional
studies focusing on language and discursive symbols. Studies on deception have similarly
examined the behavioral and physiological correlates of deception, rather than symbolic
forms of influence. The emergence of such nontraditional research interests has had the
cffect of expanding the swath of human activities that potentially may be regarded as
"persua-.ion."

Pure versus Borderline Cases of Persuasioll

Our position is that many of the definitional vagaries can be clarified, if not resolved. by
focusing on two considerations. The first is whcther a given scholar or researcher is attempting LO define "pure" persuasion- what Simons (1986) and O'Keefe (1990) have labeled "paradigm" cases of persuasion-versus all of persuasion, including its periphery.
which we term "borderline" cases of persuasion, By pure persuasion. we refer to clear-CUI
cases on which almost all scholars in communication and related disciplines would agree.
As examples. nearly everyone would include a presidential debate, a television commercial. or an allorney's closing remarks to ajury as instances of persuasion.
Other instances. though, lie closer to the boundary of what we normally think of as
persuasion. Not everyone would agree that a derelict's mere appearance "persuades" passersby to keep their distance. Nor would everyone agree that when city planners install
speed bumps 011 a street where speeding is common. they are "persuading" motorists to
slow down. Such cases are less clear-cut. Much of the disparity in definitions. then. is
rooted in the fact that some scholars and researchers are concerned with "pure" persuasion. whereas others are concerned with borderline cases as well. The perspective, shown
in figure 2.1, illustrates this distinction. ' As the gradation or shading in the figure suggests,
the threshold between pure and borderline persuasion is fuzzy rather than distinct.
What implications does the shift in emphasis from traditional to nontraditional research interests have on "pure" versus "borderline" conceptualizations of persuasion?
Among other things. there appears to be a need to expand the scope of persuasion to encompass nonverbal behavior and implicit social cues that accompany face-to-face encoun-

18

Part I Preliminarie.f: Dljinition.f, T"('II(I.f, lind Theoretical Underpinllings

Borderline Persuasion

Intrapersonal

Unintentional

Interpersonal

Intentional

Symbolic
Nonsymbolic

No efIects

Free choice/Awareness

Coercive/Unaware

FIGURE 2.1

A Model oJ Pllre l'erSIlS Borderline Cases of Persuasioll

ters. Becau'e a good deal of what happen~ in interpersonal encounters occurs at a low
level of awareness (Langer, 1989a, 19 ~9b), we suggest, as has Roloff (1980), that much of
the influence that takes place operates at a similarly implicit level. As an illustration. cultural factors may influence an individual's choice of compliance-gaining strategies without the individual's consciou,,> awarene~s (Wiseman, Sanders, Congaiton, Gass, Sueda. &
Ruiqing. 1995). As deception detection research has shown, nonverbal cues, such as
blinking or smiling, may al;o affect perceptions of veracity (Feeley & Young, 1998; Hale
& Stiff. 1990; Seiter. 1997; Vrij, 2(00), even though a good deal of nonverbal behavior is
nonmindful. If these kinds of studies arc to be included within the purview of persuasion.
then the delinition must be broadened accordingly.

Choice of Limiting Criteria

A second consideration in defining and conceptualizing persuasion involves the limiting
criteria that form the basi, ror a given definition. EI ... ewhere we have identified five key

Chapler 2 Embracing Dil'ergence

19

criteria that constitute the basis for nearly all definitions of persuasion (Gass & Seiter.
1997; 2003). These are (I) whether persuasion is intentional or unintentional, (2) whether
persuasion must be effective or successful. (3) whether free will or conscious awareness
must be involved, (4) whether persuasion necessarily occurs via language or symbolic action, and (5) whether persuasion can be intrapersonal as well as interpersonal. In this chapter. we focus on two of these five criteria in an effort to differentiate the types of influence
studied in our field. Although each limiting criterion is discussed separately for
convenience's sake. many definitions incorporate both criteria simultaneously.

Intentionality and the Issue of "Accidental" Persuasion.

Many definitions adopt a

"source-centered" view by focusing on the sender's intent as a defining feature of persuasion. Bettinghaus and Cody (1994), Burgoon, Hunsacker, and Dawson (1994). Cegala
(1987),0' Keefe (1990), Pcrloff (1993), Petty and Cacioppo (1981). Reardon (1981), Stiff
(1994), and Woodward and Denton (1992) all adhere to this requirement. making it the
most common characteristic of standard textbook definitions (see table 2.1).
Certainly, "pure" persuasion would seem to fall into this cmegory. When one considers traditional cases of persuasion. one tends to think of conscious. intentional efforts.
along the lines of the classic fear arousal studies. Compliance gaining, too. would appear
to satisfy this requirement. to the extent that compliance gaining is conceived of as
planned. goal-directed communication (see Dillard. 1989. 1990; Dillard. Segrin, &
Harden. 1989). But whm about other borderline cases of persuasion? We suggest that "accidental"' influence often takes place with little or no conscious awareness on the part of
the influential individual. Appearance cues, for instance, may affect credibility judgments,
without the source's awareness that he or she is conveying such impressions to others.
Research on social modeling (Bandura, 1977) illustrates this phenomenon as well. As just
one example, parents commonly instill beliefs. impart values. and model behavior for their
children. Yet as any parent can allest, many of the lessons parents "teach" their children
are completely unintended.
Even when persuasion is intentional. many of the cues conveyed by a source may be
unintentional. such as the appearance of nervousness or the lise of a powerless language
style. Such unintended cues nevertheless carry considerable persuasive weight. In this regard, Cooper and Nothstine (1992) have commented that "those we try to influence
through our persuasion may well respond to aspects of our persuasive actions that we are
not aware of" (p. 3). This certainly holds true for research on nonverbal and physiological
correlates of deception. h is precisely those cues over which deceivers have little conscious control that may serve as the most reliable indicators of deception .
Another way in which an "intent" criterion is troublesome involves the prospect of
unintended receivers. Two studies (Greenberg & Pyszczynski, 1985: Kirkland, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1987) clearly demonstrate the operation of the "unintended receiver
effecL" In these studies the researchers created a situation in which third parties overheard
ethnic slurs directed against African Americans. The results of both studies revealed that
the slurs they overheard led the third paJties to evaluate the individuals at whom they were
directed less favorably. Of course, even traditional. public persuasion can involve unintended audiences. An advertising campaign might target one group of consumers but provoke a backlash among nontargeted consumers. Traditional laboratory studies, though,
have typically relied on clearly defined target audiences and carefully constructed mes-

20

Pan I Preliminaries: DefilliTions. Trefld~. and Theof'('rical Underpinnings

sages in the form of st imulus videos or booklets. th ereby affording few or no opportunities
for unintended receivers to be affected. Thi s lack of emphasis on unintended receivers.
however, can be seen more a~ a limitation of traditional research paradig ms than a rationale for restricting the scope of persuasion.
Basing a definition of persuasion o n intentionality makes good se nse if one w ishes
to focus primarily on "publi c" persuasion. From an " inte rperso nal" perspect ive. howe ver,
such a limiting crit eri on implies a rather linear view of communi cation. An intent requirement is problematic insofar as co mpliance gai ning is concerned. becausc compliancc gaining in the interpersonal arena is mutual or bilatcral. Berge r and Burgoon (c ited in Burgoon
& Dillard, 1995) have und erscored this point in criticizing so me researchers fo r "their failure to acknow ledge the reciprocal nature of social influence processes in interpe rso nal
commun ica tion" (p. 398). Interpersonal Deception Theory (Buller & Burgoon. 1996; a lso
see chapter 14 of this vo lume) also stresses the importance of acknowledging the transaction a l nature of deceptive co mmuni ca tion . Where influence is reciprocal , whose intent
cou nt s? Do both parties' influence attempts ha ve to be inte ntional ? Does compliance re."isling constitute a persuasive inte nt ? Standard textbook definitions that are based on an
intent criterion do not provide clear-cut answers to th ese questions. In fact less than a third
o f th e definitions listed in table 2. 1 ex plici tl y acknowledge the reciprocal nature of pers uasion. In o rd er to accommodate nontraditional persuasion studie s. some clarification or
modification o f the intent require me nt would see m to be in order. At a minimum. adherellis to an intent requirement shou ld explain how the requirement is to be applied in twoway. transactional setti ngs.
We suggest th at one pragmatic approac h toward clarifying the situation and establi ~hing some modest boundaries is to use the term "per~uasion" to refer sole ly to inte ntional effo rt s and the term "intlue nce" to refe r to e ither intentional or unintentional
outco mes. Thus. conscio us modeling of behavior co nstitutes persuasion, while uncon sc i ou~ modeling sho uld be con~ id e rcd a form of influence. According to this scheme, " influence" can be understood as an umbrella term that e nco mpasses any and all fonn s of
persuasion, wheth er pure or borderline. ~ " Persuasion" shou ld thu s be considered a special
ca~e of inilucllcc that sat isfies an inte nt requ ire me nt.
Thi"i conceptu ali zation is useful because it prese rve s the intent requirement embodied in man y definitions of persuasion. while simultaneously acknowledging that at times
beliefs, attitudes. and behaviors can be modified accidentally. Although this distinction
may ~eem obviolls, it is wOl1h noting lhat most sc holars and researchers use persuasion
and influence interchangeably. Few of the stand ard tex tbook definitions make any di stinctions whatsoever between these terms.
This di ~tin c ti oll still leaves o pen the qucstion of whether compliance gaining is best
thou gh t of as a part o f persuasion or soc ial intluence. We tend to favor Dillard 's
conccptualiLatioll of co mplian ce gaining as a type of planned, goal-directed communicati on (Di llard. 1990; Dillard. Scgrin. & Harde n. 1989). At the same time, however, we can
envision situations in wh ich one person gains another's compliance without intending to
do so. For example. a shopper might dec ide to buy a specific brand because she/he obse rved another attractive shopper selec tin g that brand. A pedestrian who crosses the slreet
when th e li g ht is red may e nco urage other pedestrian s to follow, based on status cues associated with the first indi vidual 's dress or appearance. The most practical way to resolve
thi s ambiguity, we s u gge~ 1, is to return to the distinction between pure and borderline

Chapter 2 Embracing Dil'ergence

21

cases of persuasion made earlier: In its purest form, compliance gaining is an intentional,
effortful activity, ''Typical'' compliance gaining can thus be conceptualized as a subset of
persuasion. a subset that takes place in face-to-face settings. In some borderline instances,
however, compliance may be secured unintentionally or accidentally. In those "nontypical" instances. compliance gaining can be conceptualized as a subset of influence that
takes place in face-to-face settings. Intentional compliancc gaining should therefore be
considered part of persuasion, whereas unintentional compliance gaining should be regarded as an aspect of influence.

Effects and the Issue of Unsuccessful Persuasion.

In addilion 10. or instead of.

adopting an intent requiremcnt. some scholars and researchers have opted for a "receiveroriented" definition by restricting persuasion to situations in which receivers are somehow
changed. altered. or affeeled. The definilions by Bostrum (1983). Cegala (1987). Cooper
and NOlhstine (1992). Johnston (1994). Larson (1995). O'Keefe (1990). and Pfau and
Perol (1993) embody Ihis requiremenl in varying degrees (see lable 2.1). An effects requirement would seem part and parcel of compliance gaining as well. The very term compliance gaining. suggests that a persuasive outcome is being sought-although the form
the compliance must take is less readily apparent. In fact. if one wishes to focus on pure
cases of compliance gaining. it seems sensible to combine both an intent and an effects
criterion: The prototypical case of compliance gaining is a planned. purposeful effort to
secure compliance. usually in the form of behavioral conformity. in response to a request
or other message recommendation.
Despite the intuitive appeal of the above. we cannot help mentioning one or two
reservations about restricting all compliance gaining. both pure and borderline cases. to an
effects criterion. We submit that a person can be engaged in an activity. whether or not he
or she is performing the activity well. A salesperson. for example. could be engaged in
selling without necessarily closing a deal. A parent might try to persuade a child to say no
to drugs but might fail in the effort. Similarly, we suggest that a person can be engaged in
the activity of persuasion even if it is ineffective persuasion. The difference in approaches
hinges on whether one's focus is on persuasion and/or compliance gaining as an olllcome.
or as a process. This distinction mirrors the discussion some years ago about the
conceptualization of argument as a product (argument)) versus argument as a process (argllment~) (0' Keefe. 1976).-1 If persuasion or compliance gaining is viewed as an outcome.
then limiting the use of either term to successful intluence attempts makes perfect sense.
If. however, one is interested in studying the process or activity of persuasion. such a limitation is questionable.
Consider the wealth of studies on compliance-gaining strategy selection. which we
believe tell us a great deal about persuasion. Granted. the seeming preoccupation with
strategy selection studies. at the expense of studies focllsing on actual compliance, has
been rightly criticized (Dillard. 1988). Nevertheless. investigations into the dynamics of
the persuasion process. such as failed or foiled persuasion. serve a legitimate research
purpose. For inslance. Ifert and others (Iferl & Bearden. 1998; Ircn & Roloff. 1996; NeeI',
1994). examined how sources respond when targets resist initial influence attempts. And
any number of studies on compliance resisting have focused specitically on how targets
avoid complying altogether (see for example. Kazeoloas. 1993: Kearney. Plax. &
BUIToughs. 1991; O' Hair. Cody. & OHair. 1991). It would be an odd slale of affairs,

I
22

P;lrt I Prelimin(lrie.\': Dejin;fiol/.\, Trel/ds. and Thcurcrical UlldelpillllillKS

indeed. if sli ccessful compliance gaining were considered a bona fide area for persuasion
research but successful compliance resisti ng were not. Nor does it help to argue that successful resistance is in itself a type of effect. Because successful compliance resisting implies unsuccessful comp liance gaining, v irtually every compliance-gaining e ncounter
cou ld be construed as a , ucce" for one side or another.
Much th e sa me may be said about research on deception and deception detection.
Vrij (2000). for insrance. has c riti cized others' definitions of deception as incomplete for
failing to include unsuccessful a:-. we ll as successfu l altcl11pts at deception. Based on an
effects crite ri on, success full y duping someo ne would clearly seem lO constitute not only
deception but persuasion as well: it is puq)Oseful. and it achieves ils intended effect. But
what about success ful deception detection? Success in detecting deception spells failure
for the deceiver. He nce. re liance on an effects criterion would exclude studies on deception detection from the scope of persuasion, eve n thou gh such s tudie ~ make up a significan t portion of the literature (M ill er & Stiff. 1993). Such a limitation appears to "cut the
baby in half:' in Solomon ic fa,hion, by focusing on on ly half of the deception--<leception
detection equat ion. In faci. taken to its extreme. an effects c rit erion would see m to exclude
from the scope of persuasion all effort~ at study ing ways 10 increase targets' awareness of.
and re~ i s tan ce to. inlluencc auempts. since suc h efforts tcnd to decrea!ole rather than increase persllasion'loo effectiveness. Strict adherence to an effects c riterio n would thus appear to rul e out "defe nsive" studies of pe rsuas ion. despite the fact that nearl y every
persuasion text published in the last two decades touts greater knowledge of how to resist
inlluence attempts as one of th e ch icI' benefi ts of learning about the subj ect.
Another reservation we have about relying exc lusivel y on an effects criterion echoes
our earli er concern with an intent requirement: Both embody a linear view of persuasion.
In face-to-face e ncounter!o:> influence peddlin g is cOlllmonl y a two-way street. Do effects
have to be observed in only one or in both interactants? And who dec ides if the effort was
a !oI u cces~? Moreover. com pliance i~ rarely an all-or-nothing affair. The participants may
succeed in ~ome rc~pec ts but fail in ot hers. or succeed only partially. The difficulties are
co mpou nded when one i ~ faced with participants whose goab may be multiple, sketchy .
and changi ng. and whose w illin gnes~ to acce pt various outcomes or compromi ses may
fluctuate during the com muni cation enco unt er.
In the case of research on ueception or deception detecti on, it see ms much Illore
practical to inc lude all sti ch investigations under thc rubri c of persua sion. In facl. we believe the case has already been made. rath er (;ollvi nci ng ly. that dece ption is a form of persuasive activity (S tiff, 1995). Delibe rate falsifications. omissionloo. or di stortion s all sati sfy
an intent requ ireme nt. and the goab of deceiver~ co rre~po nd with those traditionally associated with pe r<.,uas ion, for exam ple. affec tin g beliefs. attitudes. and behaviors. Although
hypothetically ~ome forms of deception, suc h as unco nscio us omissions, may be unintentional. virtuall y a ll of the deception Iiteratu re to date has foc used on dece ption as conscio us. effortful act ivit y.

A Graphic Represelltatioll of Persuasion

The preceding discussion leads us to the diagram of persua sio n shown in figure 2.2. whi ch
e ncompasses research on compliance ga ining. co mpli ance resisting. deception. and dece p-

23

Chapter 2 Embracillg Dil'ergellce

Effective
Pure Persuasion

Borderline Persuasion

Successful, purposeful persuasion

Successful, purposeful compliance
gaining
Successful deception

Social influence
Accidental persuasion

Intentional

Unintentional
Failed or foiled persuasion
Compliance resisting
Deception detection

Other communication

Borderline Persuasion

Nonpersuasion
Ineffective

fiGURE 2.2

Four Quadrants Model of Persuasion, Based on Intentionality and Effectiveness

tion detection. The model consists of four quadrants, segmcl1led according to the two limiting criteria we have presented: intentionality and effects. The upper left quadrant represents pure persuasion, or persuasion in its most prototypical form. Pure persuasion. as we
noted earlier. satisfies both an intent and an effects requirement.
The upper right and lower left quadrants represent borderline persuasion, or more
"iffy" instances of persuasion. The upper right quadrant. labeled "influence," reflects
those situations in which persuasion '"succeeds without trying," that is. where there are
unintended effects. Influence here includes unintentional social modeling. nonverbal, or
appearance cues that are conveyed without conscious awareness, as well as other forms of
"accidental" innuence. As per our earlier discussion, we've classified all such unintentional alterations of beliefs. attitudes. and behavior under the umbrella term "influence."
The lower left quadrant represents unsuccessful persuasion or, conversely, successful attempts at foiling persuasion. Thus, successful compliance resisting and successful
deception detection are included here. Although one could argue that slIccess in resisting
compliance or detecting deception qualifies as pure persuasion, we believe there is merit
in distinguishing between proactive and reactive influence attempts, with compliance resisting and deception detection representing the latter. An admitted weakness of our fig
ure, however, is that the physical separation of the quadrants implies that activities taking
place in one quadrant are somehow separate and distinct from those taking place in another quadrant. Concepwally, and in practice, interpersonal persuasion is transactional;
interactants are operating in several quadrants simultaneously. Thus. interactant A may be
actively engaged in attempting to persuade interactallt B. while at the same time trying to
resist being persuaded by B.
The lower right quadrant represents "nonpersuasion." that is, words or deeds that
neither seek to persuade nor manage to influence. Since every definition of persuasion
included in table 2.1 includes either intentionality or effect::; as a requirement for persuasion, it ::;cems safe to say that communication that fails to satisfy either of these tests

24

Part I Preliminaries: Defllliriol/s. Trends. alld Thcorerical Ullde,pillnillgs

should not be considered part of persuasion, or influence. o r compl iance gaining. Communication that was neither planned nor goaldirected, for instance, and had no effect on
another's beliefs. attitudes. or behavior would fall into this category. A good deal of
noncommmunicative behavior would fall into thi s category as well.

Discussion and Implications

This approach, we believe, offers a practical. workable scheme for conceptualizing persuasion and ih related terll1 ~. We acknowledge that it represent s all approach toward conceptualizing persuasion. not the ollly approach. NeveI1heless. we suggest that conceivin g
of persuasion in this manner offers a number of benefits. FirM. thi s approach makes meaningful distinctions between the terms persuasion, inf7uence. and compliance gaining.
Bused on criteria cen tral to most definitions o f these term s, our conceplUaliz.alion clarifies
where one concept lea ves off and anmher begins. Hitherto, these term~ ha ve been used
with considerable ambiguity, often interc hangeably. and ofte n with different or even contradictory meanings even within the sa me article or text. This approach makes it relatively
easy to classify most investigations as falling primarily into one of the four quadrants
we've identified.
Second, this approach accounts for and integrates both traditional and nontraditional
approaches to ~tudying persuasion. The role and relationi)hip of more traditional "public
persuasion" studies to more nontraditional "face-Io-face" research on compliance gaining
is clarified: If both are intentional and successful. they are one and the same thing accord
ing to our conceptualization (the upper left quadrant). However. if compliance is secu red
unintentionally rather than as a form of planned, goaldirected activity. it is better c1assi
fled as a form of influence rather than persuasion (the upper ri g ht quadrant ). If compliance
gaining is intentional but unsuccessful. the event may be better thought of as successful
compliance resisting (the lower left quadrant). Finally, this approach clearly identifies
what isn 'f persuasion: communication or behavior that ne ither seeks to, nor succeeds in,
moving another person to think or do somethin g.
The graphic representation we've offered is subject to some limitations. One ~ u c h
limitation. mentioned previously, is that persuasion, especially face-to face pers uasion.
often operates in several quadrants simultaneously. A persuasive interaction also might
begin in one quadrant and end in another. Because persuasion is a dynamic process, thi s is
to be expected. Our conceptualization incorporates this overlap. but the figure cannot.
Another limitation with our figure is that the boundaries between the quadrants
don't represent distinct categories so much as characteristics that are matters of degree. It
isn't really the case that a given interaction is or isn't persuasion. Rather, a given interaction possesses more or fewer of the characteristics that persuasion comprises. This is especially true insofa r as an effects criterion is concerned. Persuasion is rarely wholly
successful or unsuccessful. Usually. there are degrees of success or failure. A persuader
might succeed in changing another's attitudes, but not as much as shefhe intended. Or a
pe rsuader might change another's altitudes, but not the other's behavior. And whenever an
effec ts criterion is in use. it rai ses the question of when. or at what point, the effects should
be measured. Some effects may be sho rt term, so me long-term. and so me hoped -for

Chapter 2 Embracing DiI'ergellce

2S

effects may never materialize. We would thus suggest that the two criteria that make up
the quadrants, intentionality and effects, be viewed as dimensions along a continuum
rather than as discrete characteristics. Some persuasive intentions may be more clear-cut
or obvious. while o lh ers may be less carefu ll y formulated or planned. Some persuasive
effects may be easily measured or quantified. whereas others may be more subt le or difficult to detect.
A third limitation with the figure is that compliance-gaining studies focusing 011
"strategy se lection" or "strategy preferences," and using hypothetical scenarios, are sti ll
difficult to classify according 10 this scheme. While such studies involve intentional efforts to per~uade, inasmuch as strategy selection entails conscious planning, they include
no measurable, dis.cernible outcomes. The goal of strategy selection is comp li ance, but in
many studies succes~ in achieving the goal is never measured. Should slich investigations
be classified as part of pure persuasion. given that the objective is to secure compliance.
even if success in achieving this objective is never considered? We subm it that the problem in classifying such swdies resides not in our approach to conceptualizing persuasion
but rather in the inherent ambiguities of these investigations themselves. The reliance on
hypothetical scenarios and the absence of even hypothetical measures of compliance, we
suggest. is the source of the difliculty.
We suggest that hypothetical strategy selection studies are parl of borderline persuasion rather than pure persuasion, since they involve intenrionai, but not necessarily successful , efforts to persuade. We would locate such invc~ligations midway between the
upper left and lower left quadrants (see figure 2.3). Such a classification acknowledges
that in these inveMigations compliance is an open question: there is neither success nor
failure. because the issue of success is never raised. Of course. compliance-gaining studies

Effective

Intentional

Pure Persuasion

Borderline Persuasion

Successful, purposeful persuasion

Successful, purposeful compliance
gaining
Successful deception

Social influence
Accidental persuasion

hypothetical, "strategy
- - - selection" studies on
compliance gaining

---1--------------

Failed or foiled persuasion

Compliance resisting
Deception detection

Other communication

Borderline Persuasion

Nonpersuasion

Unintentional

Ineffective

FIGURE 2.3 Four Quadra"ts Model Differentiating Persuasioll, Influence, Compliance Gaining, alld
Complia"ce Resisting

26

Part I Preliminaries: Definitions, Trends, and Theoretical Urulerpirmings

that do measure tangible effects in the form of raffle tickets sold, tips left by restaurant
patrons, willingness to relinquish a photocopy machine, compliance with physician recommendations, and so on would qualify as pure persuasion.
A final consideration, though not necessarily a limitation, is that our approach
seems to suggest that any intentional communication that produces an effect must be regarded as persuasion. To the contrary, however. we suggest that communication can be
both intentional and effective without necessarily being classified as persuasion. One
could, for example. desire to have an enjoyable conversation with a friend and succeed in
doing so. If the goal were simply to relay information, swap stories, or share experiences,
and not to change the other's mind or behavior. one would be hard pressed to classify such
an interaction as pure persuasion. Perhaps, then, it would be useful to distinguish between
a communicative intent and a persuasive intent, the latter seeking the traditional goals of
attitude, belief. or behavior change. We would suggest that when a communicator's
primary goals entail attitude, belief, or behavior change. the interaction would best be
characterized as pure persuasion, but when these constitute a communicator's secondary
or tertiary goals. then the interaction would best be characterized as borderline persuasion,
or nonpersuasion. In any case, we're not terribly bothered by this concern, because it
seems to us that the ingredients for persuasion are present in most forms of human inter-

action. Most communication is, al least in part, instrumental in nature. Most language usage is, as Richard Weaver (1970) has surmised, sermonic, that is, inherently normative or
evaluative.
We believe that the approach offered here serves to clarify uncertainties and ambiguities involved in definitions of persuasion, intluence, and compliance gaining. The two
limiting criteria we have identified can assist in framing a discussion of how each of these
terms should be conceptualized. Regardless of whether one agrees with our conceptualization. the discussion provided should serve to clarify some of the central issues involved in any attempt to define persuasion and closely related terms.
Definitions shape fields of inquiry. They direct attention toward some research foci
and delleet attention away from others. As Shepherd (1992) observes, "definitions are
consequential" (p. 203). They affirm or deny. encourage or discourage. permit or omit.
Definitions contain assumptions, they embody values. and they espouse points of view.
"These perspectives." writes Andersen (1990), "launch scholars down different theoretical
trajectories, predispose them to ask distinct questions, and set them up to conduct different
kinds of communication slUdies" (p. 309). We believe that our approach to conceptualizing persuasion is both meaningful and practical because it is inclusive. It encompasses and
affirms both traditional and nontraditionaJ approaches to understanding persuasion. Such
inclusiveness is desirable to ensure that nontraditional studies, such as those focusing on
compliance gaining and deception detection, are recognized as instances of persuasion research, and to ensure that the term "persuasion" is not equated solely with traditional topics and variables. such as fear appeals. source credibility, and the like.
We hope the viewpoint we have offered prompts greater interest in conceptualizing
about persuasion. Conceptual discussions perform a heuristic function insofar as theory
building is concerned. Conceptualizations not only innuence what theories are formed,
but how the process of theorizing takes place. Conceptualizations also influence the kinds
of research questions that are asked. as well as the methods used in trying to answer them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------,

Chapler 2 Em/}racillM DiI"ergel/C('

27

Notes ___________________________________________________________
1. The degree of fUllincss or di"'lim.:livcncss in the lhrc"hold between pure persu~sion and borderline
depends largely on which limiting criterioll one is employing. Intentionality offer.. a cle'lf demarcation between pure and borderline persuasion. but only if there i ... agreement on how persmlsivc intent
i ... c:-.tablished. (J<., it a persuader .... tated inll!l1t thaI count .... or a rcecher" ... perception of an intent to per.. uade. or a third pany's inference of un intent \0 pCf'.uadc?) An cffeel ... criterion is more continuous: .,w.;cc ... sful persuasion is Iypically a mailer of degree.
2. We sec lillie difference between the term" 'inllucm.:c" and "social inllucnce:' other than the ooviou ... implication that the latter entaiJ.; ~ocii.ll factor" of \Ollle kind. Onl! cuuld ea<.;ily argue that all innuence
entail .. social factor" in one form or another. Even "dr-per"uasion \\(Julll email ccnain 'iocialization
procc"'''e<;;.
J. Ironically. 0' Kcefe!. who highlighted the di"tinction between argument as a product and argument
a" a process, hi rmel !' \lIb!o.cribe~ to an dTect<; criterion for defining pcr\u:.\ion (O'Keefe, 1990). 'The notion of .w('cess, " he wrote. 'i .. embedded in the concept of perslI<I!o.ion. Notice. for in'llanee. that it doesn't
nmkc "ense to '>ay, 'I pcrwaded him, hut failed.' One can 'lay. 'l/ried to per~u;Jde him. but failed,' but to
,ay 'limply, '1 per).uaded him' i, to Imply a \ucce"''Iful ;lttempt (0 innucrll.:e" (1990. p. 15). In our view.
0' Keefe begged the quc<.;tion in the abme exampk, by U'IlIlg the term "llCNHlded:' Ir one u'les the term
"pcr<;;u<l'iion" in,tc;ld, one could ca"ily "ay "I u,ed e\'l.:r) tactic of PCNI:tWlIl I could thin~ of. but I 'ilill
couldn't gctthe clierlilo budge:' or, "That wa ... onr.: uf the he,t effor" at per!o.u:l'iion I'vc ever ...een, bUI the
jury wasn't !o.wayed."
pl.!r~uaJo,ion

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Cron~hite. G. (19~61. On the foeu,. \t'()PC, and coherence of the ,IUd) of human >i),llloolic acti, ilY. QlIarterly )01/1'110/ (~r Speech. 72. 23 1-2-t8.

28

Part I Preliminaries: Definitio//I, Tn'mh. amI '/I,('ol"l,tical Undl'l"pillllillgs

Danr.:c. F. E. X ( 1970), The concept of cllIllInu nic.ltlon . )m/rlUi/ oj Cmllll/llflicmiofl, 20. 201-210.
Dance. F. E. X. & Lar... on. C. E. (1976). TIl{' }/IIu(iol/\ oj IWlIlllll nmlllllll/;Cal;O", Nc'W York: Holt.

RlIlchart. and Win\;ton.

DiltanJ. J. P. ( 1988). Compliuncc-g.aining mCI;sagc "election: What is ollr dependent variable? Commul/i("(IfiOIl MOllflKraphf.

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Dillard. J. P. (Il)Xl). Types of inllucncc goal" in pcNlIlal rclalion,hlp", lUI/mal of Social mill Persollul
Rl'/ariOlHhipI, 6,293-308.
DIlIanJ, J . P. (1990). A goal-dri\c'~11 modd of inlerpcNmal inllucncc. In J. P. Dillard (Ed.). See!.:./"R complilIllCl''- Ihe product of ill/erpu.\OIw! illfit/elln' /lwHflgei} (pp. 41 -56), Scothdalc. AZ: Gorsuch
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Dillard. J. P .. Segrin. C. & Harden. J . (ItJ89). Primary and ..econdar) goab in the intcrpcr. . onal influcncc
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Feeley. T. H . & Young. M. J. ( 199~) . Iluman:.- it, lie detcctor.. : Some more .. ccond thought ... Commllll;ca'irm Qu(/nt'rh. -16. 109-116.
0:1'''' lUI.. & Scitcr. J . S. (2003). /'t'I".IIWI;(II/. \OC;(I/ ill/TIIl'lIce, (II/(/ ("OII/pli(lllce gaillillg (2nd cd.). Boston: A llyn & Bacon/Longman.
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Greenberg, 1.. & p) vC/yn"ki. T. f 1(85). The effect of an overheard ethnic "Iur on e\ ahmtions of the targel' 110"' to .. pread a .. ocial di ..ca .. c. 10111"1101 of Etpenmellwl SocioJ P~yc"{Jlogy. 21. 61-72.
lIak . J S .. & Still. J. B. (I9<Xl). NOllvcrhal primal:Y III \eracit) judgmellh. Communicalion Reports, J,
75-8.1.
Ifer! DE .. & Bearc.kn. L. (1998). The Influence of argumentativcne .... and verbal aggressi ...eness on re,
.. pon .. c.. to fc..'fu ..ed reque .. ",. COllllllllllicaliml Rt'lmrl.\". 11(2). 145 154.
Ifen. D. E., & Roloff. M. E. (1996). Responding to rejected rcque~h : Pcr"istence and response type as
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John .. ton. D. D. (1994). The (lrl ami I("iellu' ofperwll.Iioll. Madison. W I: William C. Brown .
Ka/cola .... D. (1991). The imp::u.:1 of argumcntati\cnc .... on resistancc 10 persuasion. Htlf1um Comnllmicalioll Rt'H'(/nh. ]0. liS-Ln.
Kearney. P .. Plax. T. G .. & Burroug.h .. , N. F. (1991). An attributional analysis of college students' resistance deci .. ion ... Cml1ll11f11;("(lIiO/l Edlfctuio/l. 40. .115--341.
KirJ..land. S. L.. Greenberg. J .. & PY ...7czynsi..i. T. (1987). Further e\ idellcc of the deleterious effects of
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Langer. E. J. (19g9a). IHl1Idfulneu . Reading. MA : Adthsun- We,Ic) .
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OK" (\01. 21. pp. 137-173). New YorJ..: Addi.,on-Wc ... lcy.
LINin. C. U. ( 19lJ5). Per~u(lsi(Jl/: Rl'("('l'lioll (/Ild I"t'''l'0/llibilin' (7th ed.). Belmont. CA: Wadswon.h.
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Quanah. 3,.;. 170--188.
t-.lillcr. G. R. (19~O). On being pcr.. uaded : Some ba .. ic di,tlllction:-.. In M. E. Roloff & G. R. Miller (Eds.).
Perll/(/Iioll: Nt'II'direcl;O//\ ill IlIm,-y (/Ild I"('ware" (pp. 11 -28). Beverly Hill..;. CA: Sage.
Miller. G. R.. & Stilf. J. B. (1993). Def"l'fuil't' col/lllllmiclItion. Ncwbury Park. NJ : Sage.
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Motlc). M. T. (1990b). On whether on\! can(not) nol conlillunicate: An examination via traditional communicat ion po .. llIlate ... Wl'Ml'I"lI JOllmal of Spl't'ch COIIIIIIUllinlli(J/I, 5-1( I). 1-20.
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Neer. M. R. (1994). Argumentative nexihility tl'" a facl(lr influencing mcs.,age response style to argument;tli\c and aggrc .... i\ c argucr... A1"1-:1/111['11111;01/ lIml A(/\'{)("(l("\', 3/. 17-33.

Chapter 2. Embracing lJin! rgellce

29

ODonne[l. V .. & Kable. J. ([982). Per'llU/sioll: All illtL'r{/ctil'e-dl'pelll/t'IIC\ approach. N!.!\\ York: Ran dom House.
OHair. M. J .. Cody, M. L & O'Hair. D. ( [991). The impact of situational dimen~ion ... 011 cornp[ianceresisting !ootfatcgics: A compari"on of methods. C()IlIIl1IlIIiclIflOII Qllant'ri.\'. 39(3). 226-240.
O' Keefe. D. J. (1976). Two eoncept~ of argument. JOlin/til of IIII' Ameril"llll Fore/Hie A \.\ocillfiol/ In:named Ar/.:lIl11t'II/(ltiolltlllt/ Adl"Occl:rl. 13. 121-128.
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Pfau. M .. & Perot. R. (1993). PerJ/UI.I;l'e mmmllll;m/ioll (oll1paigm. Bo~\()n : Allyn & Bal:on.
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U~ing

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peet Heights. It: Waveland .

3
Trends and Prospects in
Persuasion Theory and Research
Daniel J. O'Keefe

Systematic th ink ing about persuasion dates at lea~L as far back as the fifth century B.C.E., (Q
Greek scholars such as Protagoras. Gorgins, Plato. isocratcs. and (especially) Aristotle.
And in subsequent years persuasion received continuing altcntion from a variety of scholars within a broadly humanistic tradition (for a review. see Conley. 1990). But in the first
part of th e twentieth century. the development of social scientific methods provided new
avenues to the illumination of persuasion. The social scientific study of persuasion is often
traced to Carl Hovland, a Yale University psychologist who. following World War 11 , initi ated a systematic program of persuasion research (see. e.g .. Hovland. Janis. & Kelley.
1953). On a great many topics in pcr!-.ua!-.ion research, the first work was done by Hovland
or his associates (though historical accuracy compels some notice of the persuasion research that considerably predated Hovlands. e.g .. Knower. 1936: Lund. 1925: Schanck &
Goodman. 1939),
Over the last 50 year.... social scientific persuasion research has flowered. Indeed,
relevant research has been conducted in a great many academic fie lds. Nearly all the social
sciences (i ncluding communication. psychology. sociology. political science. and anthropology) and related applied endeavors in which social scientific questions and methods
appear (such as advertising. marketing. public health. medicine. law, bus iness, educati o n,
env ironme ntal studies. and so on) contain research focused on persuasion. This surely refl ects th e pervasiveness of persuasion in human affairs. The marketplace. the courtroom.
the campaign trail. the boardroom. the family- in a ll these selLings (and more) human dec isio n making is shaped by persuasive communica ti on.
This chapter discusses three broad recent developmellls in the social sc ientifi c study
of persuasion and social influence. Some aspects of these developments are al ready rather
well along and have begun to bear significant fruit: others are on the horizon and offer
s ubstantial promise. But a ll testify to the continuing vi ta lit y of persuasion theory and
research.

31

32

Part I Preliminaries: Definitions. Trends, ami Theoretical UI/derpinl/il/g.\

Beyond Attitude Change

In its most basic form, persuasion involves changing persons' mental stales, usually as
precursors to behavioral change, Of the various mental states that migfll be implicated in
persuasion, attitude (understood as a person' s general evaluation of an object) has been the
center of research anemion. Correspondingly. per~uasion has often been conceived of as
fundamentally involving auilude change. This might involve a change in the valence
(positive or negative) of the evaluation or a change in the extremity of the evaluation (as
when an attitude changes from extremely negative to only slightly negative),
Thus understood, auitude change is obviously an important aspect of persuasion. All
sorts of decisions, from what products to buy to which candidate 10 support. arc plainly
subject to changes in attitudes, But in various ways persuasion research ha . . seen a broadening of interest beyond this usual foclls. as reflected specitically in interests in three other
sorts of outcome variables.

Other Attitude Properties

First. properties of attitude other than valence and extremity have come to be recognized
as potentially important foci for persuasive efforts. That is. rath~r than inlluencir'lg the direction or extremity of an altitude. a perf..uader might want to inlluence ~ome other attribute of the altitude, such as its salience (prominence. acce~sibility), the confidence with
wh ich it is held. the degree to which it is linked to other attitudes. and so forth (for discus sions of some such attitudinal properties, see Bromer. 1998: Eagly & Chaiken. 1998: Petty
& Krosnick. 1995; Roskos-Ewoldsen, 1997). For in!'.tance. where receivers already have
positive attitudes toward one's product, the persuasive task may be to ensure that those
attitudes are salient (activated) at the right time, perhaps by somehow reminding receiver:..
of their attitudes. So, for example. a manufacturer of food products may not particularly
care whether people are thinking of its products while driving. but it does care what attitudes are activated when people are shopping for groceries-so it places advertising displays in sllpermarkets precisely in order to engage existing positive attitudes at the point
of purchase.
A number of such attitudinal properties have been grouped together under the general heading of "attitude strength" (for some discussions. see Bassili. 1996: Eagly &
Chaiken, 1998. pp. 290-292: Petty & Krosnick. 1995: Raden. 1985). Conceptualizations
of attitude strength vary, but a useful illustration is provided by Krosnick and PeLty's
(1995) proposal that attitude strength is best ulld~rstood as an amalgam of persiqence
(stronger attitudes are more persistent than are weaker ones). resistance (stronger attitudes
are more resistant to change than are weaker ones). impact on information processing and
judgments (stronger attitudes are marc likely to affect slIch processes than are weaker attitudes), and impact on behavior (stronger attitudes will have more effect on behavior than
will weaker ones). Consider. for instance, (hat (wo persons might have attitudes toward a
particular political candidate that we re equally positive (say. with a rating of 6 on a scale
of I to 7) but differed in strength: Pat's positive attitude is weakly held, liable to nuctuate
from momenlto moment. not very resistant to persuasion. and not very strongly connected
to behavior. whereas Chri s's (equally positive) attitude is more strongly held, more stable

Chapter 3 Treml., alit/ Prmpeu\ ;11 Penumiml n'e(lrY (lml R{,.,eaniI

33

over time. less likely to be altered by counterpcr ... ua ... lon. Jnd more likely to be cxpre ...... ed
in corre ... ponding beha\ ior ( ... uch a ... votlllg for the candidate. working in the candidate ...
campaign. and ... o on). Therefore. t.!\Cn though Pat and Chri<., have identical attitude ... in one
sem.e (they ha\e the same o\'erall cyalllatlOn). their attitudes arc rather different in other
way ... (Chris's is ... tronger than Pat\). In \uch a <.:in.:um\tance. obviou ... ly. the candidate
would like to ... trengthen Par's altitude not nccc\\arily to make the evaluation more extreme. blll to make the attitude better anchored. l11or~ stahle. more connected 10 behavior.
more resi\lUnt 10 counterpersua ... ion (in ... hon. to makc it more like Chri\'s attitude). To put
the matter mon; generally. pcr\uadcr\ \ol11clil11c'" will have an interc\t in innuencing not
merely thc valence and extrcmity of an attitude hut abo it\ ... trcnglh.

Other Mel/tal States

Second. mental ... lale\ other than nttitude have hcen rccogni/cd a ... potential persua ... ion larget .... Two examples of such state\ arc IHmmlllVC cnn ... ideration ... and \elf-efficacy.

Normative Consideratiolls,

Variou\ kinds of belief.... anout norm!'. can be relevant target ... for p~r\uaders. For in .... ance. peoplc'\ hellef.... ahout "t.le ... cripti\e norm ... -perception ...
of what most people do--may innuence actHlI1\ and thu ... he a focus for per... u<1\ive effort ...
(Cialdini. Kallgren. & Reno. 1991). For ilbti.lJ1l:e. l'ollege ... tudents appear commonly to
overestimate the frequency of drug ami ah.:oh()1 u\c on Iheir ci.\mpu\t!\ (Perkin .... Meillllan.
Leichliter. Ca ... hin, & Pre ... h.!),. 1(99). Slll:h o\'crl!"'llInation can in lurn lead ... Iudenh Ihcmsclve!'. to engage in exccs ... i\,c drug and alcohol u\e (hecau'ic of a belief that "everybody is
doing it. "'0 it Illu ... t bc okay"). OhviOl"ly. Ihen. pt.!r'illa!'.I\'C intcn'c ntion ... aimed at correcting ... uch misperceptions of de ... criptivl' norlll'i might he helpful in reducing drug and ah.:ohoi abu,e (Haines & Spear. 1996: Miller. Monin. & Prent ice. 2000: Stefl!an. 1999).
Similnrly, what the Theory of R~asoned Action (Fi..,hbcil1 & Aj/,en, 1975) term\ Ihe
"\ubjective norm"- the pcr. . on\ perception that ,ignific:lI1t other... de ... ire the performance
(or nonpcrforJ1l~lI1ce) of the beha\ ior may hc a per . . uf.lsioll target. For in"'lance. one way
of pep,lIading a 'InlOker to quit 11'<.1) ne to (on, inl'l! him thai other\ who are important to
him (hi ... \pou\e. hi ... children. hi<., be ... t friend) think that he \hould quit. That i... , by altering
Ihc receiver'\ conception of ,>,:hal ,ignifi(<Int other people think the r~cein:!r \hould do. the
recei\er's conduct may n..:: IIlnll~nl'cd

Self-Efficacy.

Self-efficacy (or pen.:eived neha\'ioral control). the per\on's perceptIOn

of hi ... or her ability to perform the b(:ha, lOr, i ... another mental \tate that hns come 10 be
"cen a~ an important potential focu ... for per\ua ... i\'e etrorh (see Ajzen. 1991: Bandum.
19R6). Somelimes the barrier In n receiver ... (olllplmnce \eel11\ not to be a negative attitude or negative norms. but rath~r a pl!rc~ivl!d inahility 10 perforl11lhc aClion succe\sfully.
For in"'lance. a per\on might have a po\ithc altitude toward engaging in regular excrci\c
and have posilive nonnative beliefs ahout thm Hctivity. hUlmight nevertheless not even try
to exerci ... e regularly necau . . e ~he helic\ C\ Ihat 'ihe i ... inciJpabk of exerci ... ing regularly (because exercise is too timc-conMlming. doe ... n't fit her "'l'heduh::, require ... too much specialized equipment. and "'0 forth) . It i\ ('a ... y to imagine how a perceived inability to perform
the behavior might underlie failure . . to C\('I'li,e. tI\~ condnlll\. quit ~ll1okiJ1g. and so forth.

34

Part I Prelimillaries: Dejillitions, Trends, arid Theorerical Underpinnings

Research is on ly begi nning to acc umu late co ncern ing how persuaders mi ght address such
self-efficacy conce rn s: there is so me indi ca tion. for exa mpl e. that mode ling (showi ng
someone s ll cces~full y pe rforming the behavior) and rehearsal (g ivi ng persons an opportunity to practice the behavior) can be useful avenues to innuencing self-efficacy (A nderson. 1995.2000: Hagen. Gutkin. Wil so n, & Oats. 1998: Maibach & Flora, 1993: Weisse.
Turbiasz. & Whitney. 1995).

Behavioral Outcomes
Third, some linc!>. o f research ha ve focu5ed direc tl y on behavioral outcomes. as in studi es
of the foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face strateg ies. (For a ge neral di sc ussio n of slich
strategies. see c hap ter 12.) Research that is focused on behavioral outcomes serves as a
reminder that even when persuaders seek to change me ntal states (s uch as attitudes, normative beliet\. or self-effi cacy perceptions). influencing mental states is only a mean s to
an e nd. Behavioral change is common ly the ultimate goa l. In a se nse. studies emphasizing
behavioral out come!-. approach per~mbion effec ts from a direction exactl y opposite to that
taken by research emphasizing mental !-.talcs: Instead of first centering on attitude change
and subsequelllly taking lip the que~tion of how altitudes are related to actions. these lines
of research cen ter on be havioral effects and the n take up th e question of what me ntal-s tate
mechanisms might accou nt for the ob!-.c rved behavioral effec ts.

SUlllmary
In sum. per!-.uas ion re~earc h ha:-. co me to recognize thar attilUde change is not the only
ou tcome variable of intere st. Although persuasion researc h has typicall y focused on atti tude cha nge, increa~ing atte nti on is being give n to other outcomes-and, correspondingly,
to new mechanisms of persuasion. A fter a ll. the means by which one might influence attitudes are not necessarily the same as th e mea ns by which one might influence other outco mes. One may hope that the cOlllinuing attention of resea rchers to the se additional
outcome va ri ab les will lead to new understandings about means of social influence.

Context-Specific Research
Persuasion research has ge nerall y been aimed at de ve loping co ncepts, finding s, principles,
and theories that are useful across a wide ran ge of persuasio n settings. Of course, any parti cul ar persuasion study commonly involves so me parti cular context of persuas ion : The
slUdy exa mines co nsu mer advertisements. or appeals on so me public policy question, or
arguments abou t a legal case. and !ooo on. Still. the research aim has typi cally been the developme nt of find ings not bound to a ny part ic ular persuasive c ircumstance. However, an
increasi ng amoun t of persuasion researc h has been appearing in studi es addressed at specific contexts of applica ti on. with co rres ponding development of context-specific co ncepts and modeI!-.. (For so me di sc uss ions of such contexts. see chapter 16 by KJingle.
chapter 17 by Baxter and Bylund. c hapter 18 by Hirokawa and Wagner, and chapter 19 by
Seiter and Cody.)

Chapler 3 Trends and Prospects in Persuasion Theory alld Research

35

A useful example is provided by the articulation of various "stage" models of health

related behavior, exemplified by the transtheoretical model of health behavior (so named
because putatively it integrates a number of different theoretical perspectives). The
tran,theoretical model (sometimes called the "stages of change" model) identifies a number of distinct stages in a person's adoption of a given health-related behavior such as

engaging in an exercise program (see Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984; Weinstein, Rothman. & Sutton, 1998). In the precontemplation stage, a person is not even thinking about
undertaking an exercise program anytime soon: in the contemplation stage, she is at least
seriously thinking about doing so; a person in the preparation stage is ready to change and

may have undertaken planning or other preparatory action (such as signing up for a health
club); in the action stage, she is undertaking the exercise program; finally, a person who
continues to engage in exercise for some time is said to be in the maintenance stage.

Stage models offer the prospect of shedding light on persuasion, because of their
potential usefulness in suggesting how best to tailor persuasive efforts to a particular audience. For example, for persons in the precontemplation stage. the persuader's challenge

will presumably be to get receivers thinking about the target behavior (i.e .. moving persons from precontel1lplation to contemplation). By contrast, for people in the preparation
stage, the persuader will want to help people translate their plans and intentions into actions. (For some examples of investigations of the effectiveness of stage-matched health
interventions, see Jamner, Wolitski, & Corby, 1997; Naylor, Simmonds, Riddoch, Velleman, & Turton, 1999; Quinlan & McCaul, 2000.)
As another example of context-specific research, consider investigations of the persuasive effects of negative political campaign advertisements that attack a political candidate without necessarily even mentioning the preferred candidate. Studies of the effects of
negative political advertising are commonly not especially concerned with contributing to
general cross-context understandings of persuasion processes, but rather reflect a specific
interest in illuminating this one facet of political campaigns (see, e.g., Basil. Schooler, &
Reeves, 1991; Garramone, 1985; Haddock & Zanna, 1997; for a review, see Lau, Sigelman, Heldman, & Babbitt, 1999). Indeed, quite independent of whatever light such studies
might shed on persuasion processes generally, they are valuable contributions to an understanding of how persuasion works in this particular setting.
One may detect in these developments an implicit recognition of the potelllial limits
of general 1110dels of persuasion. No single theoretical view of persuasion is likely to

provide a complete, wholly detailed account of every single possible persuasion

circumstance-and such should not be asked of a persuasion theory. ){"s enough that a

general theory of persuasion offers broadly useful concepts and principles that are helpful
in a variety of circumstances, even if insufficient to answer every possible question about
any given persuasion setting. But this in turn suggests that particular persuasion contexts
may demand correspondingly particular treatment----{;ontext-specific concepts, contextspecific principles.

Of course, the study of a specific persuasion context may both reed and be fed by
general theorizing about persuasion. A nice example is provided by research on inoculation mechanisms, that is, mechanisms for making receivers resistant to counterpersuasion.
Several studies have examined how general understandings of inoculation might be
applied to the specific problem of creating resistance to negative political advertising; the

36

Part I Preliminaries: Dejiniliolls. Trends. and Theoretical UI/{/erpillllillgs

re~ea rc h ~ u gges t s that the c ffcct~ of such ads ca n be blunted if. before they appear, the
candidate "inocul ates" voters by engaging in appropriate rebuttal of the attack s (sec. c .g ..
prau & Burgoon. 1988; prau , Ke nsk i. Nitz. & Sorenson. 1990). Prev ious general researc h
on inoculation gu ided the contex t-s pec ific work concerning inoculation against negative
campaign ads~a nd the con tex t-specific work in turn has provided addi ti onal general information abo ut inoculati on processes. (For more on inoculation. see chapter 15 .)

The Complexity of Persuasion Effects

Per!o.tl<.lsion phenomena are complicated. making the development o f dependable generalizations rather difficult. For exa mple. it is difficult to identify any particular persuasion
tactic th at i!o. effec ti ve in all situations. Indeed. the researc h literat ure on persuasive effect!o.
co nt ai ns many exa mpl es of appare ntl y inco nsiste nt findin gs. One researcher's study finds
that beller liked co mmuni calOr~ are s ignifi cantly more persuasive than less well liked
ones, whereas another st udy finds no such effect; one investi gation reports that statin g the
message's conc lusions explicitly sig nifi ca ntl y e nhances persua sion. whereas a subsequent
study fail ~ to obtain a significa nt effec t, and so on. But several rece nt developments in the
study of persuasion have he lped to identify so me of the so urces of suc h complexities, thu s
prov id ing a basis for better und erstanding how and why suc h diverse e ffects mi g ht arise.
These develop ments are expressed briefly in the following three subsection s.

Moderatillg Factors
First. a given persuasion variabl e ca n produce different effec ts under diffe rent conditions:
a variable might sig nifi can tl y influence persuasive outcomes in o ne circum stan ce. but
ha ve relatively little effect in another. For instance, acknowl edg in g potential counterargument . . (argument s aga inst the advocated view) has different e ffects depending on th e
message's topic: It redu ces the persuasiveness of messages co ncernin g public policy questions. bu t not the persuasiveness of co nsu mer product advertisements (O' Keefe, 1999a).
Many stud ies of persuasive e ffec ts can be desc ribed as a sea rch for possible moderating
facto". that is. factors th at alter the impactlhat one variable has o n another.
This ge neral idea is particularly prominent in dual-process mode ls of persuasion
such as the Elaboration Likelihood Model (E LM) (Peny & Cac ioppo. 1986; see also chapter 5). The ELM sketches two broad avenues to persuasion: ( I) a "cenlral route" in which
receiver~ ca re full y process message arguments and (2) a "periphcral route" in which rece ivers rely on me ntal short c ut s (" heuri stics") as a means of reaching a conclusion. One
import an t moderating variabl e that affects which route is activated is th e receiver's degree
of in volvcmen t with the topi c. As involvement increases. reliance on heuristi cs decreases
and c lose message processing increases. From th e point of view o f th e ELM, it makes
perfect ly good se nse that. for exa mpl e. the communi cator's likabilit y will so metimes ha ve
a subs tan ti al influence on persuasiveness but on other occasions will playa very small
ro le. When invo lve me nt is relatively low. communicator likability may have conside rable
impact (because receivers decide whe th er to agree with lhe message by usi ng the short cut

Chapter 3 Trends and Prospects ill PersIJasion Theory lind Research

37

of whether they like the communicator). When involvement is hi gh. however. the persua~
sive effect of likability will presu mabl y be muted (because receivers will be paying more
attention to th e detail s of the message's arguments). One of the signal co ntributions of the
ELM is to have systematized a number of apparentl y inconsistent findings by di stinguishing central-route and peripheral-route persuasion processes.

Multiple Roles for Variables

Second-and also closely connec ted with the ELM-it has become clear that a given variable might play different ro les in persuasion in different ci rcumstan ces (for ge neral di s~
c ussion of thi s point. see Pett y. 1997; Petty & Wegener. 1998). As a si mpl e example.
consider the impact of variations on the sheer le ngt h of a written message. Message length
might playa role in persuasion by servi ng as a c ue for a heuri stic such as " longer messages probably have more good arguments." That is, receivers mi ght rely on message
length as a shortcut for deciding whether the advocated view has merit (see, e.g .. Wood.
Kallgren. & Preisler. 1985 ). Alternatively. message length mi ght innuence how much attention the receiver pays to the message ( more specificall y. mi ght influence the audience's
motivation to process the message' s arg uments closely). For example. on a co mpl ex technical subj ect. recei ve rs might decide not to pay much attention to a short message (reasoning that it wouldn't be likel y to pro vide the necessary detail). whe reas a longer message
would engage their attention (see. e.g .. Soley. 1986).
Again, notice that suc h variati ons in the role played by a give n variabl e can lead to
apparentl y inconsistent results across studies. Longer messages mi ght produce e nhanced
persuasion when receivers re ly on message length as a shortcut to reaching a conclusion
about the advocated position. but length mi ght have little sys tematic effect on persuasive
outcomes when it influences the audience's moti vation to process the message (because
close r processing of the message does not necessarily gUlrantee greater persuasivenes~ of
the message, and th e audience's close scrutin y mi ght uncover weak nesses in the advocate's argumentation).

Message-lo-Message Variability
Third. above and beyond the first two complexities, accumulating empirical evidence suggests that there is message- to-message variation in the persuasive effects of message variables. That is, even taking into account kn own moderating factors. a given message
variable (for exa mpl e. high versus low fear appeals. as discussed in c hapter 13 by Cho and
Witte) will not necessarily have identical effects in every message; rather, the effect is
likely to vary from message to message (see Jackso n & Jacobs. 1983: O' Keefe. I 999b).
The existence of such variability po ints to a potential weakness in the kind of resea rch design that has co mm only been used in ex perimental per!}uasion st udies. In the
1110st co mmon sort of design, an abstract message category is represented by only one COIlcrete message. So, for instance. in studi es of the re lati ve persuasivenes~ of hi gh and low
fear-appeal messages. researchers have usually co mpared one particular low fear-appeal
message against one particular high fear-appeal message (the experimental co unterpart of
th e low fear-a ppeal message, identical in every way except for the fear-appeal variatio n).

38

Part I Prelilllil/{/rie.\': Defilliriolls. Trends. lind Thl'oretic(I/ Underpinnings

In this "single message" re~earch design. each message category (such as "high fear ap-

peal") is repre~ented by only one sample message. But the effect of variations in fearappea l level is likely to be different from one case to another and from one message to
another. To put the point more generally. the effect of a given experimental message manipulation (such as fear-appeal level) in the one particular message being studied is likely
to be different from the effect of that same variation in other messages. Thus a si ng lemessage research de~ign leaves someth in g to be desired insofar a~ ge neralization is concerned: gauging the overa ll effect of a message variat ion requires exam ining its effect in
multiple messages. not just a single one. In other words. dependable ge neralization across
messages requires multiple instances.
One way to obtain multiple-message research evidence is through th e inclu!o.ion of
multiple Ille~sages in a sing le study. For examp le. suppose a researcher wanted to investigate the relative effectiven!.!ss of two different kinds of political att ack ads: those focused
on the opponent's issue positions and those focu~ed on the opponent's image or character.
Rather than comparing just one particular issue-attack ad with just onc particular imageattack ad (where the results might renect pecl1liaritic~ of the ads in question). the researcher could gather a large number of examp les of each kind of ad and compare the
average per~uasiveness across the two sets of ad~. Such multiple-message ev id ence wou ld
obviou~ly provide a better basis for ge ne ralization than would a si ng le-message design.
A second way to obtain mliltiple-l1le~sage research ev idence is through colla tin g results acro~s a large number of existing ~ingle~message ~tudie~. The most sys temat ic proccdure.s for ~lIch collation are to be found in meta-analytic sta ti s ti cal procedures.
Meta-analysis i.s a family of procedures for producing a quantitative summary of a ~e t of
existing rcsearch .studies (for a genera l introduction. sec Rosenthal. 1991 ). In a sense. a
meta-analysis is a ".supcrstudy" that combi ncs the results of ear li er separate investigations.
A meta-analysis can provide information not only about the overa ll average result
(acros~ all the o;,lUdies) but a lso abollt the results within subse ts of studi es. In particular. the
exist in g studies can be subdivided based on levels of a ~uspec t ed moderator va riable. ancl
the results within these ~ubgroups can then be compared. For exam ple. cons ider the question of whether the effectiveness of the door-in-the-face (D ITF) stra tegy depends on
whether the two requests were made by the same person or by two different people. In
some DITF studies. the same person made the two requests. whereas in o th er DITF stud ies
different people made these requests. Thus. some indication of the role of this variation as
a potential moderator of the effect of the DITF st rategy can be obtained by subd iv idin g the
studies. assessing the results within each subset. and then comparing the resu lts. (As it
happens. this moderator variable does make a difference: The DITF strategy is more successful when the same person makes the two requests than when different persons make
them: O'Keefe & Hale. 1998.)
Meta-analyses are not ea~y to do. and ana lyzing multiple-message ev idencewhether obtained across studies. that is. meta-analytically. or within a s ingle study-raises
some complicated i~~lIes concerning the approp riate stat istical analysis to be employed
(for some discussion. see Brashers & Jackson. 1999: Hedges & Vevea. 1998; Jackson,
1992: Jackson & Brashers. 1994: Jackson. Brashers. & Massey. 1992). Obviously. however. meta-analysis otTers an appealing way of synt hesizi ng the results from many indi~
vidual persuasion studies (for <,;ollle examp les. see A llen & Preiss. 1998).

---------------------------------~

Chapter 3 Trel/ds lind Prospects i" Persuasion Theory and Research

39

Summary
Taken together. the three complexi ties mentioned here--the importance of moderator factors in persuasio n, the multiple roles that a pe rsuasion variable can play, and the existence
or message-la-message variability in persuasive effects--quite naturally underscore the
problems of ge neralizing abo ut persuasion processes and effects. Each of these complexities sugges ts Lhal th e results of any sing le persuasion study may need to be held rather
ten tati ve ly, while the deve lopme nt of in creasi ngly deep understandings of persuasion phenom ena will require continuing systemati c research attention.

The Future
To some extent. th e near- term future in persuasion research will like ly involve further articulation of so me o f the developments discussed here: increasing attention to outcomes
o ther than attitude chan ge, e nco uraging more context-specific s tudies, and developing
great er se nsiti vity to matters of generali zation (multiple-message studies, meta-analyses.
and <"0 fo rth ). A~ in any researc h endeavor. there will undoubtedly be developments that
cannot be fore~ecn. but two !>.pecifi c researc h s ubjects bear watching: ( I) visual aspects of
persuasion and (2) compute r-med iated pe rsuasion.
Persuasion resea rch has typically foc used on lingui stic aspects of messages, such as
whether the message di sc lisscs co unterarg uments or cxplicitly states the advocate's conc lusio n. By co mpari son. rela ti vely little attention has been given to nonlinguistic features
~ u c h a\ visual images: ye t vis ual message e le ments might substantially influence pers uasive effec ts (for some general treatments. see Messari s. 1997: Scott. 1994).
This is a particularly co mpl ex subject, especially as printed linguistic messages are
also v i ~ ual image!>.. That is. printed text is itself a visual object (even if there are no accompanying pic tures): there appe~lrs to ha ve been little sys te matic pers uasion-related research
addressing the!>.c visual aspects of text. (The idea that printed tex t is a visual object is certainl y familiar to an y student who has fiddl ed with a term paper' s margins so as to affect
th e ap pare nt le ng th of th e pape r. or to any job applicant who has chosen a particular font
so as to make a rcsu me look more professional.)
Additionally. of cou rse. a printed message might contain non textual (that is, nonlingui~tic) visual mat erial , Sti ch as pictures or drawing s. Analyzing such images for argumelllutive content is notoriou sly difficult (for some discuss ion and examples, see Birdsell
& Groarke. 1996: Blair. 1996: Fleming. 1996 ; Lake & Pickering . 1998; Nelso n &
Boynt on. 1997: Oestermeier & Hesse. 2(00). Moreover, when a message contains both
ling ui sti c and (non tex tual ) visual material. the relation ship between the two may be important. Within a print advertisement. for example, the relationship between the linguistic
and no nling ui st ic vi!>. ual aspects of the ad may play an important role in influencing persua~ i ve effec ts. Within a television commercial, the rel ation ship between visual images,
vo ice-over lin g ui sti c content , and printed linguistic content may playa similar role.
Th e persua sive contributions of visual message elements (or of different relation!>. hip~ of visual and verbal c lc ment s in a message) are only beginning to be explored, and
co nfid en t conclusions are some way off. For some cxamples of re levant studies, see Areni

40

Part I Preliminaries: DejinitiollS, Trends. (llld Theoretic(li Ufu/erpinl1if/!<s

& Cox. 1994: Figueiras. Price. & Marteau. 1999: Miniard. Bhatia. Lord. Dickson. & Unnava. 1991: Morrison & Vogel. 1998. Plainly. though. the study of visual aspects of per:-.uasion will be an important focus for future researc h.
A second. and not unrelated. potential focus for fUiure research is persuasion and
computer-mediated communication. Widespread access 10 computing is a relatively recent
phenomenon. The personal computer was introduced in the 19805, and the first Web
browser appeared in 1993. Correspondingly, there is as yet relatively little empiric;]1 evidence concerning aspects of computer-mediated persuasion. But obviously, a variety of
relevant questions can arise. For example. what makes expert systems (computer-based
reasoning systems that model human expert problem -solving) persuasive to users? (See
Dijkstra, Liebrand, & Timminga. 1998: Jiang. Klein. & Vedder. 2000.) What elements
make interactive or Web-based advertisements effective? (See Bezjian-Avery. Calder, &
Iacobucci. 1998; Li & Bukovac. 1999.) How might the physical properties of computermediated communication systems innuence pers uasion processes? (See Moon, 1999.)
Though relatively little can yet be said with much certainty about such matters. computermediated persuasion is likely to receive increasing research attention in the future.

Concillsion
The developments surveyed here suggef..t that persuasion research is at once becoming
broader (in expanding beyond attitude change as an outcome of interest). deeper (by developing context-specific concepts and principles), and more complex (i n recognizing the
complexities of persuasion processes and the attendant challenges to genera li zation). Systematic thought about processes of persuasion can be traced back to the ancient Greeks,
but as these developments attest. the study of persuasion co ntinues to be a locus of exciting theoretical. empirical. and methodological developments.

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OKeefe. D. J. (1999a). How to handle opposing arguments in pen.uasive mcv"ages: A mCl:l-ana lyti c review of the effects of one-sided and two-sided messages. In M. E. Rol off (Ed.). Communication
yearbook. 22, 209- 249. Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage.
O'Keefe, D. J. (1999b). Variability of persuasive message e ffects: Meta-anal ytic evide nce and implications. Document Design, J. 87-97.
O'Keefe, D. J. , & Hale. S. L. ( 1998). The door-in-thc-face inOuence strategy : A random-cffech l1letaanalytic review. In M. E. Roloff (Ed_). Communication year/wok. 2/. 1-33. Thou sand Oak ... CA:
Sage.
Perkins. H. W .. Meilman. P. W .. Leichliter. J. S., Cashin. J. R.. & Pn:f. ley. C. A. (1999). Mi spcrcept ions of
the nonns for Ihe frequency of alcohol and olher drug u ...e on college cam pu ..es. JOllmaJ of Amedcarl College Health, 47. 253-258.
Pelty, R. E. (1997). The evolution of theory and research in ...oc ial psychology: From single 10 mUltiple
effect and process model s of persuasion. In C. McGarty & S. A. Ha .. lam (l!ds.). The me.Hage of
social psychology: Perspectiw':, on mind in society (pp. 268- 290). Oxford. England: Blackwe ll.
Petty, R. E.. & Cacioppo, 1. T . (1986). Commullication and penlUl\ion: Central lind peripheral rollle:, to
altitude change. New York : Springer-Verlag.
Petty. R. E., & Krosnick . J, A. (Eds.). ( 1995). Altitud(' streng,I!: Antec('dellls {lilt! ('OIlsef{'Il'/ICl'S. Mahwah .
NJ: Erlbaum.
Petty. R. E . & Wegener. D. T. (1998). Attitude change: Multiple roles for pcrsua~ion variables. In D. T.
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Pfau. M., Kenski. H. C. Nitz. M .. & Sorenson. J. (1990). Efficacy of inoculation Mralegics in promoting
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57.25-43.

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43

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4
Theorizing about Persuasion
Cornerstones of Persuasion Research
Robert H. Gass and John S. Seiter

Persuasion theories arc a lot like n o~es; eve rybody has one. some big. some !-'l11all. a nd no
two exactly alik e. This c hapl er rev iews and evaluates some of th e be tt er-kn ow n theori es
and models o f persuasio n, soc ia l inlluc nce. and co mp liance ga in ing. The goa l j.., to prm ide
yo u with a ge neral framework for unde rstand ing these theories and models as they re late
10 the chapters that fo llow.
That said. not a ll theori es or mode ls are re prese nted here. This rev iew is. of necessity. selec tive rath er than ex ha ustive. There are simpl y too ma ny th eories. espec iall y
smalle r, spec ia lized lheori c!o. rela ted to specific COIHcx l s or strategies 10 address the m a ll.
This does no t mean we rega rd such theories as unimport ant. We co nsider th e th cOI' i e~ covered here to be Ma ples of pe r~ u asi o n resea rch. They have bee n ~tudied ex ten..,ively and are
wide ly c ited in th e sc holarly literature. They ha ve heuri ... ti c va lue in th at they've sparked
further th eori zing and resea rch on pe r s u a~io n . We wo uld the refore incl ud e th em in any
" must know" list for stude nts of pe rsuasion.
We should also note th at th e e mph as is here is on "social sc ie ntific" th eo ri e~ and
m od e l ~ o f persuasion, rath er th an "rhetori cal" th eorie~ of pc r\ u a~ i on or ot her ~y m bo li c
perspec ti ves o f how people influe nce each oth er. Our aim is not to devalue such th eori es
by e xc ludin g the m. but simpl y to ack nowledge thm prac tical constrai nts must gove rn any
e ffort of thi s sort.
W ith the foregoing ca veats in mind, perh aps the best place to beg in i ... by stat ing that
th ere is not so much (l theory of persuasion. as there are theories of persuasio n. Pe rsuasion
research is based upon a patchwork quilt of perspecti ves, some that can be c harac terized
as " umbre lla" theories accountin g for a wide varie ty o f persuasive phe nome na and ..,ome
re prese nt ing "micro" theories that ex plain spec ific fOfm s of influence in ve ry limited ci rcumstances. Be rger and Burgoo n's observation that " By th e late 1960s O, tI"UI11 (1968)
counled some 34 differe nt pers ua ~ i o n theories, none of whi ch co uld provide a plausible
ex planation for the broad ra nge of ob ... erved co mmuni cati on-pe rsua..,ion re l a t io n ~ hip "'''

4S

46

Pan I Preliminaries: Definitions, Trefld~;, and Theoretical Underpinnings

(1995. p. x) is telling in thi s regard. This situation has changed little. If anything. the
expansion of traditional, one-lo-many persuasion studies 10 encompass interpersonal or
one-on-one influence attempts has served to increase the number of theories und er conside rati on. While some theories have generated more research interest or found more favor
within certain camps, at present no si ngle, unifying perspective can be identified in the
literature, at least not one upon which all scholars and researchers agree.
What's more, at least so me persuasion research, including so me studies in the area
of nonverbal influence and some in the area of compliance gaining, appears to be largely
atheoretical in nature. That is, either there is no clearly defined theoretical framework that
guides the research, or a guiding theory, such as it may be, is implicit at best.
One should not be overly bothered by this state of affairs, however. A cert ain
amount of overlap among theories is to be expected, along with gaps and occasional contradictions. Human communication is complex. There are a lot of variables to consider in
the persuasion equation. It should come as no surpri se. then, that researchers ha ve found it
difficult to explain how people come to be persuaded all in one go. Theories are always
provisional. They are subject to revision, modifi cation , re finement , and extension. Empirical findings may increase social scientists' confidence in a given theory, but it remains just
that, a theory . And even if one could embrace a si ngle theory of persuasion today. it
wouldn't be the same theory 10 years from now. In short, we are a long way from proclaiming anything like a "unified" theory of persuasion.
All told, eight theories andlor models are examined in thi s chapter. They include
attitude change processes, Mere Exposure Theory (ME), and a variety of related theori es
grouped under the heading "Consistency Theories," such as Cognitive Dissona nce Theory
(COT). We also examine the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Social Judgment Theory,
Expectancy Violations Theory , the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). and th e
Heuri stic-Systematic Model (HSM). We begin by examining what is not so much a specific theory as it is a mosaic of theories and research on attitudes and attitude change.

Attitudes and Attitude Change Processes

Attitudes are to persuasion research what Elvis Presley is to rock-and-roll. Modern persuasion research is rooted in the study of altitudes, work that originated in the I940s under the
stewardship of Carl Hovland, founder of the Yale Attitude Research Program . Attitude
research continues to flourish today. A more thorough discussion of recent literature on
attitude change processes can be found in se veral excellent reviews (Eagly & Chaiken.
1998; Petty, Wegener, & Fabrigar. 1997; Wood. 2(00).
There is now general agreement that an attitude is "a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object"
(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975, p. 6). That is, attitudes are learned rather than innate, they reflect
tendencies to respond or react in predictable ways, and they represent favorable or unfavorable evaluations of things. It is this last feature of attitudes, their evaluative nature (that
is, appraisals of things as good or bad, right or wrong). that represents the hallmark of
attitude research (see Dillard, 1993).

Chapter 4
From the standpoint of per~ua~ion,

allitude~

Thenrbllg aiJolII Perll/lisioll

47

are important because they are thought

to corre late with and predict behavior. Just how well attitudes correlate with behavior.

known as the '"A-B relationship," has been the subject of intense inveMigation, Earlier
stud ies were pessimistic about the extent to which attitudes predicted behavior (Dillehay.
1973; Wicker. 1969), At least some of the incon~istencies. however. were due 10 methodological shortcomings in researchers' measurement~ of attitude~ and behaviors (Ajzen &
Fishbein. 1977; Kelman, 1974), Recent meta-ana lyses suggest that the correlati on between attitudes and behavior ranges from moderate (r ;;;; ,30) (Kralls~. 1995) to strong (r;;;;
.79), if methodological artifacts are exclu ded (Kim & Hunter. 1993a). to stronger still (r;
,87). once the moderating role of receiver involvement i . . taken into account (Kim &
Hunter. 1993b).
Regardle~s of the exact correlation involved. the importam point is that altitudes do
seem (0 predict behavior reasonably well. Another important poinl is that because attitudes and behavior are related, changing;:111 individual's allitude(s) should lead to changes
in her/his behavior(s), Thus. attitude change research. in a nutshell. attempts to identify
ways of modifying receivers' altitudes in order to bring about corresponding changes in
their behavior,
A good deal of research on attitude change has focused on the ro le of moderating
variables that mediate the strength of the A-B relationship. A number of ~uch moderating
variables have been identified to date. While we do not have sufficient space to devote to
a ll of them here. we highlight some of the key moderators in table 4.1.
Attitudes remain central to the study of persuasion. although, as Daniel 0' Keefe
noted in chapter 3. researchers have moved beyond the attitude con~tnlct to explain a variety of othe r persuasive phenomena, SlUdie ... focusing on compliance gaining. for example.
are primarily concerned with behavioral conformity, with or wilhout any accompany ing
change in attitudes. Because attitude change research has occupied researchers' attention
for more tha n 50 years. th ere isn't sufficient space here to examine all the ways in which
atti tudes can be modified. However. one well-known way is through what is called Mere
Exposure Theory, which we discuss next.

Mere Exposure Theory

Mere Exposu re Theory. also known as the Mere Exposure Effect. ... tales thai repeated exposure 10 an unfamiliar stimulus can in and of itself increase po~itive affect toward the
stimulus (Zajonc, 1968), Stated simply, some messages "grow on liS," Thus. a consumer
who e ncountered a product logo on several different occasions would tend to evaluate that
logo more favorably than he or she wou ld other. unfamiliar logo~, It wouldn't matter
whether the consumer knew what Ihe familiar logo represented.
The reason the theory is called "mere" exposure is that. unlike Clas\ical Conditioning. repeated exposure to a stimu lus produces increased liking in the absence of any reinforcement. You may recall that. according to Classical Conditioning (think Pavlov's dog
here), a n unconditioned stimu lus (food) will produce an unconditioned response (salivation), ThaI is. Pavlov's dog naturally drools at the sight of food. When an unconditioned

48

Part I Prdimillwin. Ih1/lIiIlO1/\, 71"'/1(/.\, lIlItl /Jlt'orl'lint! l 'lU/erpillllillg.\

Moderating

TABLE 4.1

rariable,~

Affecti"g the A-/J Relati(Jllship

Atlilluit-HlIi('//('(' Of c'IIIFo/in", Attitude" that are ~enlral 10 onc . . core belier", and values arc

Inore Iikel)

s4uare \\ 11h behavior than <.lltilUdc ... that arc morc marginal Of tangential.
llfliwdc(,\J ullel ht'llllrior( .\ ): Attitude ... arc more likely to corre ... pond with behm ior when 'pccific altitude ... and ",pcl..'ific behavior.. arc involved.

SpnUkitr

10

(~rllle

\ui/uti!',\ hawd 011 din'u ni1t'1"if'IH'l': AttitUlk ... formt!d \-ia per...onal experience; corrc!o.pond
Inore do,cly to hcha\inr than altitude'! that afe formed ~ccondhand (Fa7io. 1986: Fa/io &
Zanna. 19H1)
So('i,,/ dl',;rohifiIY him. Pcople lend 10 hehave in ways Ihey consider to be socially polite or

corn:ct. especially in public . . clIing:-- (Furnham. 1(86). For this reason. ~omc rC~l!an;her!-. have
'ld\'OG.ilcd the u,c of' unohtru!-.Ive mea ... ure ... (Andcr!-.cll. 1(89) and indireci que ... tiolllllg (Fi~hcr.
19(1) a ... a mcam. of reducing . . ocial dc!-.irabilit} bia ....
SeU~"/(milorilig. The A B relatiom-hip i!-. !-.tronger for lo'A selfmonitor~ than high ,elfmonitor:--. hCl'au,t: the laller an: more ch'lllldconlikc" and more inclined 10 tailor their beha\,
101' to spel'liic Slluatlon . . (Snyder. 1974. 1(79).
,\Ui\'(lfiOI/ of rl'i('l'lJlIllIllilluln , Attitude ... tend to prcdkt behavior more accufiltcly when they
'Ire ;.H,.'li\<.lled. thai i.... hroughl 10 the forefront oj an 1n<.Iividuals con'Sciou ... :)warene!-is. Some
tllm!s peopk' need to he reminded ",hat thcir altitude ... are in order for them to adju ... , their be
ha\ior ilccordingl~
Lastly. the A- B reiation ... llIp "" likely to he strengthened when "multiple act criteria" are em
ploycd. Oi\ ing people more than one 0PP0l1unily. 10 11li.lIlil'e . . 1 their atlilude . . through their beha\ior imprmes the fit hc!\\een thl' 1\\0.

stimulu ... (fond) i... rcpc:ltcdly paired with a conditio ned stimu lu s (be ll). the conditioned
qimulu ... (hell) \\-'ill c\'cntually clicit the conditioned response (salivation) all by itself.
Thu .... hy ringing a bcll e\er)" timc the dog ... cc:o. food. Pavlov eventuall y gets hi s dog to
drool at the ... ound of the hell alnne. The difference het\\-:een Mere Expo~ure Theory and
Cla ...... lcal Conditioning. thcn. I'" thai mcre cxpo:o.urc doe ... nt requirc the presence of any
additional rClnforccmclll 10 \\ork lis magic. !\1ere r::\posurc Theor} (ME) po~tu l ates that
repeated expo ... ure to a ... tilllulu ... (hell) \\ilJ n.~"'lllt in more favorable elvalu<.llion ... of that
stimulu ... (han of other unfamilHlr stimuli (wtlJ"'tlc. bUller. !.:hime, etc.).
As an illustration of ME in a labof<ltOf) .. etling, Smith and Zarate (1992) found thaI
research participanls who were cxpo ... ed to general knowledge stalemenr ... tended to regard
tho ..e statement.... as more valid or true than other. unfamiliar knowledge ... wtements. As an
example of ME in action. when the large im,urancc corporation Aetna changed ih name to
Ing. the company launched a markcung campaign in \"hich the new name wa~ advel1i~ed
repeatedly. without explaining what the company did. A se ri es of commercials showed
people on the street ... cratching their heads and \\-'ondering what the new name meant. Frequem exposure to the new !lame was designed to "~often up" consumer:... By familiarizing
consumers with the corporation's name. Ing was making consumers more receptive to that
name and. indirectly. to the company itself.
More than 200 ~tudies conducted in both controlled laboratory and more Ilaturali~tic
settings have demonstrated that ME i ... a fairly robust phenomenon (Born ... tein. 1989:

Chapler 4 Theorizing ahoUl Persuasion

49

Moreland & Zajonc, 1977; Zajonc, 200 I: Zajonc & Rajecki , 1969). Moreover, the phenomenon has been demonstrated using a wide variety of stimuli, including general knowledge statements, works of art, yearbook photos. musical compositions, product name~ ,
nonsense words, and geometric figures (see Bornstein, 1989: Harrison, 1977), ME has
also been demonstrated to work across different cultures.
There are differing explanations as to why or how ME works. Some scholars believe
that cognitive processing. or mediation, is involved. Others assume that ME is a more automatic, unconscious process. One of the most common cognitive explanations involves
learning. With each additional exposure, a person acquires additional information about a
stimulus. The additional information enhances the person's appraisal of the stimulus.
However, the assumption that the more you learn about something. the more you'll like it
is not without limitations. Some studies have shown that ME decreases liking if the initial
>timulus is evaluated negatively (Amir, 1969: Brickman, Redfield, Harrison, & Crandall,
1972: Perlman & Oskamp, 1971),
Another common explanation is based on a misattribution involving "fluency," According to this view. individuals mistake "fluency:' or the proficiency with which they
process a ;timulus, with positive affect or liking (Jacoby & Kelley, 1990). The nuency is a
result of their previous exposure to the stimulus. but observers don't realize this. This explanation accounts for the fact that in slUdies in which participants are aware of their previous exposure, reduced ME effects are observed (Bornstein, 1989). There is also some
evidence that fluency has a gremer effect on cognitive judgments compared with affective
judgments (Lee, 200 I),
Other explanations sllggest that ME takes place at a low level of awareneS!l or even
unconsciously (Moreland & Zajonc. 1977). One sllch explanation involves familiarity,
According to this view, familiarity tends to enhance liking. A familiar stimulus is perceived as more inviting or attractive than a novel or unfamiliar stimulus. Based on this
explanation. if a voter saw a candidate's name repeatedly on bumper stickers and lawn
placards. that candidate would enjoy an advantage over unfamiliar opponents in that
voter's mind on election day. In support of the unconscious-processing explanation,
Bornstein's (1989) meta-analysis revealed that when ME takes place without conscious
awareness, it tends to be more effective than when it takes place with conscious awareness.
A recent study offers some intriguing evidence that different types of ME can take
place through different brain hemispheres (Compton, Williamson, Murphy, & Heller.
2002). Words or text may be processed in one hemisphere. images in the other. This finding may explain some of the inconsistencies in previous studies. In addition. complex
stimuli appear to be evaluated more favorably with increasing exposures than are simple
>timuli (Bornstein, Kale, & Cornell, 1990; Heyduk. 1975; Zajonc et aI., 1972). Research
also indicates that ME may facilitate a preference for familiar over unfamiliar brands, but
not over equally familiar, or more familiar, brands (Baker, 1999), Other studies suggest
that ME works best if the exposures are brief in duration (Hamid, 1973). Finally, some
research indicates that there are diminishing returns to increasing exposure, with a leveling off or drop-off in effectiveness after 10 to 20 exposure< (Stang & O'Connell. 1974:
Zajonc et aI., 1972), In the real world, it is difficult for persuaders, such as advertisers, to
control the number oftimes consumers are exposed to a message. A commercial might air

SO

Part I Preliminaries: Definitions. Trellds. all(/ Theoretical UndeI1)illllillg.\

100 times. but so me viewe rs may see the co mmercia l only a few lim es or no t at all.
whereas other viewe rs may see it dozens of times.
At prese nt. it is unclea r whether ME operates v ia co nscio us or uncon sc ious processing, or both. The litcrature seem s to indi cate that ME is more effective when it take s place
at a low le ve l of awareness or un consc iou sly. Whatever the underlying mechani s m, however, the lit erature sugges ts that M E works and works we ll. Although questions remain as
to exactly how and why M E works. it is a relatively s impl e theory of pe rsuas ion: Re peated, unreinforced exposu re to a stimulus facilitates likin g for th e stimulu s. even in the
absence of awareness.

Psychological Consistency Theories

A variety of theories fall under the rubric of what have come to be known as "consistency
theories:' These include Heider s Balance Theory ( 1958). Newcomb's Symmetry Theory
(195 3), and Osgood and Tannenbaum's Co ng ruit y Theory ( 1955 ; Osgood, Tannenbaum,
& Suci, 1957). among others. These theories share th e co mmo n assumption that individuals have an innate desire to hold consiste nt beliefs, attitudes. and behaviors. Holding di sparate belief;, atLitudes, or behaviors is thou ght to be psyc holog ically uncomfortabl e. A
person who had trouble "looking him se lf in the mirro r" wou ld be experi encin g psychologi ca l inco nsis tency. as would a perso n who fc lt !\he W3!\ "between a rock and a hard
place" insofar as a n importa nt dec is io n was co ncerned. Thi!\ psychological tensio n mo ti vates indi viduals to adjust their thou ght s, fee lin gs. or actions accordingly. As an example,
a hea lth-orie nted person might be bothered by the fa ct that he or she eats red mea l because
red meat is associated w ith increased cho les terol levels. Per~uasivc messages can be desig ned e ither to create or res tore consistency by bringing such incons istent cog nition s into
line. Using the sa me example. a pe rsuas ive message cou ld differentiate between eating red
meat occasionall y, as opposed to frequently, and eating lea n red meat rather th an meat that
is high in fat. Such dif/erellliarioll is one of the p~ychological mechan is ms for bringing
about co ns istency . Other co mmon me chani s ms for preserving or restoring consiste ncy in clude denial (" I don't believe th ere is a we ll -esta blished link between red meat and cho lesterol o r cholesterol and heart disease"). bolSTering (", I don ' t eat that much meat anyway:
red meat is a good source of protein"). altitude or helief modificatioll ("I think eating red
meat is okay as lon g as I ha ve small portion!\"). and transcendence (Hey, we've a ll got to
die of so mething").
Consistency was originally viewed as a dri vereduct ion theory. That is, inconsistency creat es a psyc hologica l dri ve to maintain or re store consiste ncy. More recent thinking. however. suggests that consiste ncy is as much an e ffort to manage one's se lf image or
maintain face in th e eyes o f others as it i~ an internal drive state (Aronson, Cohen, & Nail.
1999; Greenwald & Roni s, 1978; Scher & Cooper. 1989). We may know we are not bein g
consistent , but we wan t others to think we are. How much inconsis tency an indi v idual ctl n
tolerate is related in large part to the cefltralily of the beliefs, attitude s, or behaviors in
question . Incons istenc ies involvi ng core beliefs are more tro ubling than those in vo lvin g
tangential beliefs. Thus, the notion of cheatin g on a diet wou ld both er most peopl e far less
than the nOli on of cheat ing o n a spouse. C urre nt rese<.l rch also suggests that there are indi-

I
Chapter 4 71leori:illg a/una Persullsiol/

51

vidual differences in people'\ tolerance for inconsistency. An inconsislency Ihal "bugs"

one persall might nol faze another. Research furlhcr suggests Ihal there is a cultural COI11poncnl involved in the degree 10 which people "rive for con~i~lency (Cialdini. Wosinska.
Barret. Butner. & Gornik-Durose. 19991.
All of Ihe consislency theories sutTer from Ihe drawback of being unable to accommodate more than three cognitive relations at one time. If we know, for example. that
Timmy like~ Popcye. the cartoon character (favorable altitude), and Popeye is positively
as\ociated with eating spinach (favorable attitude). then Timmy's attitude, will be psychologically cOI1,i\tent if he too like\ "ipinaeh. Yet such a model Lends to oversimplify the
complex associative networks in which beliefs. altitude\. and other cognitions exist.
Timmy might like Popeye and. therefore. spinach. but his best friend, Emile. might hale
spinach: or Timmy might nol like the way his mother serves spinach (Popeyc. after all,
gulps it straight from the can): or he might like other vegetables more than spinach: or he
mighL identify with Wimpy. the character who loves hamburgers. more than he identifies
with Popeye. Attitudes don't exist in isolation. but rather in clusters of beliefs. altitudes.
and values. The.",c clustcrs arc in turn interrelalcd with other clusters. Even consistency
theories that lake into account degrees of attitude and not just their valences, such as Congruity Theory. suiTer from thi~ limiwtion. COIl~i"itency theories are useful as far as they go,
but (heir explanatory and predictive power i" Iypically confined 10 one Iriad al a time.

Cogl/itive Dissol/al/ce Theory

A specialized ver:-.ion of consi"tency. known as Cognitive Dissonance Theory (COT). was
developed by Leon Fe\linger (1957. 1964: Fe\linger & Carlsmith, 1959). The theory.
which fell out of fa\or in the 1970s and 1980s. has come roaring back since the 1990s.
Nearly 100 artiele"i have been published on cognitivc dissonuncc in the last decade. While
FC'ilinger's original theory has been modified and extended by others (see Cooper &
Fa!.io. 1984: Scher & Cooper. 1989). many scholars argue that the original theory remains
viable today (Beauvois & Joule. 1999: Harmon-Jones. 1999: Mills. 1999). Similar to other
consistency 'hcoric\. CDT postulates that holding di~sonan( cognitions (beliefs. attitudes.
perceptions. eLc.) is an aver~ive p"ychological .state. Cognitive di!o.sonance isn't an all-ornothing phenomenon- it occurs in varying degrees. An important decision evokes more
di"sonance than an unimportant one.
Persuasive messages can be aimcd at either increasing or decreasing dissonance. On
the one hand. a persuader might wanllO increase dissonance in order to get another person
to rethink his or her position on an i!o.slle. A parent might tell a college-age son, for example. "Are you ",ure you want to get a new car. rather than a used one? Your car payments will be highcr and you'll have to pay more for insurance too." On the other hand. a
per ... uader might want 10 minimi7e dis.sonance by reassuring another person that the decision ... he or he made was (he right one. A parent might tell a college-age daughter, for
inslallce. "You made the right choice in buying a car. rather than leasing one. If you take
care of it. you'll havc reliable transporlation long after it is paid off."
Four common research paradigms have been llsed to study cognitive dissonance: the
free-choice paradigm. the bclief-di"iconfirmation paradigm. the effort-justification para
digm. and the induced-compliance paradigm (Harmon-Jone, & Mills. 1999). The free-

52

Part I Prelimillaries: D({illiTiom, Trends, and Theoretical Underpinlling.1

choice paradi{f11l focuses on the psychological angst a person experiences following a

freely made decisioll. For this reason. COT is often referred to as a "post-decision theory."
Once a person makes a decision, the person worries about whether she or he made the
right choice. This phenomenon is commonly referred to in sales as "buyer's remorse:' The
person seeks to reduce her or his dissonance by justifying the decision that was made.
Allcmpts to justify or reinforce the dccision can take plaec through the individual's
thought processes. words, or actions. For a more detailed discussion of some of the modes
of dissonance reduction. see Steele (1988). Stone. Wygand. Cooper. and Aronson (1997).
and Burris. Harmon-Jones. and Tarpley (1997).
A second paradigm for research on COT involves belief disconjirmation. Dissonance is arou~ed when an individual is exposed to information that is inconsistent with her
or his belicfs. The theory predicts that a person will reject. distort, or avoid information
that arouses dissonance. When there is a bear market. for instance. some investors can't
stand opening their quarterly statements, much less reading them, because they don't want
to know how much money they've lost. When there is a bull market. the same investors
can't wait to tear open the maillO see how much money they've made. CDT also predicts
that. having made a dccision. individuals will engage in selectil'e exposure by seeking alit
information that is consonant with their choice and avoiding information that is dissonant
with their choicc. Before buying a car. for example, a consumer might look at ads for a
variety of makes and models. After purchasing a car. however. the same consumer will
tend to look for ads or favorable reviews of the specific car purchased. Nevertheless.
people don't always stick their heads in the sand when confronted with dis.'.onanl informatioll. Empirical studie!-. suggest that people can and do tolerate a certain amount of disso
nant information (see COllon. 1985: COllon & Heiser. 1980).
A third avenue of research for studying CDT is known as the induced compliallce
paradiXI1l (originally called the forced-choice paradigm). This is perhaps the most widely
studied of all the dissonance paradigms (Devine, Tauer. Barron, Elliot. & Vance. 1999).
When a person is induced to engage in behavior that is contrary to his or her attitudes or
self-image. the magnitude of dissonance is less. When a person performs a counterattitudinal action of his or her own volition. however, the magnitude of dissonance is
greater. By way of illustration, an attorney who was paid handsomely for defending an
unsavory client would find his or her actions easier to justify than if he or she took on the
case pro bono. The greater the external incentives. whether positive (promises of reward)
or negative (threats of punishment). the easier it is for an individual to ascribe his or her
behavior to the external inducement. Research based on this paradigm has also revealed a
negative illcefltil'e effect (Fe!-.tinger & Carlsmith, 1959: Harmon-Jones & Mills, 1999).
The larger the external incentive for engaging in counterattitudinal behavior, the less attitude change there will be in the direction of the behavior in question. The smaller the external incentive, the greater the change in attitude, Thus. people who volunteered to go
door [Q door to raise money for a charity would tend to have more favorable attitudes toward the charity than people who were paid to do the same type of fund-raising,
The fourth paradigm that has prompted COT research is the effort justification para
digm (see Beauvais & Joule, 1999). The basic notion here is that when a per!-.on has to
earn ~oJllelhing, he or she appreciates it all the more. The greater the sacrifice thal i~ required 10 achieve an outcome, the more an individual will value the outcome. Conver~cly,

Chaptl!r 4 Thl'ori::illg ahollf Permas;OI/

53

the less sacrilice involved. the le% value the individual will attach (Q the outcome. By way
of illustration, a college student who pledged" fraternity or sorority and wa~ required to
perform embarrassing or humiliating acts during "hell week" would tend to rationali/e the
behavior by valuing the outcome of membership in the fraternity or sorority even morc.
Why? Because performing unpleasant acts would arouse dissonance. but the dissonance
could be reduced by enhancing the perceived value of the outcome. A college student who
did not have to undergo embarrassing or humiliming initiation rituals. however. would not
experience as much dissonance <Ind. according to the effllrt justification paradigm. would
not value his or her membership as highly.
COT has generated a number of useful insights regarding persuasion. especially the
process of self-pcrsuasion. While there is disagrcement on the underlying motivation for
dissonance, scholars agree that '"genuine cognitive changes occur." that "these cognitive
changes arc motivated in nature and that the source of this motivation is a form of psychological discomfort" (Harmon-Jones & Mills, 1999, p. 15).

Theory of Reasolled Actioll

The Theory of Re",oned Action (TRA) was developed by Martin Fishbein and "aac
Ajlen in the late 1970s (AjLen & Fishbein. 1977. 19RO: Fishbein & Aj7en. 1975) and was
followed by AjLen's Theory of Planned Behavior (1991). The TRA is often referred 10 as
a "rational" thcory of persuasion. bl!cau~c it fm.: use!-! 011 the deliberative process all individual engages in when shc or he is prescntcd with a persuasive message. The opcrating
assumption is that individuals systematically analY7e messages. evaluate all availablc information. and actively weigh the benefits and rbks associated with compliance beforc
making a decision.
The linchpin of the TRA is an individual's /Je/lt/viortll illlelIlioll. That is. the most
reliable indicator of what a person will do is what he or shc intends to do. Although behavioral intcillions don't always correspond (0 behavior- for example. the time a pcrson in tends to wake lip when she or he sets an alarm clock at night is not necessarily (he actual
time the person gets up in the morning- a number of studies have confirmed that behavioral imcl1tions are, by and large. predictive of beha\ ior (Ajzen & Fishbein. 1973: Kim &
Hunter. 1993a. 1993b: Sheppard. Hartwick. & Wa"haw. 1988). Behavioral intentions arc
in turn guided by Iwo major f"ctors: a per...on' ... attitude toward the behavior and \ubjcclivc
flonns.
The first major factor. afliwde IowaI'd fhe be/wl'ior, refers to a person's evaluation
of the bencfits and ri . . ks associated with performing the action requested in a persua . . ive
message. Favorable attitudes lead to approach behavior. and unfavorable attitudes Icad to
avoidance behavior. For exam pic. the Jikclihood that Naomi would join a carpool to commute to work would be based on her intention to join a carpool. Her intention would in
turn be based on her attitudes toward carpooling, If Naomi held favorable attitudes toward
carpooling ("'I get to work fa"tcr." '"I'm helping the environment'") then her intention to
join a carpool would be stronger. If ... he held unfavorable attitudcs toward carpooling ("I
can't comc and go as I please:' "I don't enjoy talking to people on the way to and rrom
work"). her intention to join a carpool would he weah.er. The combination of po,itivc and

54

Pan I Prt'limirwries: Dejillitio!l\', Treml\, (J1Il1 Tltl'oretU'(J/ U",lerp;l/l/i"KS

negative attitudel., toward the behavior i:-. one factor that determine ... a person's behavioral
intent.
The TRA also sl<.Ites that an individual's altitude toward the behavior. in this case
carpooling. will be based on his or her beliefs ahow the outcome of performing the behavior and his or her el'olu{If;OIl of the olllcome. The more a person believes thaI performing
an action will produce a favorable outcome. and the more favorably the person evaluates
that outcomt!. the stronger the person's allitudcl., toward the behavior will be. Continuing
with the same example. Naomi might believe that one outcome of carpooling is that she
would save money on gasoline. Her eva lu ation of that ou tcome wou ld be positive. But she
might also believe thut another ou tcome of carpooli ng i:-, that :-.he would be unable to leave
work on lunch brl!ah to run errands. Her eva lu ation of that ou tcome would be nega tive.
According (0 the TRA. the tota lity of Naomi1., bclicl\ about these ou tcomes and her evaluation of them would guide her attitude toward joining a carpool.
A second major factor that determines a person's behavioral intent is subjecfil'e
norm.\. SUhjecti\'e norms are made up of a person ... 1l0rll/{lfi\'e beliefs about what significant other... think. along with the pcrl.,on ... mmil'Cllioll to co",,,ly with significant o th ers'
opinion .... Thul.,. If Naomi!o. friends were cll\ironmclllali\h. I.,he would tend to have favorable beJiet\ toward carpooling. If Naomi al ... o had a strong desire to live up to her friends'
normative expectations, she would be even more inclincd to join a carpool. The various
components of the TRA- beliefs about the outcome. cvaluation of the outcome. normative beliefs. and motivation to comply- are Iypically measured usi ng self-report rating
... ca les.
The TRA has been tested on a wide variety of topics and issues. including AIDS risk
reduction (Cochran. Mays. Ciaretla. Caruso. & Mallon. 1992). belief in extraterrest ri a ls
(Patry & Pellctier. 2(01). condom u'e (Albarracin. Jo hn '''n. Fi'hbein. & Muellerieile.
200 I: Greene. Hale. & Rubin. 1997). dental hygiene (Tonea llo & Binik. 1987), drinking
and driving (Gaslil. 2(00). expo\urc to the sun (Steen. Peay. & Owen, 2<X>O). mental practice (Trafimow & Miller. 1996). moral behavior in sports (VaJlera nd. Deshaies. Currier.
Pelletier. & Mongeau. 1992). recycling (Park, Levine. & Sharkey, 1998), and voti ng beha\ior (Granberg & Holmberg. 1990). The TRA ha, been e'peciall} usefu l in predicting
the role of intention!o. on health-related behavior. In addition .... tudies have show n that there
me individual differences. gender differences. and cultural differences in the weight or importancc people attach to the \-ariou ... components of thc TRA (Greene. Ha le. & Rubin.
1997: Godin et al.. 1996: Lee & Green. 1991).

Social Judgment Theory

Social Judgment Theory. pre,ented by MUlafer Sherif. Ca ro lyn Sherif, and Robert
Nebergall (Sherif & Sherif. 1967: Sherif. Sherif. & Neberga ll. 1965), focuses on how
people evaluate per~uasive me!o.sagc ... and how ~uch evalua ti ons affect whether or not persuasion occur'i. According to the theory. on any given topic a person might hold a range of
possible positions. By way of cxample. con~ider the debate among vegetarians. meat eat-

Chapter 4 Theori::Jng abollt Persllasion

SS

ers, and some of those who are "in between." Here are several positions. so me extreme,
some moderate, that a person might embrace on this issue (see Corliss, 2002):
J. Sproutarianism- You should build your diet around beans, wheal, and other sprouts.

2. Fruitarianism- You should eat plant parts that the plant can easily replace (e.g .. berries, apples, tomatoes. grains. seeds).
3. Veganisl1l- You should eat plants and avoid meat, dairy, eggs. honey, or any other
animal product.
4. Ovo-vegetariani sm- You may eat plants and eggs, since hens would lay the eggs
even if we didn't eat them,
S. Ovo-lacto-vegetarianism- YOli may eat vegetables. eggs. and dairy products. since
doing so kill s no animals.
6. Pesco-vegetarianism- Yoll may cat fish because fi sh don ' t have sophisticated nervous systems.
7. Pollo-vegetarianism- You may eat chi cken. but not red meat.
8. Meat caters- You may pm just about anything in your mouth .
Social Judgment Theory argues that on this, or any continuum. a perso n has a most
preferred position, called an anchor point. This anchor point functions as a reference point
or "psychological benchmark" against which other posi tions and viewpoints are evaluated. If, for example. Dean agrees most with position 2- that you should eat replaceable
plant parts-position 2 is Dean' s anchor point, but that doesn't mean that it is the only
position he may find acceptable. For instance. though preferring to stick to position 2, he
may think it is all right to eat honey, eggs, and ice cream (positions 3. 4. and 5), Such
positions. together with his anchor point, represe nt Dean' s latirude of acceptance. that is.
the range of positions he finds acceptable, But what about the remaining positions on the
continuum. which fall olltside a perso n' s latitude of acceptance? According to Social
Judgment Theory, a person may fee l ambivalent about so me of these positions and
strongly opposed to others. Those positions in the first category (a mbivalent ) are said to
fall within a person's latitude of I/ol/commitment. Those in the second category (strongly
opposed) are said to fall within a person' s latitude of rejection. Thus. if Dean feels neutral
about eating fish, position 6 fall s within his latitude of noncommitment. If he is adamantly
against eating chicken and beef, positions 7 and 8 fall within hi s latitude oIrejecrion,
How is this important lO persuasion ? First, Social Judgment Theory suggests that a
person's anchor position is used as a standard to evaluate all other positions, As such, it
may be difficult, if not impossible. to persuade a person to accept a position that is too
disparate from his or her anchor point. In fact. when a persuasive message advocates a
position that is highly di sc repant from a perso n's anchor posi tion. Social Judgment Theory
predicts that the persuadee will perceive the position advocated in the persuasive message
to be farther away from the anchor (han it really is. This outcome, known as the contrast
effect, makes rejection of a persuasive message more likel y, In contrast, a persuasive message advocating a position that is not too far away from a person's anchor position , that is,
one that falls within the perso n's latitude of noncommitment , may be deemed tolerable. In
this case. Social Judgment Theory sugges ts that the persuad ee may end up perceiving the

56

Part I PreJimil/orie.\: Definitiolls. Trellds. and Theoretical

U1/{lerpil/llif/~s

advocated position to be closer to the anchor than it really is. This phenomenon, known as
the assimilation effect. makes acceptance of a persuasive message more likely.
Not surprisingly. the breadth of any particular person's latitudes of acceptance.
noncommitment, and rejection influences how difficult it may be to persuade that person.
For instance, Social Judgment Theory conceptualizes an ego-involved person as someone
with a narrow latitude of acceptance and a wide latitude of rejection. In our example. a
person who makes a living selling cattle and who loves to eat beef with every meal would
be such an ego-involved person. Social Judgment Theory suggests that trying to persuade
such a person to become a !otproutarian would probably be a waste of time. On the other
hand, just because a person is ego-involved in one issue does not mean he or she will be
that way on all issues. The cattle rancher. for example. may have a narrow latitude of rejection on issues such as gun control or capital punishment.

Expectancy Violatiolls Theory

A number of persuasion theorie!ot focus on expectations, or, more precisely, what occurs
when people's expectations are violated. Three such theories-Language Expectancy
Theory (M. Burgoon. 1995). the Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Model (1. Burgoon,
1994), and Reinforcement Expectancy Theory (Klingle, I996)-are discussed later in this
volume (see chapters 9. 10. and 16) and will therefore be highlighted only briefly here.
Although there are SOme unique differences among these theories, aJi share the COIllmon assumption that people have expectations about what constitutes normal behavior.
When slich expectations are violated, it catches receivers off guard. Someone standing too
close or using extremely intense language. for example. might violate a person's expectations for normal behavior. According to these theories. such violations cause receivers to
shift their attention from the message to the source of the message. Whether such violations hinder or facilitate persuasion, then. depends on the receivers' perceptions or the person violating the expectations. For example. when perceptions are positive, that is, when
sources are perceived as credible. attractive. or likable. sources may be more persuasive
when violating expectations than when behaving in accordance with expectations. On the
other hand. when perceptions are less positive, sources who violate expectations for normal behavior are probably less persuasive than they would be without such violations.
These related theories also suggest that some sources have a relatively wide bandwidth of acceptable behaviors, whereas others are permitted a relatively narrow bandwidth. By way of example. Reinforccmcl1l Expectancy Theory argues that because of
social norms, female physicians can't get away with using aversive strategies in the same
way that male physicians can. When female doctors use such strategies, they violate patients' expectations about what is appropriate. and as a result, patients are less likely to
comply. According to the theory, then, male physicians can increase compliance by using
either positive (e.g., "Regular eating will make you feel so much better") or negative
("You have two choices: change your diet or spend the rest of your life wishing you had")
influence strategies, but female physicians can increase compliance only by using positive
~trategies.

1
Chapter 4 Theori:illg about Per.was;ol1

57

Dual-Process Theories of Persuasioll

Two of the m05t recent theories of persuasion are known as dlla/~proces.'i theories
(Chaiken & Trope. 1999) because they postulate thai persuasion operates via two basic
paths. Both Peny and Cacioppo's Elaboration Likelihood Model and Chaiken and Eagly's
Heuristic-Systematic Model maintain that people employ two qualitatively different
modes of information processing when they are exposed to a persuasive message. Though
the two theories differ in their particulars. both assume that one mode or route is more
cognitive. deliberate, reflective. effonfu!' and generally slower than the other, which is
more automatic. reflexive. habitual. affective. and generally faster. People rely on one
mode when they need to think through a decision and rely on the other when they need to
expedite their decision making. Other dual-process theories of persuasion also exist. For
example. Kim Wine's Extended Parallel Process ing Model. which is the subject of chapter 13, presumes that fear appeal., are processed along one of two basic routes.

The Elaboratioll Likelihood Model

Richard Peny and John Cacioppo's (1986a. 198Gb) Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM) is one of the 1110st widely cited models in the persuasion literature. 8ecause the ELM is the focu s of chapter 5. our di sc ussion of it is truncated here. The ELM
postulates that there are two basic routes to persuasion that operate in tandem. The first of
these. known as the central roWe. involves cog nitive elaboration. that is. effortrul thought
and deliberation about the con tent of a message. The second route. known as the peripheral rO/lIe. emphasizes mental shoncuts. ~ uch as a reliance on source attractiveness or argument quantity in evaluating a persuas ive message . According to the ELM. the
predominam form of processing on which an individual reli es depends on a number of
factors, including the individual's involvement with the topic or issue. ability to process
the message. motivation to process the message. and need for cog nition .
As an illustration of the ELM in action. suppose that Alex is interested in joining a
health club. If hi s determination to gel in shape is high. meanin g that he has high personal
involvement in the issue. he will tend to rely on central processing. Thm is. he'll tend to
read different ads for health club..,. compare their features and prices. ask question s to
c lariry points of information. and l11ull over the advantages and di sadvantages of different
plans in hi s mind. If. however, hi!-t motivation to get fit is low, thaI is. his doctor encouraged him to exercise more regularly but Alex isn't panicularly eager to do so, he will tend
to rely on peripheral processing. He might join a health club on the recommendation of a
friend. or simply join the gym with the catchiest ad. He would tend to use central processing if he wanted to make a thou ghtful decision and peripheral process ing if he wanted to
make an expedient deci sion.
A so urce of controversy surrounding the ELM has been the iss ue of parallel or
simultalleO/u processing. Although Petty and Cacioppo acknowledged the possibility of
parallel process ing. that is. usi ng both routes at once (Pett y. Ka smer. Haugtvedl. &
Cacioppo. 1987), the ELM has been criticized for not making thi s assumption more explicit (see Hamilton. Hunter. & Boste r. 1993: Mongeau & Stiff. 1993: Stiff. 1986; Stiff &
Boster. 1987). While Peny and Cacioppo argued that the ELM docs not preclude the

58

Part I Preliminaries: Definitions, Trend.\. and Theoretical Ullderpillflifl!:.I'

pos~ibility

of parallel proces~ing. Ihey suggested thal there is usually a trade-off, in that a

person tend~ to favor one route over the other. The controversy over parallel versus exclusive proces~ing may involve a "difference that makes no difference," however, because to
date there is limited empirical evidence from laboratory studies that ~imu ltan eous processing ever occur> (Booth-Butterfie ld ct al.. 1994: Chaiken. Liberman. & Eagly. 1989 ). Petty
& Cacioppo address this and other criticisms of the ELM in chapter 5.

The Heuristic-Systematic Model of Persuasion

Another model of persuasion that bear~ many similarit ies to the ELM is Shelley Chaiken
and Alice Eagly's Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) (Chaiken. 1980. 1987: Chaiken.
Lieberman. & Eagly. 1989: Chen & Chaiken. 1999; Eagly & Cha iken. 1993). As with the
ELM. the HSM operates on the a:-.:-.umption that individuals rely on two different modes of
information processing. One mode. called .'1ystemotic processing, i:-. more thoughtful. deliberate, und analytical. This mode focuses on the content of the message and is roughly
analogous to central processing in the ELM. The other mode. called heuristic processing.
is more renexive or automat ic and is anal ogous to peripheral processing in the ELM. Heuristic processing is based on the application of what Chaiken and Eagly call decision rules
or heuristic cues. such as mental shortcuts, which simplify information processing and decision making. A person who always tips 15 percent when dining ou t. regardless of the
quality of the food service. would be employing a decision rule. Other examples of decision rules would be "size matters" when buying an SUV. "experts ca n be trusted" when
evaluating a scientific study. or "never pay retai'" when shopping for jewelry. According
to the HSM. decision rules are Mored in memory and activated under th e appropriate circumstances. Heuristic cues operatc ~imila rl y but tend to be based on appearance cues and
subjective preferences. A consumer who selected one product or service over another because a celebrity endorser was more attractive. an advertising jingle was more catchy. or a
commercial was more vivid than its competitors would be relying on heuristic cues. The
activation of systematic proces~ing via decision rules and heuristic cues places fewer cognitive demands on the individual.
Consistent with the ELM. the HSM !'.tates that a person's moth'arion and ability to
process a message are both key detcrminants of whether a person wi ll rely on systematic
or heuristic processing. or both. Chaiken and Eagly also maintained that individuals are
'economy-minded' when deciding which mode of processing to use (Chaiken. 1980).
Thus. the theory postulates the operation of a sufficiency principle. which states that
people ~eek to strike a balance between not thinking enough aboll t a decision and thinking
too much about it. According to the HSM . people attempt to expend as much menIal ene rgy as they need to, but no more (Chen & Chaiken, 1999).
A difference between the ELM and HSM is that Chaiken and Eag ly' s HSM explicitly acknow ledges th e prospect of simulraneolls processilll: of messages. That is. messages
travel the heuristic and systematic route~ concurrent ly. While the ELM doesn't rule thi s
out. neither does it incorporate simultaneous processing as an explicit as~umption of th e
theory. The HSM assumes that the two route~ can operate separately. in combination, or in
opposition to one another. The additi\'it.\' hypothesis (Maheswaran. Mackie. & Chaiken.
(992) states that systematic and heuristic processing can complement one another. For ex-

c------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ,

Chapler -l. TlU'ori:ill).: Clbolll Penumioll

59

ample. if a co n~ul1ler preferred (0 buy name brand product~ (heu ri sti c cue) and th en read
an arti c le in <l computer magclli nc (systematic processing) arguing that nam e-bra nd co mputers were superior to generic "c lones," the two forl11~ of processing would reinforce
eac h Dlher. The bias hypOf/tesi.'i (Chaike n & Maheswaran. 1994; Che n. Shechter. &
Chaiken. 1996) Males that initial heuristic processing of a message may bias subseque nt
systemat ic processing of the mcs . . age. As an example. a receiver who thought a source
was alLracli vc (heuris tic cue) might be more motivated than otherwise to pay attention to a
message from that SOUTce (~ystell1a ti c processing) and to process ambiguous informatio n
co ntain ed in the message morc favorably. The llflelllf(lliol/ hypothesi.\ (C haiken &
Maheswarall, 1994: Maheswaren & Chaiken, 1991 : Mahcswaran, Mackie, & Chaiken ,
1992) sta tes that one form of processing can offset or counteract the other. For example, a

person who read a novel and admired the author's idea . . and U"ie of la nguage (syste mat ic
proces!'>ing) might not care what the author looked like (hl.'!uristic cue) if she or he later saw
the author on a television talk ... how.
The ELM a nd HSM ha ve been shown to have both practical and heuristic vul ue insofar as th e ir ability to explain and predict people's reactions to persuasive messages is
concerned. D07cns upon dozen.., of studics based on the!-c dual-process theories have been
ca rri ed o ut on a vari ety of topics. receivers. and seltings. The resu ll ~ to date have ge nerally
uphe ld both theori es' utility as comprehensive. integrative explanat i on~ of how persuasion
functions. While the theories arc not withollt their critics (sec Kruglan ... ki. Thompson, &
Spiegel. 1999: Mongeau & Stiff. 1993: Stiff & Boster. 1987 for criticisms). it is safe to say
that they enjoy considerable support in the li terature.

Co netu sio II
In this chapte r we have examined eight different theori\!s of per~uasion. social influence.
and compliance gaini ng. Although ab"orbing eighllhcories in one fell swoop is enough to
make anyone "theory weary," we want to st re~s the importance of acquiring a solid g rasp
of basic theoretical frameworks when qudying persuasion. Good research, we believe. is
o r should be theory driven. TheOl'ic!- inform research, and the results of empirical research
in turn aid in ex tcndi ng. modifying, relining. and in somc cascs refuting theories. It is not
enough 10 know th at a panicular ... tudy found a particular result. Theories and models help
us to understand not o nl y H'}Ill! the results of a study were but al ... o why those re\ults were
obtained. Thu\. {O fully under... tand persuasion, soc ial influence. and compli ance ga in ing.
we be lieve it is importa nt that you learn not on ly about research finding~ but abo about
their theoretical underpinnings.
Even at e igh t theories, we have o nl y sc ratched the surface when it comes to the mul titude of theoretical explanations of persuasive phenomena. Anyonc's li ... 1 of "greates t
baseball players" or "most imrortant lilms" will likely vary from another person's list. so
we apologize in advance if we ...... tiffed .. your favoritc theory in our list. Some theories that
are \:ipec ific to particular per\uasivc strategies (such as a "guilt-ba\:ied" explanation for the
door-in-the-face ... trategy. o r Interpersonal Deception Theory as an explanation of deception detection) are covered in later chapte rs in this volume.

60

P<lfl I Preli",illarh',\: /){'./illilioll\, Trl'lltl\. (/fill Tlll'orl'1imf Um/erpillllillg\'

Hopefully. lhi\

iew of pcr,ua,ionlheorie\ ha:-. provided you with a ba..,ic fOllnda

lion from which (0 underl"llmd varioU\-, terms. conceph. principlc!oo. proCCI"..,cs. :-,trHtcgic ....
and phenomena you will read aboul a~ YOLI study per~uasion. social innuencc. and compliance gaining. There arc those \vho would argue that "all a theory and a dollar will gel you
j, a cup of coffee," meaning that theoric.., aren't worth much. We con..,ider theoric ... 10 be
valuable. however. becau ... e it is not the finding'> of studies that lell U:o. how persua,iol1
worh. but rather what the finding ... mean or how they are interpreted in ligh t of prevailing
(heoTie'" of per<.,ua'tion.
fe\

Ref erellces _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
AJI~J1. I. ( 19(1). The thcory of planned bell:1\ lOr. O/"glllll::lItiol/al lJel/(/l'ior (IIld Ihol/(/II Dl'('i,\io ll Proce.lwl.50.17lJ-:! II .
Aj/en. I.. & Fi"hbein. :vi . (19HO). Unde'HulI/tIillg (llIilllt/e'I' (llId /Jred;CI;If.S~ .l"Ociallu-lllIlior: Allitlldi'l. 111ft"I/f/r"'.1 alld p('I"("('in'd lu'h((l'loral ("(ml/"(ll. Englc\Vood Cliff!">. NJ: Prentice-Hall.
"J/('n, L. & Fi"hhein. M. (1977). Anitw.lc-bch'l\inr rdation,,: A thcorl!tical analy ... i" and rc\-ic\V oj emplril:ai n:"earch. Psychological/JIII/i'lill. 8.J. HH 91 X.
A.l/en. L & Fi .. hbeLn. \ '1. ! 197J). Allituthnal .md nOrLllatilc ,ariahlc ... a ... predictor" ()f "f'CCLriC beh .. , I(1r".
)ollmal (lr Pt'no/lalil, ami Pwd/(l!o~, '. 27. -ll :;7.
Alharracin. D.. John ...on. R. T.. Fj"hhcin. M.. & Mucllcrlclle. P. A. UOOI). Theoric .. of rt.\l ..om.'d actIOn
amI cnmlom u ..agc: A met..l-analy .. i .... PndwlogiwIIJllllt'till. 127! I). 14:!-161.
AIlIir. Y (1%9). Conlact hypothc .. l.. 111 cthnic relation". Pnl'h%giml Blilleril/, 71. J 19 J42.
Andc .....en. J W. ( 1989). Unontru .. i\c me ..... urc ... In P. Emmert & L. L. Barker (E(h.). Mi'lI.\ //rl'lIIt'lII 0/("(/111IIIl1l/iwrioll bellmjor (pp. 2-l9-2ti6). White Plain ... NY; Longman .
I\.rnrNlIl. J .. Cuhen, G .. & Nail. P. R. (1999). Sdf-allirllliition theory: An update and an apprai .. al.ln E.
ilarmon -Jonc .. & J. Mill .. (Ed!->.). Cogllllilt, (/;1\011111/('(': Progrnl 011 (/ (J/\'olailltl'on- ill .\(Idal/Hrl'holog\' (pp. I :!7- 1-l7). Wa .. hingtlln. DC : I\meric"lll P.. ydlOlogical A""ociation .
Ba~cr. W. E. (1999). When can affectr\ e t;oT1(litrorung and Illere cxp{}~urc dircctly inllucnce h rand chorl.:c?
)oumal o{Adl'Nli lillg. 2X! -l J. J 1-1-7.
ReaU\oi~. J. L.. & Joule. R. V. (1999). I\. radil.:(ll]x)IIlI of ,ic\.\. on di .. :-.onancc theory. In E. I-Iarmon-J()[lc ..
& J !\1 i II:-. (Ed .... J. Cogllirilt, (/i\WlltllIl'(': Pmgrt'5J 011 a (Ii \"Owl ,lit'ory ill I(W;al,Hrcholo.lp I pp , -U
70). Wa .. hington. DC: Amcrican P..,ychologll:a l A .... ocialion
Bcrgcr, C. R .. & Burgoon. M (1995). COII/II/IiI/;nlfioll tllIlI v}('illl ill(1'I('IIC(, /'ton'He,l. Ea ... t Lan .. ing. ~11.
Michigan State L'ni,cr.. it) Pre ....
BUrLhtcin. R. r~. (1989). E\po .. urc and ffcct: O\cnlc\\, andmeta-ilnaly .. i,> of re"cilrch. 196X-19S7 PHdwlo,t.:iwl Bul/elm. /I)(j. 165 1X9.
Born .. tein. R. ,... .. Kale. A. R .. & Cornell. K R. (199()). Boredom a... a limiting wmlition on the mere cxpu.. urc d Icc!. )ournal 01 PenOllllliry alltl Sodal P,Hdw!ogr. 58. 791-8IXl.
Booth -Buttt:rtkid. S .. Cooke. P. Andrighelli. A.. Ca .. tccl. B.. Lang. T .. Pear..on. D .. & Rodriguc/, B
(199.t). Sillwltallcou .. \cr.. u.. c,xdu .. i\c procc .... lI1g of IlCr .. ua .. ive argumcnh (Illd cue ... ell/IIIII//Ilinllioll Qllurluly. n. 21 35.
Brickm~ln . P .. Rcdtidd. J. Harrr"on . A A. &.: Crandall. R. (1972). Dri'e and prcdi .. pt).. itiun ... a ... factor .. in
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Burgoon. J K (199-l). NoO\erbal .. i.gnaJ... In M L. Knapp & G. R. Miller (ELI,>.). HwulhooJ\ o{ill/t"1)('r
\//1/(/1 ('OlllllllllliC(uioll (2nd ed .. pp. :!:!9- 285). Tbou .. and 0[1""'. C A: Sage Publica tion ...
Burgoon. M. (1995). Language l:.xpccwncy Theory : Elaoor;r tion. exp lication, and Cxh.! lhion. In C R.
Bcrger & M. Burgoon (Ed ... ). COIIIIII/minl/iOlI al/(I weial illfluellce I'mCl'.IJ('\ (pp. :!l) SI). Ea .. ,
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Bum ... C T .. Harmon-June ... , E.. & Tarpil.~) . W R. (1997). "By faith alone" : Rcligiou .. agltatiun and r.:o!,!niti \'e di ... ,onancc. Bmit" ApplicaliO//\ or Social P,n-dwlogy. J9. 17-31 .

61

Chapter 4 Theori:ill{? ahollf Persllasio/l

Chaike n. S. (1980). Heuristic vcrsus ,\ystcmatic information procc ..sing and the u~e of ~ourcc \'crw'" mc .. ..age cues in persuasio n. JOllrnal of Per.WJII(I/iIY (///(1 Social Plych%gy. 39. 752-766.
Chaiken. S. ( 1987). The heuriMic model of per<;ua~ion. In M. P. Zanna. J. M. Obon. &
P. Hl!rman
(Eds.). Social influence: The Ontario Symposium (vol. 5. pp. 3- 39). lIillsdale. NJ: Erlbaulll .
Chaiken. S.. Libenllan. A.. & Eag ly. A. H . (1989). llt:u ri .. tic and .. ) ... tematic information procc ...... ing within
and beyond the persuasion context. In J. S. Ulcman & J. A. Bargh (Eds.). Unilliellded thol/ghl (pr.
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Chaiken. S .. & Maheswaran. D" ( 1994). Heuristic proce .. ..,ing can hi as systematic proce .... ing: Effect... of
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c.

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62

Part I

Prelilllill(Jrie.~:

Definitiuns, Trends. and l1u'oretical Underpinnings

Festinger, L. (Ed.). (1964), COl/flicl. deci~iun, (/nd di"sOI/(U/ce. Stanford. CA: Stanford UnivcP'!ity Pres .. ,
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Furnham. A. (1986). Response bias, socia l dc..,irability. and as"imilation. Persullality al/d Illdidr/i/(/l DU~

Jerence, 7.385-400.

or

or

Gasti!. J. (2000). Thinking. drinking, and driving: An application

the theory
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prevention. jOllmal of Applied Social P.lyc/wlogy. 30( 1 1). 2217-2232.
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Greene, K .. Hale. J. L.. & Rubin. D. L. (1997). A test of the Theory of Reasoned Action in the context of
condom use and AIDS. CommlllricaliOlr Repo(I.\". JO( 1).21-33.
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Hamid. P. N. (1973). Exposure frequency and stimulus prcference. British Journal of Psychology. 6.J.

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Maheswaran. D .. & Chaiken. S. (1991). Promoting systemalic proces~ing in low- motivation setting,,:

Ch,lptcr 4 Theori:ing about Persuasion

63

Erfect of incongruent information on proccs ... ing and judgmenl. jOllrnal of Personality lind Social
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64

Part I Preliminaries: Definitions. Trends, and Theoretical Underpinnings

Steele, C. M. (1988). The psychology of self-affirmation: Su~taining the Integrity of the Self. In L.
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Zajonc, R. B. (2001). Mere exposure: A gateway to the subliminal. CurrenT DirecTions in Psyrhological
Science. JO(6). 224-228.
Zajonc, R. B. (1968). Attitude effects of mere exposure. Journa/ of Personality alld Social Psychology
Monograph Supplemelli. 9. (2, Pt. 2), 1- 28.
Zajonc, R. B., & Rajecki. D. W. (1969). Exposure and affect: A field experiment. Psychollomic Science,
17,216-217.
Zajonc. R. B .. Shaver. P.. Tavris. C, & Van Kraveld, D. (1972). Exposure. satiation, and stimulus
discriminability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21. 270-280.

5
The Elaboration Likelihood
Model of Persuasion
Richard E. Petty, Derek D. Rucker,
George Y. Bizer, and John T. Cacioppo

The Art of Persuasio1l: The Early Years

The study of pep.)uasion anti rhetoric date ... hack to the time of the ancient Grech. In those
times. persuasion wa~ seen a... the in\trulllcnt by whkh debate ... could be rc~olved. indiv idual s cou ld be educated. and idea~ could be comlllunicated to an audience. Given thal
persuasion WaS such a vital a ... pect of Greek society. understanding the factors re ... ponsible
for social inOuence wa ... crucial. Recogni/ing thIS. Ari ...totle, one of the great thinker... of
the time. provided a theory that specified what a speaka needed to know in order to un derstand how to persuade others. Ari ... totlc reasoned that to be successful at persua,ion,
one had to under... tand charm.:teri ... tic ... of the ...ource (erhos). the message (l0Ros). and the
emotions of the audience (pathos: Ari ... totle. 1954). For exampk. Ari ... totle remarked that
if a ..,ource werc well respeCltx.I. It would be t:asier to persuade others of his \'ie\\s than if
he was not well respected.
In the 2.400 years that have passed since the time of the ancient Greeks. the art of
per ... uasion has become an even more i11lcgral part of society. Per... ua ... ion ha ... become the
chief tool by which important legislation get<., pas ...ed. products get sold. and parenh influence th eir chi ldren. Furthermore. it i... Ari"!lOtlc ... ideas thai provided the foundation for
much of the ea rl y work on per"!uasion in the twentieth century. Nowhere is thi"! morc ev ident tha n in the work and thcori/ing of Carl HO\];.lI1d and his colleagues who began asse"'''!ing the effech of variablt:s related to the source. thc message. and the audience on the
impac t of per<.,uasive attcmpts (Hovland. Jani .... & Kelley. 1953; Hovland. LUl1lsdaine. &
Sheffield. 1949: Hovland & Wei". 1951). Early research in persuasion was guided by th e
belief that any given variable. for example, ... ouree credibility. had a sing le and unitary
effect on persuasion: A \ariablc \\a:-. thought either lU enhance the ~uccess of a persuasive
attempt or reduce it. Furthermore. there was an av",Ul1lptioIl that there was one mechani"'im

65

66

Part I Prelimillaril'.l: Ol'jillilioll.l. Trellds. and 71leorefiml Underpinllillgs

by which the effec t wa~ produced. for example. source credibility enhanced persuasion by
increasing learning of th e message. In essence, this re~ earc h followed a "single effect" and
"single process" approm:h to understanding the impact of variables on persuasion (see
Petty. 1997). Thus. the goal of this research was to determine what the single effect of a
variable was and what the process was by which this variable worked.
Initial endeavors following thi s approach appeared promising. For example. follow
ing Aristotle ... noti on of ethos. researchers found that credi ble so urces increased persua
sion ( Hovland & Weiss. 1951). Following Ari~totle's concept of logos. research ers found
that increasing the number of arguments in favor of a position increased the overall
amount of persuasion (Calder. Insko. Yandell. 1974). Finally. researchers following
Ari~totle ... concept of p~lIhos found that placing the audience in a negative emotional state
red uced per'iuasion (Zanna. Kiesler. & Pilkoni s. 1970). Furthermore. (he researc hers tied
th e effect~ of these va riables to single processes. For example. negative emotion was said
to reduce pcr~lIasion because of classical co nditioni ng (Staats & Staats, 1958).
Although some carly research wa~ co n!'!istent wi th the idea that a variable had a
single effect on persuasion via one mechanism. the singleeffect and single process up
proach soon became untenable. Resea rch on persuasion began to experience a period of
chaos and turmoil because subseque nt research findin g~ con tradicting early results began
to appear in the literature. For example. subseque nt researc h on increasing th e number of
argument!'! in a mcssagt! found thai more arguments did nO( always lead to gremer altitude
change (Norman. 1976). Subsequent researc h 011 source credibility and negative emotions
found that some times highly credible sources cou ld be associated with reduced persuasion
(e.g .. Sternthal. Dholakia. & Leavitt. 1978) and that negative emotions could be used to
increase per'iuHsion (Roge rs. 1983). Uncovering different findings led researchers to pos
tulate dirferent procc~se~ by which the variables worked. Even when resea rchers could
agree on th e !'!i ngl e effec t that wa!'! to be observed. they often di sagreed on the process by
wh ich the effec t came about (c.g .. was it dissonance or selfperception?: Greenwald &
Ranis, 1(78). This slate of affairs c rippled the approach of searching for the ~ ingle effect
of a g iven variable and its sing le process. However. co nflicting findings did more than
simpl y destroy thi s approach: They placed the en tire field of attitude change in a state of
confusio n (e.g .. Himmc lfarb & Eagly. 1974). This left the state of attitude researc h in need
of a resolution of these apparent contradictions .
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) (Petty & Cacioppo. 1981. 1986b) was
developed to explain and orga ni/c past con ni cts in the persuasion literature as well as to
guide new research. The goal of this c hapt er is to provide an underslanding of the basic
tenets of the ELM as a framework ror understanding and investigating the effects of per
suasive communicat ions. To thi 'i end. th e key postulates of the ELM are reviewed , and the
utility of (he model for rc!'!olving con Oicting findings in the literature and guiding research
is highli gh ted. Furthermore, misconceptions, misinterpretations, and challenges to the
mode l are co nsidered and addressed.

Overview o/the Elaboration Likelihood Modef.1

As articulated in more detail short ly. the ELM outli nes a finite number of ways in which
variables can impact judgments. and it spec ifics when variables take on these roles, as

Chapter 5 1'11(' t:lulmralirJlj Likelihood Model oIPer.\I/(l\ioll

67

well a~ the con ...equences resuhing from these different role .... That i.... the ELM is a theory
about the proces..,cs underlying changes in uuitudcs. the variables that induce these pro~
cesses. and the strength of the judgments resulting from these processes. Unlike the
single-process and single-effect approache ... described earlier. the ELM docs not hold that
a given variable has only a single eficl:1 on persuasion or inlluences persua ... ion by only
one proces .... Instead, the ELM posits that anyone variable can inllucncc attitudes in a
number of different way..,. The same variable. depending on the role it plays. can act either
to increa ... e or decrease per. . ua..,iol1. Furthermore. whether the variable serve.., to increase or
decrea ... e per... uasion. it can do so through ..,e\,cral diffcrent mechanisms.
At the core of the ELM is the elaboration continuum. The elaboration continuum is
ba..,ed on a person ... JII01il'll{iol1 and ahility to think about and as..,!!s.., the qualities of the
i. . sue-rele\'unt information a\'ailable in the persuasion context. When both motivation and
ability to think are high. individuals an: indined to scrutini/e carefully all issue-relevant
information stemming from the ... ource. me\ . . age. context. and them\elve\ (e.g .. their emotions) in an attempt 10 make an accurate judgmcnt about the merits of the is\ue (called the
cellfral rOllle to persuasion). However. when either motivation to process is low (e.g .. if
personal rckv~lnce is low) or ability to proces\ is hindered (e.g .. if a per\on is distracted)
attitudes can be changed by onc or more of it family of relatin!ly low ~e ffort processes
(called the p'riplleral rowe 10 persuasion).
Thu\. the ELM posits that for the \akc of \implicit}. pcrs1l3\inn can be thought of as
following one of two route!>, to persuasion: cenlral and peripheral. More specifically. in
their pure form the two route ... to attitude change correspond to anchoring points on an
t!laboration continuum. The central route entails attitude change that requires much effort
and thought to reach a deci\ioll. For example. carefull) ...crutini/ing the merits of the \ub... tantive information in a message and integrating one's thoughts into a coherent position
are pratotypi<..:al actions based on the central route to pcr..,lIa..,ioll. The second route. the
peripheral route. entails attitude change that occurs primarily when elaboration is low, and
it (3n involve thought processes that arc qU<.llltitativcly or qualitatively different from the
high-elaboration central route. For example. a low-elaboration processor might carefully
scrutini/c only the first argument or two rather than all of them (quantitative difference in
proces\ing) or might prace\s all of the arguments by cQullting them rather than scrutiniling them for merit (qualitati\,c uiffcrence: see Petty. Wheeler. & Bi/cr. 19(9). What these
t\\'O proccs..,or, ha\c in common i, thc relatively 10\\ amount of thought il1\"o hed in attitude change. The ELM ..,pecities that \\ hether attitude change occurs by the central or the
peripheral route has impol1ant Implication~ for the ~trength of the rc'-.ulting attitude. That
is, attitudc changes brought about through high-elaboration processe.., tend to be more pcrsi..,tent, resistant. and predictive of behavior than changes brought abuut because of low
elaboration proCl:..,ses (Petty. Haugtvedt. & Smith . 1995). Thi\ issue j.., discussed further
later in thi.., chapter. Of coursc. since elaboration is a continuum. atlitude change is SOl1le~
times brought about by a medium amount of thought (rather than \'cry high or low
amounts) and can be detennin~d b) som~ combination of cCJ1lral and peripheral route
proces ...e..,.
A key idea of the ELM is that multiple persuasion proce\\e\ operate along the
elaboration continuum. and different pcr ... uasion proces..,c" require different amounts of
thought. That is. the ELM recognilC\ that attitude change i\ influenced by a variety of
~pecific processes such as (ognitive rcsponse.., (Greenwald. 1968; Petty. Ostrom. & Brock.

68

Part I Prelilllill(lries: De.f/lliliol/.\. Trends. (lnd Theoretical Ul/de1l);III/;l/gs

1981). integration of beliefs (Fi,hhcin & Ajlen. 1981 J. self-perception (e.g .. 8cm. 1972).
classical conditioning (e.g .. Staah & Staat~. 1958). reliance on heuristics (c.g., Chaiken.
1987). and cognitive dissonance (e.g .. Festinger & Carlsmith. 1959). Some of these processes <:Ire more likely to influence altitude~ at low leveb of elaboration (e.g .. clilssical
conditioning), othcr~ require ~oll1e minimal amount of thinking (c.g., self-perception). and
still others an:: morc likely to influcnce attitudes at high levels of elaboration (e.g .. cognitive responses).
In short. the ELM is a multiproccs~ theory of persuasion that views persuasion processes a~ falling along an elaboration continuum. When attitudes change as a re~ult of
relatively high amounts of i~sue-releval1l elaboration. people are said to follow the central
route. but when attitudes change as a re ... uh of relatively low amounts of is~ue-relevant
elaboration. they arc said to follow the peripheral route. Whether persuasion occurs
through the central or peripheral route is determined by a person's motivation and ability
to think aboLlt the is~uc-relevant information available. A schcmatic representation of the
ELM is depictcd in figure 5.1. Having provided the basic outline of the model. we now
discuss its specific postulates.

Postulates of the Elaboration Likelihood Model

Petty and Cacioppo (1986b) pre ... cnted the ELM in seven postulates (sec also Petty &
Wegener. 1999). We do not present the full formal po~tlliates here. only the gist. That is.
we explain the essence of the postulates. along with a :-.ampling of research relevant to
each.

Postulate J: The Correctness Postulate

The first pO~llIlatc of the ELM statc~ that people are motivated to hold what they believe
to be "correct" attitudes. Correct attitudes need to be correct. not necessarily logically but
in the sen.,c of an individual's o.;ubjeclivc appraisal. Correct attitudes are helpful because
they often allow people 10 gain rcward~ and avoid puni.,hmcnts by approachi n helpful
objects and avoiding dangerous one .... Holding correct attitudes i~ imponant if people want
to act on their altitudcs.
People can determine which attitude is most correct in a number of way.,. When
motivation and ability to think are high (such as when the issue is an important one), perhaps the most obviolls way for a person to gain confidence in the correctness of one's
view is to con~ider carefully all of the issue-relevant information available. However, if
either motivation or ability to think is low, one might attain sufficient confidence. for example. by ... imply relying on an expert source. If the issue is important but there is insufficient time for proce~sing right now. the per...oll might tag the iso.;ue for later scrutiny (~ee
Petty. Jarvi;. & Evans. 1996).
The assumption that people want to be correct doe~ not imply that people cannot be
biased in their assessment of evidence, however. In fact. being certain that olle is correct
and wanting to maintain one's correct attitude can lead to defensive processing of contrary
information (Petty & Wegener. 1998). The first postulate of Ihe ELM merely assumes that
people are rarely explicitly motivated to be biased. Rather than explicitly being motivated

Chapter 5 The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persllw,ioll

c"'rsuaSive Communication

Motivated to Process?
(personal relevance ,
need for cognition, etc.)

YES
Ability to Process?
(distraction, repetition,
knowledge, elc.)

~
NO

YES

Peripheral Attitude Shift

Changed attitude is
less enduring, less resistant
to counterpersuasion , and
less predictive of behavior

I'

YES
Is a Peripheral
Process Operating?
(identification with source,
use of heuristics,
balance theory, etc.)

What Is the Nature of the

Processing?
(argumenl quality,
initial attitude, etc.)

NO

More
More
Unfavorable NO
Favorable
Thoughts Than Thoughts Than
Before?
Before?

Is There a Change in
Cognitive Structure?
(thought rehearsal ,
ease of generation, etc.)

Attitude does not

change from
previous position

NO

YES

YES

(favorable)

(unfavorable)

Change

Retain Initial Attitude

1 YES

YES

Central
Positive
Attitude

69

Central
Negative

Attitude
Change

Changed attitude is relatively

enduring, resistant to
counterpersuasion, and
predictive of behavior
FIGURE 5.1

The Elaboratioll Likelihood Model of Attitude Change

Adaptcd from Pctt y & Cacioppo, 19S6h.

to be biased. indi viduals may possess various goals or motivations that will promote bias.
For example. people are so metimes motivated to be co nsistent over time (which can cause
th em to de fend their attitudes). or th ey can be motivated to impress others. which might
lead them Lo try to sec the merits in whatever posit ion a liked individual has (Kelman.

196 1).

70

Part I Prelillli//arin:

D(~fil/itiom,

Trel/ds, alld Theorerh'(ll Ullderpillllillg.'i

Postll/ate 2: The Elaboratioll COlltinllll1ll Postll/ate

Thc second postul<Jte ~tate~ that the amount of mental processing (i.e., elaboration) in
which a per~on engage~ regarding a message varies along a continuum. A~ stated earlier.
at one end of the continuum, the per~on engages in no thought whatsoever about the i~sue
relevant information available in the pcn.uasion context. Conversely. at the other end of
the continuulll. the per,oll engages in extensive elaboration of all information available.
Because a continuum exists between extrcmc and zero claboration. people can engage in
any middling degree of thinking about a persuasive communication.
The elaboration continuum i~ a qlllllllifclfive dill1en~ion. For cxample. two different
people may be elaboraling on an advertisemcnt for a mutual fund. One person may be
evaluating the l1les~age because he is con,idering where to invest his entire life's savings;
the other may be cvaluating the message because she is considering where to invest a $50
check. The two people may both bc using the arguments in the message to determine if the
fund is a wi"ic inve~tlTIcnL but one may be evaluating the message more carefully or evaluming more information than the other. In such a case. although both people are engaging
in the.! :-.ame qllll/if(llil'' proces,", (i.C!., thinking about i~~ue-relevant information). they may
be exhibiting qU({fllitafil'e difference,", in the extent of processing (cf. Friedrich. Fethcr!--lOnIHlUgh. Casey. & Galli.lghcr, 1996), The:>te quantitative differences in the amount of
thought can lead to difference~ in the strength of the attitudes formed.
It is also possible that people may engage in different qllalillltil"e processes along the
elaboration continuum. Returning to the above example. the individual who is carefully
evaluating the l1les~age may u:-.e the quality of the arguments as the primary determinant
of ""hether 10 invest in a particular fund. However. the individual who i~ not carefully
evaluating the mes,",agc may lise the mere number of arguments rather than their quality to
decide whether or not to invest her money in the fund. For example. if there arc nine arguments in favor of the fund. the individual may conclude that since there are so many arguments. the fund must be good. Here. the two potential investors arc processing the
information in a different way both qualitatively and quantitatively. One person is
effortfull) asses!'>ing the merit of the arguments. whereas the other is using the less
cognitivc1y demanding strategy of counting the arguments. This might lead the potential
invcstors to reach very different conclusion.s. For instance. if the nine arguments are all
specious. the person processing the information by the counting mechanism should be
more persuaded by nine we.lk Jrgllments than by three strong argumenh for the fund.
Conversely. the per!-.on '" 110 is evaluating the merits of the arguments ~hould be less per~uaded by nine weak rather than by three strong arguments (see Petty & Cacioppo.
198-lb). Thus. at different level~ of elaboration. the samc processes may be operating in
varying degrees (a quantitative difference). or entirely different processes may be operating (qualitative difference).
Rcturning to the elaboration continuulll. what detcrmines where on the continuum
the l11e~sage recipicnt will fall? A.., noted earlier. when a person has a high degree of l1loti\'atioll and abi/ily to elaborate carefully on the message arguments, processing will be further IOwaI'd the central end of the continuum. When the person lacks either motivation or
ability. the processing will be clo~er to the peripheral cnd. Consider an advertisement with
a long list of arguments detailing the merits of a particular type of car. Whether people pay

Chapler 5 The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion

71

close attention to and elaborate on those arguments has much to do with the degree of
11l0/iHllioll they have to do so. For example. if a person is in the market for a new car, he
or she may be highly motivated to scrutinize carefully and think about the relevant information pre~ented. If, however, a person has no interest in purchasing a car in the near
future, he or she will lack the motivation to engage in effortful processing. This person is
more likely to follow the peripheral route to persuasion (Petty, Cacioppo, & Schumann,
1983).
Next. consider an article about a new antihistamine in a medical journal. If a doctor
has spent years in medical school and understands medical jargon, he or she has the ability
to process the arguments in the article carefully. However, regardless of motivation, a
first-year undergraduate student likely lacks the ability to understand and process the
medical jargon. This undergraduate will therefore be more likely to resort to the peripheral
route {Q persuasion. Whereas personal relevance serves as a motivational variable in the
example involving the new car, knowledge of medical jargon serves as an ability variable
in the example involving the antihistamine, A lack of either motivation or ability will
move people toward the low end of the elaboration continuum.
It i~ important to point out that the distinction between high and low elaboration
:-.hould not be viewed as a distinction between "good" versus "bad" persuasion. For example. the usc of the peripheral route can be an adaptive, necessary tool in people's everyday lives. When motivation or capacity is low, one might forgo decision making-which
is not always possible-or postpone it until conditions foster it (Petty et aI., 1996). It is
also imponallllo note that thinking does not ensure an optimal outcome, as one's thoughts
can be bia~ed by various contextual factors. For example, when people are spending a lot
of time on active thought, their assessment of arguments is biased by their mood states
(e.g .. DcSteno. Petty. Wegener. & Rucker, 2000; Wegener, Petty, & Klein, 1994).

Postulate 3: The Multiple-Roles Postulate

The third po:-.tulate of the ELM state~ that variables can play multiple roles in persuasion
contexts. The role in which a variable is most likely to serve depends on the situation.
First. when elaboration is not constrained by other variables to be high or low. variables
tend to serve as determinants of the amount of thinking that takes place. Second, when
elaboration i:-. low variable:-. tend to serve as cues or input to low-elaboration processes
such as clas:-.ical conditioning and use of decision heuristics (Chaiken, 1980).
Finally. if the elaboration likelihood is set at a high level by other variables in the
persuasion context (e.g., high personal relevance, high knowledge, few distractions). variables tend to serve in yet additional roles and lead to persuasion through high-elaboration
processe~. For example. when people arc actively thinking, the variable can be processed
as an argument or can bias the ongoing information-processing activity. Thus. depending
on the likelihood of elaboration in any context, variables can influence attitudes in a multitude of w<.lys.
As an example of a variable serving in multiple roles depending on context, consider a person's mood state. Depending on the situation, mood can serve in a variety of
roles specilied by the ELM. First. a person's mood can serve as a determinant of the extent

72

ParI I Preliminaries: Definitions. Trends. and Tll('orelicul Underpinnings

of elaboration when thinking is not already constrained to be high or low by other variables. Based on the Hedonic Contingency Model (Wegener & Petty, 1994) which holds
that people in a positive mood are especially motivated to maintain this state, Wegener.
Petty. and Smith (1995) hypothesized that being in a positive mood should enhance message elaboration relative to a sad mood if the message recipient believed that process ing
the message was likely to make people feel happy. Conversely. being in a pos itive mood
should lead to less elaboration than a sad mood if an individual believed that processing
the message would be likely to make people feel negative. To test this idea. Wegener and
colleagues (1995) told so me individuals that processing an upcoming message would be a
generally positive or a negative experience. In actuality, everyone received the sa me message. When happy people expected processing the message to be uplifting, they processed
the message more carefully than did people in a sad mood. However, when people expected processing the message to be unpleasant, happy individuals did not process the
message as carefully as did individuals in a sad mood (see also Schwarz, Bless, & Bohner.
1991).
According to the ELM , when the likelihood of elaboration is low, mood can serve as
a simple cue to decide whether or not to accept a message. This could be the result of a
number of processes such as classical conditioning (Razran. 1940) or mood misattribution
(Schwarz & Clore. 1983). In the case of mood misanribution , people mistakenly infer
their attitude from their mood (e.g., "If I feel good, I must like it"). When the likelihood of
elaboration is high, however, mood can serve as an argument (Martin. Abend, Sedikides,
& Green, 1997) or bias the ongoing thoughts (Petty et aI., 1993).
Research by Petty. Schumann, Richman, and Strathman (1993) provided an illustration of the multiple roles for mood under high- and low-thought conditions. In one study.
Petty and colleagues had participants view a series of commercials, one of which contained an advertisement for a pen. Some participants were led to believe that they would
get to select a pen as a gift at the end of the st udy (high-elaboration likelihood). whereas
others were led to expect they would select an alternative gift (low-elaboration likelihood). The critical ad for the pen as well as other commercials was placed within a televi sion program that invoked either a positive mood in the participants or invoked no mood.
In both high- and low-e laboration conditions. participants rated the adverti sed pen more
favorably when placed in the context of the television program that had invoked a positive
mood.
Although the attitudinal effects of mood were the same in the high- and lowelaboration condition, the underlying processes were quite different. Using path analyses.
Petty and his colleagues (1993) showed that, whereas mood had a direct effect on attitudes
in the low-elaboration condition, the effect of mood on attitudes in the high -elaboration
condition was mediated by the valence of thought s generated. That is. being in a positive
mood biased the type of thoughts people generated under high elaboration. Here, mood
was not used as a simple cue: instead , mood influenced the valence of thoughts that were
generated, and these thoughts in turn influenced attitudes (see Petty, Dcstcno, & Rucker,
200 I, and Pelly. Fabrigar, & Wegener. in press. for further discussion of the role of mood
at different levels of elaboration). In addition to the work on emotions noted above, a variety of source. message, and recipient factors have also been shown to work in multiple

Ch.tptcr 5 The Elaboration UkelillO(I(/ Model of Penllasioll

ways in different situations
for rcview~).

(~ee

73

Petty, Priester. & Brino!. 2002: Petty & Wcgcner, 1998,

Postulate 4: The Objective-Processillg Postlliate

The fourth po~tulate of the ELM addresses situation~ in which people are engaged in objective procc~sing, that is, they are interested in (lchie\'ing the "truth" from a message
rather than achieving a particular attitude toward a target. In such situations, the fourth
postulate states that variablc:.- impact a person's motivation and/or ability to process a
message by either enhancing or reducing the scrutiny of message arguments. Some variables affcct a person'.Io. overall motivation to think about the message, whereas others affect his or her overall ability (0 think about the me.lo.sage. The processing is considered to
be "objective" if people follow the evidence wherever It leads. That is, the information
proces\ing does not favor one particular outcomc over another.
To demonstrate this notion. consider a person who wants to know whether an insurance policy is good or bad. Prior to processing. the person has no stake in the outcome.
She may simply hope to learn whether the policy is a scnsible one. If motivation and ability in this scenario are high, attitudes will be impactcd by how compclling the issuerelel'{Jllt arguments within the mel)sage arc. Thus, if the arguments within the message are
compelling. the recipient will generate favorable thought~ and develop a positive attitude
toward the policy. If the arguments within the message arc wcak. however, .Io.he will generate unfavorable thoughts, leading 10 a relatively unfavorable attitude toward the policy. If.
however. motivation or ability i~ low, her attitude likely will not be affected by scrutiny of
the arguments. Rather, aUitudes may change because of a peripheral process.
Research on the ELM has identified a large number of variablcs that influence the
amount of thinking people do when confronted with a persuasive message. For example,
Petty. Wells. & Brock (1976) demonstrated that di.lo.tfUction call either enhance or diminish
attitude change depending on what kinds of thought~ the uistraction disrupl~. When a message contained compclling arglllnents. di~lraction disrupted the favorable thoughts that
normally would have been elicited. thereby decreasing persuasion. However. when a message contained specious argumcnts. distraction dbruptcd the unfavorable thoughts that
normally would have been elicited and thereby increased persuasion. Thus. distraction itself did not impact persuasion directly. Rather, it impacted the extent to which the arguments within the message were proccsst!d and thereby influenced the extent of attitude
change.
In addition to distraction. other variables that have been ~hown 10 influence a
person's ability to proce~s a Il1c~. sage include the message's complexity (Hafer, Reynolds,
& Obertyn,ki. 1996), the time a person has to procc" the message (Kruglanski & Freund.
1983), the number of opportunities a person ha~ to ,)crutinize the arguments (e,g.,
Cacioppo & Petty. 1979), and a person's knowledge of the message topic (e.g., Wood,
Kallgren. & Preisler. 1985). Variables that have been shown to affect a person's overa ll
motivation to think about a message include the personal relevance of the communication
(e.g., Petty & Cacioppo, 1979. 1990). an individual's need for cognition (Cacioppo. Petty,
& Morri.lo., 1983). one's per\onal rcspon.lo.ibility for evaluating the message (Petty. Harkins.

74

Part I Preliminaries: Definitions, Trends, and Theoretical Uf1derpil/l1ill!r~

& Williams, 1980), the expectation of having to discuss the message with someone else
(Chaiken, 1980), presentation of the message in an unexpecled formal (Smilh & Pelly,
1996), and presentation of a message on a topic about which people feel ambivalent
(Maio, Bell, & Esses, 1996),

Postulate 5: The Biased-Processing Postulate

Variables not only affect the amount of thinking that takes place btu can also inlluence the
nature of the lhoughl process. Thus, lhe fifth postulate of the ELM deals wilh biased processing. Some variables affect a person's motivation to generate certain kinds or thought s,
whereas other variables affect a person's ability to generate certain kinds of thoughts.
Consider, for example, a situation in which a person has just purchased a new computer. She likely holds a positive attitude toward lhat com puler and probably wants 10
maintain that positive attitude because it would be dissonance-arousing to believe that
one's choice was incorrect (see Harmon -Jones & Mills. 1999. for a recent review of dissonance work). If she reads a Consumer Reports article shortly after purchasing her new
computer, it is not likely that she will process the article in an objective manner. Because
the person wants to hold a positive attitude, she will be motivated to think positive
thoughts about the message. She will try to see any arguments presented in regard to the
computer she purchased in the most favorable light possible.
Other variables can induce a desire to reject the message. For example, forewarning
people of a speaker's persuasive intent can motivate counterarguing and resistance to the
message (Pelly & Cacioppo, 1979). Ability factors can also be important in producing resistance. For example, negative emotional states might make negative thoughts and ideas
more readily accessible (Bower, 1981; Forgas, 1995). On the other hand, having a great
deal of knowledge in support of one's attitude might make it easier to counterargue messages against one's viewpoint (Wood et aI., 1985).
Often, people are not aware of the biases that influence their information processi ng.
However, in some cases people may become aware of a bias that they consider inappropri ate and attempt to correct for it (see Pelly & Wegener, 1993; Wilson & Brekke, 1994). For
example, in one study Petty, Wegener. and White (1998) gave students a persuasive message in favor of a policy requiring senior comprehensive exams that came from a source
that either praised the students' school (likable source) or disparaged the students' sc hool
(unlikable source). In addition, half of the participants were told lhatthe exam policy was
for their own university (high relevance) and half were told the exam was for another university (low relevance). Finally, half of the participants were told not to let their personal
opinion of the speaker influence their evaluation of the message. Petty el al. (1998) found
that when participants were not cautioned about using their persona l opinion of the
speaker to evaluate the message, and the issue was low in personal relevance, they were
significantly more persuaded by the likable source than by the unlikable source. However.
low-involvement participants who were cautioned about using their opinion of the source
to form their evaluation were equally persuaded by both the likable and unlikable source.
That is, they corrected for the source bias. When the issue was high in personal relevance
and participants were not cautioned about the possible source bias. attitudes were not influenced by the source (since, as expected by the ELM, under high-relevance conditions

Chapter 5 The Elabororioll Likelihood Model (~rPerHllIsirJ/l

7S

people focused on evaluating the sub~tantive b"ue-relevant arguments). However. when

issue relevance was hi gh and people were forewarned of a possible source bias. people
st ill corrected for a pre~lIl11ed him. leading them to be morc persuaded by the unlikable
than by the likable source. This and other rese'lfeh (e.g .. Wegener & Petty. 1995: Schwafl
& Clore. 1983) has demonstrated that in ~OI1lC circum ... tance~. people will attempt to bias
their judgments. If a potential bim. is made salient. people can and do correct their attitudes. This can lead them to remove the bias. though if overcorrection occurs. a reversc
bias can become apparcnt.

Postulate 6: The Trade-off Postulate

The sixth postulate predicts a trade-off bctwcen the impact of argument elaboration and
peripheral route processes on attitudes. That is. as the likelihood of is!\lIc-relevant thinking
is increased, the impact of cen tral route processes (e.g .. examining information for merit)
on attitudes incrcases. and the impact of peripheral routc processes (e.g .. counting arguments) on attitudes decreases. Conversely. as the likelihood of issue-relevant thinking decreases. the impact of peripheral route processes on attitudes increa~es. and the impact of
central ro ute processes decreases. It is important not to interprct the trade-off postlliate as
suggeMing that certain variables (e.g .. sources) are proce~'ied only when e laboration i ... low
and others (e.g., message factors) only when e luboration is high. Rather. this postulate
holds that variables are more likely to have their impact as a re ... ult of a low-effort prece.ss
when the elaboration likelihood is low but by a higher effort process when the likelihood
of elaboration is high. For example. a !-.ource variable can be proce . . scd under highc l;.Iboralion condit ions. but it is evaluated for its evidentiary value rather than working by
invoking a si mpl e dccision heuristic or other mean ..... Likewi . . e. message argument ... can be
processed under low-e laboration conditions. but the processing is either nol as thorough as
it is under high elaboration or reprcsents a qualitatively different low-effort mechanism
(e.g., counting the arguments rather than evaluating them for merit). It is also important to
note that at most points along the elaboration continuum. both central and peripheral processes influence attitudes.

Postulate 7: The Attitude Strellgth PostuLate

The tinal postulale of the Elaboration Likelihood Model deals ,I, ith the outcome of mc ... sage processing. Specifically. this po . . tulatc states that attitudes created or changed by the
central route will be more persi . . tent over time. will remain more resistant to persuu\ion.
and will exert a greater impact on cognition and beha,ior than will attitudes changed or
created through the peripheral route. That b. although attitudes can be changed to the
samc degree under the central and peripheral route ..... the central route produce . . "stronger"
attitudes. When attitudes are based on high levels of e laboration, people have the necessary "backi ng" to defend their attitudes against later counterattitudinal persuasion attempts and to maintain the attitude over timc. Thcse attitudes will also tend to be more
accessible and held with greater confidence. Because of this higher acces . . ibility and CO/1fidence. people will bc more like ly to act on central route attitudes. Attitudes based on
peripheral processes and simple clles. however. arc less likely to demonstrate the ...e char-

76

Pan I Preliminaries: D(finiTions. Tr{'ful.\', mul Theoreriw/ Underpinning.,

acteristics. Evidence that altitudes formed under high elaboration are stronger than tho:-.e
formed under low elaboration has been found in several studies (e.g .. Cacioppo. Petty.
Kao. & Rodriguez. 1986: Chaiken. 1980: Haugtvcdt & Petty. 1992: see Petty. Haugtvcdt.
& Smith. 1995. for review and analysis).

Puttillg It All Together: Resolvillg COllflictillg

Filldillgs with the ELM
As ~tated at the out~et of this chapter, the ELM was developed in part to orgalliLc and
explain apparent contradictions in the persuasion literature. Having reviewed the elaboration continuum and the multiple roles postulates. readers may already have a good grasp
of how this i:-. accomplished. Still. an illustration is worthwhile. Con~ider the effects of
sourcc credibility. Recall that early re~earch found that credible sources typically increased persuasion (Hovland & Weiss. 1951). whereas later research found that this wa:-.
not always the ca:-.e (Stemthal et al.. 1978). Using the ELM as a framework, one can derive specific predictions regarding when a credible source is likely to lead to more. less. or
equal persuasion relative to a source of questionable credibility. Consider a situation in
which a person is given a message containing either weak or strong arguments and presented either by a source with high credibility or by one with low credibility. How might
the credibility of the source impact persuasion? This depends on the amount of elaboration
involved.
First. consider the situation in which elaboration is low due to lack of effort or ability. In this case. the individual will not devote much effort to processing is:-'lIc-rclev<1nt
information and will instead rely on simple cues to decide whether to accept the message
or not. In particular, a high-credibility \ource may be used as a cue to trust and accept the
message, whereas a low-credibility source may be used as a cue to mistrust the message
and reject it. Thus. when elaboration is low. the credibility of the source may serve as a
peripheral cue invoking a persuasion hellri~tic (i.e., "experts can be trusted"). leading to
more or less persuasion in the absence of much issue-relevant thinking. As a result. regardless of argument quality. people may have less favorable attitudes when the message
is presented by a low-credibility source than by a high-credibility source (e.g .. Petty.
Cacioppo. & Goldman. 1981).
Now consider a situation in which elaboration is high and. as a result. people arc
motivated to proce:-.s the arguments of a message. In this example. the credibility of the
source may be relatively unimportant as a cue for deciding whether to accept or reject the
message. Instead. if the quality of the arguments is unambiguow,. only the substance
should matter and source expertise is likely to have little impact (Petty. Cacioppo. &
Goldman. 1981). However. if the arguments arc ambiguous and open to multiple interpretations. expertise might bias the interpretalion of the arguments. leading to more favorable
interpretations of the arguments when expertise is high (e.g .. he must have meant this)
ratherthan low (Chaiken & Mahcswaran. 1994).
Finally. consider a situation in which elaboration is moderate. In this situation,
learning that the source is credible may cause people to decide the message is worth pay-

Chapter 5 Tlu' Elabora/ioll LiJ..elihood Model (~r Penlwsiofl

77

ing close attention ro. Icading to an increase in the amount of elaboration given to the me<o,sage. )rthe me!o.sage argumcnts are strong. those carefully attending to the message "hould
be more persuaded than those who are paying little attention to it. If. howe\"er, the message arguments are weak, those carefully unending to the message should actually be le"is
persuaded than those not paying close attention to it. As a result. relative to low-credibility
sources. high-credibility sources would be less persua:-.ivc wh~n the arguments are weak.
but more persuasive when the arguments are strong (Heesacker, Petty. & Cacioppo.
1983).
In Slim, like the effects of:l perf.oons mood state described earlier. an expert source
can inOllence :lllitudes as a simple persuasion cue when the likelihood of thinking is low,
can bias the processing of message arguments when the likelihood of thinking is high. and
can determine the extent of thinking when the likelihood of thinking is not constrained.
The ELM allows specific predictions regarding when credible sources will lead to more.
equal. or less persuasion than sources of questionahle credibility. It is also significant that
the ELM specifies the underlying processes by which the,e outcomes occur (sec Moore.
Hausknecht. & Thamordaran. 1986. for il study documenting multiple roles for source
credibility under different elaboration conditions). Similar logic can be applied to resoh'c
other contradictions in the persul.lsion literature with re~pect to both outcome l.Ind proce~s.
In addition to resolving conflicting findings regarding the outcomes produced and
the mechanisms of change of paflicular variable\ sllch as source credibility and mood. the
ELM also helped to resolve other conflicting resuits regarding attitudes. Most notably.
postulate 7 regarding attitude strength helped to cxplain a long-standing puzzle of why
:-,omc attitudes lasted over timc. resisted change. and predicted behavior. whereas other
attitudes of the ~al11e valence did not. Thus. the ELM is a u~eful fr~l.Inework for reconciling
apparent incon . . istencies in the literature and for exploring novel hypotheses.

COilfusions and Misillterpretations of the ELM

Although the ELM has proved useful in resolving contradictory findings in the per~uasion
literature and continues to serve as a useful framework for guiding re search. it has not
escaped some critici . . m. On the one hand. criticism that point . . to logical flaws in a theory
or a mismatch between theory and daw can be useful in fixing or advancing a theory or. in
some cases. for putting a theory to rest. On the other hand. criticism that arise . . from misunder~tandings can lead researchers to reject or modify <l satisfactory theory unnecessarily. Several criticisms of the ELM based on misunderstanding of the theory have been
made. Below. we address some of the more salient areas of confu~ion or misinterpretation.

Sillgle- versus Muitichallllelllljormatioll Processillg

In one of the earliest questionings of the theory. Stiff (Stiff. 1986: Stiff. 1994: Stiff &
Boster. 1987) suggested thai the ELM docs flot accurately rellect the way in which people
process information. Stiff argued that the ELM depicts humans as :,ingle-channcl information proce . . sors. capable of proce%ing only peripheral clles or message arguments. even

78

Part I Prelimi/laries: f)(~/i/l itiollS. Trel1ds . and TheoreliClJI Ul1derpinnings

though prior research seemed to indicate thut humans are capable of parallel information
proce"ing (e.g .. Kahneman. 1973).
The assumption that the ELM does not allow for dual-channel (or parallel) information processing i~ simply wrong. Although early presentations of the ELM (Petty &
Cacioppo. 1981. 1986a. 1986b) did not comment explicitly 00 the distioction between
single versus parallel processing. the ELM never portrayed information processing as prohibiting parallel proce~sing. This misunderstanding arose from Stiff's (1986) apparent
view that because some ELM research has ~hown that argument quality had an impact on
attitudes under high-processing conditions whereas source allractivene":.s did not (e.g ..
Petty. Cacioppo. & Schumann. 1983). people could process only arguments. but not
~ources, under high-elaboration conditions. In stark contrast to this assumption. the ELM
holds that people process as much information as possible (including source and message
factors) under high-elaboration conditions. This information can be proces~ed either serially or in parallel. Just because information is processed, however, does not mean that it
will affect attitudes. Thus. people might be cognizant of the mere number of arguments or
the attractiveness of the message source under high-processing conditions but still might
not view this information as a valid basi~ for attitude inference (Petty. Kasmer. Haugtvedt.
& Cacippo. 1987: Petty & Wegener. 1999).
Thus. as aniculated io our discllssion of the trade-off postulate of the ELM. it is flot
the case that people process only peripheral cues when elaboration likelihood is low and
only central arguments when elaboration likelihood is high. Rather. both types of information may be processed. The trade-ofT postulate addresses the impact of central and peripheral processes on attitudes (see Pelty ct al.. 1987. for further commentary on this
critici~m).

COllfusioll over Source VerSlls Message Factors

Perhaps the most COlll11l0n misllndcr~tanding of the ELM can be traced to the multiplepostulate- the idea that anyone variable is capable of influencing attitudes by different means in different situations. Several researchers (e.g .. Stiff. 1986: Kruglanski &
Thompson. 1999) have mistakenly viewed the ELM as c1as~ifying all message variables
(e.g .. number of arguments. argument quality) as lIr~WllellfJ influencing attitudes under
the central route and all non message variables (e.g .. source credibility. a person's mood)
as peripheral cue.\ influencing attitude~ only under the peripheral roule. This has led researchers to claim that the theory cannot explain results of studies in which non message
factors (such a~ source credibility) influenced attitudes under high-elaboration conditions.
or where message factors influence 311irudes under low elaboration conditions (KrugJanski
& Thompson. 1999).
However. as explained in the multiple-roles postulate, the ELM holds that the same
variable can serve in different roles. depending on the extent of thinking. For example.
early ELM research showed that the attractiveness of the message source could serve as a
simple cue and influence attitudes by a heuristic process when thinking is low. but Lhe
same manipulation could influence attitudes under high-claboralion conditions if analysis
of the variable as an argument provided cogent evidence for the merits of the ;'luitude obrolc~

Chapter 5 The Elahom(ioll Likelihood Model of Penum;oll

79

ject (e.g .. an attractive spokesperson for a ~hampoo might provide cogent vi~ual tCMimony
for th e effecti veness of the product; Pelly & Cacioppo. 1984a). Furthermore. ju>! as early
resea rch !o.howed that source variab lc!o. could !o.crve in multiple roles. so too did early researc h show that message variables cou ld be proccs,ed in a heuri~tic manner (cou nting) or
a more cen tral manner (eva luating quality: Petty & CCicioppo. I984b). Thu .... source. message. reci pie nt. and contextual vClriab les can innuence attitudes under high, low. and moderate levels of elaboration. btltthe underlying IllcchClnislll will vary (see Petty & Wegcncr.
1999: Pelly et a l.. 1999. for further d iscussion).

Misullderstalldillgs of the Use of Argumellt

Quality as a Methodological Tool
There are several confusions regarding the use of argument quality (i.e., strong versus
weak messages) in research-testi ng predictions made by the ELM. Some re,earcher~
(Mongeau & Stiff. 1993; O' Kecfe. 1990) have critici/cd the ELM for manipulating socalled strong versus weak argument!) withou t !o.pecify ing the underlying factors that make
an arg ument stron g or weak. These crit icisn1!) fa il to recognile that ELM studies use argument quality primarily as a methodological tool to help differentiate the differen t ro les for
vari ables. For example, if a variab le (e.g . source expertise) produce~ the pattern in the top
panel of fi gure 5.2. it suggest!o. thai the va ri ab le is serving as a simple cue as the variable
increCises persuasion regard l e~s of argument qua lity. On the other hand. if a variable produce!) the pattern in the bottom panel of figure 5.2. it ~uggests that the variablc is se rving
to inOu ence th e extent of information proces~ing activity (sec Petty. Wegener. Fabrigar,
Priester. & Cacioppo, 1993).
Other researchers have assumed that argument quality is defined strict ly in tcrms of
logical quality or in terms of how likely an att itude object is: to possess some attribute
(A reni & Lut z. 1988). However. as a methodological tool. manipulations of arg um e nt
quality refer 10 any feat ures of the argumcn ts th;:It get people to think favorable th oughts
(strong arguments) or unfavorable thoughts (weak argume nts) to the advocacy. Petty and
Wegener (1991) suggested that stro ng argument!) were those that pointcd 10 highly desirable conseq ue nces that would most certainly occur if some advocacy was acceptcd. These
arguments could be made weaker either by pointing to less de~irable consequences that
wo uld occ ur if th e advocacy wa~ adopted or to de~irable conseque nce!>' that were less
like ly to occur. That is. arguments cou ld be weClkencd by reducing either the de!o.irability
or the likelihood of the co nsequences propo,cd in the argument (see also Fi!o. hbcin &
Ajzen, 198 I).

Assertions That the ELM Is Not Falsifiable

Some researchers have argued that the ELM's Illultiple-ro l e~ hypothesis "all ows th e ELM
to ex plain all poss ible outcomes of an experimental study" (Stiff & Boster. 1987. p. 25 I).
More recently, Stiff ( 1994) re mark ed: "Unti l the ELM specifics a priori the conditions
under which important st imulus va ri ab les reneet central processing, a peripheral cue. or
both. it wi ll remai n impos~jb l e to falsify" (p. 188). As discussed earlier. the multiple-roles

80

Part I Preliminaries: Defillitions, Trends, (lI1d Theol'elical UIlt/l'11Iillllillg\

5

Strong Arguments
Weak Arguments

"

'0

::0

:;
ct

2 L-______~----------~~---------Low

High
Variable Level
Expected effects when a variable serves as a positive
peripheral cue

~::0
:;

Strong Arguments

ct 3
Weak Arguments

2 L-______~----------~~---------Low

High
Variable Level
Expected effects when a variable serves to enhance
information
FIGURE 5.2

Argumelll Quality Vasil.\' Qualllity with High or

Low ["miJ'emellt

hypothe!o> is is necessary 10 unclcr..,land fully the dynamics of persuasion. However. (his

postulate does not make thl: ELM devoid of a priori predictions. In fact. the ELM clearly
specifies when variables take on the different roles. For example. the predictions for a
person's mood and source credibility at different levels of elaboration were discussed earlier. and available research supports these predictions (see also Petty et aI., 2002).
Although the ELM postulates multiple roles for variables, it does not say that any
role can be assumed at any time. Thus. contrary to Stiff ' s c la im, the ELM does make II
priori predictions regarding when a given variable (e.g., source atlractiveness, mood) has
an impact on attitudes by different processes. For example. the ELM ho lds that variables
are more likely to influence attitudes by biasing processi ng when the elaboration is high
and invoking a heuristic when elaboration is low, and Lhat they are more likely to affect
(he extent of thinking when it is not already constrained to be high or low (moderate
elaboration). Therefore. th e ELM could be falsified, for example, if a variable produced a

Chapler 5 The Elahorllrioll Likelihood Model of Persuasion

81

grearer bias to the ongoing information processing under low- than under high-elaboration
conditions. or if simple heuristics (e.g .. "more is better") had a larger impact under high
than low elaboration conditions.

Restricted Rallge of Topics

Some researchers (O'Keefe, 1990; Stiff, 1994) have criticized the ELM for relying on a
limited number of message topics and message arguments. Specifically, they assert that
research on the ELM is confined to message topics involving comprehensive exams and
wition increases. They further contend that a reliance on such a small number of topics
challenges the generalizability of the ELM. We agree that confining message topics to
comprehensive exams and tuition increases, while not darnaging the validity of the theory,
could limit its gelleralizability. However. this criticism fenecrs a lack of appreciation of
the broader literature on the ELM rather than the topics lIsed in some of the mosl widely
cited studies.
While it is true that initial research on the ELM involved studies using the topics of

comprehensive exams (e.g .. Petty & Cacioppo. I 984a. 1984b; Petty. Cacioppo. & Goldman. 1981; Puckett. Petty. Cacioppo. & Fisher. 1983) and tuition increases (e.g ..
Cacioppo. Petty, & Morris. 1983). subsequent research has used a variety of diverse topics. A cursory review of the literature reveals experiments testing and confinning hypoth-

eses of the ELM using topics such as condom use (Helweg-Larsen & Howell. 2000). the
city sales tax (Desteno et al.. 200 I). the foster care system (Petty et aI., 1993. ex peri ment
2: Wegener. Petty. & Smith. experiment I). nuclear power (Fabrigar. Priester. Petty. &
Wegener. 1998. expo I; Haugtvedt & Wegener, 1994), vegetarianism (Fabrigar et al..
1998. expo 2), and environmental conservation (Wood, Kallgren, & Priesler, 1985).
In addition to these social issues. research using the ELM framework has also been
conducted with a variety of advertising messages for goods and services such as answer-

ing machines (Haugtvedt & Petty, 1992). bicycles (Haugtvedt & Strathman, 1990), cameras (Laczniak & Carlson. 1989). detergent (Shavitt & Brock, 1986). low-alcohol beer
(Andrews & Shimp. 1990). food additives (Haugtvedt & Petty, 1992). pens (Petty et aI.,
1993. experiment I), restaurants (Shavitt, Swan, Lowery, & Wanke, 1994). shampoo
(Petty & Wegener. 1998). and vitamins (Smith & Petty. 1996).
The ~lbove research represents only a scant number of the diverse topics that have
been studied under the framework of the ELM. Consequently. upon examination of the

breadth of the literature on the ELM, it is clear that the ELM generalizes to multiple topics
beyond senior comprehensive exams and tuition increases.

Replacillg the ELM with a Sillgle-Process

Model of Persuasioll
Perhaps the most ambitious critique of the ELM-and other multiprocess models of social

judgment-comes from Kruglanski and Thompson (1999), who argued that a single route
to persuasion was a more parsimoniolls way to account for the various persuasion findings
generaled by the ELM (und the related HeuristicSystematic Model: Chaiken. Liberman.

& Eagly. 1989). In proposing their unimodel. Kruglanski and Thompson (1999) argued
that there are no qualitath>e differences between the two routes to persuasion. Instead. all

82

Pan I Prelimillaries: Definitions, Trellt!\, allli Theoretical Ullderpinnillgs

that is necessary to account for persuasion is the elaboration continuum that ranges from
minimal processing on one end to maximal processing on the other. The central and peripheral routes to persuasion are then solcly a function of depth or extent of proccssing,
and no qualitatively different processes operate along this continuum as specified by the
ELM.
To make this point. Kruglanski and Thomp.')on (1999) proposed that both cues and
arguments could be conceplUaliL.ed as types of "evidcnce," In this conceptualization, all
forms of evidence can fit into Kruglanskis Lay Epistemic Theory (LET; Kruglanksi.
1989) in which evidence. when considered with its paired relevance. leads to attitude
change. According to Kruglanski and Thompson. because both arguments and cues can be
considered as "cvidence," there is no need or theoretical rationale to differentiate them.
At first glance. the unimodel may seem attrilctive due to its parsimony. On the other
hand. if it is useful to distinguish two or more qualitatively different processes of persuasion, the unimodel, though parsimonious. would not be accurate. As should be clear from
our presentation earlier. the ELM highlights a continuum based on the extent of careful
examination of the relevant evidence (the elaboration continuum). In facL a con~iderable
amount of persuasion results can be accounted for with just this continuum. However, in
contrast to the unimodel, the ELM holds that different persuasion processes operate along
this continuum and that some or the!-.e processes arc qualitatively different from each
other. Many variables can be viewed as "evidence," but how a pcrson processes this evidence is what determine!-. the effect that the variable has on per!-.uasion. For example. an
attractive source can be input to the heuristic ;'if she likes it. so do L" in which case anything that the attractive source endorses will be more persuasive (peripheral roUle). Alternatively. the attractive source can be evaluated as an argument so that the attractive source
is persuasive when attractiveness is relevant and cogent (e.g .. "if his hair looks great from
using that shampoo. it must be a good product, so I'I! buy it too") but is llllpersuasive
when irrelevant (e.g .. "her hair is nice but what does that have to do with this refrigerator?"). Or to return to an example we used earlier. evaluating the arguments in a messi.lge
by simply counting them (i.e., lIsing the arguments as a numerical heuristic) versus carefully scrutinizing those argulllents for mcrit can lead to different persuasion outcomes
(Petty & Cacioppo. I98.Jb). Though Kruglanski and Thomp,on (1999) may contend that
there is no interesting qualitative difference between counting and scrutiniling messages.
proponents of the ELM argue that counting and elaborating are more than simple opposite
ends of a quantitative continuum: they are two distinct, qualitatively different processes
that can produce fundamentally different outcomes when applied to the same evidence.
Furthermore. the ELM holds that there are other qualitatively different psychological processes (c.g .. dissonance versus self-perception) that are of interest in understanding persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo. 1986a). The ELM 'pecifically postulate, that many of these
processes operate at different points along the elaboration continuum and require different
amounts of cognitive effort (i.e .. a quantitative difference). But the difference in cognitive
effort is not the only difference among these processes. Because of their qualitative
difference~. these processes often specify different mediators and moderators of persuasion effects (e.g., dissonance focuses on the presence of aversive arousal, whereas selfperception does not). This richness and predictive power is lost by focusing :-.olely on
quantitative differences in amount of thought. In sum. because of its accommodation of

Chapter:=; The Elahoration Likelihond Model oj Penlltl:;iotl

83

both qualitative and quantitative differences in persuasion processes. we believe that the
ELM remain ... a more satisfactory model for accounting for persuasion effects than the
unimodcl.

Directiol/s for Future Research

So far we have explained the ELM and addrcs~ed various controversies that have arisen
regarding the model. Before concluding thi ... chapter. we turn to a discus~ion of some curren! direction ... in persua ... ion re ... earch that have stemmed from an appreciation of the
ELM.

Self- Validatioll Processes

The postulate of the ELM that has received the least research atten!ion to date is the firM
one. that people seek correct attitudes. This postulate has been used in two ways. First, it
helps to explain why people engage in greater information processing in certain circum..,Iances than they do in other",. That i~. becau ...e careful I.,crutiny is oftcn a good way to
determine correctness. people will engage in more effortful scrutiny when it is important
to be correct. ~uch as when a I11c~sage has high consequcncc~ for the self (PclIY. Cacioppo.
& Haugtvedt. 1992; Petty. Wheeler. & Bi7er. 2000). Second. this postulate implies that in
the absence of competing motives (e.g .. consi\tency, reactance. impression management).
the defauh goal is to be corrcct and to auemplto process messages in a relatively objective
way.
Recent rc\earch has sugge\ted another consequence of the correctness nlorive. Specifically, in "'OIl1C circum~tance~ people will reflect on the validity of their thoughts and
attitudes (referred to as se/F1'(t/idarioll processes: Petty. Brinol, & Tonllala. 2(02). For
c:\umplc. with n!"'pccl 10 aflirude \'a/idalioll, consider a person who has just processed a
message and rejected it. Because the attitude survived an attack. the person might gain
confidence in this attitude. In facl. in a seriel., of studic .... Torl11ala and Petty (in prcss)
. . howed that thc ... tronger the attack people believe their attitude resisted. the more confidence Ihey gain in it. Furthermore, this enhanced confidence led people to be more willing
to act on their altitudes. Thus, attitude validation processes can increase attitude strength.
People may also sometimes reflect on the validity of the indh idual thoughts that
they have in re~pon\e to a perl.,uasive message. For example. in a series of studies on
I/u)//glir l'Cllidatiol1. Tormala. Petty. and Briiiol (in press). showed that the easicr it was for
people to generate thoughts on a message. the more confidence they had in them, and the
more they relied on them in forming their attitudes. In particular. Ihese inve"tigators made
"ome people feel that generating fa\'orable thoughts to a me..,sage was easy. because their
lask was to gcnerme only two favorable thought~ to the argumcills. Other, wcre made 10
fcel that gcnerCJting favorable thoughts was difficult becau"e eight were requested (~ee
abo Schwart et al .. 1991). When it was easy to generate favorable thoughts. people had
more confidence in thes..e thoughts and were more per~uaded by the message than when it
felt more difficult to generate the thoughts. Conversely. when people felt it was easy to
generate counterarguments to the message because only two were requcsted. Ihey were

84

Pan J PI"l'limiliaries: J){~finitiO/I.\ . 7i"ellll.\, alld Theorelim/ Ullderpinnings

le:-. ... pcr ... uaded than when they fell it wa~ hard to generate counterargument .... Thu:-,. rc...earch on :-,elf-validation proce:-, ... e:-. ~ugge _... ts that another role for variables in per~ua5,ion
... cttillg~ i~ that thcy can help people asscs~ the validity of their thoughb and attitudes. Numerou\ variables may influence attitude ... and attitude Mrength in this way (e.g .. people

lJlay be more confident in Iheir favorable Ihoughls if Ihey were generaled in response 10 a
... ource of high rather than low credibility).

Consequences of Objective Versus Biased Thinking

The ELM makes an important dhtinction between processing that is relatively objective
ver ... us that which is biased. Understanding whether a variable (e.g .. source credibility.
mood) i:-. enhancing objective proce~sing or imparting a bias (0 the processing is important
for under ... tanding both the valence of thoughts produced and the ultimate persuasion outcomc. Recently. Rucker and Petty (2002) have discu~sed :-,ome implications of biased \er... u\ objective processing for the ... trength of the altitudes resulting from persuasion .
In an initial . . eries of ... tudie~ on this i....... ue. Rucker and Petty (2002) compared . . ituation ... in which indi\iduah were in..,tructcd to process a message in a relatively objective manner (try to generate thought..,) or in a bia~cd manner (try to genefilte ncgative

Ihough,,). These participanls were exposed 10 a message favoring a brand of aspirin Ihal
t'ontained very strong argument ..... Although both the objective and biased group~ ~howed
equivalent attitudc change to these ... tTOng argumen ..... and equivalent amounts of cogniti\'e
effort in processing the message. individuab who had focused on linding fault with the
Illc~~age reported more certainty in their changed attitudes. Furthermore. the attitude\ of
individuab who had tried but failed to find fault were more predictive of subsequent behavioral iJltelltion~ toward the aspirin. Rucker and Petty (2002) argued that people who
tried to find fault but failed were more coglliL.ant of the fact that the aspirin had no falllt~
than wcre people \\ho simply proces\ed the message objectively. The lauer group wa~
t'ogni/ant mostly of the favontble aspects of the a~pirin. Subsequent analyse~ confirmed
that perceptions about the lack of negative features of the aspirin mediated the increa:-,ed
t'crtainty in the changed auiwdes. Thi~ research :-.hows that qualitatively different approache . . to proce:-,sing the ll1e~sagc can lead to differences in attitude !o.trength even when
the cxtCI1t of mes\age elaboration appears to be conMant.

Conclllsioll
Thi~

chapter began by noting the chaos in altitude and persua~ion research reflected by
numerou ... conflicting findings in the litentture and then focused on explaining how the
ELM can organi/c past inconsistent finding . . in a manner that allow~ researchers to predict
when a variable might have a given effect. anti when a particular process respon ... ible for
that effect might occur. Furthermore. the chapter has provided representative examples of
research ba\cd on the ELM framework throughout. Finally. in addition to stressing the
utility of the model in explaining pa . . t conundrums in the literature. thi\ chapter has focused on clarifying misconception~ about the ELM and pointing to direction!) for future
rc ... earch. In particuliJr. recent work on people . . as ... essl1lent of the vulidity of their thoughts

85

Chapter 5 JIll' 1,!a!"mIlUJI/ UkdiJ/Ood Modl'l (~I Pl'nt/wioll

and altitude ... ha ... pro\ided ne\\ IllCi.lIl ... by \\ hlch \ariabk: ... can affect pcr ... utl . . ion (by affecting thought confidence) and altituue ... trcngth (hy affecting altitude confide ned.

Notes ________________________________________________________
I, Although not di . . cu ......ed in Ihl' eIl.lpter, olher IIltxich uf pcr~ua<.,illn and ,ocial Judgment havc hccn
dc\clopetl that :-.hare a number of the fcature, 01 thc ELM, A di"-Cu ... ,iol1 01 the'c moJcl ... i. . oc)'om.lthe
<.,copc of thl' Ch:Lptcr. but the intcrc'tcd n.:adcr i... rc:h,,:rrcd to :L compendium of dual-procc" model<.. 01
<"(lcLal Judgment LIl Chailo.en and Trope (1999) ami il compari<"lln of the ELi\\ with ,omc of thc,e modch hy
Pell) and Wegcner (1998. 1999) and PClly, Fahrigilr. and Wcgener I in pre,,).

Rej erell ces'_______________________________

Andrc .... '. J C .. &. Shl mp. T. A. ( Il)l)()), I Jh..'lt ... of in \u\\ emcnt. argument ... trcngth .1111.1 'llurl'C charactcri,
tlc<., on centml ami peripheral p1'lK'C'\llIg . I'lnlio!ol.p am! Mllrkl'li"g. 7, 195 21-l
Areni. C. S.. & LUll. R. J. (19RR), The rols.: 01 argument qualit) In the ElahoratH)f} Lil..clihnod \!lodd
Adl'ill/( 'I i" Om,llI/lIl'/' Ni'H'anll. 15. 197 20.'.
An'totlc, I (9)-l). RlleluriC', In W Rohen'ltran"', ), \n.IW1W, rlU'/oril" (//U/ I'(ll'/il".l. I\c ..... Yorl.. : Modern
Lihrary
BC1Tl. I), J (197:!1. Sdf-pen:cplioll theory In I BerI..U\\lt/ (1.<.1),\(/\'(1//('('" illl',\/Il'rIll/l'//It1/ \lIcit/IIJI\
dl%.l:\' (\01. 6. pp. 1-62). \lc\\. Yorl..: Acadcnm: Prc .....
130\\ cr. G. I 19X I ). Mood and memory \lIIl'1"in/1/ " ., ,('/I(I/o.l,:i,'/, 36. 129-1-l8,
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n,

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Mahwah, NJ: Eribaulll .
Pucketl. J., Petty. R. E.. Cacioppo. J. T . & Fisher. D. (1983). The relative impact of age and altraL'ti ..cnc ... ~
~tereotypes on persua!:lion. JOllmal oj Geron/%gy. 38. 340-343.
Razran. G. H. S. (1940). Conditioned response changes in rating and apprai!:ling sociopolitical slogans.
Psychological BIII/etitl. 37, 481.
Rucker. D. D.. & Petty, R. E. (2002). When resistance is futile: Implications for anitude strength. Unpublished manuscript. Ohio State University. Columbus. Ohio.
Rogers. R. W. (1983). Cognitiw and physiological processe~ in fear appeals and altitude change: A n::vised theory of protection motivation. in J. T. Cacioppo & R. E. PClly (Eds.). Social p.~yd/O{J"y."iol
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SchwarL. N .. Bless, H.. & Bohner. G. (1991). Mood and pcrsua!.ion: Affective states influenc!.! the pro
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Schwarz. N .. Bless. H.. Strack. E, Klumpp. G .. Rittenauer-Schatka. H.. & Simons. A. (1991). Ea<;c of
retrieval as information: Another look at the availability heuri\tic . JOI/mal oj Per.wlIlliif)" wul Soci(l/ PsycllOlog.\.'. 6/. 195-202.
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Shavilt, S., Swan,S., Lowrey, T. M .. & Wiinke. M. (1994). The interaction of endorser atl ractivene~s and
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Smith. S. M., & Petty, R. E. (1996). Mes~age framing and persuasion: A message processing analyr-is.
Personality and Social Psyc!wIOKY Bllllelill. 22. 257-268.
Staats, A. W .. & Staats. C K. (1958). Attitudes established by ciasf.,ical conditioning. Jourl/al oj Abnormal
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Stern thaI. B.. Dholakia. R .. & Leavitt. C (1978). The persuasive effect of <;ource credibility: A te,t of
cogni tive response analysis. Jourl/al oj Persollality and Social Psychology. 64. 885-896.

Chapter 5 The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion

89

Stifr. J. B. (1986). Cognitive proces<,ing of persUilsivc message cues: A meta-analytic rc\iew of thc effects
of supporting information on attilUdes. Commullicatioll Monographs, 53, 75-89.
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persu:l,ion 011 attitude cenainty. journal of Per.l(Jfwliry alld Social Psychology.
Tormala. Z. L .. Petty. R. E.. & Brino!. P. (in press). Ease of retrieval effects in persuasion: A selfvalidation analysis. Penol/ality mId Social Psychology Bul/et;I/.
Wegener. D. T .. & Pcuy. R. E. (1994). Mood-management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. lOl/mal of Personality lind Social Psychology, 66. 1034-1048.
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scrutiny: The he(]onic contingency view of mood and message processing. 101lma/ of PersOIwfjry
wul Social P,\~\"cI/()logv. 69. 5-15.
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lanna. M. P.. Kil!sler. C. A .. & Pilkonis. P. A. (1970). Po,>ilive and negative attitudinal affect establi~hed
by clas ... ical conditioning. lOIln/al of Per.w"alir.\' and Social P.\ycJlOlogr. /4, 321-328.

Part

II
Persuasion Variables
Perspectives on Sources, Receivers,
Channels, and Messages

Chapter!o. 3 and 5 of this volume mentioned Carl Hov land. a

p~ychologi\1

from Yale Uni-

ve rsity who is often credited wi th initiating the r.,ystcmatic .... oeial scientific study of persuasion during World War II. After the war. Hovland and his colleagues (Hovland. Janis,
& Ke ll ey. 1953) continued to develop and investigate their "mc!"sage learning approach."
which among other thing\ made it clear lhal per<.,uasion i"i no simple process. Their approach suggested that in order to be effective. a persuasive message had to capture the
audience's attention. be comprehended. be yie lded to. and be remembered. h also suggested that this process could be facilitated with incentives for agreeing with the persuasive message.
More pertinent to this pan or the book. however. are the moderating variab les cXamined by Hov land and his group. Moderating variables can be thought or as the "it depends"
of persuasion. In other word,. whether persuasion b errective or not often depends on several ractors. As just one example. whether the use or touch tcnds to facilitate or inhibit
persuas ion depcnds, in part. on whether the touch is perceived as a positive or negat ive
vio lation of the recipient's perception..,. Hovland and his colleagues focused their attention
primarily on four variab les that might moderate the procc!>.s or persua1-.ion: the characteristics or the person sending the persuasivc message (the source). the nature of the mes!>.age
itse lf'. the c hannel or medium by which the message is sent. and the characte ristics of the
person receiving the persuasive message. Likewise. the chaptcr!o> in this scction d iscuss thc
rolc or communicator characteristic!>.. I1lc!-.sages. and channe l!'. in the proce!'.s of persuas ion.
T he chap l er~ not only examine the role these variables play in effective pcrsuasion. as
Hov land and his colleagues Liid. they abo discuss the ways in which such variab les inlluence the prod uctio n of per,u<lsive mes,agcs.

91

92

Part " Pl'rslw.\iol/ Variab/n: Per,\ lN'Clil'cs OIl SOl/rCl'S, Rcccil 'ers. C"alllll'ls, alld Messa!!,!'s

There are, of course, several source charaCI(Tistics that might affect persuasion. such
as how likable, attractive. or similar 10 the audience a source is perceived 10 be. As impor ~
tant as such characteristic~ are, however. they have not received nearly as much research
attention as the topic of credibility. which is without doubt one of the most thoroughly
studied topics in the field of persuasion. Some of this research has attempted to discover
the underlying dimensions that make up credibility (e.g .. trustworthiness, competence.
charisma. etc.), The first chapter in this section. chapter 6. hy William Benoit and Alan
Strathman. examines such research and expands it to broaden our understanding of how
and when credibility works persuas ively . The chapter does an excellent job of showing
how theory (e.g .. the Elaboration Likelihood Model) helps us predict the conditions under
which credibility mediates persuasion. It is also important to note that this chapter dis+
cusses the ways in which a tarnished image may be repaired.
In addition to source credibility, other cOllllllunicator characteristics mediate the
process of persuasion. An enormous body of research, for example. has examined the
ways in which demographic variables (e.g .. age, etilnicity, intelligence) and personality
traits (e.g .. self-monitoring, ego-involvement, dogmatism) influence both the sending and
receiving of messages. Given space considerations, however. this part of the book focuses
on just three such characteristics. First, chapter 7, by Andrew Rancer. discusses two communication traits. argumentativeness and verbal aggrcssivcness. that affect people's orientations toward argumentative encounters. As you will see. individuals who possess one
trait or the other have vastly different approaches when trying 10 persuade others or when
being confronted with the inlluence attempts of others (e.g .. others' attempts to resist persuasion). Similarly. chapler 8. by Linda Carli, examines the ways in which gender affects
persuasion. While the lion's .;;hare of previous research on this topic has concentrated on
gender and persuasibility, chapter X asks whether onc gender is more influentiallhan the
other. and if so, why.
The last two chapters in this ~cction examine whether messages and challileis affect
persuasion. A channel. of course. is a medium for communication. Two channels for persuasive mcssages are language and nonverbal communication.
The persuasive potential of language is well known. Most of us, for example, are
probably aware of situations in which euphel11i ... m~ and politically correct language arc
necessary. Moreover, research tells us that using profanity or "powerless language" (e.g ..
"uh," "you know") Can have damaging effects on credibility (Bostrom. Baseheart. &
Ros!-.iter. 1973: Haleta. 1996). While such issues arc important, we believe that when trying to understand the role of language in persuasion. perhaps the most significant factor to
keep in mind is the old maxim, "Meanings are in people, not in words." This principle is
one of the key tenets of Language Expectancy Theory, which is the subject of chapter 9,
by Michael Burgoon and Jason Siege\. Indeed, the specific words a speaker uses when
attempting to pers uade an audience may be importal11. but not nearly so much as the way
in which the !-.peaker's audience perceil 'es those words. This chapter. as you will see, suggests that understanding audiences' expectations about language usage is crucial 10 predicting how persuasive language will be.
Finally. chapter 10. by Peter Andersen. examines nonverbal influence. Interestingly.
some definition:.. of persuasion suggest that a chapter on this topic might not belong in a
book such as this. A number of authors (Larson, 2001: Miller. 1980; Reardon, 1981:

Part " Persuasio" Voriables: Penpe('lil'e.'i 011 Sources, Receh'en,

ClUlllllds,

alld Me ....\age.'

93

Roloff & Miller. 1980) have argued that per~uasion inv o lvc~ only ~ymholic expression,
including language and other meaning-laden act~ ~uch at, civil disobedience and prolest
marches. Gerald Miller (1980). for example. asserted that "persuasion rel ies upon sy mbolic transactions ... the sc holarly endeavors of persuasion researchers-and for that mat ter, the ordi nary language usages of the term 'pcrsuasion' - have consistently centered on
the manipulation of symbols" (pp. 14-15). Similary. Cooper and Nothstinc (1992) argued.
"Persuasion is the process by which language and symbolic actions innuence choiccmaking by others" (p. 2). Finally. according to Larson (2001). "Persua",ion is the cocreation of a state of identification or alignment between a source and a receiver that
resuhs from the use of symbols" (p. 10).
Though we understand the point or such definitions. we do not agree with them. In
fact. we have argued elsewhere that limiting the study of persuasion to words or symbols
leaves out too much (see Gass & Seitcr. 2003). We hope that aftcr reading chapter 9, you
will agree. In our opinion this chapter demon strates that so me of the 1110st intriguing aspects of persuasion can be found in nonverbal behavior, which lie~ on the periphery or
symbo li c action. While some lexls' di sc llssions of nonverbal persuasion are largely
athcoretical in nature. wc believe thai this chapter does an excellent job of eX<1mining
models and theories that explain why non\erbal behavior can be so intlut.!nlial.

Referellces_____________________________
Bostrom. R. N .. Basehearl, J. R .. & Ro . . sitcr. C. M. (1973). The c ffer.:t ... of three type ... of profane language
in pcr<.,uasivt: messages. JOII,."al of C0I1I1mmicalioll. 50.415-420.
Cooper. M .. and Noth<;tine. W. L. (1992). Po,,'t'r penulHiulI: MOIing till (Illdelll an illlo filt' media (lge.
Greenwood. IN: Educational Video Group.
Gass, R. 1-1 . & Seiler, J. S, (2003). Persl/asio/l, social illpllence. lind colllpliallce gainillg (2nd cd.). Bo ...
ton: Allyn & Bar.:on.
Haleta. L. L. (1996). Student perception-. of teacher. . u ...e of language: The effect ... of powerful and powerless langunge on impress ion fomlation and uncertainty. Comlllllllicaliull EdliclIfirm, .J5( I ). 16 -28.
Hovland. C. I.. Jani<." I. L.. & Ke ll ey, J. J. (1953). COlllmlllliclIfioll ./Ild pa_HUI'ii(m. t\C\\ ]Iaven. CT: Yale
University Press.
Larson. C. U. (200 I). Persuasion : Receplioll and respolIsibilifY (9th cd.). Relmont. C A: Wad<;worth.
Millcr, G. R. (1980). On being pcr"uaded: Somc ba~ic di ... tinclion ~. ln M. E. Roloff & G . R. Millcr (E("'.).
Persuw,'io//: Nell' direClio/1!j ill theory wltl re"earch (pp. 11 -28). Bevcrly Hil].., . C A: Sage.
Reardon. K. K. (1981 ). Per.mmio,,; Theory a/ld CO/lleXI. Bc\'crly tillb. CA: Sage.
Rolo fr. M. E.. & Miller. G. R. (1980). Per~/uHi(}//; Nt,\\, directions illlll('(lr.\' alltl rew'oreh, Be,crly Hil]..,.
CA: Sage.

6
Source Credibility and the
Elaboration Likelihood Model
William L. Benoit and Alan Strathman

For thou~ands of years scholars who !'Itudy persua!->ion have recognized thai some message
sources are more pcro;;uasive thi.J1l others. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. for ex-

ample, explained in the fourth century B.C.: "We believe good men more fully and more
readily than others: this is true generally whatever the question is. and absolutely where
exact certainty is impossible and opinions divided" (1954. 1356a6-8). Isocrates, a conlemporary of ArislOtie. was known morc as an educator than a philosopher. and Cicero declared that from Isocrates' school. as from the Horse of Troy. none but leaders emerged"
(1942. 11.9-1). Isocrates indicated his belief in the importance of credible sources when he
asked. "Who does not know that word~ carry a greatcr conviction when spoken by men of
good repute than when spoken by men who live under a cloud. and that the argument
which is made by a man's lifc is of more weight than that which is furnished by wordsT
( 1976. p. 278). In the twentieth century several literature reviews have conc luded that
so urce credibility is an important element in persuasion (Anderson & Clevenger. 1963~
Benoit. 1998: Hass. 1991: Littlejohn. 1971). Petty and Cacioppo ( 1981 a) wrote. "The expertise of the source of a message is one of the most important features of the persuasion
situation and one of the earliest variable!-. to be investigated. It remains, however. one of
the least understood manipulations" (p. 235). This chapter is devoted to explaining how
and when ~ourcc credibility influences persuasion.
Me!-.Mlge sources have multiple dimensions. including the source's physical attractiveness (see. e.g .. Bersheid & Walstcr. 1974: Chaiken. 1979: DeBono & Harnish. 1988 ;
Kahle & Homer. 19~5). similarity to the audience (see, e.g .. Berscheid, 1985; Simons.
Berkowitz, & Moyer. 1970). and other demographic factors. The two principal elements
of .wurce credibility are traditionally considered to be expertise (the level of the source's
knowledge or the topic of the mes;age. typically established by education . training. or experience in the field) and trustworthiness (whether the source can be expected to provide

95

96

ParI II Persuasion Variables: Penpectil'e\

Oil

Sources, Nl'ceil'er.\', Challne/s, (///(/ MesJrlgl>,\'

an objective or unbiased perspective on the topic). Wilson and Sherrell's (1993) Illetaanalysis found that the effect of expertise on persuasion is greater than the effect of trustworthiness, attractiveness. or . . illlilarity. Fewer of the srudies they reviewed manipulated
trustworthiness. but the effect of trustworthine . . s aha appeared to be stronger than that of
attractiveness or simi larit y. McCroskey and Teven (1999) argued that thcre are three dimensions of credibi lity: expertise. trm,tworthiness. and goodwill. However. most research
has focused on the first two dimensions. ACl:ordingly. this chapter will focus on expertise
and trustworthiness.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) will be employed as a theoretical framework for understanding the nature of source credibility effects in persuasion. After elucidating the ELM. we lise it to explain how the nature of a messagc's source intluences the
process of persuasion. We then take up several topics explaining how (and when) ... ource
credibility affects attitude change. Next. we evaluate the rl!search on ...ource credibility.
and finally. we discuss options for repairing damaged credibility.

The Nature of the Elaboration Likelihood Model

The cognitive response Illodel (Greenwald, 1968: Pcrloff & Brock. 1980) and the ELM
specifically (Petty & Cacioppo, 1981a, I986a. 1986b) portray auditors as active participants in persuasion (see also Chaiken, 1980). Receivers produce cognitions (thought~.
elaborations) in response to the stimulus of persuasive discourse; attitude change does not
result direc(ly from persuasive messages bur arises from (he thoughts of audience members when they are exposed to persuasive messages. Petty and Cacioppo (f986a. 1986b)
posit two "routes" to persuasion: central and peripheral. The eelllral route consists of
thoughtful consideration of the arguments (ideas. content) in the message and is adopted
when a receiver has both motil,lItiOIl and ability to think about the message and its topic.
The peripheral rollle is llsed when the listener bases reaction 10 the message 011 cue:-- other
than message content. such as attractiveness of the source. the number of arguments in the
message. or the length of the message. This route is adapted when (he auditor is unable
and/or unwilling to engage in much thought on the message.
The ELM is important in part because it enjoys considerable empirical support:
The a . . sumption that systematic or central route pn.1Ccs ... ing require . . motivation and ability
has been documcnlcd in many stlldics. u... ing a variety of motivational and ability variables: Persuasive argumentation is a more importnnt dcterminnnt of persuasion when recipient!. are motivated and able to procev~ attitude-relevant information than whcn they arc
not. There is also ~ubstantial empirical support for the hypothe ... is of Ihe~e mode!... that heuristic or peripheral cues exert a siza ble pcrsua~ivc impact when motivation or ability for
argument proce ... l,ing is low. bUllittle impact when motivation and ability are high. (Eagly
& Chaiken, 1993. p. 333)
This distinction between central and peripheral procl:ssing is important because these two
routes are asserted to have different effect"i on receivers: "Attitude changes that resuil
mostly from processing issue-relevant arguments (central route) will show greater temporal persistence. greater prediction of behavior. and greater resistance to coulltcrpcrsu<lsion

Ch::lpter 6 Source Credibility

(lI/(J

the Elaboratiol/ Likelihood Model

97

than attitude changes that result mostly from peripheral cues" (Petty & Cacioppo. 1986a.
p. 2 1). Attitude change can occur via either process. but the route (central or peripheral)
makes a difference.
Petty and Cacioppo selected a netlle~ome metaphor in describing these as "route!<,"
to pcrsua<;ion. Ordinarily. when there are two routes to a destination. only one is taken. A
person traveling from St. Louis to Detroit could take two routes (via Chicago or Indianapolis) but would not take both routes on the same trip. However, "central" and "periphera l" processing are not two dichotomous choices but two endpoints of a continuum of
message processing. Different people listening 10 the same persuasi\e message might engage in var) ing amounts of central and peripheral proce . . sing (depending upon each
receiver's motivation and ability), So the metaphor of two "routes" is in some respects
unfortunate, because it implies that auditors will take one route or the other. whereas cognitive proces~ing can actually occur at any point on the elaboration continuum. Petty and
Cacioppo (1986a) do acknowledge that elaboration is a continuum: "We view the extent
of elaboration received by a message as a continuum going from no thought about the
issue-relevant information presented. to complete elaboration of every argument" (p. 8).
According to the ELM, the key to persuasion is understanding the thoughts about.
responses to. or elaboration, of a message. Cognitions vary on many dimensions. but two
arc particularly important: valence and amount. Fir ... t, thoughts can agree or disagree with
the message (or be irrelevant to the message). Agreeing. po..,itive, or favorable thoughto;,
facilitate per..,uasion: disagreeing. negative. or unfavorable thoughts inhibit pero;,uao;,ion and
ca n ca use a backla:,h. Persuaders who elicit favorable thought~ are therefore morc likely to
create the desired attitude change. Receivers can experience a mix of favorable and unfavorable cognitive response.., to a message.
Second. receivers cun generme muny or few thoughh 111 respolhe to a pcro;,ua..,ive
message. The number of thoughts also shapes the kind of inlluence that is likely to occur.
Attitude change i.., more likely to ensue from many than from a few favorable thoughts. On
the other hand. large numbers of unfavorable thoughts reduce the likelihood that ames
~age will be per..,uasive.
As noteo above. a receiver', cognitive rc\ponses can be a mixture of favorable and
unfavorable thoughts. All thingo;, being equal. when the "net" favorable cognitive response
is larger (more favorable than unfavorable thought..,), persuusion is more likely to occur in
rc~ponse to a mc..,sage. A~ the margin of favorable 10 unfavorable thoughh increases. the
likelihood (and amount) of pcrsua..,ion should increase. When the "net" favorable cognitive respon..,c i...... maller (or a negative number. with unfmorable thought<., outnumbering
favorable one ... ). persuasion is les ... likely. If the unfavorable thoughts outnumber favorable
ones. a "boomerang" effect of altitude change in the opposite direction of that advocated
by the message becomes more likely. Thi ... explains why both the IIlIlIlber and l'alel1('e of
cognitive respon<.,es are so important to persuiJsion.

Number oj Cogllitive Respollses

The number of cognitive rc~ponses is determined by two factors: the receiver's motil'llliOI1
and ability (0 process a message cognitively. Motivation i... directly related to involvement
in the message: The morc important a me ... sagc topic is to a receiver (the greater the

98

Part II Persuasiotl Variables: Persp(!('(il'{'.\" all Sown's. Receivers, Chal/l/()/s. and Messages
involvement), the more motivated that person is to think about the message (and produce
thoughts). The less a topic matters to a listcner. the less motivated that person is to think
aboulthe message (and fewer thoughts should occur). Research confirms that auditors are
more likely to scrutinize a I11cssage-or use the central route to persuasion, or produce
more cognitive rcsponses-on an involving (salient, relevant. important) than a non involving topic (see. e.g .. 10hnson & Eagly. 1989: Peuy & Cacioppo. 1979a. 1979b. 1981b.
1984; Petty. Cacioppo, & Goldman, 1981: Peuy. Cacioppo. & Schumann, 1983: Roser &
Thompson. 1995). Thus. topic involvement increases receivers' motivation 10 process a
message and increases the number of cognitive responses they are likely to produce in
response to that message.
However, the audience mllst also have the ability to process centrally. One variable
that has frequently been employed to study processing ability is distraction: Receivers
who are distracted produce fewer thoughts in response to a persuasive message than those
who are not (O,terhouse & Brock. 1970: Peuy. Wells. & Brock. 1976). Other factors also
influence the receiver's ability to process a message. Messages that are more difficult to
understand should produce fewer thoughts. Message repetition can increase the audience's
ability to process a message. although too much repetition could create boredom or tc(liulll. reducing that message'!o. effecliveness (Cacioppo & Petty. 1985: Petty & Cacioppo,
1979b). If the audience know, lillie about a topic. it should be difficult to produce many
thoughts about that message. Thus. many variables can influence the extent of people's
ability to process a message and. therefore. the number of cognitive responses produced
when processing a mcssage.
Distraction, for example. can either hinder or help persuasion depending upon the
valence of the thoughts it suppresses. If a receiver is likely to disagree with a persuasive
message. distraction means that this auditor would probably havefewer unfavorable cognitive responses (compared with undistracted listening). In this case. the auditor who is
diMracted is likely to experience more persuasion with distraction than without it. On the
other hand, if a receiver is likely to agree with a message, distraction would mean fewer
fal'()rable thoughts and thu!o. less persuasion (compared. of course. with undistracted reception). Distraction thus interferes with the listener's ability to process a message and
reduces the number of cognitive responses. When fewer unfavorable thoughts are "suppressed" by distraction, the listener should be more persuaded: when fewer favorable
thoughts occur, the listener should be less persuaded.

Valellce of Cogllitive Responses

Several factors influence the valence of cognitive responses. First, the valence of thoughts
is influenced by the position advocated by the persuader. Listeners are likely to produce
favorable thoughts when they agree with the messages they receive. Conversely. receivers
are likely to produce unfavorable thoughts in response to messages they do not accept.
The position of the message relative to the audience's attitudes therefore influences the
valence of thoughts.
Second, forewarning auditors about a persuasive message can intluence the thoughts
they are likely to produce in response to that message. When people are warned that they

Chapter 6 SUllrn' O w lihililY amI rill' tJtI/Jorar;{J/1 LIJ..l'Iilwod MOt/l' l

99

will disagree with a message (counterauitudinal mc:-. ... age). th~y are likely to produce negative thought ... in anlicipation orth:'11 message (Brock. 1967: Pctty & Cacioppo. 1977).
Third. argument quality inlluenccs the valencc of cognitive responses. Stronger argument ... are 1110re likely to elicit favorable thought ... [him weaker messages. wherea ... weak
arguments are more likely to e\(lkc ncgalive thoughts than stronger or high-quality message .... Petty and Cacioppo (19K..1) found that auditors produce more favorable cognitive
responses to Ille ...... age ... \\ ith strong argulllenh than tho ... e with weak arguments and generate more unfavorable thought:.. in regard 10 message ... compri ... ing weak rather than strong
argumcnts. Benoit (1987) found that mc ... sagcs with strong arguments produced more ravorable thoughts, fewer unfavorable thoughts. and more attitude change than messages
with weak ;Jrgul11enh. These effcct... arc more pronounced on involving than uninvolving

topic, (Andrew, & Shimp. 1990: Petty & Cacioppo.

198~).

Thu:-. ....eventl faclOr~ can inlluc.::ncc the \'i.llencc of cognitive re~pon:-.es. Messages
that disagree \\ith the audience are more likel) to produce unf,.I\ arab le thought.... whereas
agreeing me ... :-.;Jges arc more likely to encourage favorable thoughts. Strong me:-.sages arc
morc likely to produce favorable thoughts. whereas \\cak messages arc prone to elicit unfavorabh! thoughts.

Peripheral Processillg
Mo ... t of the discu\,ion thus far ha ... fm:u ... eu on central pn.lCc . . sing. although the amoullI of
central proccs ... ing employed (h.;pentis on the motivation and ability of the receiver. Peripheral processing is associated with fewer thought .... Howc\'cr. peripheral processing is
thought 10 be qualitatively different from central procc:-.sing. Thc receiver who engages in
peripheral processing lIse.s a Clh.! or a uccision rule to decide whether to agree with the
message (instead of thinking about the arguments in the message), Peripheral processing
occurs when receivers lack the ability and/or motivation to think about the arguments in
the message: however. they may rind other ba ... c ... for deciding \\ hether to accep t the
mes~age.

Severnl peripheral cue ... (\\hich may be thought of a~ mental shortcuts) have been
identified. For example. whcn receiver ... pcrcei\e the source a~ physic;Jlly attractivc. they
may usc attractiveness as a pcripheral cue (Petty & Cacioppo. 198Ia). An audience mcmber mightthillk. "This is a very attractive source. I think I should agree wi th him (or her)."
Remember that periphcral procl!s ... ing i. . morc likely to occur when the topic is less imporlant or Ie ...... invoh ing. ~o deferring to an attracti,e ... ource (in ... tead of expending the effort
to think about the ideas and argument ... in the mc ...... age ) rnay not be problematic for the
listener.
Sel:ond. if a message contuin . . a large number of argument .... a receiver Illay decide
lO accept the rnes ... age 011 the ba ... is that any message with so many arguments is probably
correct (Petty & Cacioppo. 1984a). We may have it decision rule that. all things being
equal. a I11c:-...,age with many argulllcnt ... is Illore likely to be true than one with few arguments.
Third. when a listener belic\c~ that several ... ourcc.:s col\ecti\'el) endor..,e a message
position. the liqener ma) be more likel) to accept that me ...... age. Harkin ... and Petty (1981)

100

ParI II Persll(l.lio/l Variables: Perspeclh'e.l

(lfl

Sources. Receil'(' f"s. Challl/l'I.\".

{/I/(/

Me.\'slI!!,e.'I

found that more arguments and more !-oources eac h generate more favorable cogni ti ve re sponses and more attitude change than ll1e~sages wi th fewer argument..; and sou rces. All
things being equal. an idea that many people accept is more like ly to be true than one that
few people believe.

Source Credibility
With this understanding of how persuasive messages arc processed, we ca n turn to an
analysis of source credibilit y. which can influence persua~ion by influe nci ng hoI\' receil'ers process messages- the number of cogn iti ve responses. the va le nce of cog niti ve respon ... es_ and the object of their thoughts: message ve rsus source. The claim that source
credibility influences persuasion by affec ting message processing is suppon cd by research
"uggesting that source credibil ity affects persuasion only if the source is identifi ed hefore
the Illes sage has been processed ( Hu sek. 1965 : Mills & Harve y. 19 72). Ward and
McGinnies ( 1974: see also Greenberg & Tanne nbaulll. 1961 ; Sternthal. Dholakia. &
Leavitt, 1978) found that there was no difference in attitude change between high- and
low-credibility source\" when those sources we re ident itied ajfer the message (see also
O' Keefe's meta-analy,is. 1987). In addit ion. Greenberg and Miller ( 1966) reported that
low-credibi lity source\" hind ered persuasion only when they were identified as disreputable before the message. These findings all suggest that source c redibilit y innuences persuas ion by altering how people process (or elaborate) messages. Wh e n th e source is
identified ajier the message. that mcssage has already bcen processed. Any thought s the
audience may have abou t the message h ~we already occurred. so it is too late for identifi cation of the source to have any e ffect. Si milarl y. Rhine and Kaplan ( 1972) found that
when there is no ll1 es~age to process (mere ly an assertion or c laim ), th ere i\" no persuasive
effect from va riati ons in source c redibilit y. Thus. research indicates that c red ibility cues
mediate persuasion by influencing holl' messages (/lfrihllfed 10 that SO/free (Ire processed.
Second. the persuasive effec t s of source credibility are more like ly to manifest
themselves on less involving topics. suggesting that credibil it y can also serve as a peripheral cue. Petty. Cacioppo. and Goldman (1981) found th at on highly involving topics.
message argume nt s produce attitude c ha nge but so urce c red ibilit y does not. On unin volvi ng topics, both arguments and credibi lit y mediate persuasion, but credibility has
more influence (see also Benoit. 1987: Chaik en. 1980: John son & Scileppi. 1969; Petty.
Cac ioppo. & Goldman. 198 1: Petty. Cacioppo. & Schumann. 1983).
The authors of the ELM have specificall y addressed the relationship between sou rce
f<.ictors and persu<.l!-oion. Pe tt y and Cacioppo explain how charac te ri sti cs of message
<.,OllfCCS can inlluence attitude change: " In th e ELM. source factors can influence auitude
change in three ways: They can serve as arg ume nt s [an attractive mode l is ev idence for a
beauty product I, th ey ca n se rve as [peripheral [ cues, and they can affect argumellt processin g" (1986a, p. 205). It is possible that th ese factors co uld come into play in situation s
in volving expert ise as well as attractiveness. For exa mpl e. the cigare tt e smoke r who is
dying from cancer co uld be seen a"i the embodime nt o f the argument to quit (or never to
start) ... moking. However. we were unable 10 locate any research on the first method of
inlluence, in which the nature of the source actually functions as an argument {Q support

Chapler 6 SOl/rce Credibility alld the Elaboratioll Likelihood Model

101

the claims advanced in the message. Our rcview will discuss how expertise and trustworthiness can inllucnce argumcnt processing and serve as peripheral cucs.

Number of Cogllitive Respollses

Source credibility can influence persuasion by inlluencing both important components or
cognitive responses. First. source credibility may inlluence the nll/llber of tho/lghts produced in response to a message. Here. belief that the source is an expert on the topic of the
message could encourage receivers to "relax their guards:' or feel le">s motivation to scrutinize the message (produce fewer cognitive responses). In contrast. if the source is
thought to be disreputable. that belief may lead receivers to be more wary. subjecting the
message to greater scrutiny (produce more cognitive responses). Gillig and Greenwald
(1974) found that fewer unfavorable thoughts are produced in response to a message attributed to a high-credibility source, whereas more unfavorable thoughts are elicited by a
low-credibility source. Conversely. auditors are more motivated to think critically. and
tend 10 produce more counterarguments. in regard 10 mes,agcs from apparently nonexpert
sources. reducing persuasion from such sources (see Benoit, 1991; Cook. 1969: Gillig &
Greenwald. 197-1: Has;. 1981: Perlorr & Brock. 1980).

Valellce of Cogllitive Respollses

Source credibility also can innuencc the I'{llenee of cognitil'e responses. Benoit and Kennedy (1999) found that trusted sources produced more favorable and fewer unfavorable
thollght~ (and more attitude change) than untruslcd sources. However. there was no difference in the total number of thoughts produced frol11 these sources. That is. source trustworthiness influenced the distribution (valence) of thoughts in this study, but not the
number of thoughts. The morc favorable thoughts. and the fewer unfavorable thoughts, the
more persuasion should occur. Conversely. cognitive responses that arc more unfavorable
than favorable should inhibit attitude change.

Source Credibility Effects

In this section we will describe and explain three specific topics: involvement. moderately
credible sources. and di..,crepancy. These are important areas in which the ELM helps to
explain source credibility effects.

Involvemellt.

Several studies <.,uggest that credibility is most important on uninvolving

lOpics. which suggests again that it often functions as a peripheral cue. Johnson and
Scileppi (1969) report that high-credibility sources were more persuasive on uninvolving
than involving IOpics. Pelly. Cacioppo. and Goldman (1981) found that argument quality
but not credibility inlluences persuasion 011 involving topics. while on uninvolving topics
credibility was more inlluential than argument quality (see also Chaiken. 1980). Benoit
(1987) found that experts were no more persuasive than nonexperts on an involving topic
(of. Stiff. 1986). Neimeyer. Guy. and Metzler (1989) found that a credible source elicited
more favorable and fewer unfavorable thoughts. but only in a low-involvement condition.

I 02

Purt II Pn,\If(H iOI/ Vo riahlt's: Per,\!)(!{'{i!'{'S ()/I SOli rce,\", Rea; I'crs, Chunnels, and Mes,wges

The mcta-analy,is by Wilson and Sherrell (1993) found that in two-thirds of the studies
examined. source factors had a ~ignificallt effect on attitude change only in a lowin\'olvemcnt condition.
On involving topics. audience members are motivated to .s crutinize the message.
engaging in central proces:..ing of the idea:.. and arguments in the message, Thus. source
credibility ..,hould have a minimal impact on sllch topics. As noted above, Wilson and
Sherrell"" (1993) study identified a number of studies in which source credibility had effects in high-invol\'ement conditions. but these effects were in the minority.

Moderately Credible Sources.

Ordinarily. highly credible sources are more persuasive

than sources who appear le~s credible, However. therc are circumstances in which a moderately credible source is more persuil'live than a highly credible source. Several studies
have found that when a message is proaffilUdiJla/ (attempting to reinforce or strengthen
rather than change attitudes), moderately credible sources are more persuasive than highly
credible one, (Bochner & In,ko. 1966: Bock & Saine. 1975: Dean. Austin. & Watts.
1971). Sternthal. Dholakia. and Leavitt (1978) reported that in such situation,. the moderately credible "ource elicits 1110re fa\'orable cognitive responses than the highly credible
...ource. Here. the high-credibility source reduces motivation to scrutinize the message (to
engage in central processing), However. hecause a proatlilUdinaimessage agrees with the
audience. the kind of cognitive responses that are ~uppresscd are favorable. resulting in
less attitude change. This is. of course. because valence of cognitive responses is so
important
Thi.., effect of source credibi lity is analogous 10 the effect of distraction di"clIssed
earlier. Receivcr"i who are distracted produce fewer thoughts. If undistracted they would
have produced primarily fill 'orable thoughts. when they are distracted they produce fewer
favorahle thoughts and are less persuaded (than if they were not distracted). If they would
have produceJ primarily UI~f{lI'of{/h1e thoughts when undistractcd. distraction would reduce the numher of unfavorable thoughts and they will be more persuaded (than those
who arc undi . . tracted). Similarly. high-credibility sources decrease the audiencc's motivation to think about a message. reducing the number of thoughts on proattitudinal topics
and producing Ie ... .., persuasion than a moderately credible source (a disreputable source is
likcl y to pro\'okc unfavorable thought .... by the way).

Discrepancy and Attitude Change.

If persuaders wish to change an audience's auitude, they I11U ... t disagree with the audience. If the persuader parrots their own attitudes
back to thcm. thcre will be 110 reason for the audience to change those attitudes. Of course.
if persuadcr" di..,agree too much. the audience may consider their message to be unreasonable. and it may produce unfavorable cognitive responses and no attitude change. Thus.
the degree of discrepancy between the message position and the audience's attitude is an
important variable in persua ... ion. Considerable research has documented a curvilinear relation..,hip between discrepancy and per",u3sion. Disagreeing with the audience a little produces little attitude change. disagreeing moderately produces morc persuasion. and
disagreeing a great deal produces little or no persuasion (Bochner & Insko, 1966: Insko.
Murashima. & Saiyadain. 1966: Johnson. 1966: Osgood & Tannenbaum. 1955: Peterson
& Koulack. 1969: Tannenbaum. 19(7). Note that Stiff (1994) claimed SUpP011 for a linear

Chapler 6 Source Credibility alld the Elaboration Likelihood Model

103

relationship between discrepancy and attitude change, but he then provided three reasons
why high levels of discrepancy would be unpersuasive, undercutting his own argument.
However, some research has found a different pattern of results for highly and moderatcly crediblc sources. Aronson. Turner, and Carlsrnith (1963; see also Bochner &
Insko, 1966) reported that for moderately credible sources, the relationship between discrepancy and atlitude change was indeed curvilinear (little attitude change for low and
high discrepancy: more attitude change for moderate discrepancy). However, for highly
credible sources there was a direct relationship between highly credible sources and discrepancy: the greater the discrepancy, the more attitude change. Although these researchers did not measure cognitive responses. the likely explanation is that highly credible
sources reduced the receivers' motivation, so the audience produced fewer unfavorable
thoughts to high levels of discrepancy. Thus, without the inhibition of counterarguments.
the more discrepancy advocated by highly credible sources, the more persuasion results.
Moderately credible sources, on the other hand, do not reduce motivation to think about
messages. and highly discrepant messages are thus likely to evoke more unfavorable
thoughts than less discrepant messages, resulting in less persuasion.
Rhine and Severance (1970) presented data suggesting that these results are likely to
occur for uninvolving. but not for involving topics. This finding is consistent with (he
ELM. which would suggest that receivers who are highly involved in the topic are likely
to engage in central processing regardless of the credibility of the message source. Furthermore, Choo (1964) failed to replicate the finding that for moderately credible sources
there is a curvilinear relationship between discrepancy and persuasion but found that
highly credible sources have a direct relationship. However, this study operationalized
credibility as trustworthiness rather than expertise, and trustworthiness may not influence
the number of thoughts. It is clear that we would benefit from studies that replicated this
research, clearly distinguishing between expertise and trustworthiness, and measuring
cognitive responses.

Evaluation of Work on Credibility

There can be no doubt that source characteristics are capable of influencing persuasion.
Probably the most basic question here is, what is source credibility? Research manipUlates and measures credibility in troubling ways. Research does not always distinguish between different source manipulations. Some research employs celebrity sources
(Petty. Cacioppo. & Schumann. 1983), but it is not clear in all cases whether such source
manipulations concern expertise or trustworthiness (or attractiveness).
Furthermore, expertise. trustworthiness, liking, and attractiveness are often confounded. For example. Johnson & Scileppi (1969) manipulated credibility by telling message recipients that the source of (he communication was either a medical authority
described as an expert on the topic or a "medical quack" who had served a prison term and
who had written the article for a sensationalist publication. Tn contrast, Ward and
McGinnies (1974) described their high credibility source as an expert on the issue and
someone who was considered trustworthy. Their low-credibility source was presented as
having no expertise and as being devious and calculating. In both studies the high-

104

Part II PerslI(uioll Variahfes: Per.\pl'clit'es

OIl

Sources. Receit'ers, Chal/llels. and Mes.Hlges

credibility source was associated with greater altitude change. However. given that expertise and trustworthiness were confounded in these manipulations. it i~ impossible to
ascertain whether the effects are due mainly to expertise or to trustworthiness. Similarl y.
Chaiken and Maheswaran (1994) attributed a message either to COIl.\'Umer Reports or to a
K-Mart circular. Subjects perceived Consumer Reports to be the more credible source. but
it isn't clear whether this was due to greater perceived expertise or greater perceived
trustworthi ness.
Some research contains other potential confounds. For example, Chebat, Filiatrault,
Larouche, and Watson (1988) employed a fairly common method of manipulating expertise: The expert was described as a professor (in a discipline relevant to the topic of the
message), the nonexpert as a studenl. However. this could confound expertise with simi larity, because the low-expert source, a student. is probably seen as more similar to the
subjects than the high-expert professor. Future research ll1u .... be clear about which \ource
characteristics are being studied and how they are manipulated.
Concerns can also be raised about how credibility is mea~ured. Some studies do not
report the items used in manipulation checks (Chebat. Filiatrault. Laroche. & Watson.
1988). Others combine arguably di"imilar traits. Chebat, Filiatraull. and Pen'ien (1990),
for example, operationalized credibility as four questions (expertise, trustworthiness. attractiveness, and prestige) thHt were averaged into a single credibility score. It is nol clear
exactly what construct is being meusured here.
The role of cognitive respon..,es in attitude change is not always investigated (or reported). For example. PeIlY. Cacioppo, and Goldman (1981) did not reporl measures of
cognitive responses. Other studies failed to report effects of manipulations of the independent variable on cognitive responses. Peuy, Cacioppo. and Schumann ( 1983) found no effects of the manipulations on cognitive responses, possibly because the thought-listing
mea~ure was administered after a series of other messages. Given the importance of cognitive responses in the ELM. and the fact that the ELM is clearly a process model of persuasion. this is not a trivial concern. We speculate that the common method of measuring
cognitive responses~thought listing~ may not be a reliable indicator. Other approaches.
like concurrent verbalizution. might yield better results.

Repairillg Damaged Credibility

The discussion so far has not addressed the question of whcther a persuader's credibility is
static. Politicians like President Bill C linton and Representative Gary Condit. public figures like Tonya Harding or Martha Stcwart, and corporations like Firestone and Enron
have learned the hard way that public perceptions of a person or organization can
change-and change precipitously~ for the worse. Research reviewed earlier (e.g., Benoit
& Kennedy. 1999) makes plain that influence attempts from persuaders with low credibility are likely La produce more unfavorable thoughts. fewer favorable thoughts. and les~
attitude change than attempts from persuaders with positive reputations. This rai\es the
question of whether persuaders who ha\'e suffered damage to their reputations (and who
can Lhu~ expect to be less effective perwaders) can do anything to remedy this situation.

Chapler 6 Source Credibility lind the Elaboratioll Likelihood Model

lOS

Typology of Image Repair Optiol/s

Benoit (1995a. 1997c, 2000a) has developed a theory of image repair discourse that discusses the options available to people or organizations who need to recover from a damaged reputi.ltion. He begins with the assumption that a threat to an image has two
components: oJlellsi!'eness and responsibility. First. there must be a problem or breach of
expected conduct. If nothing bad happened, there is no blame to apportion. Second. a person (or organization) accused or suspected of wrongdoing must have caused (or encouraged, permitted. or failed to prevent) the problem. If a bad thing has occurred but I had
nothing to do with it. I cannot reasonably be blamed for that problem. Benoit and his associates (Benoit & Domes, 1996: Benoit & Hanhcock. 1999: Benoit & Wells. 1996) have
argued thaI the damage from an attack or criticism can be exacerbated by increasing the
apparcl1l offensiveness of the act or the accused's apparclll responsibility for that act.
Furthermore, Benoit (1995. 1997) has explained that image repair effons ean proceed through three general approache~: Reduce or eliminate the apparent offensiveness of
the act in question, reduce or eliminate the accused's responsibility for the act, or concede
both offensiveness and responsibility with an apology and request for forgiveness (which.
following Kenneth Burke. he calls "mortification"). Thu~, the potential strategies or options for restoring a tarnished image grow out of the two components of an attack, criticism, or accusation.
Table 6.1 lists five general strategie~ and 14 specific tactics for image repair. The
first two general categorie~, denial and evasion of re~pol1sibility, attempt to reduce (or
eliminate) the accused's apparent re~ponsibility for the offensive act. The next two general
strategies. reducing effectiveness and corrective action. attempt 10 reduce the perceived
offensiveness of the act in question. Finally. as indicated earlier. mortification admits performing an offensive act but apologiLes and asks for forgiveness. All of these strategies
have the potential to rehabilitate, at least in part, a damaged image or reputation.

Effectiveness of Image Repair Strategies

Some quantitative research has investigated the effectiveness of attempts to restore a dam
aged reputation. Benoit and Drew (1997) reported that offering corrective action and
apologi.dng (mortification) are perceived to be the most effective and appropriate strategies. However. a good deal of this work has used rhetorical criticism or a casc-study approach. Benoit (1997) summarized this work and offered several suggestions for repairing
a damaged reputation. First, it is important to identify all of the key accusations; a message that ignores key allegation.., will not repair one's credibility. Second, it is vital to
identify the key audience, The persuader need nol necessarily restore lost credibility for
everyone: the ones who matter the most are those he or she will try to per~uade (the target
audience for a persua~ive mes~agc should be the target audience for repairing a tarnished
image).
Benoit also offered suggestions for constructing a message to repair a damaged
image. He begins by cautioning that the image repair message itself must be persuasive,
using strong arguments. providing adequate support for claims. and so forth. He recommends that people who have commilled wrongdoing confess and apologize: for example,

106

Part II Persuasion Variables: Perspectives 011 Sources, Receivers, Channels. and Message.\'

TABLE 6.1

Image Restoration Strategies

Strategy

Key Characteristic

Example

Simple denial

did not perform act

Tylenol: did not poison capsule

Shift (he blame

another performed act

Tylenol: a "madman"' poisoned

capsules

Denial

Evasion of Responsibility
Provocation

responded to act of another

finn moved because of new

taxes
Defeasibility

lack of infonnation or ability

executive nOllOld meeting

changcd

Accident

mishap

tree fell
wreck

Good intentions

meant well

Sears eager to provide good

auto repair service

011

tracks causing train

Reducing Offensiveness of Event

Bolstering

stress good traits

Exxon's "swift and competent"

cleanup of oil spill

Minimization

act not scrious

Exxon: few animals killed in oil

spi ll

Differentiation

act less offensive than

simi lar acts

Sears: unnecessary repairs

preventive maintenance, not
fraud

Transcendence

more important values

helping humans justifies testing

animals

Attack accuser

reduce credibility of accuser

Coke: Pepsi owns restaurants,

competes direcLly wi th you
for customcrs

Compensation

reimburse victim

disabled moviegoers given free

passes after being denied
admission to movie

plan to so lve/prevent
recurrence of problem

AT&T long-distance upgrades;

will spend billions more to
Improve service

apologize

AT&T apo logized for service

interruption

Corrective Action

Mortification

Derived from Benoil. 1995, 1997.

Chapter 6 SOllrce Credihility (/Ild tlil' I(1/){)ralioll Likelihood Model

107

President Clinton probably got into more trouble from deceiving people about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky than from the relationship itself. On the other hund, those who
are truly innocent (e.g" Tylenol apparently was not responsible for tainted medication)
should proclaim innocence and if possible identify the "true" culpril. However, blame
should be shifted away from the persuader. Nixon blamed his closest, hand-picked subordinates for Watergate, Clearly, this did Ilot clear him rrom blame. At Limes factors beyond
one's comrol are to blame. Exxon could have blamed the slow oil spill cleanup on poor
weather. However, they chose to blame the U.S. Coast Guard and the state of Alaska (implausible targets of blame). It is important to implement corrective action, cither by fixing
the problem or preventing its recurrence (or both). Even though Tylenol established its
innocence. it introduced tamper-resistant packaging and then gradually replaced capsules
with caplets to prevent future episodes of poisoning. Some strategies (c.g .. minimiLation.
provocation) have not been found to be effective.
It is also possible to combine some of these strategies, but not all combinations are
equally effective. For example. mortification and corrective action seem to complement
one another: "1 am SOITY for the damage I caused and I will fix the problem" is a plausible
response. On the other hand. "1 did nothing wrong and I apologize" seem:.. to be an awkward combination: Why would you apologize if you (truly) did nothing wrong? It is therefore important to develop strategies that work in harmony.
Thus, while some reputations may be beyond repair (e.g., Jeffrey Dahmer). it is possible for persuaders to improve their credibility. Research has identified a number or options available to those who need to repair a tarnished reputation. We are beginning to
develop an understanding of how and when to lISC these options. IL is clear. however. that
more empirical work would be helpful in this area.

Conclusion
In this chapter we took the ELM as a theoretical standpoint for understanding source ef-

fects in persuasion. Unlike aLtractive sources. expert and trustworthy source:.. influence
persuasion only when they are identified as slIch before a mes~age is processed. We hold
that attitude change is a function of the number and valence of thoughts produced in response to persuasive messages. Because it often functions as a peripheral cue. credibility
is more likely to intluence persuasioll Oil less involving topics. Credible sources may reduce motivation to process messages. which means that they arc likely to facilitate persuasion when thoughts are likely to be unfavorable and may actually impede persuasion when
thoughts are likely to be favorable. Disreputable sources are likely to encourage unfavorable cognitive responses and result in less persuasion. Highly credible :..ources may increase a message's persuasiveness by permitting higher levels of discrepancy (without an
increase in unfavorable thoughts).
We also expressed several reservations about current research on source effects in
persuasion. Some studies do not make it clear how credibility is manipulated or measured.
Other studies clearly confound multiple constructs (expertise, trustworthiness. attractiveness, and prestige). Some research does not measure (or report) the effects of independent
variables Oil cognitive responses, which arc conceptualized as a mediating variable in lhe

108

Part II Persuasion Variables: PerspeClil ,cs on Sources, Receivers. Channels, and Messagl' s
process of persuasion. It may be useful to employ alternative methods of measuring cognitive responses (concurrent verbalization). Despite literally centuries of inquiry into the effects of source variables on persuasion, this construct would benefit from morc focused
research.
Finally, we addressed the topic of changes in perceived credibility. Persuaders who
suffer damage to credibility do have a chance of repairing their tarnished reputations, and
thereby enhancing future attempts at persuasion. However, it is clear that more empirical
invesligation into this topic would greatly enhance our underslanding.

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trait errors in speech evaluation. Speech MOl1oKmplis. 37, 148- 155.
Brock, T. C (1967). Communication di~nepancy and intent to persuade as determinant.. of counterargument production. jOl/l'I/a! of x{JerimclIla/ Sorial Psychology. J. 296-309.
Cacioppo, J. T., & PellY. R. E. (1985). Central and peripheral rOlltes to per~lIasion: The role of message
repetition. [n L. F. Alwin & A. A. Mitchell (Eds.). PS'ycholoKical processes and adl'('ni.\illg effects:
Theory. research. lIlId applicatioll (pp. 91-1(1). Hillsdale. NJ: Erlbaum.
Cacioppo. J. T.. Petty. R. E .. & Kao. C F. (1984). The efficient assessment of need for cognition . .Iolll'lllll
of Personality AssessfIlcl/I, 48. 306-307.

Chapter 6 Source Credibility (llId fhe Elaboration Likelihood Model

109

Cacioppo. J. T.. Petty. R. E.. & Morri .... K. (1983). Erfcct:-. of need for cognit ion o n me~ . . a~ eva lu ation.
recall. and per"ua:.ion. )olll"llal of Pawmlliin (/lui Social P\.H/wloK\,. -15. 805-818.
Calder. B. J .. 111 . . "0. C. A .. & Yandell. B. (1974). The rdatio n of cogniti\e and memorial proce:-.<,c . . to
r)er . . ua~ion in a . . imulated jury trial. }mm",1 oJ Appli('ti Social P.I".\dwlogy. -I. 62-93.
C hai"cn. S. ( 1979). Communicator phy . . lcai attmcti\'cne . . s and peNla . . ion . )011/7/(/1 oJ PerSOIulfi1.\' lIlIlI So
cial Plyclw/ogy. 37. 1387-1397.
Chaiken. S. (1980). I-I clIriqic ven.u . . sy . . tcmalic in formation proce~~ing and the u.se of :-.ource \cr . . u~ me.s:-.age cue~ in per!o.ua~ion. )Ollrl/(I/ of PawmalilY alld Social P'~y(""(JI()gy, 39. 752~756.
C haiken, S .. & Maheswaran. D. (1994). Hcuri:..tic procc.;,sing can bias sy.stemat ic proce" . . ing: Effects of
.;,ou rce credibility. argument ambiguity. and Ia.sk importance on attitude judgment. )ourl/ol of Per
.\olUdity and Social Psychology. 66.460-473.
C hebar. J-e., Filiatraull. P.. Larouche. M.. & Wat ...on. C. ( IY88). Compen ... atory effeus of cognitivt.! char
acteristics of the \oun:e, the rnC'i~agc. and the reccivcr upon <lllitude change. )ollmal of P.I)"Cl1olog)'.

/22.609-62 1.

Cheba!. J-C .. Filiatrault, P .. & Pcrrit.!n. J. (1990). Limit'> of c redibility : The ca~e of polllical per~ua:-.ion.
)011/"1/01 of Socia/ P.rychology. 130. 157~ 167.
Chao, T. (1964). Communicator credibility and cornmunication discrepanq a~ determinant ... of atlltudt.!
change. )olfmal (~rSocial Psychology. 6.J. 65 ~76.
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Coo\"' , T. D. ( 1969). Competence. countaargui ng. and anitmle change. )olll"l/af oj Perlollulil,l'. 37. 3-1-2-

358.
Dean, R .. Aust in . J.. & Wans. W. (1971). Forewarning clrec t ~ In pen,ua..,ion: Field anti das<.,room e\pcri
menl ... )ol/mlll of Persollality lIlI(l Socio/ P.Hc!lOlog\,. IN. 210- 221.
Debono. K. G .. & I-I arni ... h, R. (1988). Source experti ..t.!. ~nurce allracti\ ene ... ~. and the praee<;sing of pcr... ua .. ive information: A functional approach. PerllJ//ollty lIIlll Social P~ychofoK.\ Bllllelill. 17.245251.
Eagly. A. 1-1 .. & Chai ken. S. ( 1975). An attribution analy\is of the effect of communicator characteristic ...
on opi ni on change: The ca ...e of communicator Htlractivenc ...... )olll"llal oJ Pa,\"OlIlIlily (lml Social
PsycllOlog\'. 32, 136-4..L
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Gi Ilig. P. M . & G reenwald. A. G. (1974 J. ]..., i[ time [0 lay the !-;\eeper effect [0 re.,r.' )olfrl/(/I of Penollalir,\'
alld Social Psychology. 29. 132~ 139 .
Greenbe rg. B. S.. & Miller. G. R. ( IY66). The cfk<.:[" of low crooib le source:-. on mc ..... age acceptance.
Speech MOllogl"(/{Jhs. 33. 127~ 136.

Greenberg. B. S .. & Tannenbaum. P. 1-1 . ( 1961). The cffr.!ct .. of byline ... on altitude change. )olll"lluli.HII
Quarterly. JR. 535-537.
Grr.!e nwa ld . A. G. ( 1968). Cognitive learning. cognitive rc:-.ponse to persuasion. and attitude change. In A.
G . G recm';ald. T. C. Brae". & T. M. O ... trolll (Edq. P~ydw/og;cal fO/llulll1;ol/s of (lfllllld{'~ (pp.
1.t7- 170).Kew York: Academ ic Pre,,\ .
Har"in.s. S. G .. & Pelt). R. E. (198 1). Effect.;, of .;,oun:e magnificallon of cognithc effort on attitude.s: An
information process in g \ iew . .Iolll"llal oJ Perwmafity lind Social P,lyclwlogy. -10. 40 l-t 13.
Has .... R. G. (1981). Effect<., of source eharactcri<.,tic:-. on cognitive rC'\pon ..es and pcrsua:-.ion. In R. E. PI!\[Y.
T . M. Ostrom. & T . C. Brae" (Ed~.). Cogllitil'{' I"l'JpOIIH'\ ill pt:r<:ilasiol/ (pp. 44-72). Hilhda1c. NJ :
Eribaulll.
Ihl...cJ.... T. R. ( 1965). Per.. ua~ive irnpal.:t:-. of early. latt.!. or no mention of the negative .source. )olll"llal (!f
Persol/ality (lnd S(wial P.lydwlogy. 2. 125 ~ 128.
In ~ko. C. A .. Mura ... hima. F .. & Saiyadain. M . (1966) . Communicator di ..crcpancy . .stilllu lu ~ ambiguity.
and intluence. )0111"11(/1 oj P('I"w!I/(/lily. 34. 262~274.
l ... ocrate:-.. ( 1976). Antidos is. 1.lOcnlles (G. Norli n. tran~.). Cambridge. MA: Harvard Univer ... ity Prt.!s".
Loeb C lass ical Library. vol. I .
John ...on. B. T .. & Eagly. A. 1-1 . (19~9)' The dlt.!Ch of in\olvement on pcrsua" ion: A l1leta-ani\ ly\i~. P.\y
('/JnloRical Bulletill. /06.290- 314.

110

Part II Persuasioll Variables: Perspectil'es Oil Sources, Reail'ers, Challllels, all(/ Messages

Johnson, H. H. (1966). Some cffc(;ts of discrcpan(;y le\cl on responses to negative information about
one's self. Sociolllelry. 29,52-66.
Johnson. 1-1. I-I. , & Scileppi. J. A. (1969). Effect" of ego-involvcment conditions on attitudc change to high
and low communicators. Journal of Persona/ily and Socia/ Psychology. /3, 31-36.
Kahlc. L. R .. & Horner. P. M. (1985). Physical attractiveness of the celebrit), endor~er: A social adaptation
perspective. Journal of ConSlllller Rese(lrch, II, 954-961.
Littlejohn. S. (1971). A bibliography of qudies relatcd to variables of SQur(;e credibility. In N. A. Shcarer
(Ed.), Bihliogmphic Allllilal ill Speedl COllllllllllimlioll. 2. 1-40.
M(;Croskey, J. C .. & Teven. J. J. (1999). Goodwill: A reexamination of the con'otruct and its mcasurement.
Communicmioll MOl1o[?raph .I-. 00. 90- I 03.
Mills, 1.. & Harvey, J. (1972). Opinion change as a function of \\ hen information about the communicator
is received and whcther hc is attractivc or exper\. JOllrnal (l Pa.wllaliry (lild Social Psyc/wlogr,

21.52-55.
Neimeyer. G. J.. Guy. J.. & Metzler. A. (1989). Changing attitudes regarding the treatment of disordered
eating: An application of thc Elaboration Likelihood Model. jOllmlll of Sucial alld Clillical Psrclwlogy, 8. 70- R6.
O'Keefc, D. J. (1987). The perslla~ive effects of delaying identification of high- and low-credibility communicators: A meta-analytic rcvic\\. Celllml States Speech .Ioumal. 38. 63-72.
Osgood, C. E.. & Tannenbaum, P. II. (1955). Thc principle of congruity in thc prediction of attilllde
change. Psych%gical Rt'l'ic\\'. 62. 42-55.
O~terhouse. R. A .. & Brock, T. C. (1970). Di:-.tractioll in("fcase:-. yielding to propaganda by inhibiting
countcrargui ng. JOIln/al (1 PenOllllliry alld So('/al Psychology. 15. 344- 358.
Pcrloff. R. M .. & Brock, T. C. (19RO) .... 'A nd thinking makes it ... o': Cognitive responses to persuasion.
In M. E. Roloff & G. R. Miller (Eds.). Per.I'lIasioll: Nell" direclioll.l' ill ,heory alld res('(lrch (pp. 6799). Bevcrly Hill<;. CA : Sage.
Peterson, P. D .. & Koulad,. D. (1969). Attitude change a~ a function of latitudc ... of acceptance and rejection. Jourl/al of Personality alld Socia/ Psychology. 11.309-311.
Petty, R. E.. & Cacioppo. J. T . (1977). Forewarning. cognitive rC'oponding. and resistancc to persuasion.
jOllrnal (!(P('/".\ollalily and Social Psychology. 35, 645- 655.
Petty , R. E.. & Cacioppo. J. T. (1979a). Effect:-. of forcviarning of pc.NJa~ive intent and involvement on
cognitivc responses and persuasion. Per.IO/wliry alld Social Psych%gy /1l1l/elin. 5. 173- 176.
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1979b). Is:-oue involvement can increasc or decreasc pcrsuasion byenhancing me~'oage-relcvant cognitive proce'osc~. Journa/
Pl'I"wllafitv afld Socia/ PSTC!IO/0f.:Y, 37.
1915- 1926.
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (19R la). AtIilHde,I' lIlId persuasioll: C/a.n/r (llId ('OJllempomry approaches.
Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown.
Pctty. R. E .. & Cacioppo, J. T. (198Ib). IS'oue involvcment as a modcrator of the efli:cts on attitude of
advcrtising content and context. In K. B. Monroe (Ed.). Adl'w/ces ill ConslllI/er Rl'.~(>arch (vol. 8,
pp. 2(}-24). Ann Arbur. MJ: Association for CO[ll,umer Research.
Petty. R. E .. & Cacioppo. J . T. (1984). The effects of involvcment on responses to argument quantity and
quality : Central and peripheral routes to persuasion. jO/lI"l/(I/ (~f Persol/ality and Sodal Psy{"/w/O[?Y,
M. 69-R I.
Petty, R. E.. & Cacioppo, J. T. (19R6a). Communication (llId per.IlIl1siol1: Cl'nlral and penj)heral /"()lIte.~ /()
altitllde change. New York: Springer- Verlag.
Pett),. R. E.. & Cacioppo. J. T . (I 986b). The claboration likelihood modcl of persuasion . In L. Berkowitz
(Ed.). At!I'(//lces ill experiml'll/a/ s(lcial psychology (vol. 19. pp. 123-205). San Diego, CA: Academic Press .
Petty. R. E.. C\('."ioppo. J. T .. & Goldman. R. (1981), Personal involvcment a~ a dctcrminant of argumentbased persuasion. journa/ of PersoJ/ality {llId Social P,Iyc/wlogy. 41, R4 7- R55.
Petty, R. E.. Cacioppo. J. T.. & Schumann. D. ( 1983). Central and pc.ripheral routcs to advertising effectiveness: The moderating role of in\'olvcment. journal ofC(m.I/lmer Research. 10, 135-146.
Petty. R. E.. Haugtvedt. C. P. , & Smith, S. M. (1995), Elaboration a~ a determinant of attitude strength:
Creating attitudes that are per~i~tent. resistant. and predictive of behavior. In R. E. Pctty & J. A.

or

Chapter 6 Sour'(' Crt'tlibi/iry (lml file EI(I/uJrtllicm Likt' /ihood Model

III

Kro ... nid (E(j.,.). Arrillld(' \lrt'lIt:tli : AlIIl'cetlt'I1t.\ lIl1ti {(IIIWqlll'l1ct'.\ (pp. 9] lJO). Mahwah. NJ :
Erlbaum .
Petty. R. E.. O'Mom. T. M .. & Brock. T. C. (Ed ... . ) (191'1 I). Coglli/ile re.~p(mle.( ill pen/IOrio". Hilhdale.
NJ: Erlhaulll .
Petty. R. E.. OMrolli. T. M .. & Brock. T. C. ( 198 I). lI i ... torical foundation ... of the cognitive respon ...c approach to aHitllde~ and pcNw . . ion. In R. E. PeIlY. T. M. O~trol1l. & T. C. Brock (Eds.), Cv!tni/il't'
respo//Il'l ill pl'rIUa.'iioll (pp. 5- 29). Ilill ...dale. NJ : Erlbaum .
Petty. R. E .. Schumann. D. W .. Richman. S. A .. & Strathman. A. J. (1993) . Po ... iti,,\! mood and pe~ua ... ion:
Different role ... for affect under high- and 1()~-clahor.lIl()n condLtion .... Journal oj Perm1l11lin' alld
Social Pryt"iw/ol-:Y, 6-1. 5 -- 20.
Petty. R. E.. Well .... G. L.. & Brock. T. C. (1976) . Di ... traction can enhance or reduce yielding to propa
ga nda: Thought disruption ver ... u ... effort ju ... tilicalion. JOIII'II(l1 of Pt'r.IOl1l1lirl ami Social P.l yc!wl08.1'. 14. g74-884.
Rhine. R. J . & Kaplan. R. M. (1972). The dTcct of incn.:dulity upon evaluation uf the ... ourcc of a COllununication . Jmlnwl oJSocia/ PnC"lwlogy, 88. 255- 266.
Rhine. R. J.. & Sc\crancc. L J. (1970) . Ego.in\"ohement. di ..erep..1nC) ....ource credihllity. and altitude
change. JOfln1ll1 oj Persollali,, amI Social Pn'c/w/og\", 16. 175- 190.
Ro ..cr. c.. & Tholllp ...on. M. (1995). Fear appeah and Ihe formation (If acti\"e puhlic ... Journal oj Commun;cathm, 45. 103- 121.
Shav itl. S .. SW(ln. 5 .. Lowrey. T. M.. & Wan~c. M. (1994). The intcraCli()Il ofcmlnr.. er attractivene ... s and
invo l\ement in pcr ... uasion depend ... on thc goal that guide .. I1lc ...... agc proce ...... mg . JOllrnal of COl/ slImer Psrdwlogy, 3.137- 162.
Simons. H. W .. Berkowitz. N. N .. & Moyer. R. J. (197()) . SlIniiarity. credibiht} .md attitude change: A
review and H theory. PsycllOlogiml8ullerlll, 42. 21'15- ] I'"
Sivacek. J., & Crano. W. D. (1982) . Vc~ted intere .. t a .. a Illotlt.:ratur of altitude-behavior con ... islcncy. Jourl1al of Pl'r.H)//lllity Will Social P\H'lwloKY. 43. 210- 221.
$tern thal. B .. Dholakia. R .. & Leavitt C (1978). Thc pc.:r... ua:.ivc cfft.!cI of ..ource credibility: A situational
analy<;i<;. Pflbiic Opillioll QIIMIl'rh. 41. 285- ] I... .
StilT. J. B. (1986), Cognitive pnlCc ...... lng nf pcr... ua ... i\c me ......agc r.:ue ... : A met .. -analytir.: re\ icw of Ihe effect ...
of \Upportlllg infonnation on allllude .... Commlllliwtio" MOfwgrapil.\, 53. 7.5 -89.
Stiff. J. B. ( 199... ). Per.\/ws;le ("(JllllflWlimliol/. Nc\\. YorJ... : Gui Iford Prcs,",.
Tannenbaum. P. II (1967). Th\! congruity theory rc\ i... lled : StudlC'" in the reduction. Induction. and geller
aliza t ion of per~ua~ion. In L. Ber~owit7 (Ed . I. Adnlll("('1 11/ t' lf1erimt'lfw/ we/al psychology (\ 01. 3.
pp. 271 - 320). New YorJ...: Academic Pre .......
W'lrd. C. 0 .. & Mt:Ginnie~. E. (1974). Per...lw .. ive dTc(:t of early and lale mention of r.:redible and noncredible !-()urce~. Journal oj P\\,cllOl0!ty. 86. 17- 23.
Wi l<;on. E. J .. & Sherrell. D. L (19931. Source effel'''' in l'onlillullIcation and peNIa .. ion re~earch: A meta
anal) ... i<.; of effect size. Jo"mal of Ihe Act/tie",, of MlIrkl' linl: S("it'nct'. 21. 101 I 12.

7
Argumentativeness, Verbal
Aggressiveness, and Persuasion
Andrew S. Rancer

Illtroductioll
Over the la~t several decades. scholars in the communication discipline have advanced
many models of persuasion. For several years, the ;'onc to many" model prevailed. In that
model. scholars were generally concerned with how source and message variables influence large groups of people. Since then, a new emphasis has emerged. The publication of
a seminal study on compliance gaining by Miller. Boster. Roloff. & Seibold (1977) foclised renewed interest and attention on illferpersollal persllllsion. This model concerned
itself with issues such as how we persuade people to do something we want them to, how
we resist attempts by others to influence us, and the role of aggressive communication in
interpersonal relations (Infante, Rancer, & Womack, 1997).
Very often, such compliance-guining artempts involve the use of argumentative beIUII'io,.. That i~, when attempting to persuade other~, sometimes people present arguments
r.,upporting the position(s) they arc advocating. while attempting to refute the position(s) of
others. These compliance-gaining attempts can vary considerably. For example, they
might involve arguing with a variety of people. including strangers or intimates. They can
also involve arguing over both "major" issues. such as where you and your partner ~hou ld
take your annual vacation, and more "minor" ones. such as what flavor toothpaste you
should buy. It should be noted, however. that a minor issue to one person may be seen as a
major issue to another.
The manner in which partners communica te during these compliance-gaining efforts can help determine whether their relationship will be seen as sat isfying or unsatisfying. or whether the compliance-gaining attempt will be successful or unsuccessful. For
example, a person who communicates aggressively, attacking the self-esteem of his or her
partner, might damage the relation~hip and be less persuasive as a result. Accordingly. an

113

l14

Pan II Per.Hw.lioll Varia hIes: Per,I/H' criw>.1 Oil Sou fee ,I-, Recein>r.I. Chwllleis. and Me.lsage.1

understanding of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness can facilitate a better understanding of persuasion in one-on-one settin gs. With thi~ co ntext in mind, the focus of
this chapter is a discussion of interpersonal (or informal) persuasion as it is ex hibited via
aggressive commun ica tion.

A Conceptualization of Aggressive Communication

A commun ica tive behavior is "aggressive if it applies force ... symbolicall y in order.
minimally. to dominate and perhaps damage, or maximally, 10 defeat and perhaps destroy
the locus of the attack'" (In fante. 1987a, p. 158). To pres~urc someo ne inlO behaving a
particular way, for example, a persuader mi glll attack that person's se lf-estee m by using
profanity or by calling the other person mimes. Though Illany behaviors are aggressive in
nature, not all arc as "bad" as this example suggests. To be sure, some aggressive behaviors are "bad" while ot hers are "good." Let us say. for exa mpl e, that you hire an attorney
to defend you. More than likely you would not want hin) or her 10 sit passively in the
courtroom while th e opposing attorney "trounces" you. Rather. you would want your own
attorney to respond aggressively, offering a barrage of arguments and convinci ng legal
points. In thi s example, aggre!<lsiveness on the part of your attorney would be conside red
"a good thing."
This duality in aggressive communication. that is.. the fact that such commun ica tion
call be "good" or "bad." can be clarified in a model that provides a framework for the
research examined in thi :o, chapter. The model posits that a cluster of four trait s cOlllrol~
aggressive communication. Each of these traits interacts with factors in the environment te
enc rgile message behavior (Infante. 1987a). Two of the traits arc basically constructive
and two are destructive. They me discussed in turn in the next sec tion s.

Assertivel/ess alld Argumel/tativelless:

The COllstructive Traits
As~ertivelless

and argumentativeness arc the constructive traits. AsserliI'ellf:!.B is the more

global of the two. If you are asseflive, you tend to be interpersonall y asce ndant. dominant.
and fo rceful, using this behavior 10 ach ieve personal goa ls wh ile creat in g positive affect in
people. If you are highly ar~wllefl1l11il 'e, you tend to advocate and defend positions. 011
controversial issues while attempting to refute other people's positions o n thos.e issue~
(Infante & Rancer. 1982. 1996), Argumentativeness is a subset of assertiveness. because
all argument is assertive, though not all assertiveness involves argument (c.g., a request).
Depending on their predisposition to argue, people ca n be considered either high 01
low argumentativcs. In addition. th ere are at least two types of moderate argumentatives:
those with con llicting fee lin gs and those who are apat heti c. in each case. the sit uati on influences whether slich people c ng<lge in argumentation. Moderate argumentatives whc
have "confli cti ng feelings" argue l11C1inly when the probability of success is hi gh and the
importance of failure i~ lo w. This is because they wish to avoid feeling anxious about the
possibility or losing an imponanl argument. In co ntrast. moderate argumentatives who are

Ch.lplt:r 7 ArgUlI/l'flflllil'ell(' \', Ferhal Aggn' nil'etleH. (llld PerHUHio/l

liS

"apathetic" generally argue \.\ hell the inccnti\'c of :-.ucce!>.\ b high. They ncither like nor
di ... li"- e arguing and l!ngage in it mainly for utilitarian rea~on:-..

Hostility amI Verbal Aggressivelless: The Destructive Traits

When peop le "argue:' thcy can move from constructh c. argumentative behavior to another form of aggrl! ... ~i\c communication bcha\ior. That 1~. with consciou\ intent. interactanl ... can get "mean" or "hurtful." Thi ... switch in interaction \tyles can occur when people
believe that they an: losing the argument and/or when they have trouble genera ting additional argument ... to cmplo) in \UPport of thcir po ... ition on a controversial is ... ue.
The t,..'o dc ... tructi\'c trait ... in the model of aggrcS\ivc communica tion arc hostility
and verba l aggres ... h-enes .... /-Imliliry is more g lobal. People with this trait lise messages to
exprl!:-. ... irritability. ncgativi ... m. rescntmcnl. and ",u"'picion. People high in I'erhal (lIU.:re\si!el1e.\,\ tend to attac~ the ... elf-concept\ of othe r people in order to inflict psychological
pain such as humiliation. el1lharra~sl11cnt. dcpres~ion. and other negative fl!cling~ about
... e lf ( infaille & Wigley. 19X6). The model of verbal <lggre ....,ivclles~ ~pecific ... that there are
... everal type ... or \erball) aggre ...... ive me ...... age~: character. competence. bad,ground. and
phYl.,ical appearance attack:-.: ridicule: thrl!atl.,: profanit): l11alediction~: tea ... ing: and nonverbal emhlems. Kinney (1994) \ugge~led there arc threc broad domaill~ of se lf-concept
attack : group ml!lllhcrship. pcr~onal failings. and relational failings.
Scveral C~lU"'l!'" of \crhal aggres ... ion have been .,uggc~tcd. including p.,ychopatholog). di ... dain .... udal learning. and argul11cntati\c ~~ill deficiencies (Infantc & Rancer.
1996). Mol'I.: rccclllly. il has becn argucd Ihat verbal aggressiveness may be largely the
resuil of gene ti c, (Beatty & McCro,key. 1997. 1998: Valcncic. Beatty. Rudel. Dobos. &
Hei.,el. 1t)l)X). Undcr thi ... framework. \crbal aggrcssivcnes., may be cOll\idcred an inherited predi ... po~jtion .
High vcrbiJl aggreS\ivl!s ... eem dc\cll\ililcO to the hurt they cau.,e others because
they do not \-ie\v vcrbally aggrc ...... ivc Il1cs ... agc\ in the ... ame w<ty mher people do. The main
rcason ... the) gi\c for their u...c of \'erbal aggression arc di~dain for the target. desire to be
mean. l!agerness to appear tough. <.Ind involvement in discu., ... ions that degenerate into verbal fighh (Infante et al.. 19(2).
According to Co ... ta and McCrac ... (1980) three-factor model of personality,
argul11cntali\'enc~ ... i.lIld \crbal aggrc ... \I\ene:-. ... are ... ituat~d in uifferent, independent dimension ... of pl!rsonality. Argumentativene ...... is a facet of the extroversion dimension of
per~ol1ality. while vcrbal aggres~ivenc~s is i.I facet of the neuroticism dimension of persona lity (Cn'ta & McCrae. 19XO). A, ,"eh. re,carcher; have traditionally viewed the two
lraih as unrel<tteu . Thus. high. mouerate. and low argumentative!>, were thought to be
equally liJ..cly 10 be high verbal aggressive". Although thiS a~~umption wa~ supported by
several earlier "'lL1dil!s (c.g .. Infante & Rancer. 1982: Infante & Wigley. 1986). more recent
empirical re\earch has ... ugge\teu that at lea ... t for somc populations (e.g .. adolesccnts).
argul11ent:.1livcnes ... and \erbal aggressivenc\S arc moderately correlated (Rancer. Whitccap. Kosbl!rg. & A vtgis. 1997: Rancer. A vtgi .... Kosbcrg, & Whitecap. 2000: Roberto &
Finucane. 19(7).

116

Part II Per,HUlS;OI/ Var;ahles: Perspectil'es 011 Sources, Receivers, Channels, alld Me.\'Sage.\

Ullderstandillg Aggressive Commullicatioll ill

Persuasioll: Situational Factors Also Matter
So far. we have seen that peoplc's traih influence th e deg rec to whi ch their be hav ior is
aggres~ive. In addit io n to the tra it component. s itu ation a l factors are ass um ed to influe nce
aggressive commu ni cation behavior. In ot her words, aggressive com muni cati on ca n be
understood as a joint product of si tu atio na l factors and th e characteristics of th e person
(Ande rscn. 1987; Atkin son, 1957; Eps te in , 1979). This constitute s an inrel"{lclioliisl ap~
proach to persOIwlitv (e.g .. Epstein, 1979; Mag nu sson & Endler, 1977).
Co nsiste nt w ith this approach, Infante's ( 1987 b) model of argum cmati ve ness in cluded both trait and situatio nal factors to predict more accurately how moti va ted a person
will be to argue in any givcn situation. This model suggests that a perso n's moti vat ion to
argue in a give n situation is determined by hi s or her trait argumentativeness (A RG g l). as
we ll as percept ions o r how likely he or s he is to succeed or fail and how important it is to
~ucceed in the g iven si tu at ion. A n example of this interact ioni st approach wou ld be the
following: If Brandon thinks his a rgument will probably fail. and he doesn' t mind failing.
his motivation 10 arg ue may be low. O n the o ther hand, jf he think s he will succeed. and
success is important in the parricular s ituation. hi s mo ti vation to argue may be hi gh. A
high motivation to argue. coup led w ith hi g h trait argumentativeness, s ho uld increase
argume ntative ness cve n funhcr.
Several stud ies have slipporrcd th e cent ral co nten tion of thi s interactionist model.
that predictio ns based o n traits or situ atio ns alone are not as accurate as predictions ba~ed
on both traits and situati o ns ( Infante, 1987b; Infante & Rancer, 1982, 1993; Stewart &
Roach. 1993). For example. one s ituatio na l faCIal' Ihat might influcnce argumcntative behavior is the nature of th e top ic itself. To be ce rtain , Onyekwere. Rubin , and Infant e
( 199 I ) found that ego-invo lvcmcll t in th e top ic of an argument innllenced the bchavior of
high and low arg um en tati ves. Specificall y. when people were highly in vo lved in an iss ue
(e.g .. a gu n store ow ner arguing about g un con trol). they were not only more mo tivated to
argue. the ir argumentat ive bc havio r was improved as well. Similarly. Infant e and Rancer
(1993) fOllnd th at high argumenlatives argued more about certain topics than did moderate
and low argumcntatives (c.g .. soc ial. political. pe rsonal behavior. others' behavior, and
moral-cthical issues) but behaved no differently th an low and moderate arglll11entatives o n
olher topics (e.g .. sport s. emcl1uinm cn l. rel ig iolls issues). Finally. based upon thi s interactioni,( perspec ti ve. Stewart and Roac h ( 1993) in vest igated how a situational faclor (e.g ..
the topic of an argumen t) and a characterist ic of the communicator (e.g., rel ig io lls o ri e nt ation) influenced arg um entat ive behavior. They found that in ge neral. trait argu lll enta~
tivcnes'l was the most impol1ant fac tor associated with a person's willingness to argue.
However. ext rin sicall y rel ig ious persons (th ose who view religion mainl y as an instrullle ntal soc ia l conventio n and are more utilit arian and irregular in th eir churchgoing behavior)
were morc argumentative than were e ither intrinsically religious perso ns (thosc who view
religion as the source of mean in g in life and arc regular in their churchgoing bchavior) o r
pro re li gio u ~ persons (tho . . c who have hi g h leve ls of intrinsicness and hi g h leve ls of
extri nsicness) (S tewaJ1 & Roach. 1993. p. 28). Nonreligious persons were also mo re will ing to argue than were proreligiou~ pe r~o n s.

Chapter 7 A rglll1lt!lI/mil'cllcss. Verha! AKK ressil 'elle,~.,-. {/nd Persl/asio/l

117

In addition to the topic of argumelll. characteristics of the communicators can act as

determ inants of argumcnlat ive behavior (Wigley. 1998). One such factor is a person's gender. For example. Infante (1989) examined what types of messages males and females used
when trying to persuade pcoplc. Male and female participaJ1l~ were asked LO imagine themselves trying to persuade a friend. After each attempt. the friend responded with either
argumentative or verbally aggressive mcs~ages. Moreover, after each of the friend's rejections, participanh were asked to choose one of four follow-up strategies: rewarding, punishing. argumentative. or verbally aggressive messages. Results indicated that when the
target was verbally aggrcs~ivc. males werc more likely than remales to respond with verbal
aggression . whereas females were more likely that males to respond argumentatively.
Another situational factor Ihat may influence one'~ argumentativeness includes the
nature or behavior of onc's partner. For example. Rancer and Infante (1985) found that the
argumentativeness of an individual and that of his or her adversary interact to determine
motivation for arguing in a specific situation. Waggenspack and Hensley (1989) examined
how the interpersonal situation (socially oriented or conflict oriented) and gender influcnce preference for having a partner who is argumentative. Lim (1990) found that situational factors. such as the friendliness and intensity of resistance by a target of
persuasion. are important in identifying whether a persuader will exhibit verbal aggressiveness. Specifically, persuaders were more verbally aggressive when targets of the persuasive attempt were unfriendly than when they were friendly. In addition. persuaders
resorted to higher levels of verbal aggressiveness more quickly when targets exhibited
more intcnsc resistance to the persuasive attempt. That is, when individuab fclt that their
efforts at persuasion were going to fail. they were quicker to resort to higher levels of
vcrbally aggressive comlllunication (Lim. 1990).
Along these samc lincs, Infante, Trebing, Shcpherd. and Sceds (1984) found that
verbal aggressiveness is dependent upon the individual's argumentativeness and the obstinacy (i.e .. stubbornness) of his or her opponent. A study conducted from the perspective
of the receiver of the message (Infante. Wall. Leap. & Danielsoll. 1984) found that the
gender of the message sOllrce determined whether more argumentative people received
verbal aggression.
In summary. these studies indicate that situational factor" do indeed intluence aggressive communication and as slich should be considered along with trait predispositions
when attempting to explain a persons behavior during social influence.

Argumentativeness, the Interactiollist Perspective,

and the Theory of Reasoned Action
Stewart and Roach (1998) tested two competing theoretical framework" for determining a
pcrsons intentions to argue': the interactionist perspective and the Theory of Reasoned
Action (TRA) (Aj7en & Fishhein. 1980: Fishbein & Aj7en. 1975). Recall that the
' intcractionist perspective maintain . . that people's mOliv<.uion to argue is dctermincd by
the interaction of situational factors and traits (i.e .. argulllentativene"is) as well as the

118

Part II Pa\'/ws;()// Var;ab/e,\ : Per,\ f}l'cti!'e,\

01/

Source.\ . Rece;I'l'r\'. ChallllelS. alld MeH'age,~

perceived probability and importance of success and failure in a given situi1 ti oll. The TRA
maintains that a person's decision to engagc in a purposeful activity depends on several
factors. some of which are situational and somc of which arc mediated by personal dispositions or tmits (for a morc detailed description ofTRA. see chapter 4),
Stewart and Roach (1998) argued that the TRA might have "greater explanatory
power" th:m the interactionist framework for understanding argumcntat ivc intention~. because the TRA takes into account a greater number of situational factors (Stewart &
Roach. 1998. p. I 82)-for example. people's belief... about arguing (e.g., Rancer. Baukus.
& Infante. 1985; Rancer. Kosberg. & Baukus. 1992). the importance (ego-involvement)
placed on the issue of the argument (e.g .. Infante & Rancer. 1993: Onyekwere. Rubin. &
Infante, 1991 J. the effects of other e1i'positional factors (e.g .. Stewart & Roach. 1993). and
the influence of other people. It WHS reasoned that all of these factors might combine to
influence a person's intentions to argue in a given situation. Since arguing is an intentional
behavior under the control of the arguer, it can legitimately be called a form of "reasoned
action" (Stewart & Roach. 1998).
The re,ults of Stewart and Roach', ( 1998) study showed that the TRA was no better
than the intcractiollist model at predicting argumentative intentions. Indeed, the TRA was
less powerful than the interactionist model in prcdicting motivation to argue. This
prompted the researchers to state. "As such. the interactioni't model warrants further use
as a framework for the study of trait vcrsus "iiluational dcterminants of argumentative intentions" (Stewart & Roach 1998. p. 191).
However. Stcwart and Roach found that peoplc's attitudes toward arguing in a particular situation. coupled with their beliefs about what people who arc important to them
think about arguing. are the primary determinants of intentions to argue. Their findings
abo revealed that whereas high argumenlatives generally had a more positive attitude
about arguing than did low argumentatives, the direct effect of those attitudes on intentions to argue came from sources other than trait argumentativeness (i.e .. the normative
component and the perceived behavioral cOlltrol portions of the TRA-see chapter 4),
This finding sugge ... ts that beliefs and motivations to argue may be more socially driven
than individually deterillined. Stewart and Roach (1998) speculated that because high
argumentativcs are more competent communicators. they may be more open 10 nonnative
pressures in deciding whether to engage in an argument. as we ll as experienc ing strong
social pressure to perform well in <In argumentativc situation.

Identifying Beliefs About Arguing

One way tn understand aggressive communication is to study the beliefs people havc
about arguing and employing verbal aggression. For example, Rancer, Baukus, and
Infante (19X5) found that people maintain several be lief Mructures about arguing. These
include the following:

Hostility- the b~lief that argu ing is a combative encounter.

Actil'ilylprocess- the belief that arguing i~ a mode of intcraction. like having a
conversation.

Chapter 7 Arglllllelltati\'eness, Verbal Aggressil'efJe~'s, lind PerSllasion

119

Control/dominance-the belief that arguing is a way of having onc's opinIOns

prevail.
Conflict/dissollallce- the belief that arguing is a source of conflict or dissonance between antagonists.
Self-image- the belief that arguing is an encounter that impacts on a person's sense
of self.
LeaminR- the belief that arguing is a way to learn about self. others, or the environment.
Skill-the belief that arguing is an indicator of one's verbal skills.
These belief structures were found to distinguish individuals who vary in argumentativeness. A greater proportion of high argumentatives had positive beliefs about activity!
process, control/dominance, conflict/dissonance, self-image, learning, and skill. More low
argumentatives held negative beliefs of hostility, control/dominance, and conflict!
dissonance.
In addition, high, moderate. and low argumentatives were found to have different
perceptions of two functions of arguing: cilitiwaioll and {l/Hagolli.<;/ll. High argumentatives
view arguing as a source for cultivating information. whereas low argumentatives see it as
a behavior that reveals their lack of argumentative and rhetorical competence. Moreover,
while high argumentatives view arguments as a means of reducing conflict. low
argumentatives see them as unfavorable and hostile acts to be avoided at all costs (Rancer,
et aI., 1985).
Understanding such beliefs about arguing is significant because it may help individuals function more effectively in compliance-gaining. persuasive, and conflict management
situations. For example, some spouses have difficulty managing their communication
when they are trying to influence each other. Il may be that spouses' differing beliefs about
arguing contribute to the tension they experience. The husband. for example, may possess
a positive belief about arguing as learning (a way to gather information), and manifest this
belief whenever he tries to understand his wife's position on an issue on which they disagree. His wife, however. may possess a negative learning belief that causes her to become
agitated and uncomfortable when her husband begins "arguing" with her (i.e., when he
asks her probing questions concerning the position she holds, or continues to probe her
position beyond what she feels is a "reasonable" amount of time).
Following this same vein, Rancer, Kosberg, and Ballkus (1992) examined which beliefs best predict argumentativeness and which best discriminate between high and low
argumentatives. Results of their study indicated that high argulllentatives believe that arguing has enjoyable, functional. and pragmatic outcomes, as well as having a positive impact on their self-concept. Low argumentatives' beliefs about arguing lay in the opposite
direction. Using this "beliefs about argui ng" framework. RanceI' and Baukus (1987) concluded that males and females differ in belief structures about arguing, with females holdi ng more negati ve bel iet's than males.
A related line of research has investigated beliefs about engaging in verbal aggression. For instance, Infante. Riddle, Horvath. and Tumlin (1992) round dirrerences in beliefs about verbal aggression between those who vary in the trait. Specifically, high verbal
aggressives believed that competence attacks, physical appearance attacks. and threats
were less hurtful to others than did individuals low in verbal aggressiveness.

120

Part II PerSI{(u;un Variables: Perspect;\'es Oil Sources. Receil'ers, Chal/lle/s. anrl Messages

A Transactional Approach to Argumentativeness

and Persuasion
A "transactional approach" to personality sugge~ts that an individual':-. personality may
inlluence olhers' behavior as well as his or her own. This approach a"ume, Ihal one
person's me!-lsage behavior affects the other's message behavior and vice versa. Levine
and Boster (1996) expanded our understanding of argumentati vencss and persuasion by
incorporating a transactional approach to examining argumentative bchavior. Their study
involved observing per'\uasive interactions (i.e .. five-minute arguments over controversial
issues) between individuals who were matched and mi!'!matched on argumcntativenes!'!
(i.c., high argumentatives talking with high argulllcntatives. low argumentatives talking
with low argumentatives, and high argumentatives talking with low argulllentatives). The
researcher!'! studied the impact of each actOJ"s argumentativeness 011 the number of arguments and the type of resolution generated in these arguments. The results revealed that
both convcr!-lational partners' levels of argumentativene!oo!-l interacted to influence both the
number of argument!-l generated and the extent to which one person yielded to the po~ition
advocated by the other. In general, the "high argumentativeness- low-argumentative
other" condition emerged as the one in which persons generated the greatest number of
arguments and showed the most resistance to yielding to the other. More specifically .
highly argumentative individuals were more argumentative when paired with a low-,
rather than high-argumentative partner. The result~ also revealed that the argumentativeness of the adversary did not substantially affect the argumentative behavior of low
argulllentativcs.
In order to explain these findings. Levine and Boster (1996) speculated that high
argumenlatives like winning and. when paired with a low argumentative partner. seile thi s
opportunity to demonstrate their superior argumentative skill. They also sllggc~ted that
when paired with an equally argumentative adversary, the high argumentative might experience some frustration in his or her inability to dominate his or her adversary. which
would then be reflected in his or her less assertive behavior. These finding!-l. however. are
conlrary 10 earlier research by Rancer and Infanle (1985). who discovered Ihal highly argumentative individuals reported more motivation to argue when paired with a !-limilar
adver!'!ary. While the Levine and Boster (1996) findings may have more limited general izability (only males were included in the study). they do underscore the value of lIsing a
transactional approach to studying aggressive communication and per!-luasion.

Processing Persuasive Messages: The Influence of

Aggressive Communication Predispositions
In addition to investigating how argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness affect the
manner in which people seek compli ance, research has explored how these traits affect
people's processing of persuasive messages. FirM, Hample and Dallinger (]987) examined how people "edit" their own argument!, before they actually deliver them_ According

Chapler 7 Argllmelltatil'e"ess, Verbal Aggressil'elless. a"d Persllasio"

121

to tradition, there are two pans lO the process of argumentation: people create or invent
arguments, and then they select which ones to present during a compliance-gaining attempt. Hample and Dallinger's study sought to investigate the second part. that is. "why is
one argument offered, and another suppressed?" (p. 124). In previous research, Hample
and Dallinger (1985a. 1985b) identified four general categories of cognitive editing standards that most people use:

1. Ejjectil'elless-people reject certain argument!'! because they feel the argument

won't work or might backfire.
2. Principled objections-people reject arguments because they have disdain for the
type of argument strategy (e.g., threats. bribes).
3. Persoll-ceflfered issues- an argument may be rejected because it violates the
arguer's self-image. might injure the adver~ary, or might do irreparable harm to the
relationship.
4. Discourse competence- people might reject an argument because it is judged to be
false. too easily refuted. or irrelevant to the conflict.
Hample & Dallinger's (1987) study examined how argumentativene". verbal aggressiveness, interpersonal orientation, and gender innuence cognitive editing. Their results demonstrated that people who vary in argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness
use different cognitive editing standards in suppressing arguments. More specifically. females. people high in interpersonal orientation (those who are 1l1Ore sensitive and attuned
to the personal characteristics of a relationship and more responsive to a partner's behavior. Swap & Rubin. 1983). and people low in verbal aggressiveness are less likcly to use
the effectiveness catcgory or to endorse arguments in general. Instead, they are likcly to
use principled objections and person-centeredness (e.g .. harm to others) to suppress the
use of persuasive appeals. Results of the study also demonstrated a tendency for people
high in argumentativeness to cndorse more compliance-gaining messages. In short, it
seems clear from this research that the argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness traits
do influence the cognitive editing of arguments.
Second. Mongeau (1989) studied how argumentativeness and need for cognition impact persuasive message proce:-osing. Need jor cognition has been defined as "enjoyment
individuals derive from engaging in effortful information processing" (Cacioppo, Petty,
Kao, & Rodriguez. 1986. p. 1(33). In other words. people high in the need for cognition
like to scrutinize messages more than those who are low in the need for cognition. An
experiment was conducted to explore whether argument quality (i.e .. high quality versus
low quality). need for cognition (high, low). and argumentativeness (high. low) influenced
participants' attitudes toward a proposal (e.g., comprehensive exams for undergraduate
students) and their behavioral intentions (to work for or against the proposal) (Mongeau,
1989). Results of the study suggested that while low and high argumentatives did not differ in their perceptions of the higher-quality arguments, high argumentatives did perceive
the lower-quality messages to be weaker than the low argumentatives did. In addition,
high argumentatives exhibited significantly greater attitude- behavioral intention consistency than did low argumentatives. Finally. trait argumentativeness influenced persuasive
message processing and the relationship between altitudes and behavior in a very similar

122

ParI II Penmasioll Variables: PerspeClil'e.\ 011 Sources, Receit'ers, Channels, and Mes.m ges

fashion to the need for cognition. This finding further ~upports the notion that argumentativeness has a cognitivc as well as behavioral componcl1l (Mongeau, 1989).
Third. Kinney and Segrin (1998) discovered that people's ability to process information, their sensitivity lO feedback, and their beliefs about themselves can make them
susceptible (or impervious) La the negalive effects of verbally aggressive messages. Specifically. people who are less certain about themselves are more likely to experience negative emotions when friends who are usually supportive behave in verbally aggressive
ways (Kinney & Segrin, 1998). This finding was explained by Expectancy Violations
Theory (Burgoon & Hale. 1988) as follows: When supportive friends engage in verbal
aggression. the emotional effects of this behavior are significant. because these friends
have violated expectancies, Sensitivity to feedback may be a characteristic that can "protect" individuals from verbal aggression and as such may be another cognitive moderator
of the effects of verbal aggression (Kinney & Segrin. 1998. p. 66).

Argumelltativelless, Verbal Aggressiveness, alld

Compliallce-Gaillillg Behavior
Research examining the types of compliance-gaining messages that pcoplc tend to :-.elcci
has been based on the assumption that per~uaders are generally aware of the choice ... they
make. Such choices might be affected by situational factors. For example, HUllter and
Boster (1987) argued that a per:-.uader's choice of compliance-gaining ll1essage~ depends
in part on the cxpected emotional impact on the target. They presented a model arguing
that "the more negative the emotional impact of a compliance-gaining message on the li~
tener. the tess any given persuader will want Lo use the message" (p. 65). Allhough this
model might describe most people's selection of compliance-gaining strategies. what if
the person selecting a strategy is argumentative or verbally aggressive? The amOLint and
type of strategy preferences a person uses may depend on whether he or she i~ high or low
in these traits (Hunter & Boster. p. 82). Indeed, Hunter and Boster (1987) advanced several hypotheses examining the relationship between aggressive communication traits and
compliance-gaining behavior. These suggested the following conclusions:
I. Individuals high in argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness would be likely to
transmit numerous compliance-gaining messages that vary widely in emotional
impact.
2. Individuals high in argumel1lativeness but low in verbal aggressiveness would be
likely to send numerous messages of relatively homogeneous emotional i mpaci. that
is, the messages would be predominantly positive.
3. Individuals low in argumcntativeness and high in verbal aggression probably would
send few messages, most of which would be relatively negative in emotional
impact.
4. Individuals low in both traits would be likely to send few messages: they might simply request compliance and. if it were not forthcoming. cease the effort (Hunter &
Boster. p. 82).

Chapter 7

Aq~lIl11efl/{llil'efle.H, Verbal Ag~rl>Hi,'efles .... alld PenutHiol/

123

While these speculations await empirical examination, they did lead the way for an
examination of aggressive coml11unication traits and their impact on compliance-gaining
behavior. One of the tirst efforts was conducted by Reynolds (1987). who studied the effects of argumentativeness. assertiveness. and neetl for cognition on the selection of
compliance-gaining strategies. Among the major findings was that proaclil'e assertil.'elless
(being forceful and ascendant in support of self. c.g .. "When .,tanding in line and a person
pushes in front of me. I tell them to go to the back of the linc") and argumem (l\'oidance
(the general tendency to avoid arguments) are associated with the use offeu'er compliancegaining strategies. This suggests that proactive assertiveness and the tendency to avoid
arguing may be associated less with overt compliance-gaining stralegies than with "subtle
or nonverbal suasory message strategies" (Reynolds. 1987. p. 15).
Boster and Levine (1988) and Boster. Levine. and KalOleas (1993) replicated as well
as extended this line of research by examining how argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness correlate with compliance-gaining message choices. In general. both studies
found that. compared with low argumentative~. high argumcntatives u~ed a grealer variety
of strategies and were generally more persistent (8m.ter & Levine. 1988. p. 117). In addition, verbally aggressive individuals used more negalhcly oriented compliallce-gaining
messages (Boster. Levine. & Ka7oleas. 1993). perhaps due to their lack of skill in arguing,
which impedes their ability 10 create and use compliance-gaining strategies thal are more
"po~ilive" in nature.
In an interesting twist on this line of research . Ifen und Bcarden (1998) explored
whether argumentativeness and verbal aggre~sivenc!'>s inlluenced the types of appeals individual~ say they would usc when responding lO refusals of interpersonal requests. The
researchers argued thai in persuasive situations. individuals often rcspond to refu ... als with
two types of mcssages: evidentiary and nonevidentiary . E"idell1iary (/ppel/ls are often referred to as rational appeals beciluse they are arguments (claims) that contain information
10 support a claim (Cody. Canary. & Smith. 1994: Ifert & Bearden. 1998: Reardon. 1991).
As such. evidentiary appeals are seen positively and judged more favorably and effectively. NOl1el'idel1lim:r appeals are argument~ (claims) that contain liule or no \upponing
material but in~tead rely on simple assertions. These types of appeals tend to be more
emotional in nature and are seen less favorably than evidentiary appeals (lfert & Bearden.
1998).

In the study by Ifert and Bearden (199R). participants were asked to imagine themselves trying either to persuade a professor to change a low grade or to innucnce a meter
enforcement officer to refrain from ticketing their car. Participants were then given a
hypothetical statement that the professor or officer might give to reject their persuasive
request. They responded to various refusal statements (e.g .. "You didn't fulfill the assignment guidelines" or "The law ...ays I have to ticket you") by writing out what they would
say in response. Participants al ... o completed both the argumentati\enes\ and verbal aggressiveness scalcs.
The results of the stutly showed that both types of aggressive cOllllllunication traits
influenced participants' choices of appeals 10 the refused requests. People higher in trait
argumentativeness reponed conMructing more evidentiary appeal~ in re~ponse to these refusals. In addition, people high in verbal aggrcssi\ene~s reported cOI1~tructing a greater
number of nonevidentiary appeals than did those lower in verbal aggressiveness. Ifert and

124

Pan II Per,\"lu/.\;Oll V(/riable.,: Pa.'pl'ctil{J,, 011 SOUfce.\. Re('C'ill'rs. Challnels.

(/I/d

Mes.w ges

Beardcn (1998) ... uggc~tetl that the ... e rc:--ull~ ~upport the notion that ve rbal :.tggre~si\'enc ... :-Illay be the re ... ult of an argumentativc skill deficiency (scc Infante & Rancer. 1996).

Aggressive Communication and

Resistance to Persuasion
Somc research in per<.;ua ... ioll ... tlggesl:-- that high argulllcntatives may cnjoy all advantage
ovcr low argumentatives in persuasion. For example, whcn compared with low arguillenla
tives. highly argumentative individual<.; arc more cumpetent communicator ... in a variety of
contexh (Rancer. Kosberg. & Silvestri. 1992: Richmond. McCroskey. & McCroskey.
1989). have internal loci of control (A\tgi ... & Rancer. 1997: Canary. Cunningham. &
Couy. 1988). anu have marc soilltionoriented contlict styles (Nicotcra. SmilowitL. &
Pcar",oll. 1990). Bc<.;ide ... that. argulllcntative people may h<'l\e charactcriqic ... that make
thcm more resistant to persuasion. With that in mind. a serie ... of studies has invcstigated the.::
intlue.::nce of argull1entativenes ... (and verbal aggressivencs..,) on resistancc to per..,ua . . ion.
One factor that may make an indi\ idual more re"i"tant to per .. uasion is the ability to
generate or construct counterargument.... A \tud) by Ka/o!ca.., (1993) ... uggc ... tet.l that high
and low argumentative ... Inight differ in thi" ability. Spccificall). K'ILolea ... found high
argull1cntati\e ... more resi",tant to pcr",ua<.;ion bccau ... e they generate more countcrargumcnts when they think about a cOllnteraltitudinal Il1c~sage (i.e .. 11 message incon ... i..,tent with one ... existing attitude). This cognitive activity can be thought of as "another
nk" ... agc" in the pcrsuasion context. Thu .... the re ... ults of Ka7olea,,'~ (199~) research may
mean that high argumentative.., tentl to "pe.::rsuade thcm ...clvc<.; even if they ... hmlld disagree
with the position taken b) an "dme"te (ll1f0l1lC. Step. & Horvath. 1997. p. RO).
This "cognitive re.::sponse per ... pectivc (Ka7olcas. 1993) repre ... e.::nted a ~hift toward
ill(m,,1r.\o11ol argul1Il'lIfa(;OI/ (Infante ct a!.. 1997) and formed the basis or another study.
In it. Infante. Step, and Horvath (1997) suggested that arguing with onc ...clr might be mort:!
enjoyahle for high argumentative ... than it is for low argumentative<.;. In the ... tudy. participant ... were asked to create eithe.::r a proattitlldinal or counterattitudinal me ... sage on a
propo ..... 11 (regi ... tration of all firearm ... in the United State ... ). After encoding these message".
attitudes toward the proposal v.'ere me.::asured. Infante and colleagues (1997) found that
argumentatives who encoded a cotJlltcrattitudinal mes ... agc (a mes..,age illcon~istent ""ith
their existing attitudes toward the proposal) were no les" favorable toward the task than
people who engaged in proattitudinal advocacy. Thu .... for high argumcntative .... enjoying
an argument i... possihlc e\"en when one<.; opponent i... oneself. Thi ... wi l lingne~<.; to
comtruct argumcnts that oppose one\. currentl) held po ... itions may help explain why
argumentativenes ... has been a ... snciate.::d with numerou ... pos itive outcomc ... ( Infante et
a!.. 1997; Johnson & Johnson. 1979). Moreover. the.:: ... c findings support the notion that
high argumentativc:-. differ from olhe.::r people both cognitively and affcLtively during
arguments.
These findings. howc\"er. were not replicated b) Levine and Badger (1993). Using
the Cognitive Response Model. the.::y predictcd that highly argumentative individual ...
\l,Iould be more re ... istant to per ... ua ... ion than low argumentatives. To test this as~umpt i on.
Levine and Badger (1993) had high and low argumcntatives lislen to several persuasive

Chapter 7

ArgIl11lel11ar;I'eness, Verbal Aggressil'ellen. and Pt'I"HI(lS;O/l

125

prese ntations on a vari ety of t o pi c~ ( fore~ t co nse rvati on, orga n donat io n. preve nti on of
heart att ac ks, aborti on. votin g, better eati ng habits. e tc.). The re~u lt s of th e study ~ ur p ri s
ingl y contradi cted what was expected: Hi gh argumc ntat ives de mOn\ lrated ~ i g nifi ca n l l y
greater attitud e change in th e directi on orthe message than low a rg u mcn t a ti ve~. T his fi nd in g was al so true across the different message to pi cs.
Several ex planations fo r these surpri \ ing a nd co ntradictory fi ndings were offe red.
First, since sources c hose th eir own to pi cs. they may have selec ted to pics or posi ti ons th at
they alread y favored. Thus. th ey may ha ve heard onl y proattitudinal pers uasive m c~sages.
Second. hi gh argullle ntati ves may also have ge ne rated more "pro" me\sages when faced
with an acce ptable message. Thus. it was sugges ted that highl y argume nt ative indiv id uals
may indeed be more o pen-minded (Levine & Badge r. 1993. p. 76).
Finall y, Lim ( 1990 ) in vest iga ted whe th e r rece ive rs' res i!o-tance to compl ia ncegainin g e ffort s led pe rsuade rs to be more ve rball y agg ressive in subseq uent pers uasive effort s. More specifica ll y. th e stud y exa min ed whe th er frie ndlin ess (the ex tent of liki ng
toward the receiver) and in te nsity o f resista nce a ffected pe r~ u aders' verba l aggres\ive n e~s,
The result s demonstrated th at persuade rs who encou ntered ~tro n g res istance to a pe rsuasive atte mpt ex hibit ed ve rball y aggress ive be hav ior mo re q uick ly th an th ose fac in g
weake r res istance. In add it ion. persuade r, engaged in more ve rbal aggressio n when encounte rin g un fri endl y targets. An outri ght rejecti o n of a pe rsuas ive appea l by the targe t
made pe rsuade rs the most ve rba ll y agg ress ive of a ll. Thi s study furth er underscores the
tran sacti onal nature o f interpe rsonal pers u a~ i o n by ~ h ow i ng tha t pe rsuader.., dec ide on a
persuas ive co urse o f acti o n not onl y based on si tu ati ona l and pe r,ona l pre fe re nces but also
as a res ult of the res ponses that they receive from the targets of th e ir pe rsuasive atte mpts
(Lev ine & 8 m tcr. 1996: Lim . 1990).

The Display of Aggressive Communication

During Persuasion
The ways in whi ch a perso n perceives con, tructi ve or destructive att ack.., can inll uc nce th e
outco mes of a co mpli ance-gaining c lTort. For exa mple. based on No [ton'~ ( 1978. 1983)
resea rch. Infante and Gorde n (1 989) ide ntifi ed two cOl1lmuni cato r styles. The first. an aJfi rming cOIlIl11f11riCalUr style. is highl y re laxed . fri endl y. and atte nti ve. and is accompa ni ed
by re lati ve ly low levels of ve rba l agg ressive ness. Th i.., style see ms to mediate pc rce pt io ns
o f agg ress ive co mmuni cati on so as 10 y ie ld more pos iti ve than negative o ut co mes
(Infant e. Anderson. Martin. Herin gton. & Kim . 1993: Infante & Gorden. 1987. 1989). For
instance. indi vidual s w ho e ngage in argume ntati ve be hav ior a nd do so with an affi rmi ng
communicator style sec m to make the argume ntati ve behavior appear more "pa latabl e,"
Con versely. if ..,omeone e ngages in arg ume ntativeness accord in g to the seco nd. J/OJ/affirming communicator slyle, whic h is hig hl y agi tated. un fri end ly. a nd inatte ntive. he or
she Illay be mistak enl y rega rded as engaging in ve rhal aggress ion.
Empi rica l suppo rt for th ese ass umpti o ns was obtained in a stu dy co ndu c ted by
Infante. Ranee r. and Jordan ( 1996). They suspected th at o bse rve rs wou ld be Ie" like ly to
overes tim ate ve rball y agg ressive messages and more likely to pe rceive argume nt ati ve behavior when they read tra n sc ript ~ of a co mpliance-gai ni ng effo rt marked by an affi rming

126

Part II

Per.HllI.\iOIl Vllriahk\: Penpee(/I'es 01/ SO/lrcC'.\. Rl'('('il'en. Clulllllel.\,

(Jill/

M('\\tlgn

vers us a nonaffinnin g cOlllmunicator sty le. In the ... rud y. participants read a transcript of a
conversation depicting a co mpliance-gaining effort between two roomlllate .... The cO llye rsation desc ribed a conflict that arose. c lima xed. and then en ded in a re"olution or so lu tion.
All Matemcnts in the tran scripts perlained to th e i\,>ue und er co nt rove r"y. exce pt for several state ment s made by both parties lh at were in fact ve rball y agg ressive. Result" of th e
stud y found more arg umentati ve behavior. alo ng with le'>s ve rbal aggression. when th e
messages were presented with an affirming cO llllllunica tor .\ lyle ( Inbnt e. Rancer. & Jordan. 1996). In addition. fewer mistakes were made in identifying \crbaJ agg rc ... s ion in that
text. A similar study (Rancer. Jo rdan, & Infante. 2000) supported the earli er finding ..... Parti c ipants \ ign ifi can tl y overestimated th e amount of ve rbal aggre'>sion whe n individ u,l l,
communicated with a nonaffirming co mmunicator style. rega rdl ess of whether conve rsations we re prese nted on videotapc~ o r o n written tra ll ~cripl '>. These findin gs haH: c lea r
implications. underlinin g the important role of nonverbal behavior in mediating pen.:eption~ of construct ive and destructive behavior during compl iance-gaining atlempt .... That
is. when involved in a pcr~uas i ve crfort. individu als shou ld engage in argumentative bchavio r but makc sure to do so in an affi rmin g (i.e .. hi ghly relaxed. friendl). and attenti\'e)
way.

Aggressive Communication and Persuasion ;11 the

Organizatiollal COlltext: What Makes for
a Persuasive Supervisor?
Th e quc!'.tiol1 of what makes a pcrsua ... ive \ upeni ... or ha\ bc.!cn inve'>tigated in a number of
studies (Go rde n & Infante. 1987. 199 1: Gorden. Infante. & luo. 1988: Infante & Gorden.
1987. 1989. 1991). Much of thi s research has been ba"d on the Indepe nden t- Mindedne"
Theory of organizational co mmuni cat ion . Th e basic tenet or thi s th eory s u gge~ ts that the
values held by th e ge neral society s hou ld b(! affirmed in the work pl ace, A\ such.
"A meri ca n" corporations should e ncourage free speec h and promote individualism and
independent-mindedness.
This body of research hLl ... re vea led th at superiors who afe high in argul11cntativenc ... s
and low in ve rbal aggressiveness (and who comm un icate w ith an afiirming style) h,ne a
numbef o f positive qualities. They arc perceived a ... encourag in g subordinates to cxpres ...
th ei r vicws on co ntro ve rsial iss ues (Gorden et a l .. 1987); th ey are more e ffecti ve in upward influence si tuation s (Infante & Gorden. 1985a. 1985b. 1987): they are judged by
th e ir s ubordinate~ as having mo re co n ~trll c li ve persuasion sty les (Gorden. Infant e. & 1110.
1988): and th ey enjoy hi gher credibility perception, (Infante & Gorden. 1987. 1989).

COIlc/usioll
This chapter ha ~ sugge:-. t\!d that argument i ... inhc.!rcnt in the process of pcrslILlsion. A':> such.
an individual difference perspl.!ctivc regard ing aggre~si\'l.~ co mmuni cat ion beha\ior and
pcr:-.uasion is illuminating. Research on argumentat ive ness and verbal aggrcssivcne~:-. has
examined how the persuasion process i ~ inO uenccd by th c:-.c trait .... Thi\ re ... earch has stud-

Chapter 7 Ar~fI",ellt{{tirelle,\'Ij. Verbal AgKres.\'h'(Jl/e, ~.\',

(lnd Persll{Isiotl

127

ied both the source and receiver. As dyadic persuasion is a more common form of persuasion and one we need to understand beller. incorporating .111 understanding of aggressive
communication traits helps us under:-.t3nd the process more fully,
The research reviewed in this chapter suggests that argumentativeness and verbal
aggressiveness are predispositions thai warrant further research. since it has been demonstrated that these two traits have considerable bearing on interpersonal social influence.
Whm should the future of this line of research be? What are some types of research that
should be conducted?
First. this line of research should be extended frol11the laboratory into the field. That
is. while a few studies cited in this review asked people to engage in "interactive" persuasive efforts. the majority did not. Much of the research also involved persuasive and
compliance-gaining efforts conducted under traditional "Iaboratory" conditions and in
nonspecified or "Mranger only" contexts. This approach i!o. beneficial to understanding
how these aggressive communication trailS function in per"uasive contexts and helpful in
building theoretical frameworks that attempt to explain the interaction of these constructs.
However. the generalizability of these findings is limited. Thus. exploring the effect of
argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness ill field settings and in specified persuasive
contexts seems appropriate. For example. Infante et al. (1997) found that high argumentative!> indicated the greatest self-persuasion under conditions involving counterattitudinal
advocacy. This willingness to argue with one's own position might be observed in the
dating/court~hip contcxt!o. and in the organi/ational context (e.g., in employee interviews
and job-related meetings). This speculation should be subject to empirical scrutiny.
A better understanding of the low-argumentative individual, especially during different advocacy situations. is also worthy of empirical examination (Infante et al.. 1997).
In one study. Infante and hi~ colleagues found that a proattitudinal task was liked equally
by slightly. moderately. and highly argumentative individuals. It was speculated that
proattitudin:.tl advocacy. especially if not engaged in via a face-lo-face encounter with
an adversary. may not be . . eell as dista:-.teful by low-argumentative individuals (p. 85).
Thus. alternative channels of cOllll11unication, especially e-mail. might engender more favorable proattitudinal (and po~sibly even counterattitudinal) advocacy feelings for lowargumentative individuals. As sllch, research that varies the channel through which
persuasive efforts are attempted (by those who vary in argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness) i... also worthy of study.
Along these lines. Levine and Badger (1993) observed an interesting yet counterintuitive finding: Low argul11cntatives were more resistant to persuasion than highly argumentative individuals. The researchers suggested that argumentativeness leads to less
resistance to proatlitudinal mes!o.ages (p. 76) and proposed that the effect or argumentativenes . . . in instilling resistance to persuasion is valid primarily for "positions that individuals would not readily endorse" (p. 76). Again. this speculation awaits empirical
scrutiny. Further. the relationship between argumentativeness and dogmatism, as well as
the relation . . . hip between the trait and initial attitudes. deserves increased attention.
In summary. this corpus of resean.:h underscores the importance of aggressive COI11munication predi . . . positions in understanding the persuasive and compliance-gaining processes. Additional research conducted in varied communication settings and contexts
should be helpful in developing guidelines to enhance persua,ive and compliance-gaining
outcomes.

128

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Nicotera. A. M., Smilowitz. M .. & Pearson. J. C. (1990). Ambiguity tolerance. conflict management style
and argumentativeness ib predictor~ of innovativenes:o.. CommulIication Research Reports, 7. 125131.
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n.

-1,99- 112.
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39,35-47.
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c..

Chapter 7 Argllmellrllril'Cfless, Verl)(ll Aggressil'clless, and Persllasion

13 ]

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39.

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Beatty (Eds.). COll1l1l11l1icalioll {lml per.wfwlity: Trait penpecti,'es (pp. 191-214). Cres~kilJ. NJ:
Ilamrlon Press.

8
Gender Effects on
Social Influence
Linda L. Carli

The

'lalU!o.

of

wOlllen

hm. improved in recent years. The presence of women \uch

<.1\

National Security Advj,er CondoleC7/i.l Rice. former atlorncy general Janet Reno. and

producer and media mogul Oprah Winfrc) in highl) visible po~ition, of power i\ emblemalit: of thi~ improved statu .... in fact. currently about 47 percenl of workers in the United
State ... arc women. up from 40 percent in 1976 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic!-.. 200 1).
Where:.!:.. 25 year!o. ugo 25 percclll of managers v..'ere women. now women fill nearly half of
all managerial and admini ... trative po..,ition:-. (U.S . Bureau of Labor Slatistic!o.. 2001). The
salary differential between men and women ha ... also shrunk. Today. on average. women
carn about 74 percent of what men earn. whcrca . . in 1976 they earned only 58 percent of
men . . income (U.S. Bureau of the Cem.u ..... 20(0). evert he less. in ~pite of the advances
that women have made and the presence of a ,mall but highly visible number of women in
pm.ition . . of authority. wom~n continue to be underreprc . . ented in the upper echelons of
power. In Fortune 500 companic ..... fc\\'er than I percent of CEOs are women and women
hold only 5 percent of the top executive po,ition, (Catalyst. 2000). In the United States
governmcnt. only 13 percent of senator.... 14 percent of congressional repre!o,entative~. and
10 percent of . . tate governors are women (Center for the American Woman and Politic .....
200 1). '-"'omen are likewi . . e ab . . enl from the highest po"ition~ of power in the legal profession (Rhode. 2001). higher education (Chronicle of Higher Education. 1998). medicine
(Reed & Buddcbcrg-Fi . . cher. 200 I). broadcasting and tclccoml1lunication~ (Jamieson &
Slass. 2(X) I). and the U.S. military (U.S. Department of Defense. 1998). The persistence
of women's exclusion from the 1110 .... t powerful positions underscores the continued re . . istance 10 women . . illiluence and authority. Indeed. the literature on gender and social influence ha ... typically reported that women are les ... influential than men.
This chapter will review research showing gender differences in socia l influence
and will argue that these difTerence~ occur a ... the resuit of gender ... tereotypcs. In particu-

133

134

Pan II Per,ll/usiO/l V(lriahln: Pt'r,lpl'Cfil'(:,.I' OIl SOl/rees. Receil'f(I.

CI/(IIIIIt'l.I.

(lnd Mess(lgl'.I'

lar. it \\ ill ... Il(l\\ that \~Ol1lcn and ,girb exert le:-.s influence than men and boys. because
female ... more than male ... muM c~tablish themselves as competent and likable sources in
order to be influential. Likable ... ource ... appeal to their audience because they are similar to
thcrn, are physicall) allnlctivc. or possess other socially de:-.irable characteristics. Compelent ..,ource.., appear knowledgeable. intelligent. and articu late. convey ing competence and
cxpcrti,e, Influ ence agents who establish themselves as competent (B radl ey. 1980:
Dri,'eli. Olmstead. & Sal",. 1993; Erickson. Lind. Johnson. & 08arr. 1978; Holtgraves
& La,'y. 1999; Son & Schm itt. 1983) and likable (Carli. 1989: C haiken. 1980: Chaiken &
Eagly. 1983: Wood & Kallgrcn. 1988) exert greater influence than those who do not.
Pcople trust competent. likable influence agents and y ield to their influence. The present
analysi ... suggests that mcn excrt greater inOuencc than women because. according to gender ,tereOlype..,. male ... are more competent than female!o.. Moreover. based on s[ereotype~.
people expect fell1ale~ to be warmer. nil:er. and more likable than males and consequently
arc mOl'\! likcl) to re..,i ... t the intluence of females than [hat of males for not being likabl e
enough.

Gender Stereotypes and Socia/lnfluellce

The Stereotype of the Competent Male
Re~c:lrch examining people ... gender stereotypes about the Iype~ of traits th aI men and
women po~sc~s reveab that men arc con:-.idered to posse~s more agenlic qualities, which
n::tlect greater competclll:Y and instrumentality. than women , who in turn are thought to
po..,..,cs~ more communal qualitic.., than men. Spccifically. men are cons ide red more
IC~ldcrlike. illlcllectuai. analytical, capable of abstract thinking. and able to so lve problems. whereas women are considered kinder. warmer, morc expressive. more s upporti vc,
and gentle r (Broverman. Vogel. Broverman, Clarkson. & Rosenkrantz, 1972; Dc1.lux &
Kite. 1993; Eagly & Mladinic. 19B9; Fiske & Ru scher. 1993: Ruble. 1983: Williams &
Best. 1990). Similar :::.tereotypes have been reportcd in work ~c tting s: execllt ives consider
malc managers 10 be morc competent than female manager~ (He ilman. Block. & Martell.
1995). and management ability and compelcncc is considered morc c haracteri sti c of men
than of women (Schein. in press).
Other research examining cvaluation of men's and women's performances has likewi\e rc\'ealcd lhis same stereotype. For example, a sma ll bias favoring male expertise wa!o.
reponed in a mcta-analytic review of studies using the "Goldberg paradigm," in which
participant<., eva luated identical behaviors or products but were so metimes told that those
behaviors or products were produced by men and some times that they were produced by
women (Swim, Borgida. Maruyama, & Myers, 1989). The review revealed that male performance is rated more favorably when the stimulus matcrials are either gender neutral or
in a stereotypically ma~culine domain. but that men and women receive equal evaluation!o.
when the domain i~ stcreotypically feminine. These effec ts. although small. indicate that
men arc pre<;,ull1ed to be more competent than women unless the task favors female experti..,e, but even then women arc cono;;idered equal to. but not more compe tent than men.
Studies examining stereotypes usually provide ~ubjecls with lillie information about
the target indhiduals whol11 they are evaluating and often simply ask participants to de-

Chapter 8 Gender Effecis on Socia/ Influence

135

scribe a typi ca l man or a typical woman. Studies employing the Goldberg paradigm generally prese nt brief desc ripti ons of the target, such as a resu me, or something the target has
writt en or created before being evaluated. Perhaps parti cipants rely on stereotypes under
th ese condi ti ons because th ey have little objective information upon which to base their
ev aluation s. If tru e, then the bias in evaluating male and female competence should disappear when participants are exposed to actual behaviors by men and women and can base
thei r eva luati ons on th ei r firsthand observations of male and female performances. Unfortunatel y, even in face-to-face interactions with men and women with no objective differenc es in performance. undergraduate subjec ts rated men as having performed more

co mpetent ly than wo men (Ca rli. 1991: Carli, 1997: Wood & Karten, 1986). Indeed, re~earc h

has revealed a double standard in the evaluation of men and women. Women must
di spl ay greater ev idence of ski ll than men to be consi dered equally competent (Biernat &

Kobrynowicz, 1997: Foschi. 1996). Moreover, in order for people to perceive a woman as
more competent than a man. they must be given ve ry clear and explicit evidence of the
woman 's substantial superiority relative to the man 's (S hackelford, Wood , & Worchel,

1996: Wagner, Ford. & Ford. 1986: Wood & Karten, 1986). The double standard for competence has also been revealed in research with children . A study of fourth and fifth graders playing a cooperati ve game revealed that girl s were perceived by other children to be
less co mpeten t at it th an boys were, eve n th ough objec ti ve analysis of the children's actual
performance did not reveal a gender difference (Lockheed, Harris, & Nemceff, 1983).

Status, Social Roles, and Gender

Wh y do people perceive men to be generall y more co mpetent and agenlic? According to

Alice Eagly's ( 1987) Social Role Theory. men and women are distributed differently into
soc ial roles. First. based on the traditional division of labor in the family , men have more
often had the role of financial provider and women the rol e of homemaker. Second, paid
occupa tion s are highl y ge nder scgregated, with men's posi ti ons conferring higher level s of
status and power than womcn's. Typically. (he higher-status occupational roles to which
men have been as:-.igned require agentic behaviors, such as task co mpetence, leadership,
and dominance. Conversely. women's domesti c roles and lower- status occupational roles
more often requ ire comm unal behaviors. such as nurturance, kindness, and selflessness.

Eagly argues that people have deduced the ge nder stereotypes through observation of men
and women in these highl y segregated roles and as a re..~ult have come to expect men to
behave in a more agentic manner than women.
The association of men with powerful. high-status roles has resulted in their generall y gaini ng higher status than wo men . According to Expectati on States Theory (Berger,

Fisek. Norma n, & Zelditch. 1977), ge nd er acts as a diffuse status characteristic, a general
attribut e that is associated w ith an indi vidual 's relati ve statu s in society. Diffuse status
characterbtics incl ude gender, race. degree of physical attractiveness, and education.
C haracteristics that are valued or considered desirable, such as being male, white, physica ll y attractive. and well educated, confer high statu s. Research indicates that a high- statu s
indi vidual is assumed to be more competent than someone of low status, and as a result,
people seck the opi nions of high-statu s people and yield to their influence more than to

people of low status (Berger et aI., 1977). This tendency to encourage high-status people

136

Part II Persuasion Variables: Perspeclives on Sources. Receil'ers, Channels. and Messages

to contribute their ideas and act as task leaders creates a self-fulfilling prophecy: the more
individuals make task contributions, the more they enhance their status, increase their influence, and emerge as leaders (Hawkins, 1995: Ridgeway, 1978: Stein & Heller, 1979:
Wood & Karten, 1986). Therefore, high-status individuals are not only expected to exhibit
higher levels of competence and performance. but these expectations lead them actually to
be more successful in influencing others,
In the same way that high-status individuals are given opportunities to exert influence. low-status individuals are denied these opportunities. Individuals' diffuse status affects not only their perceived competence and expectations about their future performance
but also their expectations about what constitutes appropriate behavior in the group.
People perceive low-status individuals. because of their presumed lower competence. as
lacking in legitimacy as authorities; as a result, they are more likely to resist the inOuence
of low-status than of high-status individuals (Meeker & Weitzel-O' Neill, 1985: Ridgeway
& Berger, 1986). Instead. when low-status individuals behave in a status-asserting man~
ner. oveltly attempting to influence others or taking on leadership roles, they are ignored.
penalized, or rejected, which drops their status further (Meeker & Weitzel-O'Neill. 1985).
This analysis suggests that because men generally possess higher status than
women. more men than women would be given opportunities to make task contributions
in groups and would be more likely than women to enhance their status, influence others.
and emerge as leaders when doing so. In fact. a recent meta-analytic review of gender
differences in group interactions revealed that men do make a higher proportion of task
contributions than women do (Carli & Olm-Shipman, 2000). In addition, although men's
task contributions in mixed-sex groups predict their ability to influence other group members, women's task contributions are unrelated to influence (Walker, Ilardi. McMahon, &
Fennell, 1996). Further. women's task-related behavior is more likely than that of men to
evoke negative reactions from others (Butler & Geis, 1990). Further support for this
analysis can be found in Eagly and Karau's (1991) meta-analytic review of gender differences in leader emergence. which revealed that in initially leaderless groups, men emerge
more often than women as leaders.
In summary. the presumption of greater male competence is based on the different
distribution of men and women into social roles and the relatively high status of men's
roles compared with women's roles. Because competent individuals exert greater influence than less competent individuals, women and girls would be expected to exert less
influence than men and boys. The male advantage would be expected to occur except in
contexts that favor female expertise and competence, either because a particular female
has demonstrated clear superiority over her male counterpart or because the domain of the
interaction is stereotypically female, such as child care.

The Stereotype of the Communal Female

Just as men are perceived to be more competent than women, women are perceived to be
nicer and more communal than men (Broverman et aI., 1972; Deaux & Kite, 1993: Eagly
& Mladinic, 1989: Fiske & Ruscher, 1993; Ruble, 1983: Williams & Best, 1990). Research indicates that people value communal traits highly enough so that attitudes toward

Ch~lp{cr 8 Gender t.1/eflJ

011

Socia/Influence

137

women tend to be morc favorable overall Ihan uttitude . . IOward men, a finding Ihat has
been labeled the "women are wonderful" effect (Eagly & Mladinie, 1989, 1994; Eagly,
Mladinie, & Ouo, 1991). Yet even though women are held in esteem for po"cssing
desirable communal traits. thi~ esteem docs not confer them with increased innuence in
task-oriented grouP!\. On the contrary, people view cOl11mul1ul trail!\ as important in stereotypical femininc contexts. so that communal individuals are seen as best suited for domestic roles and traditionally female-dominated profession, (Cejka & Eagly. 1999; Eagly &
Steffen. 1984). Consequently. womcn's greater communality ... hould enhance their innuencc in stereotypical female context . . but should provide no particular advantage to them
in gender-ncutral or masculine domains.
Although the "women are wondcrful" effcct may be viewed as generally beneficial.
this Mereotypc is not merely descriptive but also highly prescriptive. Descripfil'e gellder
stereotype.\ renect beliefs about the way men and women are perceived to be. whereas
prescr;pli\'(' gender steremype.\ delineate how men and women ought to be. that is. the
behaviors considered appropriate for each gender. In the case of the stereotype of female
communality. people not on ly believe that women are niccr than men. they reqllire womcn
to be so (Burge" & Borgida, 1999; Eagly. 1987). This pre,cription demands that women
be warm. nurturing. and selfless or be perceived as violating gender-role norms. This finding suggests that observers may dislikc and penalize a woman whom they consider lacking in communality and resiM her innuence as a rcsult.
NOlably. the prescription for women includes avoiding behavior that is too Matusassening. thrcatening. or directive. In essence, people do not consider it appropriate for
women to seeJ... leadership or ,latus overtly or to attempt to influence others too directly or
forcefully (Carli. 1999). This attitude i, based on the lower diffuse status of women relative to men and on the dome . . tic and lower-status occupational roles thar women more
often hold. which involve a greater amount of seillessllcss and other-directed ness than
men's roles 00. Certainly .... talll' theorists have argued that low-status individuals must
... how warmth and communality more than high-status individuals in order to be innuential. This is because tho~e of low ... tatus lack legitimacy and do nO[ have the right to take
charge, direct other~. or act as Icaders. In ... tcad, low-stutm individuals must communicate
that they have little desire to take charge or lead others and are motivated merely by a
desire 10 help other member; of their group (Meeker & WeitLCI-O'Neill, 1985). As a rc... lIlt. people arc generally morc open to a man's than a woman's influence. regardless of
the man's inllucncc style. but would gi\'c greater scrutiny to the style of innuence of a
woman and penalize her for beha\ ior that is too status-as\cning or insufficiently communal. Indeed. research with children (Connor. Serbin. & Ender, 1978) and adults (Carli,
LaFleur. & Loeber. 1995) has confirmed that people prefer females who are indirect,
agreeable. and cOlllmunal to those who are direct. threatening , and status-asserting,
whereas they likc males equally well regardless of communality or status assertion.
Clearly. in most !\iruations. women's ability to influence others. compared with that of
men. would be more dependent on the use of an influence style that corresponds prescriptively to thc stereotypical female role. Displays of warmth and communality should therefore be expected to enhance the innuence of women and girb. wherea~ dominant or
a~senivc beh.n;ior ... should be expected to reduce their innuence.

138

Part II PerJlws;on Var;ables: Perspeclh'eJ

011

Source,\. /(ecein'n. ClIlIIIIICIs. lIlId Me,\ \{/Kl',\

One of the unfortunate effect:;, of gender stereotypes is that highly competent bdli.1\ior in women may be viewed as too status-asserting and incompatible \.\ ith the traditional
female gender role. Therefore. unlike men, women experience a double bind. On the one
hand their competence is more likely to be questioned than the competence of men. and on
the other hand, behavior that clearly conveys competence may be considered inappropriate in women. Competent women are often not liked as much a~ competent 1l1t.!11 or less
competent women (Carli. 1991: Falbo. Hazen. Linimon. 1982). Status theorish have argued that the problem of low-statu:;. individuals appearing too status-asserting i~ 1110st pronounced in interactions with high-!<ttatus individuals (Ridgeway & Berger, 1986). That is.
women's lower status relative to men is particularly highlighted in interaction:.. betv.'een
men and women. As a result, more men than women should be expected to di~approve of
high levels of competence and authority in women. and therefore more men than women
should be expected to resist women's influence. Ind eed. re~earch indicates that mcn !o.how
greater resistance to women's leader:-.hip than do women (Eagly. Makhijani. & Klon!->ky.
1992~ Schein. in press), and men are more likely than womcn to endorse tradition~1 gender
roles (Twenge. 1997).
In summary. the presumption of greater female communality i. . based on the different distribution of men and women into social roles, with women more often in Jome~tic
roles and lower-status occupational roles. In addition. women. like othc" of low ,tatu,.
have less legitimacy as leaders and consequcntly are pcnJli/cd for status-asserting behavior. Because female communalit y has become prescriptive. women who do not behave in
a warm communal manner are likewise penalized. As a re!o.ult. women's inlllll:ncc j:-. perceived to be more conditional than mens. with women excrting greater influcnce while
displaying communal behavior and les~ influence in re!o.pon ...c to !->tatu ... -a"'!o.erting behavior.
Funhermore. it is men more than women who should re~i ... t the influence of compctent
females.

Gellder Differellces ill Illfluellce

As one would expect, given the greater perceived competence and legitimac) of' male influence agents. research confirms that men exert greater influence than women do.
Lockheed (1985) conducted a meta-analytic review of 29 'tudie, examining gender differences in task-oriented mixed-gender groups. She rep0l1cd thai men exert greater inlluence
and exhibit more leadership behaviors than do women. Moreover. re . . earch reveal ... that the
gender difference in social inlluence is not merely due to higher-quality performances by
men. For example. Propp ( 1995) reported that in group interactions member. . were more
likely to attend to ideas contributed by men and to u\e them in ...olving group problems
than to the identical ideas contributed by women. Similarl). rc ...carch has ... howl1 that men
remain more influential than women, even when the pcp.,un . . ive messages of the male and
female agents are manipulated to be identical (Altemeyer & Jones. 1974: DiBerardinis,
Ramage, & Levitt, 1984) or when the performances
the male and femalc ugellb are
manipulated to be equally good (Schneider & Cook. 1995: Wagner. Ford. & Ford. 1986).
The same pattern of results has been reported in research on children. In interactions with
peers, boys are more influential than girls (Jacklin & Maccoby. 1978).

or

Chapter 8 Gl'II<ier EfIecl.\ 011 Soda I fI~fll/('"('e

139

Competellce, Gellder, alld Sociallllfluellce

Further research ~pecifically links gender differencc~ in perceived competence to gender
differences in social influence. In one ">lUdy. women and men attempted 10 influence others by speaking either in a competent manner (by supporting their argumenh with evidence) or in u le% competent manner (with no ~uppofling argumenl" (Bradley. 1981).
Consistent with the double ~Iandard for competence. re~ult.'. rl!vealed that men were perceived to be equally competent and were equally influential regardless of their communication sty le. whereas women were perceived to be more competent anu exerted greater
influcnce when using a competent ~tylc than when u~ing the less competent style. Other
researc h revea ls that women exert less influence than men in ~tcreotypically masculinc
and gender-neutral domains. in which men are expected to show higher competence than
women. but are more influcntial than men in ~tereotypically feminine domains and contexts in which women are expected to be more competent. For example. men cxert greater
influence over the opinions of others for masculinc topics sm:h as sports, gun control, and
military affairs. whereas women exert greater influence for feminine topics 'illch a~
women's fear of crime and child care (Falbo. Hazen, & Linimon, 1982: FeldmunSummers, Montano. Kasprlyk. & Wagner. 1980; Javornisky. 1979: Gerrard. Breda, &
Gibbons. 1990). Moreover. evidence of clear femalc superiority at a task increa'ies
women's influencc and decreases men'!>. (Pugh & Wahrman. 1983: Shackelford. Wood. &
Worche l, 1996).
As already noted, although competence generally facilitates influence. thi~ is not always the case for women. whose competent behavior may sometimes be perceived as too
statu!>.-asserting, A number of ~tudies have revealed that ",omen can be di~advantaged by
competence displays. For example, in one study, male and fcmale influence agent'i attempted to persuade others u~ing either a direct. competent ... Iyle of communication or a
more indirect style. Results showed that men were equally per~lIa~ive regardle~s of their
communication style. wherea~ women exerted greater influence when communicating in a
more indirect manner (Burgoon. Jonc~. & Stewart, 1975). In another stlldy, corporarc exeCLItives were asked to evaluate the competence of male and female job applicants and
indicate whether they would hire a candidate after reading the applicant's resume and a
transcripl of Ihe job inlerview (Bullner & MeEnally. 1996). Results revealed Ihallhe executives were J110~t persuaded by and preferred to hire men who comll1unicated in a highly
competent manner, showing directness and initiative. rather than men lIsing a less competen t style. The reverse was found for women applicants: the executi\cs reported bcing
leaM persuaded by and lea')t likely to hirc a woman using the highly competent Mylc compared with women using other, less competent styles.
Research shows that men are much more inclincd to resi~t women's inlluencc than
men's (Ridgeway, 1981). Moreover. men also particularly resiq the influence of competent women. A Mudy examining the efTeclivene"ts of asserti\'c ver~lI"t tentative speech revealed that women who used tentative ~pecch. which involved verbal qualifiers such as
disclaimers (e.g., " 1 may be wrong" or 'Till no expert") and hedges (e.g . ''sort of," "kind
of"). were perceived to be less competent than those using a~~ertive ~pcech that did 110t
contain such verbal qua lifiers (Carli. 1991). In that study, males were perceived to be
equally competent regardless of their speech style and, not surprisingly. equally influential

140

Part 11 Penua ,'1ioll Variable.\': Pt!r\fJc{'/i\ 'cs Oil SOllrce~. Rl'ceiL 'en. Cltalllleh. ami Ml'.Hagl'.\

using either type of speech. Of particular interest was the effect of perceived competence
on women's influence. When speaking competently rather than tentatively. women exerted greater influence over 11 female audience but less influence over a male audience. In
essence, men were more influenced by a woman they perceived to be lacking in competence than one who appeared highly competent. rating the competent woman as le!o.s trustworthy and less likable than her less competent counterparts.
Other research confirm s the finding that men resist the intluence of competent
women. In one study, women were equally influenced by competent male and female intluence agents and liked them equally well, whereas men were Illore influenced by a competent man than by a competent woman (Carli. LaFleur. & Loeber. 1995). In that study.
Illen reported that they felt more threatened by a competent woman and liked her less than
they liked a competent mall. Similarly. a recent study revealed that a woman who presented herself as a feminine woman who preferred traditional gender roles wa\ perceived
to be less competent than a woman who presented herself as less traditionally feminine
(Matschiner & Murnen. 1999). As expected, the traditional wOlllan exerted more intlucnce
over men and less influence over women than the less traditional woman did. Again. men,
but not women. judged the more competent. nontraditional woman to be less likable and
were more resistant to her influence than a woman with lesser competence. In a similar
sllldy. participants listened to an audiotape of a male or female expert who presented a
speech advocating nontraditional gender roles; results revealed that womcn were equally
persuaded by male and female speakers. but men were less persuaded by women than by
men (Rhoades. 1979). Male resistance to female competence has also been found crossculturally. In this study. the re\earcher examined the responses of male and female officials working in Israeli bureaucrmic organizations to the requests of male and female
confcderates (Weimann. 1985). In general. confederates were not particularly effective
when their requests conveyed helplessness and dependence on the official, with one exception. Female confederates exerted greater influence over male officials when using this
relatively incompetent \lyle of cOlllmunication than when using other, less helples ... and
more competent appeals.
The tendency of males to resist female inlluence has been found not only in re\carch
on adults but also in research 011 children. including toddlers and preschoolers. Jacklin and
Maccoby (1978) examined the intluence patterns among mixed- and same-sex pairs of 33month-old toddlers. They found that boys and girls were equally likely to issue verbal prohibitions (e.g .. "no" or "don't") when another child attempted to take their toys. but girls
issuing prohibitions exerted less influence over their mule playmates than over female
playmates and less influence than boys exerted over either mules or female~. Indeed. the
boys' behavior was completely unaffected by girl s' prohibitions. which the boys ... imply
ignored. Similar findings have been reported with a slightly older sarllple of childrcn. In
that study. researchers studying the innuence of preschoolers when issuing direct requests
reported that girls exerted les~ influence over boys than over girls. but that boys were
equally influential with bOlh male and female classmates (Serbin, Sprafkin. Elman. &
Doyle. 1982). In a study of middle school children. boys and girls attempted to persuade
their peers to eat bitter-tasting crackers (Dian & Stein. 1978). Although the authors reported that atlractive children were generally more influential with the opposite sex than
unattractive children. overall. boys were more inclined to eat the cracker\ after being per-

Chapler 8 Gender E!fect.\ on Socia/lnflllellce

141

~uaded

by a male than female peer. wherea ... girl~ wert! equally influl.!nced by bmh gender.... Finally, research reveals thal boys resiM the influence of adult females, as wcll. A
study assessing the effectiveness of parent~' imperatives and request~ 10 their two- to sixyear-o ld children revealed that girls were equally likely to comply with their J11other~ and
father~. but boys complied le ... s with their mothers' influence attempt ... than with tho ... e of
their father (Power. McGrath. Hughes. & Maniro, 1994).

COlIIlIIl/nality, Gender, and Social Influence

Women's influence depends not only on their apparent competence but al\o on thl! extent
to which they display comlllunal behavior. conveying a concern for others and a lack of
interest in asserting their status. Men's influence doc~ not. Instead, re ... earch indic:.HC~ that
men are often cqually influcntial, regardless of how communally they behave. In one
study, male and female confederates communicated either in a communal style. by agreeing with others, or in a dOlninant. status-as ...erting ... tyle. by overtly di~agrecing "ith others.
Results revealed that women exerted greater influence when communal than when dominant. wh ile mcn were equally influential in both cases (Carli, 1998). Moreover. in this
study people dis liked the dominant woman and responded to her dominance with anger.
irritation, and hostility, whereas they did not express ho~tility toward men who were
equally dominant. Other re~earch confirml., that women ul.,ing a self-a" ... crting. dominanl.
or threatening ~tyle exert les~ influence than men using the same style (Burgoon. Dillard,
& Doran. 1983; Perse. Nathanson. & McLeod. 1996) and less innuencc than women using
a group-oriented. communal style (Burgoon. Birk. & Hall. 1991: Shackelford. Wood. &
Worchel. 1996). Likewise. research reveab that a ... serting one's status through ... elfpromotion is perceived more favorably in men than in women. For example, women who
describe thcir achicvcmcnts in a self-promoting manner arc perceived a . . less descrving of
recognition or ,upport than less self-promoting women. whereas men are not penali/ed for
self-promotion (Giacalone & Riordan. 1990; Wosins.a. Dabu!. Whetstone-Dion. &
Cialdini. 1996). Research abo reveals that women who self-promote generally exen less
inlluence than more modest women and are less wcll liked. even though self-promoting
wOlllen are considered more competent than their marc modest counterparts (Rudman.
1998). In effect. women who appear to be too ... liuus-asserting. directive. or aggres ... ive in
their communications are penalized for their gender-role violations. People di ... li~1.! 'llch
women and resist their influence.
Even nonverbal self-assertion has costs for women. For example. visual dominance.
which involves maintaining a relatively higher level of eye gale while speaking than
while listening and which is associated with possessing status and authority, i" more acceptable in men than in women. Women who show high amounts of vi'.;ual dominance are
le ... s well liked and less inlluentialthan less vi~lIally dominant women (Copeland. Dri ... kell.
& Salas. 1995; Mehta. Dovidio. Gibbs. Miller, Huray. Ellyson. & Brown. 1989. cited in
Elly~on. Dovidio. & Brown. 1992). although high amounts of visual dominance are accepwble in men and do not reduce mens influence (Mehta et al.. 1989, cited in Ellyson.
Dovidio. & Brown. 1992).
Similar findings have been reported in research on children. Killen and Naigles
(1995) examined the effectiveness of dominant and comlllunal influence attempt, by boys

142

ParI II Persuasion Variables: Perspel'lil'eJ ol/Sources, Receil'eI"J, CI/(ml/l'I.~, and M{''\.'WEW~

and girls who were interacting with peers, They found that girls exerted greater influence
when using communal behaviors~agreeing. collaborating. and compromi~ing-than
when using dominant behaviors---commanding others, issuing orders. or disagreeing,
Two very recent studies examined preschoolers' reactions to female and male puppets exhibiting competent and communal behaviors (Carli. Olm-Shipman. & Kishore. 200 I). The
first study revealed that boys disliked g irl puppets that displayed leadcrlike and competent
behavior more than boy puppets displaying the same behaviors. but girls liked competent
boy and girl puppets equally; both boys and g irl s had eq uall y favorable reactions to communal boy and girl puppets. The second study revealed that boys, but not girls. considered
direct influence anempts by girl puppets to be less influential th an indirect attempts when
the girl puppet was attempting to influence a male puppet. whereas both boys and girls
considered boy puppets to be equall y influential in either direct or indirect mode. regardless of whom the puppet was influencing. In general. then. the research on child ren reveals
that. just as with aduhs. males' influence is unaffected by whe th er they use communal or
dominant behaviors. Moreover. these findings, along with those discussed earlier comparing the effectiveness of communal versus dominant commun ications by females. suggest
that boys in particular re~ist the influence of dominant or competent females.
Finally. a study examin ing adult reactions to the commu ni cations of one-year-old
infants revealed that adulls were three to four times more likely to respond to girls who
talked. babbled. or gestured than to girls who demanded attention. cried, or screamed
(Fagol. Hagan, Leinbach. & Kronsberg. 1985 ). This same study revealed that adulls responded to boys about the same amount. regardless of their behavior. Clearly. even in
childhood. girls' abi lit y 10 influence depends on their use of a communal style of interaction and avoidance of a dominant or self-asserting SlY Ie. whereas boys' ability to influence
i~ relatively unaffected by their style of communication.
The research reviewed so far indicates that the prescriptive gender stereotype requiring communal behavior in women and girls is endorsed by both males and females. Because being warm and likable is prescript ive for women but not for men. likability is
associated wi th social influence for women more than it is for men (Carli. 1989). That is.
people are more influential when they are likable. but the link between being likable and
influence is stro nger for women than for men. However. there is evidence that men. in
particular. prescribe communality for women. Men respond unfavorably to women who
communicate self-in terest rather than friendliness. wa rmth. and other communal characteristics (Ridgeway, 1982) and like communal women more than women who are not
communal (Carl i. LaFleur. & Loeber. 1995). Similarly. a meta-analysis of research on
evaluation of leaders indicates that womcn leaders are denigrated for using an autocratic
rather than democratic leadership styl e, especially by men. whereas male leaders are perceived to be eq ua ll y effective regardless of how they lead (Eag ly. Makhijani. & Klonsky,
1992). As this research on women leaders suggests, men's resista nce (0 the influence of
competent women can be overcome when the women display communality as well as
competence. One study spec ifically (esting this revealed (hal men were less influenced by
women who spoke in a highly competent manner. using rap id clear speech. (han by men
who spoke in the same manner (Carli. LaFleur, & Loeber. 1995 ). In this same study. with
a male audience. women exerted as much influence as men when they combined competent speech with warmth. by smi ling and nodding. and more influence than women who

Chapter 8 Gentler E{ft.'rf\

011

Sm:ill/lnfluence

143

were merely competent. Warm and competent women wen! perceived as more likable and
less threatening to men than women who were competent but not warm. These results
clearly demol1\trate that women who adhere to the prescription for female communality
and combine competence with warmth reduce male rl!~i ... tance to their innuence. Essentially. communal behavior reduce\ the threat of female competence.

COllclusioll
The different distribution of men and women into social role~. according to which women
arc more oftcn found in dome~tic and lower-\tatus occupational roles and generally have
lower overall statuo;; than men. ha\ rc\uJted in descriptive gendcr stereotype~ that women
are less competent and le\\ legitimate than men as authorities and leader.... In addition,
prescriptive ~tcreotypes require females to exhibit greater communality than males. These
descriptive and prescriptive stcreotypes create an unfortunate double bind for women,
who must both demonstrate exceptional competence to be seen as equal in ability to mcn
and simultaneous ly avoid threatening others with their competent behavior. As this review
has shown. although people who are perceived as competent und likable excrt greater innuence than tho~e who are not. achieving this balance of competence and likability is
more or a challenge for women. Behavior that increa\es a man's perceived competence
may enhance. or at least not reduce. his likability. competence being con!)istent with
stereotypes about men. In contr;l\1. competent behavior can enhance a woman'\ innuence
by increasing her perceived compctence. which Illay be in doubt as the re~ult of gender
stereot ypes. while at the ~amc time reducing her influence by lowering her likability. This
twin phenomenon occurs becau~e behavior that appear .. competent often also appears
status-asserting and lacking in the coml11unal qualitie\ prescribed by stereotypes about
women. Certainly. women \\ho appear to be direct. competent. and as~ertive may also be
penalized for being ,een Z\\ illegitimately ... eeking \tatus. Icader,hip. or innuence. As a result . in order to exert innuence. women Il1U~t ~omehow combine competcnce with behavior that conveys a lack of desire for self-gain. Communal behavior serves this purpose.
Women who combine competence with communa lit y can overcome resistance to their innuence while still adhering to traditional gender-role expectations.
For women. innuence depends more on being likable than it does for men (Carli,
LaFleur, & Loeber. 1995). The greater importance of li~ability for women', than men's
innuence i~ under...cored by research on gender differencc!o. in powcr. Compared with men,
women typically possess lower levels of expert power. which is ba~ed all perceived competence. and legitin1ate power. which i~ ba\ed on status and legitimate authority: women
do, however. possc!o.s relatively high levels of referent power, which is based on women's
perceived warmth and communality (Carli. 1999). Clearly. women have relatively less access to sourcc!o. of power that arc more available to men. A ... a result. women l11u~1 rely on
their referent power. or likability. more than men do in order to be innuential. Indeed, thi s
may account in part for the greater coml11unal behavior shown by women than men. This
behavior include, higher levels of po,iti,e social behavior (Carli & Olm-Shipman. 2(00),
nonverbal warmth. (Hall. 1984) and democratic leader\hip (Eagly & Johnson, 1990).

144

Part II Persuasion Variable!)': PenpecliI'eJ Oil SourceJ, Recehers. C"a"nel.~, and Mes,mgl'\

Being likable is especially imponam whe n women interact with men. Resistance to
fe male influence is panicularly pronounced in men and boys. who are more like ly to dislike and negatively sanction females who are see n as too competent and direct. It is primaril y in interaction s with men that women lack authority and legitimacy. and it is therefore
not su rpri sing that men respond less favorably than women do to starus-asse rrin g be havior
in women.
Given the resistance to worne n's influe nce. particularly by men. how should women
behave in order to be influen ti a l? First. women can increase their influe nce by co mmunicatin g in a warm and 01 her-directed manner and avoiding di splays of highly dominant or
self-asserting behavior. In addition, in order to overcome the double standard in evaluation . women can enhance th e ir inllucncc by combining a warm communication styl e with
outstanding le ve ls of competence. Clearly. the need to exhibit competence combin ed with
warmth places an additional burden on women that is not shared by men.
In co ntrast to women, the manner in which men and boys communicate has little
apparent effect on their likabilit y or influence. Studies show that men are given the be nefit
of the doubt and are presumed to be co mpete nt, eve n when their behavior might be see n as
incompetent if ex hibited by women. Sim ilarl y. men who lack communality. self-pro mote.
or behave in an overtl y directive or dominant manner are perceived more favorably tha n
their female counterparts. Indeed. much of the research in thi s revi ew reveals that male
influence is re lati ve ly unaffected by how much com petence or communality they display.
As influence agents. m ale~ seem to have greare r behavioral latitude than fe ma les. Becau!'lc
stereotypes dictate that female~ lack com petence and should be warm and comm unal , th e
behavior of fem ale innuence age nts receives greate r scrutiny than that of mal es, and their
influence depends much more on their di!'lplaying a careful balance of competence and
warmth . Unfortunately, the path to influence is less easily navigated for women than it is
for men, as a result.

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Giacalone. R. A .. & Riordan. C. A. (191)0). Effect of ... elf~ prc ..enl:.Jtion on perceptions and recognition ir
an organiz.uion. Journal oj P.wclw/og\, 12-1, 25-38.
Hall. J. A. ( 1984). N01/l'abal .~ex tiijJ('I't'lI('es: COIlIl1IlIlIi('llrion accuracy and e.\lu('.\j; ,'e sryle. Balti more
MD: Johns Hopkin, Univcrsity.
Hawkin s. K. W. ( 1995). Effects of gender and communication co ntent on leadc r ... hip t:mergencc in slllal
task -orient ed groups . Small Croup Research. -16. 234--249.
Heilman. M. E .. Block. C 1.. & Martell. R. (1995). Sex ... tcrcoty pes: Do they influence perceptions 01
managers: In N.J . Struthen, (Ed.). Gender ill
II 'O/'~phl('e (special i\s.uc). Journal oJSocial Be
JrQl'ior wul Pen(mality. 10(6). 137-252.
I-Ioltgraves. T .. & La,ky. B. (1999). Lingui ... tic po\\er and pcr.ua!'>ion. Journal oj LlI/lguage alld Socia,
Psyc!Jnl0K,\', JN. 196-205.
Jacklin. C. N .. & Maccoby. E. E. (1978). Social behavior at 33 months in same!'>cx and mixed ~sex dyads

'"l'

Child Del'l!/opmellt. 49. 557- 569.

Jamie son. K. 1-1 . & Sla ... !'>. L. (2001). Pmgre.H or I/O mom at lire lOp? Thl' role OJII'O/II'II ill telecommllfli
caliOTlS. medill. lI11d e~compallit'.\. Philadelphia: Anllcnberg Publi c Policy Cl!ntcr of the Universit)
of Penn"'y lvania.
Javorni sky. G. (1979). Task contclH and ... ex difference,," In COnfOnllity. Jourl/aI11PlydlOlogy, 108.213-

220.
Killen. M .. & Naigle .... L. R. (1995) Pre ...c hool children pay attention to their addressee~: Effects of gendel
composition on peer disputes. Di.HOIll'w' Pl'{lI'e.\se.\. 19.329- 346.
Lockheed, M. E. (1985). Sex and 1'>ocial inlluence: A meta~analy!'>is guided by theofY. In J. Berger & M
Zelditch. Jr. (Ed s.). Statu!), rell'(jrd.~, Will illjluellce: Noll' expectalio/l\' orxani:.e behllvior (pp. 406429). San Francis.eo: JosseyBa ... ,.
Lockheed. M. E .. l-l arri .... A.M .. & Nemccfr. W. P. (1983). Scx and socia l influcnce: Does sex function a,r
statu<" c haracteristic in mixcd~~cx grou ps of c hildren? JOllrtllll oj EdllClIIiofllll Psychology, 75. 877888.

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Mal,chincr.

~1..

147

& Mumen. S. K (1999)_ lIypcrfeminlllilY ami influcm:e. P.fvcholog\ of Woml'fI Qllor-

lerk 23, 6:\ I (H2.

~1cc"l!r.

B. F., & \Veil/d-O'Neil. P. A (198)). Sex role ... and intr.:rpcr'onal beha\-ior in I:I'''-oricnlcd
group'. In J_ Br.:rger & \ I Zcldlh:h (Ed,_). Stallll. l"('lwrl/\. will il/fluence (pp. 379--40), Wa ... hlngtun. DC: Jo, . .e)-Ba<;s.
Pcr"'L'. E. ~1 .. r\ath;m,on. A. I.. & "kLc\ld. D. ~1 (1996). Ellech 01' "'po"e"'pcr.on <;ex. public announce!ment apretll. and involvement on C\aIUallon ... 01 ,afe- ...c\ PSA,. Hi'alll! Commlmicallofl, 8, 171 189.

Power. T Go, ~kGralb, M . P.. Hughe,. S, 0" & ~ 1 ;iI1ire. S II. (1l)9~). Compliance and .,df-a ....';enion:
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Pugh. M . D .. & Wahrman. R. (19S3). NClItr:lli/ing ,exi ... m in mixed-,cx groups: Do wmncn have to be
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fcmak .llh(K:atc, of nomradllional ,cx rule ... (dOI'IUral dl"Crltltioll, Ball Stale UIll ... er"lIy, 1979).
Dint'l"laljol/ Ah,llracl\ 1/lIi'mlll/(l/UlI,

.J I,

~7.t7

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A"ociatulIl, C{)mmi"ion on Women in the Prufc",.ion
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1991-lIX)2.
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\\ \\ \\ _bl"',gmkp"homc.hlm#charcmp

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Part II Persllasion Variables: Perspeoil'es on Sources. Receivers, Channels. and Me ssages

U.S. Depanment of Oefen!".c (1998). i\Cli\'e dUlY miliulI)' personnel by sen'ice by rank/grade (for September 30.1997). Ava ilable online: http://webl.whr.;.osd. mi l/mmidlm ilitary/miltop. hlm .
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Walker, H. A .. Ilardi. B.
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dm/ogy, IR.229-242.

c..

9
Language Expectancy Theory
Insight to Application
Michael Burgoon and Jason T. Siegel

Lallguage Expectancy Theory: Explication

The book you presently have open is replete with a variety of theoretical framcworh designed to increase your understanding of persuasion and social intluencc. Unfortunate ly.

frequently students of socia l intlucnce arc presented with theories of the literature in a
f'a"hion thai falsely suggests a ralher simp li stic journey from thought to insight \0 theorie s

100

of human behavior. However. of obvious import to those studying persuasion. and of vita l
imporl to those who wish one day to be on the appa-,ile side of the metaphoric textbook . is
how theories of persuasion are spawned from what sometimes begins as liLtle more than a
\ccd lin g of thought. As Michael Burgoon staled in creating Language Expectancy Theory
(LET): " ... thi~ theoretical formation ha ... I4Ikcn <I fev. ~tep\ forward and some ~tep ... backward over thc year~ in attempting to dc\"clop a sound ba ... is for under~landing how expectation ... and a ho ... t of message var iab les interact 10 enhance or inhibit persuasion effects"
(Burgoon. Denning. RobcI1~. in pre~ ... ). In ... hon. the goal of this chapter is not only to in troduce you to LET's 1110S( u<"cful propo<.,ition ... abollt altitude change but also to introduce
the experiments and revelation ... that ... pawned the theory.
LET (Burgoon & Miller. 1985) i ... based on a relatively ... imple yet intuitively e lega nt
a",sul11ption: Language is a rule-governed .. ystell1 whereby people develop expectations
concerning how lan guage and message stnllcgies are used in persuasion attempts. Spccifically. LET exp licates three different paradigms: (I) the traditi onal passive Ille ... sagc reception situation. in which a persuader presents a l11e ... ~age to a target audience with a desire to
change allitude~ andlor behavior... : (2) the active participation paradigm. in which individuab arc "self-pcr ... uadcu" by actually producing me ... ~age~. usually at odds with th e ir
own privatcly held attitudc ... that result in thL:ir changing their private allitude to conform
more clo ... cl} to their public (;ol11l11unication hcha\ior: and. (3) the re~i"'lance-to-persua\ion

149

~O
l~

Part II Penu(I.\ioll Variahle.\: Perspeclil'es OIl Suurces, Receh'ers. Challne/s. and Messages

paradigm. which centers on how the language and expectations can work in tandem to

decrease or inhibit the persuasive strength of a future persuasive attempt, a message yet to
come. However. rather than addressing all three paradigms. this chapter will just present a
detailed explanation of the passi ve paradigm. the most studied and practical use of persuasion principles (for a detailed review of all three paradigms of LET sec Burgoon. Denning.
Roberts. in press).

Language Expectancy Theory:

The Core Propositions
Two studies have been credited by M. Burgoon and Miller (1985) with being catalysts for
the core propositions of LET: Brooks (1970) and McPeek and Edwards (1975). While the
story of how Brooks's study came to the attention of Burgoon has been told elsewhere
(Burgoon. 1995). due to its ~cll1inal importance to the development of this perspective.
this story will be repeated one more time.
Burgoon sent off one of hi~ al1icle~ inve~tigating what would become part of LET'~
ae/h'e paradigm (Burgoon 1970) to be considered for publication in a journal. In response.
the editor of the journal. RobcI1 Brooh. sent him a copy of another article. which had
been accepted for publication but not yet published. While the study itself was of interest
10 Burgoon. it was the concluding paragraph of this piece that he credits with the insightful
discussion that eventually led 10 the development of LET. This conc lud ing paragraph
reads as follow\:
, , . the possibility of contrast effeels should be considered. This principle assumes that we
carry stereotypes into sllch social situations as the public speech. There. the speaker\ behavior may be discrepant with stereotyped expectations. If the discrepant expec tati ons still
cannot be assimilated or ignored, they are likely to b~ exaggerated in a li Mener's perception. So viewed. mere civil behavior on the parI of Malcolm X may be perceived as extraordinarily genteel by an auditor who expecb barbaric actions from a black (sicl
nationalist. One explanation, .. is this: unfavorable (or favorable) speakers may be per~
ceived more (or less) favorably not becau..,c their behavior is intrinsically persuasive (or
dis..,uasi\,c) but becau\c it contrasts with \tcreolyped expectations which audiences hold
for notoriou\ (or popular) public figure.." (p. 155)
This article by Brooks (1970) led Burgoon to begin thinking abollt the nature of
stereolype~ and also the ingredients that comprised and determined expectations. Burgoon
began to ponder whether there arc expectations that are specific not only lO a person but
also to a culture. Also. if expectations about behavior exist. are there also enduring expectations about the pattern':. of ordinary language? La.'.tly, do expectations of language
use, if they do indeed exist. differ based on a speaker's gender. socioeconomic c lass, and/
or credibility?
Burgoon and Chase (1973) took thc.'.c skeletal notion.'. of expectations violation.'. and
investigated what occurs when receivers' expectations of language intensity are intentionally violated. Specifically. Burgoon and Chase (1973) hypothesiLed that if participants in

Chapter 9

LnllgfW!W Expectcmc\, Theon'

151

thc ~lUdy were pre~ented with a pretreatment message (message I) of high intensity. they
would expec l a follow-up message 10 be of al lea" equal inlensily (see appendix A following thi\ chapter for an example of a low- and high-intensity me\\age). However. if the
participants' expec tations were violated with a message of moderate intcnsity. they wou ld
see the ~ pcak er as more ;reasonab le." A':t a resu lt , the speaker wou ld be more successfu l
wi lh a follow-up appeal (message 2). Mo reover. Burgoo n and e ha" predicled Ih al people
who were initiall y ex posed to a message of low intens it y would s imilarl y expect th e
follow -up me s!'!<.Ige to be o f equal intens ity. It wa!'! rcasoned. therefore. thai if these people
initiall y received a message thai wa\ ei ther of mode rate or hi g h intensity, they would not
ex pect a follow-up message of even g reate r inte m,il y. Thm, th ey wo uld be most persuaded
by the mod e rate or hi gh-inten si ty :-.econd message. Burgoo n and C hase further predicted
that if people expected a foll ow-up persuasive appea l of moderate intensity and rece ived
\ uch a me\sage. their expectati ons would not bc violated. Thu\. they wou ld perceive the
mes:-.age a\ more reasonable. Howe\'er. because they wou ld expect this levc l of intensi ty,
the per\uasive strength of the message would bc minimized.
To test th ei r hypo thes is. li ve wcek':. prio r to an actual experi me nt , stude nt s were prese nted with a pretest questionnai re asking them the ir op in ions on a varie ty of campus and
nati o nal i\\ues. Considering that th e hypothesi:-. was predicting the studen ts' respo nses
when prc~ented wi th a (second ) refutational message (a message they wou ld unquesti onably dio;;ugrce with). it was cruc ia l for the experimen ters to find an is\ue to which students
were ununimous ly opposed. The i\\uc that wa\ most offens ive to the \tudents wa'\ a propo\cd plan by th e uni \'e rsity to admi t o nl y \cniors and juniors. Specifically. o n the day of
the aCllla l experime nt. a ll subject\ who tool-.. pa l1 were unanimously opposed to such a
plan.
In the ex perimental sessio ns, 11 4 partic ipants were ra nd o ml y as!>.igned to seve n diffcren t cond itions: one con tro l and s ix experi me ntal. All su bj ect!>. received a hi gh-, moderatc-, or low- int e ns ity prc treat mc nt message arguing for the policy disallowing fres hman or
sopho mores from being admittcd. A ... discu ... scd. this pretreatment message was used to
create expec tat ions on the part of the receiver. For examp le. if a panicipant received a
s upportive mes':tage of low ime n... ity. it wa ... a ...... umcd that thi s would crea te an expectation
on the pan of the participant that the next me':tsage would be of similar intensity. Following the pretreatment message. a ll \tudents recei\-ed a message of moderate intcnsity.
A\ predic ted, those student\ who had heard a mcs\age of high intensity and then
heard one of moderate intensity \. .'ere "iignilicantly more persuaded than those student s
who had heard a message of moderate illl cn",ity followed by another message of moderate
intcnsity (posi ti ve viola ti on ). Thc reason the vio lati o n is cons idered positive is that the
me ssage was Icss intense than expectcd. S in ce the first ll1essHge was hi g hl y int ense, the
audience prepared for a message o f simi lar intensity. Howeve r, when the message was of
on ly modcrate int ensity. the audience's expectatio ns we re posit ive ly vio lated. The c han ge
is cOIl\ide red a positive vio lati o n becausc the enacted behavior was better or mo re prefe rred thall that ex pected in th e silliati on. A positive violation can also occur whcn ncgative ly eva luatcd sou rces confo rm mo re c lo.!o.e ly than expected to cu ltural va lu es. ~ocietal
norm ... , or \ ituation a l exigencies. Returning to the expe rimen t. th ose stude nt s who heard a
messagc of low inte nsi ty followed by a mess~ge of moderate intensity we re also s.ignifi ca ntl y more pcrsuaded (a ltho ug h the vio lati on wa"i nega ti ve) than those (unprepa red)

152

Part II Persuasion Variables: Perspecli\'es Ofl SOllrce.\. Receil'ers, Channels. and Me.{,(wgl" ~

students who did not have their expectations violated (i.e .. the students who heard a me~
sage of moderate intensity followed by another message of moderate intensity), The reason this re~ult occurred is that the student~ who had originally heard a message of low
intensity dropped their counterarguing defenses. expecting another message of low intensity. However. when the second message used language of greater intensity than they expected, the students were unprepared to counterargue it. The violation is considered
negative. because the language being used fell outside the bandwidth of socially acceptable or expected behavior in a negative direction.
Two years later. McPeek and Edwards (1975) published a second major precursor to
LET. While Burgoon and Chase (1973) investigated the effects of violating expectations
that were created by the investigator. McPeek and Edwards (1975) investigated the outcome of speakers who argue for a position that is opposite of what would be expected.
based not on expectations set by the investigator. but on expectations set by societal and
cultural norm~ with the following claims and questions :
Interpersonal perceptions and beh<lviors are partly guided by the prior expectations which
the participants bring to social interactions. It has been ... ugge~tcd (Kelly. 1955) that everyone forl11~ and te~ts expectancie~ about the characteristics and behavior of othcr people in
a process similar to the ...dentinc method . . .. The ...e expectations are of special importance
in studies of attitude change. where. in addition to the experimenter. the S {subject! often
encounters a communicator of an altitudinal message .... These expectancie~. :.tlthough
they may be deeply rooted in thc S'" per!ooonal bia~es <lnd may even be irrelev.tnt to the
topic of the persua:-.ivc mc!oo"agc (c.g .. Aronson & Golden. 1962). neverthcle ... s may
~trongly affeclthe degree to which the communicator can influence the S .... Both in and
out!ooidc the laboratory. onc'~ expectancie~ about the behavior and opinions of others are
usually confirmed. But. whal happen" when one ... predictions are violated, and a communicator fails 10 behave in:'111 expected fa"hion? (pp. 193- 194)

McPeek and Edwards (1975) made predictions concerning the effectiveness of

antirnarijuana messages based upon how "expected" the message source would be to
make such an argument. It wa~ posited that a hippie arguing against marijuana. the obviously unexpected position. would be seen as more credible than a seminarian making the
same. albeit expected. anti-marijuana argument. Conversely. it was hypothe~ized that
when a hippie took the expected pro-marijuana position. he would be less persua ... ive than
a seminarian taking an unexpected. pro-marijuana. position.
When a study was conducted. the hypothese, gained only partial support. The hippie
pUlling forth an anti-marijuana argument was more persuasive than the seminarian arguing the same position: however. the .scminarian arguing for marijuana was no more persuasive than the hippie putting forth Ihe same argument. However. it is important to note
that the communicators taking unexpectcd positions. whether the hippie arguing against
marijuana or the seminarian arguing for it. were perceived as being more honest and more
sincere then the commun icators who took the expected position.
At about the same time that the McPeck and Edwards' (1975) piece was published,
a piece by Burgoon. Jones. and Stewart (1975) introduced what would become the initial
roots of LET. This seminal article provided evidence that persuasive success can be mod-

Chapter 9 Language Expectancy Theory

153

erated by the linguistic choices made by the communicator. Specifically. Burgoon. Jones.
and Stewart put forth the following propositions in relarion to LET's passive paradigm:
Proposition A: Attitude change is a function of the level of language intensity in a persuasive message. type of persuasive paradigm employed, and the receiver's expectatIOns of
the source's communication behavior.
Proposition B: Given the passive message reception condition. when a source uses a level
of language intensity that violates the receiver's expectations in a positive manner. significant altitude change will occur in the direction advocated by the source.
Proposition C: Given the passive message reception condition. when a source takes an unexpectedly intense position. it will result in minimal or even negative attitude change.
At the time this piece was published, the investigation of language intensity was by
no means novel, nor was the investigation into expectations, but this was the first piece to
combine the role of societal expectations and language intensity in persuasion research on
an a priori basis. As put forth by Burgoon and colleagues: '" ... all present evidence suggests that expectations develop in receivers about syntactic. linguistic. and pragmatic variables in persuasive messages. Most of the studies explained unexpected findings on a post
hoc basis" (Burgoon, Jones, & Stewart, 1975, p. 243). In short, the realization that violating receivers' expectations could be a moderating variable in the equation of persuasion
was stepping into the spotlight.
The experiment to test these propositions was similar to prior experimental designs.
Two messages were created. this time concerning a required GPA of 3.25 to enter the university where the experiment took place. These messages were identical except for key
verb phrases that were either highly intense or low in intensity. One of the key tests of this
experiment focused on societal expectations of the communicators of persuasive messages

based on gender. The hypotheses were as follows:

Hypothesis I: Male receivers will demonstrate less altitude change than will female
receivers.
Hypothesis 2: There will be an interaction between language intensity and sex of the
source such that a female source will be most effective with low-intcn!<.c language and a
male will be least effective with low-intense language.
This was the first lest in this line of research where expectations were not created by
the experimenter but were expected due to societal norms. Explaining the logic behind
their prediction. Burgoon. Jones. and Stewart stated:
Bem and Bern (1970) <;uggest that the socialilation process. whether it be intentional or
not, has programmed females to be complementary rather than independent of the male,
submissive rather than dominant, domestic rather than business- or scientific-minded. and
10 generally consider themselves Jess knowledgeable than men. If the suggested stereotypes of submissiveness are correct. then certain communication behaviors would be expected to differ for men and women. Females :.Ire probably expected 10 be less intense than

154

Pan II PerM/wioll Variables: Perspeclil'es Oil Sources, Receil'en, Chanllels. {Illd Me.'i.'wges
males. lr highly inten~c encoding by a remale occur~. a "boomerang errect" should occur
because she will be taking an "unconventionally and unexpectedly strong position." A
male who is expected to be strong will likely be less erfective using low-intense language.
(p.

245)

This hypothesis was supported. The female speaker was more slIccessful when
using a low-intensity message than when using a highly intense message: and the male
speaker was more persuasive when using a highly intense message than when usi ng a lowintensity message. This finding was crucial for two reasons. First it gave support to the
notion that there are societal expectations concerning hlllguage and language intensity;
second. it showed that violating these expectations could impair the persuasive strength of
a message.
Another area of intereM was the arena of fear appeals. Fear appeals are any messages that use fear or anxiety arousal in the hope of ')caring the audience into complying
with the message. Obviously, knowing societal expectations in regard to the quantity of
fear used in such messages is key to any speaker who wishes to scare his or her audience
into compliance. Violating the expectations of the audience can either greatly increase or
decrease the persuasive strength of the message. Unfortunately, carly studies of fear appeals presented often conflicting. seemingly confounded results. For example, one of the
first studies on fear appeals found that mild fear appeals were more successful than strong
fear appeals (Janis & Feshbach. 1953); however. other studies (e.g .. Leventhal & Niles,
1965) found the opposite resuh. while yet other investigations revealed no significant difference between level of fear and attitude change (Beach. 1966; Powell 1965). Fortunately, Hcwgill and Miller (1965) allempted to clarify the influence of fear appeals by
combining the influence of fear appeals with the influence of source credibility.
The study hypothesized the following;
I. If a source has high credibility with a listener. appeals that elicit strong fear for persons highly valued by the listener will affect greater attitude change than appeals
that elicit mild fear.
2. If a source has low credibility with a listener. appeals that elicit mild fear for persons
highly valued by the listener will affect greater attitude change than appeals that
elicit strong fear.
Taken together. these two hypotheses predicted an interaction between level of fear
and source credibility. To test these hypotheses. the investigators split up 90 subjects into
four experimental groups and one control group: (I) high-fear message, high-credibility
source; (2) high-fear message. low-credibility source; (3) low-fear message. highcredibility source; and (4) low-fear message. low-credibility source. Each group heard a
message emphasizing the advantages of community shelters while stressing the disadvantages of family shelters. It's important to note that this study took place at the height of the
cold war when people feared a nuclear attack. The four messages contained the same content, but the high-fear messages contained 13 statements concerning physical injury or
death to "pouse or children. Specifically. the high-fear message stated the following:

Chapter 9 Lallgll(l~e ~pectallcy Theon

J55

Unle:\" proper shelter precautions are taken against fallollt. the children of thousands of
familie~ would be killed in nuclear war. The mo~[ dangcrou:\ fallout i~ the early fallout that
ralls within 24 to 48 hour... after the thermonuclear explo\ion. and thi:\ is the primary hazard frol11 which we ~hould be prepared to protect our hu:\bands or wive .... and our children.
since many of them will perish if ... lIch protection is not av'lilable. Even minimal community shelter precautions would spare the lives of thousand ... of adults and children. Chi ldren
would probably suffer I.;evere radiation hurn ... while going frolll school to home and then
have to endure radiation I.;ickne:\.., while confined in a ..,111 ..111 family shelter. (Hewgill &

Miller. 1965. p. 96)

Credibility was manipulatcd by either attributing the message to a professor of
nuclear research or lO a high school sophomore. After each group heard their message.
they immediately underwent a series of teMs to assess their attitudes toward community
and family shelters. As prcdicted. participants who heard a message containing a high-fear
appeal attributed to a highly credible source werc more pcr..,uadcd than those participants
who heard a message employing a mild-fear appeal attributed to a low-credibility source.
Additionally. the participants who heard the message using high-fear appeals attributed to
a highly credible source were significantly more per..,uaded than any of the three other
groups: however. there were no differences in attitudes between the groups who heard
messages attributed to a low-credibility source. regardless of the fear appeal used. Of import is that in a follow-up study. Miller and Hewgill (1966) hypothesiLed that a lowcredibility source using Mrong language would reduce hi" or her credibility further.
whereas a highly credible source would increa~e his or her credibility by using a strong
fear-arousing message. Their hypotheses were generally 'Iupported. Thc reason lowcredibility sources using highly intense language are problematic is that cultural expectations grant high-credibility sources a greater range of options in their language use. For
example. a full professor giving a passionate. high-intensity ..,peech about the need for
stricter college standards would likely be accepted: ho'Wcver. imagine a young teacher's
assistant giving the same pa~sionate. high-intensity speech. The teaching aS50istant would
be seen as unprofessional and possibly overemotional. Simply put. if someone of high
credibility uses extremely inlen..,c language, his or her language use is perceived to be a
necessary act. However. a low-credibility source using the same language may be pcrceived as "out of control" or immature.
By incorporating re!o.carch in fear appeals. compliance gaining. language intensity.
opinionated language. and <.l host of other message variables. amongst others. the following propositions of LET's passive paradigm were put forth (Burgoon. 1989: Burgoon.
1995: Burgoon. Denning. & Roberts. 2001: Burgoon & Miller, 1985):
Proposition I: People develop cultural and sociological expectations about language
behaviors that subsequently affect their acceptance or rejection of persua,ive
mcs~ages.

Proposition 2: Usc of language that negatively violates societal expectations about

appropriate persuasive communication behavior inhibits persuasive behavior and either results in no attitude change or changes in position opposite to that advocated
by the communicator.

156

Part II Persllasioll Varillbles: Perspl'clil'l'.,

Oil SOlfr('(',\',

Nt'ceil'as. CltalllU'/s.

(/1/(/

Message"

Proposition J: U~e of language that po. . itivcly violate . . ..,ocietal expectations about
appropriate per..,uasive communication behavior facilitate~ per~uasive effectivcncs.."
Proposition -+: Highly credible cOllllllunicators have the freedom (wide bandwidth)
to select varied language strategies and compliance-gaining techniques in developing per. . ua . . ive messages, while low-credibility cOllllllunicators nUl..,! conform to
1110re limitcd language option, if they wish to be effective,
Proposition 5: Because of the nonnative impact of ... ouree credibilit), highl) credibh:
..,ource . . can be more succes..,ful w.,ing low-intclbity appeals and more aggres\ive
compliam:c-gaining Illc\sages than low-credibility communicators lIsing either
strong or mild language or morc prosocial compliance-gaining strategies,
Propo. . ition 6: Communicators percei\'ed a ... low in credibility or those unsure of
their perccivc.::d credibility \\ ill usually be more persu<ll"ive if the) cmploy appeab
low in in~trull1cntal verbal aggre:-.-,ion or elect to u<.,e more pro~ocial compliance
gaining message strategie~.
Proposition 7: People in this society have normative expectations about approprimc
persua:-.i\t: cOllllllunication behavior that are gender specific, for example: (a) maks
are u~ually more per:-.uasive u..,ing highly iIllelbe per..,uasive appeal:-. and complianccgaining me-,!\agc attempb. while (b) felllale~ arc u'lually more perSlUl'1ive using low
intensity appeal:-. and nonaggre.., . . ive complianc~.>gaining Jlle~sages .

Application of LET: The Family

SUI! Safety Campaigll
Although the ability to explain pa~t experiments shil1e~ positive light on a theory, the spot light ,hincs much brighter when the theory can be applied to a real-world context. Such i..,
the case with the LET pa\si\'c paradigm,
In 1999 alone. -+-+,200 people were diagno<.,ed with life-threatening malignant mcb noma: 7,300 of them died. Thi" figure i<., e\-en more staggering in light of the fact that 90
percent of skin canccrs are preventable (America Cancer Society. 1999), \Vhilc there i<., no
shortage of way~ to decrc<1sc these figures- sun<.,crcen" usc of shade. etc,-the difticulty
lies in persuading individuals to comply with the afol'l!ll1cntioned preventive measures.
Thc goal of thi~ Family Sun Safet y Project. funded by the National Cancer lil \titute. wa~
rather straightforward: create sun ,afety l1le~sage~ differing in language intcn\ity and logi cal :-.tyle while using LET'::, explanatol') power to hypothe . . ize v.hich me..,..,ages will be
1110..,t effective.
Based on LET. it wa.., predicled that a sun safety campaig n containing more intense
language would be more successflll than a campaign using low-intensity language. since
pa~t empirical re<.,earch suggested that Sd100ls and pediatricians, the source.., to which sun

,,,rety message, \\ere attributed. arc highly credible (Builer. Calli"er. & Reichert. 1995).
As discu~sed carlier. communicators of high credibilit) are granted a "wider bandwidth"
of acceptable communication, wherea~ "'peakers of low credibility are relegated to a much
narrower bandwidth. Practically speaking. a ..,peaker of low credibility is excluded. under

Chapter 9 Language rpecuUlcy Theon'

157

penalty of a potential boomerang e ffect. from lIsing aggressive strategies such as threats.
hig hly intense language, and fear appeals. A low-credibility speaker who chooses such
aggressive strategies over nonaggressive strateg ies such as promises. less intense language, and reassu ran ces will negatively vio late the receivers' expectations. On the contrary, speakers of high credibility who decide to use the more aggressive language
st rat egies j ust mentioned will be treated to an increase in the persuasive strength of their
message (e.g., Burgoon, Dillard, & Doran, 1983).
Based on th is theoretical rationale and empirical findings, it was predicted that a sun
safety campaign containing more intense language wou ld be more successful than a campaign usi ng less intense lan guage. The logi c was rather straightforward: Since highly inten se lan guage is not the norm for Illost campaigns focusing on health promotion. such
intense language would be a violation of expecta ti o ns. Furthermore, since past research
has put forth data suggesting that schools and pediatricians. the sources of the slin safety
messages, are highly c redible (Burgoon, Birk. & Hall. 1991). there exists a greater bandwidth of acceptable language for these sources. It was predicted that since there was a
large bandwidth of acceptance, the inte nse language would be perceived as a po<.,itive violation and would therefore produce greater compliance with the sun safety advice than the
message lIsi ng low-int ens it y language. The low- intensity language messages do IlOt
negatively violate expectatio ns, but rather conform. Therefore, while (here will not be a
boomerang effec t, the messages using highly intense language were predicted to be more
effective than the former. Statements with high-intensity language included the fo ll owing:
"Skin cancer is a grotesque growth of skin cells." "Treatment of skin cancer involves removing tumors from th e skin," and "Tragicall y. about 7.200 Americans will die from
melanoma, a very se ri o us type of sk in cancer, this year a lone." Statements of low intensity
in c luded the following: "Skin cancer is an unusual growth of skin cells" and "Sad ly about
7.200 Americans will die from melanoma, a ve ry seriolls type of skin cancer, this year
alone" (Bu ll er. Borland. & Burgoon. 1998, p. 450).
Parents were recruited for the Family Sun Safety Project from elemenliJry schools
and a pediatric clinic. Participants received sun safety prevention messages in the form of
newsletters, brochures, and tip cards. The project accrued over 800 familie~ and lasted
over a year. In short. as predicted by LET, messages llsing intense language produced
more compliance than messages of low intensity. Specifica ll y. as reported by Buller,
Burgoon. Hall , and colleagues (2000):
Compa red to parents receiving low-intensi ty Illc!')!)age.''I. parcnts in the high illlcll,;ily message (a) dec reased the frequency of their own midday SUIl exposure during the current
summe r. (b) were more likely to say that Ihey in general planned to protec( (heir children
more next summer and planned to protec( thcmselves and their children more in the upcoming winter, and (c) reported a larger increase in thcir planned frequency or applying
sunscreen, using protective clothing. and limited midday sun exposure with their children
in the upcoming winler. (p. 108)
In summary, by using the LET proposition framework. the experimenters were able
predict successfull y whic h messages wou ld be more effective purely on the basis of the
intens ity of the language used. Most important. multiple behaviors were changed and
those changes persisted over a long period of time.

10

158

Part II PerllU/sioll V(lriabh'J: Pn.\ pl'Cfh'(',\ 01/ SOIIIH'\. Rcceil'('/'\, CI/{lIIl1d'l. (/lId Me.\.\(/ge.\

LET's Passive Paradigm: New Directions

To Mate that LET'~ passive paradigm is Just beginning 10 hit its !o.Lride might be an understatement. In the past decade the theory ha", been succes!o.fully used to (I) e.xplain the ... uccess of negative altack campaigns in politics (Pf3u. Parrott, & Lindqui",t. 1992). (2)
explain compliance and satisf3ction with physician!o.' instructions (M. Burgoon. Bir"-. &
Hall. 1991). (3) assess the etTcctivencs", of communication strategies de ... igned In improve
both initial and long-term medical adherence (Klingle. 1993: Klingle & M. Burgoon.
1995). and (4) improve adherence to \un ",arety recolllmendation", (Buller. Burgoon. Hall.
Levine. Taylor. Beach, Melcher. Buller. Bowen. Hun"iaker. & Bergen. 2000). H(J\\:ever.
the theory continues to be ripe with opportunitic!o. for refinement and expansion. To COI1 clude. we shall present at least one venue where the theory'", framework can be expanded
and one realm where the theory could hc fruitfully applicd.

Etllllicity and Culture

JU\t as male\ have greater bandwidth", of acceptable ordinary language use than femalc.!"'. it
"icems plau"ible that ethnicity might al",o be a ,ariablc that moderates expectation ..... Certain ethnic groups may be pcnalilcd. much a:-t female" arc. for using language of high intensity. This scenario could depend on the dynamics of the cuhure or cthnicity of the
presenter and the culture or cthnicity of the audicncc. For example. a high-credihility
source who i. . part of one . . ocial minority pre . . cnting to mcmber . . of a different !<oocial minority may well forfeit his/her \\ idcr bandwidth of communication in such a ",itu;Jtion.

Public Service Al/l/oul/cemel/ts

Anyone who views a modicllm of tclt:vision ha"i undoubtedly . . een advertisements urging
adolescents to avoid drug lise. While some of these advertisemcllts are unquc . . tiolll.lbly effective. LET cun be used to explain why ",ome ads (maybe 1110:-.1) may not be a", slHxc:-.sful
as they could be (see Siegel & Burgoon. 2001 for a more detailed explanation). For example. one of the more popular ad"i highlight . . a teenager armed with a frying pan alerting
the audience member... 10 \\ hat their friend"i und family '\-'ill go through if they u\e drugs.
As the female teenager states in the commercial: 'This i\ your brain. This i", heroin. Thi . . i~
\\hat happen . . to your brain after "illorting heroin." The actre ....... then ~mashe . . the egg with
the pan and exp0"ie"i the cracked egg ",Iiding off the back of the pan to the audience. The
rest of the actress's dialogue is spoken 3", she U!o.CS the pan as a weapon to brea"- !<ocvcml
kitchen <.Ippliancc . . and dishes: "It's not on:r yet. This is what your family goc . . through.
And your friend ..... And your moncy. And your job. And your . . clf-rc . . pccl. And your future.
Any que . . tiomT'
Looking at this commercial from i.I LET ",tundpoint it' s rathcr clear that thl.: commercial uses highly intense language alltl nonverbal beh<.lvior. Ilowcycr. as di\clIs ... ed curlier,
females have a narrower bandwidth of acceptable comlllunication than males. Is it possible that the commercial negatively violates expectations by having the fCJ11ule actress
use such inten . . c language. thereby reducing the persui.lsi\c strength of the mc ... sagc? Furthermore. it i. . unknown whether or not the cfl.::ator... of the me"isage are con",idered to be

Chapter 9 Language Expectancy Theory

159

highly credible by their target audience. If the audience doe, not perceive the creators of
the commercial to be credible, the high-intensity fear appeal will at best be ineffective and
at worst will cause a boomerang effect, persuading the audience in the direction opposite
of tlmt advocated by the commercial. It is also possible that the actress in the commercial
will lose some of her credibility.

LET: The Most Recellt Findillg

Recent research supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse through a multimillion
dollar experiment using LET to explain adolescent reaction to antidrug inhalant and marijuana messages (Burgoon 2001, Grant #DAI2578) obtained interesting results about
cxpectations regarding media commercials and interpersonal communication. This experiment involved over 1.300 adolescent students exposed to antidrug/inhalant messages.
While the participants all saw the same message!-.. students were exposed to footage of one
of four different scripted focus groups discussing the advertisements. Specifically, after
viewing each of three advertisements. the students either saw a focus group consisting of
peers or adults using either implicit or explicit antidrug language. This resulted in four
different experimental conditions (adult explicit. adult implicit. peer implicit, peer explicit) discussing both the advertisements and the topic of adolescents and drug/inhalant
use. In the implicit condition, the individuals made statements such as, "When it comes
right down to it ... it's your own decision" or "Why would anyone want to do that stuff?"
In the explicit condition the comments were more to the point and outspoken: "Don't do
drugs ... it's as simple as that" or "Only complete idiots do drugs" (see Burgoon , Alvaro,
Broneck. Miller. Grandpre. Hall. & Frank, 2001).
The research literature, without much sound scientific support. has continually suggested that peers are more effective than authority figures in persuading adolescents about
lobacco prevention/ce~~ation, alcohol use. and drug uptake. Language expectancy theorists wou ld question sllch an intuitively appealing, but simpli~tic asseSsment. Specifically,
LET would posit that only those conditions Lhat positively violalcd expectations would
produce desired changes. and those would probably not be 1110st likely in peer-la-peer situations. Ralher. it was predicted thal students would have their expectations positively violated by the adults who used implicit language. since the notion of adults offering
ado lescents a choice when it comes to drug use is certainly not the social norm. Furthermore, it was predicted that adults using explicit language whcn discus:-.ing adolescent drug
use wou ld conform to social norms. thereby confirming expectations. In ~hon. it was hypothesized under the LET framework that the adolescents would react more favorably toward the adults who used imp li cit language than to the adults who used explicit language.
Preliminary results suggest that not only were students significantly more favorable
toward the adults who used implicit language. but the adults' lise of implicit language was
such a positive violation of expectations that the students preferred the scenes of adults
using implicit language even more than seeing their own peers discussing drugs or inhalants, regardless of the type of language u,ed. Moreover. the students who viewed the
adults using explicit language were less favorable toward the adults than were students
who viewed any of the three other conditions (adult implicit. peer implicit. peer explicit).

160

Part II Persuasion Variables: Perspeczil'es on Sources, Receil'ers, Channels, and Mes,'wges

The set of experimental questions focused on how participants hearing the focus
groups discuss the advertisement would influence the students' perceptions of the ads
themselves. Specifically, after viewing all the ads that were all followed by footage of one
of the four aforementioned focus groups, the students were asked to evaluate the advertisements without taking the focus groups' comments into consideration.
The results indicate, as LET would suggest, that the students who had their expectations positively violated by witnessing the focus group of adults or peers using implicit
language to discuss drug use also reconstructed their evaluation of the advertisements.
Even though all four conditions viewed the same advertisements (remember only the
video of the focus groups differed, not the ads themselves), the students who viewed the
implicit focus groups were significantly more likely to evaluate the advertisements positively than were any of the three other groups, Additionally, the students who viewed the
ads supplemented with the adult-explicit focus group found the ads themselves significantly more controlling than the students who viewed the ads in any of the three other
conditions,
These findings suggest that not only can the violation of language expectations alter
how we perceive the speaker, but the violation can also change our evaluation of what the
speaker is speaking about. Once again, all four groups viewed the same advertisements;
only the conversations heard after the ads were viewed differed. These results suggest that
we construct or reconstruct our evaluation of a message based upon whether what is said
about the messages confirms or violates our expectations.
Additional implications for this finding can also lead one to muse about the political
arena. After televised political speeches or debates. almost all news networks provide
some form of commentary. These recent findings suggest that when a political speech is
followed by a newscast of pundits, talking heads and analysts can positively or negatively
violate expectations with their own conversation, thereby changing our perception or the
political figure and his or her message content. That such commentary influences public
opinion is not new information. However, this interpretation from LET puts in high relief
how important such analyses can be not only in shaping perception of public figures but
also in actually changing the evaluation of message content already processed.
In sum, a theory must be judged not only by how well it fares under scientific scrutiny but also by the extent to which it informs us about how humans behave in everyday
situations. It is certainly our contention that LET, in its main incarnations. has risen to
these challenges in an admirable manner.

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Klingle, R. 5 .. & Burgoon. M (1995). Patlcnt compliance and .. ati<;faction \\lIh ph;..,ician influence

162

Part II Pl'rwwioll Variables: Penpecrire.f 01/ Sources. Receil'eT.f. Channels, and Me.fSages
attemph: A reinforcement expectancy approach to compliancegaini ng over time. Commllnication
Re,'ie(lrl'h. 22. I~8-187 .
Leventhal. H .. & Nile<;. P. ( 1965). Per":oi":olcncc of inllucnce for varying durations of exposure [0 threat
>.,timuh. PfH'hological Repon'i. 16, 223- 233 .
McPee~. R. W .. & Edward .. , J. I). (1975). Expectancy disconfirmalion and altitude c hange. JOllrnal of
Social /'Iyc!wlogy. 96, 193 -208.

Miller. G. R.. & Hewgill. M. (1966). Some retent rc,-earch on fear-arousing message appeals. Speech
Monogrtll'hl , 33. 377- 391.

Pfau. M .. ParmI!. R.. & Lindqui>.,1. B. (1992t. An expectancy theory explanation of the effectiveness of
polilica l allac~ Ielevi .. ion ,pOI<;: A C<l":oC ":otudy. jOllmal of Applit'd Commllllicmioll Research. 20,

235- 253.
Powell. F. A . (1965). The effech of anxicly-arou,ing Ille~~age~ when related 10 personal. familial. and
inlcrpcr\onal rt:rerenb. Sl'l,t'ch MOl/ograph~, 32. 102-106.
Siegel. J. T., & Burgoon. J. K . (2(X)I). Expcctam:y theory approache~ to prevention: Violating adolescent
expectations to incrca .. c the cffec li vencio.":o of public servicc announcemenls. In W. D. Crano & M .
Burgoon (Ed ... ). Mm, Media mlfl Dru,~ Pn' I'emiolf: C/a.'Jic {lml Cmllemportln Theories and Re{eardl (163- IH6). Mahwah. NJ: Erlbaum .

Appendix A

High-Intellsity Message (Hamiltoll, HUllter, &

Burgooll, 1990, pp. 243-244)
The la ws regulating the sale of heroin in this country have frequently done more harm
than good. both to society and to the individual who mu!',t use heroin. The public is confronted with an astronomical number of crimc!oo committed each year in every major city

by addicts desperate for money to ,upport their habit. The addict suffer; not from heroin,
but from painful I.,ccondary comp lication ... which are promoted by the drug's continued
illegality.
In England. where the government controls the legal sale to addicts, heroin-related
crime!>. arc non-cxiMent. Crime is not actually caused by the drug itself. but by completely
outdated laws which prohibit its use. In the United Stales. addicts are driven to commi t
crime"> againM innocent citilcns to obtain money to pay exorbitant black market prices
charged by their underworld ~lIppliers. As a resull of these hugely expensive (ransaction~.
law enforcement agencies are co nstant ly tempted by graft.
Many heroin addicts die needlessly from disease caused not by the drug, but from
agonil.ing secondary complications. Medical au thoritie~ now Mrongly agree that heroin
cause ... very little physical damage. Symptoms of heroin withdrawal are not nearly as dangerou~ as those associated with alcohol. Yet in New York City last year over 900 addicts
died from tetanUI! and hepatitis caused by improper means of injection. Addicts almost
alway ... re-use and share fillhy needles. or improvil!e with objects not designed for injecting <.Irug~ into (he bloodstream. becau\e hypodermic ~yringes are not legally available.

Low-Intensity Message (Hamilton, Hlillter, &

Burgooll, 1990, p. 244)
The law~ regulating the sale of heroin in this coulllry ha\'e sometimes done more harm
than good. both (0 society and to the individual who mmt use heroin. The public is faced
with a large number of crimes comm itted each year in most major cities by addicts searching for money to support their habit. The addict suffer~ not from heroin. but from unpleasan t secondary complications which are promoted by the drug's continued illegalit y.
In England. where th e governme nt controls the legal sale to addicts, heroin-related
crimes are almost non-existent. Crime i~ not caused by the drug itself. but by slightly outdated laws which prohibit its use. In the United States, addicts are forced to commit

163

164

Part II Per.<i/lwioll Variables: Perspec/iI'(>.\" 011 Sources, Heceivers,

crime~

C/UlllfleiS,

and Messages

against innocent citiLcns to obtain money to pay high black market prices charged
by thcir underworld suppliers. As a rcsult of thesc somewhat expensive transactions. all
enforcement agencies are occasionally tempted by graft.
Some heroin addicts die needles~ly from di!o,ease caused not by the drug, but from
uncomfortable secondary complications. Medical authorities now tentatively agree that
heroin causes very little physical damage. Symptoms of heroin withdrawal are not as
dangerous as those associated with alcohol. Yet in New York City last year over 900 addicts died from tetanus and hepatitis caused by improper means of injection. Addicts from
time to time re-use and share unsanitary needles. or improvise with objects not designcd
for injecting drugs into the bloodstream, because hypodermic syringes are not legally
available.

10
Influential Actions
Nonverbal Communication and Persuasion
Peter A. Andersen

... Ih~ effect ... of nOIl\ cfhal heha,iop" and \'ariou ... verbal me ....,agc variables on

pcr,ua'ioll and compliance \\cre compared. TIll'. comparison revealed that nonvcrb'll
behavior... afe a~ powerful. in ~OI11C Ci.l'CS I11ml.! powerful. than some of the mes ... agc
... tratcgic, Ihal have bcc.:11 . . wdied ill proolH.: ing compliance frolll others.
Scgrin. 1993. p. 1M3

. . . Ilollverbal cOlllllluniG.tlion i ... a... important " .... perhap~ more important than. verbal
communication in pcr,u'luing uther... 10 ch'.II1gl! their :.mitude-. and bt:havior.
Andcr~cn. 1999. p. 273

Pcrhap ... the mo ... ! common human enlerpri . . c is influencing mher people. People arc in\ohed in thousand ... of pero;,uu\ion attempt . . cach \\cd.. from the mundane acts of getting
your roommate to turn down the ... terea or pcp.. uading your partner to arrive on time to
Illore impol1ant is ... ucs ... uch as getting your partner to marry you or persuading a troubled
friend 10 seek. counseling.
When people think of per... ua ... ion they think. of talk: but there i~ more to persua!o.ion
than word .... The un ... poken, unwrillen messagc!o. WI.! .... end and receive have as much to do
with the ~ucce\s of our influence attempts as the words we uller. Like Illost people, scho lars have typically thought of persuasion as a verhal activity. From the rhetoric of Aristot le
to <.:ontemporary social scienlitic studies. the va~t majority of research. inc luding most of
the chapter ... in thi ... hook. ha ... focu . . ed on verbal communication. Verbal communication is
what we "no\\ the most ~lbout. Thi ... chapter is an exception . for it will focus on the multiple ways in which nonverbal communication influences altitudes and changes behavior.

165

J66

Part II P(' nIIlU;OIl Var;ahlcJ: Pl' r.' !wuil(,\

Thi ... chapter will review the

communication theories.

CffCCh

(II/

SOllrces. Receil'ers, C!u/fUlels. and Meuages

of nonverbal communication in the context of several

The Direct Effects Model of Immedincy

Nmll 'l' r/Ja/ immediacy belul\'iors are nonverbal acts that simultaneously signal warmth.

dccrca ... c psychological or physical distance between communicators, arc interpersonally

... timulating, and signal availability for communication (Andersen, 1985). Behaviors like
eye contact. touch, and close distances arc prototypical example ... of nonverbal immediacy
behavior .... Overwhelmingly, per... U<.I... ion re ...earch ,\upports the Direct Effects Model of 1111mcdia<.:y. which suggests that warm, involving. immediate nonverbal behaviors signifi-

cantly enhance the persuasi\e effect; of a me "age (Andersen. 1985. 1999; Segrin. 1993).
Ot1l.cn ... of ... tudies suppon the model.
The Direct Effects Model of nonverhal pcr",ua ... ion ha", al<.,o been called the Social
Me:1llJng Model (Burgoon. Coker. & Coker. 1986: Burgoon. Manu ... ov. Minco. & Hale.
19K)). BOIh l110dcb contcnd that warm. involving. immediate behavior results in incn.:a ...cll compliance on the part of the receiver. Some ~cholars sugge ... t that we may have

an inborn predisposition to comply with ,,"neone we like (Cialdini, 1984). Complying

with tho",c whom we like may be the underlying basi~ of human cooperation that has
cvoh-ed throughollt the millennia. However. as Cialdini (1984) notes:
Fc\\ people would be ... urpri,ed to learn thaI. a ... a nile, we most prefer 10 ",a) yC!o. to re10 note, howcver. is that thi ...
,illlpic rule is used in humJred ... of way' by lotal ... trangers to get U!o. 10 comply with 1/I' ir

4w:' .... of !-.omeone we !...now and Ii!.....:. Whal might be 'lartling

reque,lS. (p.163)
The fundamental impulse 10 tl'u!>.t <Ind comply with people who engage in warm,
friendly behavior has been u ... ed by per ... uaders of every stripe to per~uade us to comply
with their rCljuc ... t",. Pretty. >.,miling actor", on advcrtisemcm ... : friendly ",olicitors for charitiCS; <lnll warm . ..,incere politic<tl c:lI1didatcs are employing the Direct Effects Model of
NOl1\crbal Immediac). Research !-.how ... that increa",es in nonverbal immediacy. even by
total ",tranger ... , sub~tantially enhance u per",uader',,; chance of influencing attitudes and
changing behavior. Studie ... ha\e ... hown that both single channeled immediacy increa~e", .
... lIch a'" im:rea,ed eye contact. and I11ultichanncled immediacy behavior~ result in incrt:a ...cd per... ua~ion. The section ... that follO\\ revie\\ research on each nonverbal immcdia<.:y behavior and document it ... imp:u:: t on persuasion.

Eye Behavior
Studies of eye behavior have provided sub~tantial support for the Direct Effects Model of
Nonverbal Immediacy. particularly the per",uasive effects of gaze (looking at another per... on) and eye contact (mutual ga7e into one another's eyes).
In field ~tudie~ research has ~hown that unacquainted per~uaders are more effective

if the) usc eye contact. Kleinke and Singer (1979) found that both male and female sub-

Chapter 10 Influential Actions

167

jeets took significantly more leutlets from campaigners who held their gaze than from
those who did not, and the effect was stronger in the absence of any accompanying verbal

communication. In a study by Bull and Gibson-Robinson (1981), poorly dressed solicitors

for charity dramatically increased their effectiveness in obtaining contributions when

using direct gaze. Additional field research by Valentine (1980) reported that bystanders
were more likely to assist a disabled victim with a broken arm if the victim looked at them
directly. This finding held true when the victim was accompanied by a friend as well as
when the victim was alone. One study found Lhat hitchhikers were more likely to obtain

rides when they used direct eye contact than when they failed to use eye contact (Snyder,
Grether, & Keller, 1974).
Laboratory studies likewise confirm the Direct Effects Model for gaze, Burgoon and

colleagues (1986) provided additional empirical support for the Direct Effects Model (or
Social Meaning Model) when they found that a person was judged more likely to be hired
for ajob when gazing than when not gazing. Specifically. they reported that gaze aversion
carried very negative meanings and was very unpersuasive, whereas gaze was highly effective in interpersonal persuasion.
G,:l7e l11i.ly be effective in gaining compliance because it is simultaneously powerful

and immediate (Andersen. 1985; Segrin. 1990). Linkey and Firestone (1990), for example,
examined a group disclission task and found that influence was primarily a function of the
visual dominance ratio (the degree to which one person looked at hislher partner divided

by the degree to which the partner looked at him/her). Research by Liss, Walker,
Ha7elton. and Cupach (1993) showed that compliance correlated strongly with mutual
gaze. sugge~ling that eye contact by a persuader is a potent predictor of compliance, In a
study of televised debates in Denmark, all of the eleven speakers who gazed intensely at

their audience won their debates and lost none (Jorgensen, Kock, & Rorbeck, 1998) suggesting that the persuasive effects of eye gaze may be cross-cultural.
In a statistical summary of research called a meta-analysis, Segrin (1993) combined
the result:, of 49 nonverbal studier-.. including 12 on gaze behavior. Gaze produced greater
campi iance than averted gaze in everyone of the 12 studies. Though the persuasive effects
of gaze were not huge, they were quite consistent: Gaze and eye contact increase compliance. This entire body of research. in study after study, shows that gaze, dominant gaze,
and mutual gaze all seem to have persuasive effects.

Touch alld Persuasioll

Touch. like eye behavior, is generally perceived as a warm, friendly behavior except in
situations where the touch is hostile or there is a preexisting negative relationship between
the interactants. A large number of studies indicate that touch, even by a stranger, has
positive effects on persuasion.

One study (Kleinke, 1977) tested whether sLrangers could be persuaded to return
change left in an airport phone booth. When strangers who found the change were asked to
return the change with a gentle tOllch. 96 percent of them complied. When no touch ac-

companied the request. only 63 percent complied. Similarly, in two field studies of compliance behavior. Willis and Hamm (1980) had experimenters ask strangers to comply by
signing a petition or filling out a questionnaire. In both experiments half the strangers

168

Pan II Per,HIlHioli Variahfe~: Penpec lil'('l 011 Source.", R('n'il'l'ro;. Chlllllle/\,

(III(/

Me.\WI/.:c.\

received touch. and half received no touch while other communication cue ... remained constant acros~ the two groups. In the first experiment ~trangcr~ signed the petition 81 percent
of the time when touched but only 50 percent of the time when not touched. In the second
experiment .... trangers completed the queMionnaire 70 percent of the time when touched
but ani) 40 percent of the time when not touched. Re\uit\ of both experiment>, ,hawed
significant. po ... itive effect ... of touch on compliance.
Studie~ of service encounters have ~hown thill waitres ...es touch increase~ compliance behavior. In two studies. when waitres~es touched Lhc hand or arm of customers. they
received bigger tips (Cru,"" & Wetzel. 1984: Stephen & Zweigenhaft. 1985). A recent
~tudy found that when waitresses asked bar patrons if they wanted somcthing to drink.
their touch resulted in significantly more alcohol consumption than when thcy did not
touch the patron (Kaufman & Mahoney. 1999).
One comlllon persutl ... i\,e ... trategy is called the fOOl -in-the-door technique. where a
small request is followed by a larger request (see chapter 12 of this lext and Gass & Seiter.
2003 for a good summary). Several studies have showll that touch increases the fool-in~
the-door effect. An invcMigation into the effects of tOllch on volunteering for charity. employing 3 foot~in-the-door appeal, showed that touch increased compliance in most
experilllcntal conditions (Goldman. Kiyohara. & Pfannen:-teil, 1985) and was effective
even following an initially negative communication. Patterson. Powell. and Lenihan
(1986) employed touch in an experiment in which students were asked to help ... core ex~
ams. After Ilcoring some exams, "'Iudents were asked to May and score additional lest ....
Students who were touched !'.tf.lyed longer to score the exams than ~tudents who were not
touched. The authors attributed the increased compliance to perceptions of greater liking
and/or status of the experimenter who did the touching.
In a meta-analysis of 13 studies examining the influence of touch on compliance,
Segrin (1993) reported that touch showed a positive. consistent effect on compliance
across the 13 studies. In virtually all these studies experimenters touched a !'.tranger on the
arm while making a requc ... t und compared the response to that received when there was no
touching.
Linle i... known about the effects of per... uasive touch in close relation",hips. nor have
we examined the effects of more intimate types of touch-such as ... trakes. caresses. or
squeeles-or more intimate targets of touch such as the chest or face. Anecdotal evidence
suggests that compliancc requests in intimate relationships are often accompanied by a
touch.

Killesic Behavior alld Persuasioll

Kinesics is the study of comlllunication via body movements. One kinesic behavior. the
open body position. has been associated with greuter immediacy and approachability
(Andersen. 1985). Mehrabian (1969) reported that open arm and leg po,ition, create positive attitudes in receivers. Morris (1977) has shown that kinesic '"barrier signals" communicate defensiveness and avoidance. the opposite of the attitudes indicated by open body
postures. In a study of opinion change. McGinley. LeFevre. and McGinley (1975) reponed that open body positions result in more persuasion than when communicators keep

Chapter I () I"fluef/tial Actio1lS

169

Ihcir knees and feel logelher. arms folded and held clo,e 10 Ihe body. The "udy of 37
Dani ... h televised political debates discw.. '1ed earlier (Jorgensen et al.. 1998) found that debaters with more open body pol.itures did ,ignilicantly better than those with closed body
pm,tures. The researchers also examined what they called "a di~mil)sive attitude," conveyed by closed posture and an unfriendly facial expression. Five of the six debaters displaying this dismil.il.iive attitude lost.
The smile is particularly persua'-,ivc. Receivers of communication message!.. are disarmed by a smiling person and more likely to comply wilh his or her request. Burgoon,
Birk, and Pfall (1990) examined the impact of several kinesic behaviors on persuasion and
found that facial pleasantness was mOSI predictive of persuasive success. Liss and colleagues (1993) examined the effect of o;,miling on compliance gaining and found that more
smiling resulted in greater compliance.
Part of persuasive immediacy is bodily animation. Burgoon and colleagues (1990)
also report that more overall bodily mO\ement and animation correlated with persuasiveness. Similarly in the Danish debate study. winning debaters showed an animated and energetic kinesic style by a ratio of I I to I and gesturally animated debaters won by a ratio
of 12 to 2 (Jorgensen et al.. 199R). Together these studies suggest that persuasion is facilitated by kinesic uClivity that includes open body position .... positive facial affect. and
kinesic animation.

Vocal Cues alld Persuasioll

SlUdic~ tend to ~how a positive link between vocal immediacy and persuasion. A series of
sludies by Buller and his associate~ ~uggeSl that vocal immediacy cues. including a pleasant tone of voice and a fast delivery. are linked to greater compliance. Interestingly, these
effects are particularly true for individuals who are skilled decoders of nonverbal communicalion (Buller & Aune. 1988. 1992: Buller & Burgoon. 1986: Buller. LePoire. Aune, &
Eloy. 1992). Segrin', (1993) "ali"ical summary of Ihe research showed Ihal bOlh vocal
rate and vocal pleasantne~s were associated with persua!-tion. A slightly different finding
was reported by Burgoon and colleagues (1990). who found that persuasiveness increased
with greater vocal nuency and pitch variety but not with greater vocal pleasantness.
In Ihe Danish debale "udies Jorgensen and colleagues (1998) found Ihal speakers
with modulated voices (e.g .. greater pitch variation) were more likely to win than speakers
with monotonous voices. Likewise. vocally energetic !o.peakers were often debate winners
and inarticulate debaters were often losers.
Other slUdie~ generally support the ...erics of !\tudies by Buller and his associates indicating that faster rates of vOl:al delivery arc a ... sociatcd with greater persuasiveness
(Apple. Slreeler. & Krauss. 1979: MacLachlan. 1979: Miller. Maruyuma. Beaber. & Malonc. 1976). These studies suggested that faster delivery is associated with competence
and confidence and is unlikely to be used by an insecure or deceptive person.
While morc research on vocalic inlluences on persuasion needs to be conducted.
current research suggests that a fast. pleasant. vocally varied nonverbal communication
style will make verbal communication more per!-tuasive. This may be particularly true on
the telephone. where vocalic information is the only available nonverbal cue.

170

Pan II Persuasion Variables: Perspectil'es on Source.!'., Rl'(,l'iI'l'r\,

C/UII/Ill'/,\,

al/{I Ml' \'\'aKes

Multidimensional Nonverbal Clles and PerSllasioll

So far the discussion has focused on the per~uasivc impact of ~ingle nonverbal cues like
touching or smiling. But research ha~ found that nonverbal immediacy is usually communicated though multidimensional di!>.plays that include ~cveral nonverbal immediacy cues
simultaneously. Some nonverbal persuasion studie\ have examined the impact of \everal
nonverbal cues in combination, The most cOl11mon experimental manipulation ha\ examined the simultaneous persuasive effects of touch and gale.

TouchGaze Combinatiolls alld Persuasion. A number of studies have examined the

persuasive impact of both touch and gaze in combination, This approach permits an examination of whether one of these cues can sub!>.titute for the other. their relative persuasive impact. and whether they have additive or cUlllulative effect!>,. Kleink.c (1977)
reported two such experiments that examined the effect of gaL.e and touch on compliance.
In the first study, the experimenter left a dime in a phone booth. and when a !>!ubject found
the dime the experimenter requested it back, The experimenter manipulated gale and
touch to generate four experimental combinations: (I) louch and gaze. (2) louch alone. (3)
gaze alone. and (4) neither touch nor gaze. Combined touch and gaze resulted in the greatest number of dimes being returned, indicating that lOut.:h and gaze have additive effect{"
on compliance. In the second ~tudy. experimenters asked ... trangers in a !>'hopping mall if
they would lend them a dime. As with the fin,t experimcnt. four combination ... of touch
and gaze were employed and results again showed Ihat combined touch and gale produced increased compliance. The researcher's explanation b thm touch and gaze increase
both attention and involvement. making noncompliance morc difficult. In another ~lnic1e.
Kleinke (1980) reported two experiments, which replicated the 1977 "udy while also adding a legitimate request (dime for a phone call) and an illegitimate reque~1 (dime for a
candy bar). Results replicated the 1977 study for the legitimate rcque ... t. blll for the illegitimate requests greater compliance was obtained through ahsence of tollch or eye contact.
since the experimenter may have appeared more tactful or humble. A rcplil:ation of
Kleinke's (1977) phone booth experiment by Brockner. Pre"man. Cabill. and Moran
(1982) showed that both touch and eye contact independently increa ... ed compliance. The
data from these five studies show cumulative effects of both touch and eye contact consistent with the Direct Effects, or Social Meaning. models. Tilese findings have substantial
practical importance for persua~ioll, When trying to promote positive health hchaviors.
soliciting for charity. or getting assistance from a stranger. the combination of tollch and
gaze considerably increases the chances of complianl:c with one's request.
Persuasioll and Other Muitidimensiollal l ml1lediacy Behaviors.

Studie ... of the persuasive impact of multidimensional nonverbal immediacy cues ~how a pattern !>!imilar to
single cues and combinations of gale and touch: immediacy produces pcrsllilsion. One
study of classroom compliance employing multiple indices of immediacy found that students were more likely to engage in communication practices ~uggestcd by immediale
rather than nonimmediate teachers (J. Andersen. 1979). Burgoon. Birk. and Pl'au (1990)
reported a similar finding in a study of persuasive spe.akcr~. Specifically. the) found that
increased persuasive effects were associated with \ot.:alic beha\ior ... (\ouch a~ longer

Chapler J 0

'nj1I1l!lIfial ACliOllS

171

pauses, vocal pleasantness, and pitch variety). increased eye gaze. more smiling. greater
facial expressiveness, and more overall movement. Recently. research has also ~ho\Vn that
individuals use nonverbal communication to resist persuasion. In a study of rejection
strategies for flirtatious advances. Trost and Engstrom ( 1994) reponed that rejecters avoid
nonverbal contact. ignore the persuader, maintain larger personal space, act cold and unin terested, display alternative relational ties (e.g .. engagement rings). and act nervou s and
uneasy.

Multichanlleled, Mediated, Persuasive Cues.

Many of the persuasive messages we

receive come through mediated channels such as radio. television. and the Internet. Immediacy cues also seem to produce persua sive effects in mediated as well as face-lo-face
communication. Studies of television newscasters, for example. have shown that nonverbal behaviors influence viewers in a variety of ways. We treat newsca~ters as virtual acquaintances who are nightly guests in our homes. For many years Walter Cronkite. the
anchorman for CBS news, was considered the most credible man in America.
Studies show that the nonverbal behavior of television newscasters affects voting
preferences. Friedman. Mertz. and DiMatteo ( 1980) reponed that newscaste rs' facial expressions were consistently biased toward certain candidates at levels unlikely to occur by
chance. In the 1976 election Walter Cronkite. David Brinkley, and Harry Reasoner
showed more favorable facial expressions when reporting about Carter than about Ford.
John Chancellor and Barbara Walters showed more facial positivity toward Ford than toward Carter. Verbal content showed no corresponding bias. Two studies replicated and
extended these findings to the 1984 elections and showed that biased facial expression~
were associated with voting behavior of viewers (Mullen. 1986). In the first study, these
researchers found that Dan Rather of CBS and Tom Brokaw of NBC showed no facial
bias during stories about Reagan or Mondale. However. Peter Jennings of ABC exhibited
strong facial bias toward Reagan over Mondale. The second ~tudy examined voters in four
cities in Ohio. Misso uri. Massac hu sett s, and Penn sy lvania and showed that in eac h city
viewers of ABC had significantly more favorable attitudes toward Reagan than viewers of
NBC or CBS. While pro-Reagan viewers might have tuned in more to ABC. Mullen and
colleagues believed that their study actually de monstrated a subtle. peripheral route to persuasion. occulTing without deliberate. consciolls consideration of arguments. In e ither case
this study suggested a strong association among nonverbal behavior. televis.ion viewing.
and electoral decisions.
Recent studies of the Internet have suggested that perce ived proxemic cues affect
compliance. Moon (1999) reports thai one proxemic variable, the perceived distance of
one's partner during computer-mediated communication. correlated with the amount of
persuasion. People who believed that they were communicating with someo ne several
miles away complied more frequently than if they perceived that the person was. thousands
of miles away.

Appearal/ce and Credibility: The Halo Effect

People use simple. obvious, nonverbal cues as shorthand indicators of statu s and credibil ity. While evidence has shown that good looks or ni ce clothes are not an indication of

J 72

PUrl II Per:ma.sioll Variahles: PerspeCli\'l!\

()/I

SO/lrces. Receilen. CluJ/lI/eis. (llId Me .\,\(/gl'.\

greate r co mpeten ce or credi bili ty (Feingold. 1992). a large body of studies ha!o. "ugge~tcd
that we belie\'e that well-d ressed, good looking people are s marter. warmer. more hone"t
and the refore more deserving of compli ancc than less well dressed. unattractive individuals. This is called the "halo effec t," whereby one positive quality in a person call~e~ us to
assume that the indi vidual has many positive qualities.
Our clothing does more th an protect and conceal our bodies; it communicate" our
status and credibil ity. Studies have show n that apparel is not an immediacy behavior like
touch. gaze. and s milin g (Andersen. Andersen. & Jensen. 1979 ). Instead. rc~earch suggcsts that clothing is a statu s or cred ibilit y cue llmt has powerful persuasive effec t ~ (~ee
Andersen. 1999).
People are more likely to comp ly with rc~pcc tablc and conventional pers uader" than
with those who appear to be weird and unreliable. Studies reveal that a conventional attire
or appearance has more positive per~uasivc effects than does an uncon ven tional appearance. In general. "dressing up" is recommcnded for most persuasive situation s: people arc
more likely to comply with hi gh-~ latu s people than with low-statu s ones. In one ~ tud y
(Bic kman. 197 1). a stimulus person left change in a public phone booth and waited until
the next caller found it. When the ~ timulu~ per~on wa~ well dressed. 77 percent o f the
~ ubj ec t s admitting finding the money and ret urned the change: when the stimulu s per~on
was poorly dressed, only 38 percenl of caliers relUmed Ihe change. Similarly, Raymond
and Unger ( 1972) found that pa~~ersby were mo re willing to make chan ge for cOl1\cntionally dressed indi vidual s than for unconventionally dressed ones. Likew ise. Kl einke
(1977) found Ihal more people " Ienl" a dime 10 a neall y ralher Ihan a sloppil y drcs;ed
expe rime nter.
In a petition-signing study by MacNeill and Wil son (1972). experimemcrs obtained
more signat ures when dressed conventionally (su it and tie with short hair) than unco nv entionally (faded army jacket with lon g hair) . Likewi se. Keasey and Tomlin son-Keascy
(1973) found that conventionally dressed male and female petitioners were able to obtain
more signatures on petition~ against the U.S. inva ~ ion of Cambodia than "hippic" pcti tioners. In a similar study , Darley and Cooper (1972) examined the impact of countc rcu ltural or "hippie" appearance on political campa ign e ffecti ve ness. They found that
voters we re less likel y to take a leaflct from a " hippi e" than from a co nventio nall y drc~scd
campaig ner-H nd were more likely to throw it away after having taken it. Moreover. voters allribuled more radical. less acccpwbic views 10 candidalcs supponed by hippi es Ihan
to those supported by co nven tion all y drc~"ied campaigners. Similarly. people were found
to be more likel y to donate money to charit y to a per~on w ith short hair dre~~cd in a jacket
and tie than to a perso n with long hair dressed in jean~ and sandal s (Chaikin. Oerlega.
Yoder. & Phillips. 1974). One sludy found Ihal passersby were more likel y 10 an"ver a
survey administered by a co nven tionall y dressed interviewer than by an unconventionally
dressed one (Walker. Harriman. & COSielio. 1980). However. allnlher "udy Ihmlooked "I
the e ffect s of five types of womcn's clothing on willingness to complete a qu es tionnaire
revealed no significant differen ces between women dressed in a formal ~kirt. formal pants.
casual skin , casual pal1ls, and jeans (Harri s el al.. 1983).
Clothing also signifies authority. Ho ~pi tal doctors. law enforcement officer~. and
so ldie rs wear uniforms to instantaneously comm uni cate their authority: and people are exceedingly likel y to comply with suc h authority figures. For example. medical profes<.;ion-

Chapler 10 IIlj1U('Iltill/ Actions

173

als, especially in hospitals, typically wear a white coat or dress to communicate authority.
This enables them to make us wait, go to designated rooms, take off our clothes, and to
submit to embarrassing or painful medical procedures. In Milgram's (1974) classic experiments, in which he successfully induced participants to provide shocks (that they believed
were real) to students in laboratory learning studies, compliance was gained by an experimenter wearing a gray technician's coat over a white shirt and tie. Bushman (1988) conducted a study in which a female randomly stopped pedeMrians and said. "This fellow is
overparked at the meter and doesn't have any change. Give him a nickel." This female
wore different clothing in three experimental conditions. When dressed in 11 uniform. she
gained more compliance than when in business auire or casual dress. The nondescript blue
uniform produced compliance 72 percent of the time, whereas only 48 percent compliance
was ga ined in the business auire condit ion and 52 percent in the casual attire condition.
Similarly, well-dressed men receive better and quicker service in department stores than
less well-dressed men (Stead & Zinkhan. 1986). One study found that salespeople were
more likely to comply with complai nt -based requests in department stores from a welldressed person th an from a less well dressed one (Krapfe!. 1988).
In his statistical summary of 19 studies, Segrin (1993) concluded that the more formal or high status the clothing, the greater the compliance rate obtained. Evidcntly. we are
more like ly to permit appropriately and well-dressed individuals to approach us and to
gain our tru ~ t than we are to allow inappropriately or less conventionally dre%ed individuals to do so. Moreover. Segrin found that the greater the status manipUlation in physical
appearance studi es, the greater the magnitude of the effect. Clearly, stalU~ pcr'-,uades; and
clothing acts as a highly salient !'.urrogate for a person's Matus.

Expectancy Violations Theory

Expectancy Violations Theory emerged as an alternative explanation for thc persuasive
impact of immed iacy behavior. particularly proxemic behavior (Burgoon & Jones, 1976).
This theory claims that each pers-on has cultural and personal expectations about the normal distances people maintain during interaction. Attractive or rewarding individuals are
more persuasive if they stand c loser or farther than th e nOl'm. whereas unattractive or unrewardin g individuals will be more persuasive if they maintain normal distances. Highly
rewardin g individuals who vio late norms draw attention to their positive characteristics
and enhance their personal persuasiveness. perhaps through the halo effcct'-, discussed
previously.
Several stud ies of proxemic behavior have provided support for the theory. Stacks
and Burgoon (1979) found that rewarding communicators were more persuasive at either
closer or farther distances than at nonnative distances. As predicted by the theory, unrewarding individuals produced no difference in persuasiveness at close, normal. or far distan ces. Two studies by Burgoon and Aho (1982) provided additional support for this
theory. In both studie s. distance had no significant cffcct on compliance for either lowreward or high-reward communicators. though reward itself produced significant effects.
Alben and Dabbs ( 1970) reported that actual persuasion was greater m far distances (14 to
15 feet) than at either close or lIIoderate distances (I to 5 feet). Buller (1987) conducted a

174

Part II Persllasiml Variables: Perspectil'eson Sources, Receil'er,\. Challnel\, lIml Messages

study in which cxperimcntcrs as~umcd closc. moderatc. or far distanccs while attempting
to get citizens to sign petitions. Findings showed that close distances resulled in the greatest compliance. while moderate and far distances resulted in lower levels of compliance.
Neither Albert and Dabbs nor Buller manipulated the reward value. but their results suggest that non-nomlative distance can increase compliance.
In an extension of Expectancy Violations Theory to voca lic communication. Buller
and Burgoon (1986) showed that pleasant voices (a positive norm violation) produced
more compliance. but only for good decoders. Poor decoders complied more with hostile
voices (a negative norm violation) than with neutral or pleasant ones. While reward value
was not successfully manipulated, the study provided some support for the expectancy
violation model.
Expectancy Violations Theory was expanded to eye behavior in two studie\
(Burgoon el al.. 1985. 1986). BOlh sludie, employed eilher rewarding (well-qualified job
interviewees) confederates or nonrewarding (unqualified job interviewees) confedenHc ...
and differing levels of eye gaze. Resuhs of Ihese studies provided lillie support for Ihe
Expectancy Violations Theory, since the primary results showed direct persuasive effects
for increased levels of gaze regardless of reward value. These results supported the Social
Meaning or DirecI Effecls Model described previously.
Expeclancy Violalions Theory has received some genem l confirmalion, bUllhe support for its persuasive effects is mixed. Moreover. since few of the studies that have tested
Expectancy Violations Theory have actually co nfirmed whether expectations were violaled or nOI. a cenlrallenel of Ihe Iheory remains unlesled (Segrin. 1990). Proxemic behavior is best explained by Expectancy Violations Theory. which suggests that a rewarding
individual .,hould probably stand closer or fanher than the normal interaction distance for
maximal persua"ive effects. Standing at a "normal" distance may be t1l0~t persuasive for
unrewarding communicators.

Distraction Models
Distraction models share some similarity with Expec tancy Violations Theory. These models suggest that if a source's nonverbal behavior distracts. the receiver is more susceptible
10 persuasion. Slacks and Burgoon (1979) predicled Ihal dislance violalions would produce more persuasion because of their distracting propertic .... Unfonunately. they found
that distance violations had no effect on a self-reported distraction mea:\ure. However.
close and far distance violations were more persuasive than a normal distance. Why did
distance violations produce more persuasion? Perhaps distraction worked even though
subjects were unaware of the distraction and were therefore unable to self-report it. Distance violations may also produce arousal effects. Another ... tudy by Stacks and Burgoon
(1981) reported a significanl effecI of bOlh dislance violalions and exlremes of physical
attraction on distraction. Small persuasive effects were found for physical attraction and
none for distance violations. thus providing better support for distraction models. In a test
of Ihe dislracling effecls of rapidly spoken messages on per;uasion. Woodall and Burgoon
(1983) showed that fast messages were more distracting than mes~age" delivered at a
nomal pace. but no persuasive effects of faster messages were found.

Ch;}ptcr 10 Inp/lemilll ACliom

175

Bulle r ( 1986) conduc ted a meta-analysis of 38 'itudies that examined the diMractionpersuasion re lationship. His \tudy indi cated that commu ni cation-irrelevant factors ~ u c h as
noise or visual di stractions ge nerall y reduced persuasion and attitude change. because they
impeded comprehension of the mes\ages. However. communicati on-relevant distractions.
such as highl y attractive or credible sources. c3 u\ecl receivers to focu\ on these positi ve
qualities and prod uced a positive effec t on persuasion. If the source had low attrac ti veness
or credibility, foc using on the ~peaker red uced attitude change because these negative di stracti ons impeded believability and persuasion. In genera l. positively regarded source!o.
may benefit by focusing the recei\er'~ ~Hlention on that source's po~itive charac teristi cs. a
finding consistent with Expectancy Violations Theory , POllY and Cacioppo's (1986) work
on persuasion and cog niti on may also help expla in the process of di\traction. Basically
they have shown that distraction aids the persuasion process if the me\sage is of low quality. In thi s ci rc um stance a distracting appearancc or proxemic be havior. fo r example.
would di stnlc t a per:;on so that the receiver might not be ab le 10 conccn trate on the many
naws in the message. Hi gh-qualit y persuasive arguments. on the other hand. wou ld be less
effective when a receiver was distmcted by con..,picuous nonve rbal cue~. for much the
sa me reaso n. The receiver ca nnot concen trate on the hi gh-q ua lit y mes~age. so its effecti ve ness is reduced.

Communication Accommodatioll Theory

Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) deals primarily with the voca li c or
paralinguistic effec ts o f nonverbal co mmunicat ion. It posits thut li..,tener~ perceive ~pcech
similar to their own as more attract ive. pleasant. inte ll igible. and per,;"uasive than unfamiliar speech (S treet. 1982: Strect & Brady, 1982: Street & Giles, 1982), Furthermore.
speakers typically adjust or accommodate their ~pecch (Q the ~ t yle or rate of th e other
interactant. even th ough m o~ t ~peaker~ are unaware of thi~ accommodation (Street, 1982).
Based on thi s theory. speake rs who adjust to the comm uni cat ion of their liste ners should
be morc persuasive. Several recen t studi es pro vide .., upport for the pe rsuas ive effects of
comm unication accommodation. Buller and Aune (1988) reported that good decoders
were most likely to comply with faster message~ . Thi~ finding did not hold true fo r poor
decoders, Why did good decoders prefer fast mes>"ge,'J The authors "bo found that good
decoders spoke fa~ter. so faster ~pca k er~ see med to prefer to listen 10 fas ter speech. a position consistent with CAT, A seco nd slUdy by Buller and Aune ( 1989) partially repli cated
the first study. Again. good decoders spoke faster th an poor decoders, though no effect
was found for ac tual or perceived similarity of speech rate on compliance. However. poor
decoders. who generally speak slow ly. complied most with the moderately slow voice.
whereas good decoders (who gene rally speak fast) complied most with moderately fast
and ve ry fa>t voices, These findings suggest that people are inl1uenceo by those who speak
at the same rate as th ey do.
Another study support ive of CAT, by Burgoo n and colleagues ( 1987), exa mined the
effec ts of a number of comlllunication variables on patients' compliance with their
physician's advice. Among the many cOl1llllun icmion \ariable~ tested. o nl y perceived
similarit y corrclutcd signifi can tl y with co mpli ance. a fi nd ing co nsistcn t wi th CAT. A final

176

Pari II Per.\'IIClS;01I Variables: Per.<.pecti\'es on Sources. Receil'(' rs. Challnels. and Message:,
study by Buller and Burgoon (1986) showed that good nonverbal decoders complied more
with pleasant voices than with neutral or hostile voices, whereas poor decoders complied
most in the hostile condition, moderately in the neutral condition, and least in the pleasant
condition. Since good decoders are more affiliative. composed, and social than poor decoders. Buller and Burgoon suggeMed CAT as the explanation. People are more likely to
comply with tones of voice that are similar to their own.
Several studies not based on CAT show that rapid speech enhances persuasion
(Apple et al.. 1979: Buller & Aune, 1988; MacLachlan. 1979; Miller el aI., 1976). Rapid
speech may enhance persuasion by increasing the effort it takes to perceive the message or
by improving the perceived competence of the source. One study, however (Woodall &
Burgoon, 1983). found that fast rates had the same persuasive effect as slow rates. One
explanation for these results is the region in which the studies were conducted. As noted
previously, both Ihe Apple el al. study and Ihe MacLachlan studies were conducted in
New York, whereas the studies by both Buller and Aune and Miller and colleagues employed subjects from urban Southern California and Arizona, where fast speech is the
norm. The Woodall and Burgoon study. in contrast, was conducted in the Southeast.
where speech is considerably slower. Thus. it may be that slow speakers are more persuasive in the South whereas fast speakers are more persuasive in the North and Pacific West.
CAT. as applied 10 vocalic behaviors and persuasion, has received suppon. Communicators would probably be well advised to use vocalic cues similar to their persuasive
targets to m3ximiL.:e compliance. Speech accommodation is a complex dyadic process in
which both interactants adapt to the other's speaking style. Since no study of this dyadic
type of social interaction has yet been conducted, the theory remains untested in its most
complete form (Segrin. 1990). CAT could be applied to other areas of nonverbal communication. However, substantial support for the Direct Effects Model, according to which
increased gaze. faster speech, or more touch is persuasive. presents a problem for CAT.
Unless most receivers of persuasive messages were high gazers, fast speakers, and frequent lOuchers- a condition untrue by definition-the Direct Effects Model would be
more predictive than CAT. The likelihood that more immediacy is more important than
morc accommodation also supports the Direct Effects Model rather than CAT. However, a
combination of immediacy and accommodation may be highly effective. given that both
forms of communication seek to enhance persuasion in prior research.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

In an attempt to create a comprehensive model of persuasion that subsumed all prior findings on persuasion, Pelly and Cacioppo (1986) crealed the Elaboration Likelihood Model
(ELM). As noted in previous chaplers, the cenlral concepl of the ELM is that two types of
persuasion exist. The first type of persuasion results from the careful and thoughtful consideration of the merits of the information presented in a message and is called the central
rowe. The second type of persuasion results from cues in a persuasive context. such as an
attractive source, without necessitating scrutiny of the actual merits of the information;
Ihis is called the peripheral rOLlte. Petty and Cacioppo (1986) assened thai persuasion pro-

Chapter 10 Influential Actions

177

cessed through the central route appears to be more enduring than that which is processed
"peripherally. "
The ELM has becn widely criticized in communication for weak and circular definitions of key components of the model and insufficient a priori specification of whether
cues will be processed centrally or peripherally (see Stiff & Boster, 1987). Perhaps even
more important. the ELM privileges the central route of verbal and logical persuasion and,
by relegating most nonverbal communication to the peripheral route. fails to recognize
bOLh the power of nonverbal communication and the true intent of the persuasive message.
First. the very terms cemral and peripheral suggest that one type of communication
(i.e .. logical. thoughtful. verbal) has more va lidity than the other (intuitive. instinctual.
nonverbal). Evidence suggests. however, that intuition abollt the character. expenise, or
competence of a source is an equally valid type of persuasive assessmenl. Since Aristotle
first introduced ethos as a central concept in rhclOric and pcrsuasion. peripheral me~sages
such as source characterislics have bcen considered a valid and rapid means of assessing
the merits of an argumenl. Detection of deception and subtle incongrucnt cues may be
more important than discerning the syllogistic and cvidentiary structure of the arguments
in human interaction. Indeed. the abundant literature on deception detection suggests that
deception is often detected from subtle, incongruent cues.
Second. the available summaries of literature (see Andersen. 1999; Segrin. 1993)
suggest that nonverbal communication is at least as powerful as the traditional central
route message variables such as evidence that has relatively wcak effects.
Third. central processing, the preferred or favored route according to the ELM. may
still entail numerous errors of logic and reasoning (Kahneman, Slavic. & Tverksy. 1982).
Indeed, the primary purpose of so-called logical communication in human beings may be
more to rationalize and harmonize competing cognitions (Cialdini, 1984; Stacks &
Andersen. 1989) than to search for truth with a capital T. Persuasion is as like ly to be
abollt harmonization of the relations among people and between disparate connections in
the human brain as it is to be about the cold logic of'truth."
Finally, in their initial formulation Petty and Cacioppo insisted thm the central and
peripheral routes were separate paths and that receivers of persuasive messages chose between them. Communication researchers have criticized the ELM for this dichotomization
of the central and peripheral route (Mongeau & Stiff. 1993). Though the founders of the
ELM have recanted on this position (Petty et aI., 1993) the best advice to receivers of a
persuasive mc:-,sage is 10 u~c both verbal, logical processes and nonverbal, intuitive processes in making judgments about per~uasive messages. Indeed, research on aspects of the
ELM has suggested that so-called central and peripheral cues actually interact in good decision making (see Puckett. Petty. Cacioppo. & Fisher. 1983).

Conclusion
Research suggests that nonverbal communication has as much or more persuasive impact
than verbal communication and overwhelmingly suppons the Direct Effects Model of Immediacy. More immediate. involving communication produces more persuasive impact.

178

Part II PenlillSioll Variab/e,\: Penpeclil'(!.\ 011 50/lrc('\. Receill'Ys. CiuUllleiJ. (lml Messages

Whether nonverbal immediacy i~ increased in a \ingle channel or in multiple channels,

touch. gaze, ~miling. and other nonverbal cues have a po!\itive impact on persuasion.

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011 petition ,'IiWlillg bl'lulI'ior. Unpubli ... hcd M:1l1u ...cripl. Illinoi s Slate University. Normal. IL.
McGinlcy. 1-1 .. LeFevrc. R" & McGinley, A. (11)75). The inlluence of communicator's body position on
opinion change in other.... jOlllal of Penol/alif.\" {/luI Social Psychology. 3 J. 686-690.
Mchrahian. A. (1969). Significance of po~turc and po ... ition III the communication. altitude and ... tatu .. rclat ion ... hi p.... P~ycl/Ologic{jl BII/ll'till. 71 . .159-372.
Milgram. S. (197-1.). Obedience to authority. New York Ilarper & Row.
Miller. N .. Maruyama. G .. Beaber. R .. & Malone. K. (1976). Speed of spcech and persuasion. jOlll'l/ol of
P('nonalit.\' and Social P.~yd/Ologl'. 34, 615-62-1..
Mongeau, P. A.. & SlitT. J. B. (199.1) Specifying the ELM: Specifying casual relation:-hips in the Elaboration Likelihood Model. COII/lI/Ulli('(I{iOIl Theon'. 3. 65-72.
Moon. Y. (1999). Thc cffcct~ of phy<.;ical di",wlll:e amI re:-pOll',e lalency on persuasion in computcrmcdialed communication and in human -co mputer communication. journal of Experimental P.\ ydrology: Applied. 5, 379-392.
Murri .... D. ( 1(77). Mallll'lltching: A field gllidc to III/II/wl IU"UIIior. New York: Abram~.

d,.".\.,

180

Part II Persuasion Variables: Penpecril'es

Oil

Source:), Recein!rs. Channels, and Messages

Mullen. B .. Futrell. D .. Stair..... D .. Tice. D .. Baumeister, R.. Dawson, K .. Riordan. C. Radioff. C.

Goetha1 .... G .. Kennedy. 1.. & RO!:oCnfeld. P. (1986). New~casters' facial expressions and voting behavior of viewers: Can a smile elect a president? Journal of Perso"aliTY and Social Psychology. 5/.
291 - 295.
1"IUt.!f';on, M. L., Powell. J. L.. & Lenihan. M . G. (1986). Touch. compliance. and interpersonal affect.
Journal of Nom'erbal Belu/I'ior. /0. 4 I- 50.
Pelly. R. E., & Cacioppo. J. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In L. Berkowitl
(Ed.). Admllces ill Experimelltal Socia/ Psychology (vol. 19, pp. 123-205). New York: Academic
Pres ...
Pt.!lIy. R. E.. Wegener. D. T.. Fabrigar. L. R.. PreiMer. J. R.. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1993). Specifying the
ELM: Conceptual and methodological issues in the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Per~uasion: A
reply to the Michigan State Critics. Commullication Theor)', 3, 336-362.
Puckett, 1.. Peuy, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Fbher. D. (1983). The relative impacts of age and nttractiveness stereotypes on persuasion. Journal of GerofllOlop,y. 38, 340-343.
Raymond. B. J .. & Unger. R. K. (1972). "The apparel oft proclaim~ the man": Cooperation wi th deviant
and conventional youths. Joul'llal of Social Psychology, 87, 75-82.
Scgrin, C. (1990. November). NOIII'erblll behavior (llid compliance: Affiliation, arousal or domina lice .
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Speech Communication Association. Chicago.
Segrin. C. (1993). The effects of nonverbal behavior on outcomes of compliance-gaining attempts. COIIII/lImiClltiu" Swdies. 44,169- 187.
Snyder. M .. Grether. 1.. & Keller, J. (1974). Staring and compliance: A field experiment on hitchhiking.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 4. 165- 170.
Stacks, D. W .. & Anderscn, P. A. (1989). The modular mind: Implications for intrapersonal communication. SOllthern Cum1l!wlicatiofl JOl/rna/. J. 273- 293.
Stnd,,,. D. W., & Burgoon. J. K. (1979. April). The perJIIIsi!'e (1fects of l'iolatillg spacial disItIll('e expectations in small groups. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Speed Communi
cation As~ociation Convention, Biloxi. MS.
Stacks. D. W .. & Burgoon, J. K. (1981). The role of nonverbal behav iors as distractors in resistance to
persua~ion in interpersonal contexts. Celllral SllIte.' Speech Journal. 32.61-73.
Stead, B. A" & Zinkhan. G. M. (1986). Service priority in department stores: The effect.'. of customer
gender ami dress. Sex Role.I, 15, 601 - 611.
Stcphen. R., & Zweigenhafl, R. L. (1985). The effect on tipping of a waitress touching male and femalc
customers. JOllrlllll of Social P:.ychology. 126. 141 - 142.
Stiff. 1. B.. & Boster. F. J. (1987). Cognitive processing: Additional thoughts and a reply to Petty, Kasner.
Hauglvedl. and Cacioppo. CommunicaTion MOflographs. 54, 233-249.
Street. R. L (1982). Evaluation of noncontcnt !o.peech accommodation. LaIlRlwge and COIl/Il1l11Jicalioll. 2,
13- 31.
Strcet. R. L.. & Brady. R. M. (1982). Speech rate acceptance ranges as a function of evalw.ltive domain.
Ibtener !)peech rate and communication context. Commullicatioll Monographs, 49, 290-308.
Street. R. L .. & Gile~, H. (1982). Speech accommodation theory: A social cognitive approach to langll<lgc
nnd speech bchnvior. In M. Roloff &
Berger (Eds.). Social cogniTion and romflllllliclllioll (pp.
193- 226). Beverly Hilb. CA: Sage.
Trost. M. R.. & Engstrom, C (1994, February) ... flil tlte road Jack": StraTegies for rejecting j1irtmiOl/f
adl'lllU:es. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Western States Communication A~socia
lion, San Jose, CA.
Va1t:ntint.!. M. E. (1980). The attenuating influence of gazc upon the bystander intervention effect. Joumal
of Social Psychology. 3,197- 203.
Walker, M., Ilarriman, S .. & Co~tello. S. (1980). The influcnce of appearance on comp li ance with a request. JOllrnal of Social Ps.v('h%gy. 112, 159- 160.
Willis. F .. & Hamm, H. ( 1980). The usc of interpersonal louch in secu rit y compliance. JOllmal of No/II'erbal Bl'Iw\ior. 5, 49-55.
Woodall, W. G .. & Burgoon. J. K. (1983). Talking fast and changing altitudes: A critique and clarification. Jmmwl of NOfll'erba/ Belwl'ior. 8. 126-142.

c.

Part

III
Seeking and
Resisting Compliance
Strategies and Tactics

The old phra . . t; 'There's more than olle way to "kin a em" may not actually be referring to
the proce ...... of pcr<.,uasion. but it certainly applies. Indeed. there is flO "one way" to pcr. . unde another pcr ... on. The Ilumher of Jiffercl1I approaches i~ cndle ... ~. This fact. however.
ha . . not prc\'cntcu rc ... earchcr... from tfying to docliment the nUl11eroll~ "tralegies and tactic ...

that people typi<.:ally u..-,e when If) ing 10 influence other.... An enorlllou", amount of research
hi.! . . been devoted to identifying not only the different types of influence ..,trategies a\uil able to would-he persuaders btu al"lo to examining how likely pcr..,uudcrs are to select slich
\Iralcgic\ and to dc ... cribing the ... illllJlional \ariahlcs that influence their choice~. For example. an earl) ...eminal effort hy Marwell and Sdllllin (1967) identified 16 \uch ... tratcgie .... including making promi",c\ and threatl-.. gClIlIlg other. . to like you. rewarding other. .
heforc a . . l-.:ing a fa\or. and "'0 on. Latcr allcmpt ... \\ erc even more ambitiou"i. Kellerman and
Cole (199-1). for in"'lance. integratell Ihe I) pologie ... of other rc<.;carcher", into 64 di:-.tinct
comp liance -gaining ~trategie<.;.
Although ... ueh cfrol1 ... ha\c ... hcd a good dcal of light on the topic~ of compliance
gaining and compliance rc"i ... ting. they have al ... o generated con ... illcrablc heat " ... wcll.
They ha\e little to <.;<l) abollt Ihrec i..,,,,uee.. that wc find both highly interesting and t.:xtrcl1lcly rt.:lcvanl. FirM, a good deal
the compliance-gaining literature <.;ccm" to be
athcoretical in nature. Re~earchcr'\ often evaluate :-.trHlegy prcfcrencc~ ab~cnt any theory
or J1ludc l to guide their rc:-.earch . Second. such effort... fail 10 con:-.idcr the proce~:-. by which
inlluencc Ine ...... agcs arc produced. That i.... they focll'" on H'lu/I "'trHlegies people )o.c lect but
not H'hy the) ... elcct them. Third. Ihc)' orten f:.lil 10 e\amine the actual effectivcne ...... of thc
influcnce \Iralegie . . they idelllify . That i\. they foc u\ 011 which qratcgic\ people prefer. but
not nece ... ",arii) \\ hich once.. enjoy the grcatc ... t chances of ,wcce,\'\. 111 fairne ....... "'Olnt.!

or

181

182

Part III Seeking {l/u/ Rl~"is lil/K Compliallce: SlrlIll!Xies alld Taclic",'

compliance-gaining resea rch has focu~ed on outcome effecl i venes~. for example, studies
on food server behaviors and restaurant patrons' tipping. or o n sequen ti a l request strategies (e.g. foot-in- th e-door und door-in-the-face techniques) in re lation to charity contribu ti o n ~. Too many stud ies. however, have neglected to exa mine the actual effec tiveness of
slratcgies on me"age recipients. re nd eri ng the app li cability of their results to th e real
world ~omcwhat dubiou~. In contras t, the c hapt crs in thi s part arc designed to address
these issues and others.
Firs t. chapter II. by James Price Dillard. presents the Goals-Plans-Action Model of
interpersonal influe nce. The model is va luable because it hel ps us understand how and
why per. . ua . . ivc messages are created. It sugges ts that people ha ve different goa ls when
engaging in persua . . ion and shows us how the con fi gu ration of such goals influences 110t
on ly the per . . uasive plans and strateg ies that a person generates and selects but also how
persuasion is enac ted and reacted to.
In con trast, the following two c hapt ers focus on the effectiveness of two particular
types of pcrsuusive strategies and tactics. Chapte r 12. by Robert Ciuldini and Rosa nna
Guadagno, exa min es the topic uf seque ntial pe rsuasion . Here you will read about a num ber of tactics aimed at ge ttin g people to behave in a particular way. Such tacti cs are
labeled "sequential." because all of th em involve in creasing onc\, persuasiveness by saying or doing something before actually making a request. Similarly. chapter 13. by Hyunyi
Cho and Kim Witte. focuses on the effects of persuasion by examining the u ~c of fear
appeals. This chapter presents the Extended Parallel Process Model. which integrates 40
years of researc h on fear appeals to explain the co nditions under which fear succeeds or
fail s as an approach to persuasion. Both of these chapt ers do an outstanding j ob of examining the effectivene . . s of "'peci fi c approaches to persuasion. but more s ignifican tly.
th ey help us und erstand the underlying proce~ses that explain why such tactics arc often
effect ive.
Chapter 14. by Judec Burgoon and David Buller. focuses 011 deception , a tac ti c that
i~ frequently included in th e compliance-gaining typol og ies we mentioned earlier. Although some might view deception a . . part of the "dark side of communication." thi s chapter shows that deception serves beneficial social functions and is a part of communication
competence. And although so me people might not co n ~ ider deception a form of persuasion. in our view it clearly is. As Mille r (cited in Miller & Stiff. 1993) argued:
Decepti ve communication . . (rives for per~uasivc ends: or. ~ tated more preci . . ely. deceptive
commun ication is a genera l pcr. . uilsive stralcgy that aims al inOuencing the be li efs. allitudes. and be haviors of other... by means of deliberate message distortion. (p. 28)
For this reaso n. then , we ha ve included a chapter on this important form of influence in
thi s book. As you will see, Burgoo n and Buller's c hapter unde rlin es the interactional and
interpersonal nature of deceptive communication. Their chapter contributes not only to
understanding the process by which deception i~ enac ted but also to th e manner in which it
is perceived and detec ted . As such. this chapter is as muc h about resisting persuasion as it
is about how people altcmpt to per. . uade.
This last stat emen t leads us to the final chapter in thi s part of the book. Specifically.
the st ud y of persuasion ha~ focu~ed not just on how persuasion occur~ but al so on how the

Part 111 Seeking allli Resisring Compliance: Straregies and Tactics

183

pcr~uasive

attcmpts of others might be thwarted . Though thcre are many approaches 10

resisting persuasion. chapter 15. by Michael prau and Erin S7abo. is devoted to inoculation, which has received perhaps the most attention in thi s area. The chapte r explains how
inoculation works. and more important. it demonstrates the broad and socially significant
applications of thi s approach to resisting persuasion.

Referellces_____________________________
Kellerman. K.. & Colc. T. ( 1994). Classifying compliance gaining messages: Taxonomic d.<.,order and
strategic confusion. CommllniCllfiotl Theory. 4. 3--60.
Marwell. G .. & Schmitt. D. R. (1967). Dil11cn!.ions of compliance-gaining behavior: An empirical analysis. Sociometry. 30. 350--364.
Miller. G. R.. & Stiff. J. B. (1993). Oeceplive cOIwlllmic(lIirm. Ncwbury Park. NJ: Sagc.

11
The Goals-Plans-Action Model
of Interpersonal Influence
James Price Dillard

The Goals-Plans-Actioll Model

The Goals-Plans-Action (GPA) model is an attempt to shed light on the way in which
messages are produced and on the effects that they have (Dillard, 1990a. I 990b). Because
the structure of the model is quite general. it might be adapted to a variety of different
communicative functions. For instance , it could be applied to self-disclosure. social suppan. or informarion seeking. De!\pite this versatility, it was developed specifically as part
of an effort (0 better understand influence behavior. Accordingly. empirical research de-

signed to test and inform the GPA model has tried to ctnswer the question of how and why
individuals influence one another.
A lthough the foundations of influence behavior are complex. the GPA model begins
with a simple and well-accepted idea: That message production can be modeled as a sequence involving Ihree components (Miller, Galanter. & Pribram, 1960). Goals are the
rirst component. They are derined as future Slates of affairs that an individual is committed

to achieving or maintaining (Dillard, 1997: Hobbs & Evans, 1980: Klinger. 1985). Goals
motivate plans. the second component in the model. Plalls are cognitive representations of

the behavior; that are intended to enable goal attainment (Berger, 1997). Whereas goals
and plans are cognitive entities. actions exist "in the world." Acrions are the behaviors
enacted in an efror! to realize the goaL The behavioral response of the message target COI1stitutes feedback to the message source that may produce changes in goals and plans.

These ideas provide the basis for the GPA model. Within this general framework,
the model advances a number of specific claims regarding the nature of goals. plans, and
actions as well as their relation ship to one another. The aim of this chapter is to explicate
those claims and to present some empirical test~ of the tenets of the theory.

185

186

Pan III Seeking arid Resisting Compliallce: Strategies (wd Tactics

Goals
Types of Influence Goals
It might seem that people try to persuade others for an unlimited variety of reasons. However, research on interpersonal influence goals reveals that perceptions of infinite diversity
are illusory (Cody, Canary, & Smith, 1994; Dillard, 1989; Rule, Bisonz, & Kohn, 1985).
The most frequently identified reasons for influencing others are listed in table 11.1, a long
with a description and an example of each. Because this list is compiled from studies using
a variety of methods (qualitative and quantitative) and data sources (e.g., recalled goa ls
versus hypothetical goals), we can have some confidence that table 11.1 captures something of the psychological reality of natural socia l actors. In fact, the concept of psychological reality is important to this theory. Although there are certainly many mental and
social processes that occur without awareness, the OPA model focuses on volitional behavior. This focus implies that individuals construct representations of situation s that are
meaningful to them and that they are capable of exercising a significant degree of conscious control over their actions. Hence, information concerning what an individual is trying 10 achieve constitures a va lid and meaningful explanation for his or her behavior.
Table 11.1 is not without certain limitntions. First, these findings are inherently
bound by the characteristics of the research procedures and the samples employed. A ll of

TABLE 11.1

Influence Goals
Description

Examples

Gain assistance

Obtain material or
nonmaterial resources.

Can I borrow your car?

Give advice

Provide counsel (typically

about health & re lat ionships).

I think that you should quit

Share activity

Promote joint endeavors

between source and target.

Let's do something tonight.

How about going to see that
new band?

Change orientation

Alter target's stance toward

a sociopolitical issue.

There is another, more realbtic.

way to look at the abonion
laws.

Change relationship

Alter the nature of the

source-target relationship.

J think that we ought to have a

monogamous relationship.

Obtain permission

Secure the endorsement of

the (more powerful) target.

Would it be OK if I handed in
the assignment one day late?

Enforce rights
and Obligations

Compel target to fulfill

commitment or role
requirement.

You promised that you would

keep the music down. So.
how about it?

Type

using so much Prozac.

Chapter I I The GOlll.,PllIIl.\AcTioll Model (~r IlllerpersOfwl ",{luella

187

the data are grounded in the subjective experience of young adults living in North
America and attending public universities. Studies of influence in organi7ations, for examp le. indicate that individuals hold goals that do not appear in table ILl. such as initiating changes in work procedures and improving another's job performance (Kipnis,
Wilkinson. & Schmidt. 1980). Thus. although the variety of influence goals is not infinite.
il may be broader Ihan is reflecled in lable 11.1.
Second. the goals described in table 11.1 exist at a particular level of abstraction thal
is subject to debate. One can easily imagine more genenll groupings of goals involving a
smaller number of categories. For instance. we might distinguish between goals that substantially advance the interests of the individual versus those that remedy a problem. a
distinction that yields only two goal types. COllversely. anyone of the seven goab might
be parsed more finely. The Change Relationship goal is a case in point. Even if olle assumes that the communicative processes involved in relational escalation and deescalation
bear some similarity. the experience of the two event!'! is quite distinct and the utterances
associated with each markedly different. Consequently. it may be desirable to consider
several specific forms of the Change Relationship goal. Yet the Mudies that contribute to
table I 1.1 suggest that these seven goals reflect how individuals generally think about
their int1uence allempts. In olher words. whereas goals can be usefully conceptualized and
researched at higher or lower levels of abstraction. the contents of tablc 11.1 are indicative
of the level at which ordinary people typically conceive of their own and others' influence
behavior (Cody el al.. 1994: Dillard. 1989: Rule el al.. 1985).
In sum. ahhough individuab may have many different persuasive goals. research
shows that this number is smaller than one might initially think. Although existing research is not without limitations. I believe that the !->even goals described in table I 1.1 represent cOlllmon and recurring influence aims. They also pos~ess particular properties that
need to be explicated more fully. Those properties are di~cussed next.

Primary Goals
In Ihe parlance of the GPA Illodel. Ihe goals li'led in lable 11.1 are primary goals. They
are so named because the theory attributes several unique properties to them. For one. primary goals lie at the beginning of the GPA sequence. They are primary in the sense that
they initiate the series of constructs that model message production. Hacker (1985. p. 278)
made a similar point when she noted that goals "are reflections of a reality that does not
yet exist. but has to be created. and they connect present with future" (I'. 278). From this
perspective. primary goals are potential realities that individuals strive to construct. Because primary goals energize cognition and behavior. it can be said that they serve a mOlivat iOIl(l/ junction.
A second feature of primary goals derives from the previous point. That is. primary
goals allow one to bracket the interaction. to identify its beginning and ending point.
Knowledge of what is being attempted permits "oeial actors to segment the stream of
imeraction into meaningful units (von Cranaeh. Machler. & Steiner. 1985). Such segmentation is surely valuable for making sense of what might otherwise be viewed as an undifferentiated outpouring of behavior. Meaningful segl11cnt~ of social interaction have been
labeled ",oeial episodes" by Newell and Siulman (1988). Bracketing i, possible because

188

ParI III Set'king CIIItI Rt!\;Hillg C(JlIIl'lillll("(': Siraregil's (111(1 /{u-lin

the primary goal imbue, the interaction with meaning (Dillard & Solomon. 2(XX)). KnO\\ ledge of the primary goal allo\\ s the interactant~ to ';;<lY what the exchange is about. Hence.
as inspection of table 11.1 quickl) reveals. primary goals arc culturally viable explanations of the di..,course produced by two or more interlocutors. This is the s()cilllll1l'{lning
junction of primary goal!>..
Finally. primary goals direct a number of mental opcratioll!>.. By providing all unders tanding of the intended purpose of an interaction. goal<., dc termine \'vhich a'pects of a situation are percei\'ed (Kanwishcr. Driver. & Machado. 1995: MandT. Dancken. Campi in. &
Currie. 1999: Tipper. Wemcr. & lIoughton. 199-1.). The y also influcnce \\ hich pcn.:cption\
are encoded and retrieved (Cohen. 19R1). In fact. primary goals set into motion an ensemble of lower-level cognitive pro(';cs<.;cs that occlir in parallcl and align with the O\crall
aim represented by the primary goal. In this fa~hion. primary goal\ servc a guidul/ce.lilllclion that promotes tcmporary reorientation and unification of various mental \uhsystcm"i. 1

Secolldary Goals
In the cour"iC of pursuing or planning tn pursue a primar) goal. other conct!fIlS may ari"ic.
For example. one college ~lUdcllt who hopes to initiate <I relationship with another (goal

#1) rnighl recoglli/e Ihe ri'k of rcjeclioll alld wi,h 10 a'oid feeling hurl (goal #2). In a
~il1lilar

vcin. the parcnt who \Vant~ to prevent his young. child from inserting !>.ilvcnvare
inlo electrical ...ocket.., (goal # I) might a1"io want to en"illJ'c that hi . . warning doc . . not crcatc
a generali/cd fear that eXlcnd"i beyond lhi"i specific problem (goal #2). Such concerns arc
called seemulan goals bec<lu..,e they 1'01l0\\< from the adoption of a primary gnul. In both
examples above. the speaker hold" a secondary goal only bccau\e he or ... he is cOI1"iidcring
trying 10 influence ,",omcone el~c. Thu\. it i"i the desire 10 achieve the primar) goal that
hrings into play one or more . . econdary goal"i. Primary and secondary goals can he di"itinguished in Icrm ...
their logical priority vis-[I-vis one another.
Research on the GPA model supports the cxisLencc offi\c ..,ccondary gO<.lls (Dillard.
Segrin. & Harden. 1989: HOllcycull. Cailirili. Kelly. & Lamb'ill. 1998: Schrader &
Dillard. 199R: Wibo!1 & Zigur .... 2(01). though not cvcry gO;'11 will be relevant to every
\ilUation. Idemit.\' goals focll"i on cthical. moral. and pcr"onal ... wndard!>. for beha, ior. They
arise from individuals' principles and values and, at the broadest level. their . . elf-concept.

or

Ahhough people generally desire 10 a"1 in accordance wilh Iheir principles_ il is probably
not the case that individual ... <Jctivcly (';on"iider their identity goals in every interaction.
Many social episodes arc routini/cu. and people have gcnerally already made far-reaching
deci\ions about what docs and docs not con:-.titute ethical heh.lvior. 111 such cascs. il . . ccm ...
unlikely that an identity goal will be <lcti\ated.
COII\'enarirNl "wlwgemem goul.\ il1\ohc COIKcrns ahout impres..,ion managemcnt
and face .' Though there are certainly exception.;; (Tracy & TraC). 1998). individuals lI"ill
ally prefer that IIlteraction"i procecd sl11oothl) rather than a\\ "-wardl) and that neither interl oclltor prcsent a threat to his or hcr ov.. n or the other ... face (Brown & Levinson. 1987).
Thus. while conversation managcment goals may have implications that extend bcyond
the convcr ... ation. they also have it relativcly short time framc (typicully the duration of the
conversation).
Relatimral rewurce gOllh foclls on relation..,hip management. The) arc manifestation\ of the \ alue that individuab pla(';e on de"iircd "i(Kial and per"ional rcl.llion..,hips.

Chapter 11 The CO(l/sP/(lflsActioll Model oj illterperSOIl(l//lIjlflence

189

Hence, it is most often the case that people try to maintain or improve their relation~hips
with others. or course, relational resource goals don' t really come into play unless one has
a preexisting relationship with the hearer or hopes to establish one. Relational resource
goals focus on the benefits that flow to the source because of the relationship itself. As a
consequence. relational resource goals have a longer time frame than conversation management goals.
Personal resource goals reflect the physical. temporal. and material concerns of the
communicator. More specifically, they arise from the desire to maintain or en hance one's
physical well-being, temporal resou rces. finance s. and material possessions. The desire to
behave efficiently is viewed as a personal resource goal (cf. Berger. 1997; Kellermann.
1988). although the GPA model does not suppose that IIldividuals always prefer a high
level of efficiency. Like so me of the other secondary goa ls. personal resource goals will
not be relevant to every interaction. But when th ey are rel evan t. they ca n be important in
determining how messages are created and uttered.
By positing the existence of affect mallagemelll goals. the model assumes that individuals strive to maintain preferred affective sta tes. Significantly. affect management
goals are not so simple as the wish to enjoy positive feeling and elude negati ve ones. For
instance. individuals seek to increase their level of anxiety because it motivates vigilance
or to enhance their level of anger so that they are emotionally aligned with a plan to take a
hard interactional stance ..l
The introduction of the concept of secondary goal~ has at least one broad implication for how we conceive of the task of interpersonal innuence. Namely. it suggests that
most, and possibly all. interactions in volve multiple goals that individual[o, try to achieve
more or less simultaneously. This premise is so broadly accepted among commun ication
researchers as to be viewed as a trui sm (Berger, 1997. p. 23). Surprisingly. [o,ome writers in
other fields claim that there is a paucity of data-based researc h underlying that trui sm:
;'Multipic goal striving appears to be the rule. yet lillIe empirical research addresse.) the
fOpic" [emphasis added[ (Austin & Vancouver. 1996. p. 362). In reality. dOlen, of empirical studie s ha ve examined precisely that topic (e.g .. Dillard et aI., 1989; Meyer. 1997:
O'Keefe & Shepherd. 1987: Saeki & O'Keefe. 1994: Tracy & Coupland. 1990: Waldron.
1990: Wil son. 1995). This solid and growing empirical base has helped to inform the GPA
model and other theories of influence (e.g .. Meyer. 1997: Wilson. 1995).
In sum. secondary goals arc wants that arise in response to th e co n ~iderat ion or
adoption of a primary goal. Previous researc h support s the existence of fi ve conceptually
distinct secondary goals. However. the exact number is not so important as appreciation of
the fact that individuals are almost always attempting to sat isfy multiple goa l ~. The primary goal defines the si tuation. while secondary goals are the e ntailmen ts that follow in its
wake. The GPA model holds that understanding the relations hip between primary and secondary goals is crucial to explaining planning and action. Consequently. the next sectio n
begins an exploration of those iss ues.

The Relationships Between Primary Goals

alld Secondary Goals
Possibly the most fundamental co mmunication decision is whether to e ngage i:U1other perso n in interaction or not. The interplay of primary and ..,econdary goals can help to shed

190

Pari III Seekillg and Rej.;j.tillg COlllplialll'e: Stm/e;.:ft'J ami rae/in

light on this choice point in the me~~age production process. To simplify the illu~tration. it
will be helpful to assumc a primary goal and just one ~econdary goal and then to evaluate
the compatibility between the two (ef. Kellermann. 1988: Samp & Solomon. 1999). Logically,just three possibilities exist. In the first case, the two goals may be incompatible with
one another. In this vein, Brown and Levinson (1987) a..,sert that influence aHcmpts are by
their very nature intrusive (but ,ee Wilson. Kim. & Mcischke. 1991/1992). Irtruc, then any
effort to produce behavioral change in another will necessarily run the risk of threatening
that person's autonomy. A second logical possibility is that the .o;,econdary goals are irrele\'ant to the primary goal. For example. concern for a friend's physical well-being is not
often an issue when asking the person if he or she would like to see a film with you.
In the lhird case, the primary and secondary goals align or are cnmpafible with one
another. Relational initiation offers one context in which this might occur. The norm of
reciprocity demands that individuals repay favors provided to them by others. When one
person asks another for help (e.g .. a ride to the grocery store) that he or ..,he cannOl immediately repay. the message source is signaling a willingne ... s to enter into a relationship in
which reciprocity will occur over time. Such is a defining feature of friend!'o.hip" (Hatfield.
Utne. & Traupmann. 1979). Thus. the speaker may obtain a ride and. in so doing. also
solidify a nascent rclation~hip.
Although the third case is clearly the most desirable of the three alternatives. I suspect lhal it is also the least common. Rather. most interactions can be characteril.ed as a
blend of cases one and two. Because there are multiple secondary goa"'. it is likely that
some of them creale opposition to the primary goal, while others will be irrelevant. Hence.
in most instances the set oj relel'{lIIt saol/dclIY goal.\ will constitute a counterdynamic to
the primary goal. And. although I have drawn the possibilities in a categorical fashion. the
degree to which primary and secondary goals are (in)compatible with one anoth er is more
accurately viewed as a matter of degree. To the extent that concern for the seco ndary goals
outweighs the desire to achieve the primary goal (and any compatible secondary goals).
the individual may view engaging the other as unduly ri"ky and may therefore choose not
to engage. Thus. knowledge of the relationship between primary and secondary goals can
help explain why individuals make an inlluence attempt or not. However, to speak of the
relationship between primary and secondary goal ... is "omething of an o\ersimplification.
Actually. primary and secondary goals form a set oJ ... tructured relationships. Coal structure comp/exilv is the concept describing that set of relationships.

Goal Struetllre Complexity

Primary goals lend Illation and meaning to social epbodt,;s. However. secondary goab also
figure prominently in the message production praces ... in that they reflect other psychologically significant. but logically subsidiary, concerns of the individual. In combination,
the two goal types constitute the intrapersonal goal structllre of the communication episode. Research reveals that influence episodes vary in goal stru cture comp lexity, in that
various episodes comprise a greater or lesser Ilumber of active goa ls (Schrader & Dillard,
1998)
Participants in the Schroder and Dillard (1998) 'lUdy were provided with one of 15
hypothetical scenarios, each of which represented a primary goal drawn from Cody and

Chapter II The Goals-Plafls-Acrhm Model of IlIferpersoflalllljIuelice

191

colleagues (1994). They were asked to reciJlJ an interaction from their own experience that
was similar to the example and then to re~pond to a series of questions intended to assess
retrospectively the importance of the primary goal and five secondary goals. The resulting
data were submitted to a statistical routine called cluster analysis. Ln essence. the routine
looks for patterns of similarity across variables and then creates groupings (i.e., clusters)
on the basis of those similarities. In this application. the cluster program tried to create
groups of social episodes that were similar with regard to the perceived importance of the
primary and secondary goals.
Four such clusters emerged slIch that each possessed several notable features as a
group. For one. the importance of the primary goal increased from cluster I to cluster 4.
Generally. the secondary goals showed a pattern of increasing activation that corresponded to increases in the importance of the primary goal. In other words, as the importance of the primary goal increased. so did the importance of the secondary goals. The
relational resource goal was the sale exception to this pattern. It declined in importance as
the primary goal grew in importance. In addition to considering the goal clusters in these
broad strokes. it is useful to examine each one individually.
The first cluster contained primary goals representing innuence attempts that are
cOl11mon but not particularly important. focusing on issues concerning the close and collaborative nature of the source-target relationship. Secondary goals were of relatively little
concern in these episodes. with the exception of the relational resource goal (cL Wilson.
Aleman, & Leatham. 1998). This grouping W3!o. called Il/ailllenallce episodes to emphasize
the habitual and relational aspects of the goal"i in the cluster.
Primary goals in the second cluster occurred mostly within close relationships. In
this case the goals were not routine. but rather represented more important issues of a
nonrecurring nature. Two primary goals. Change Orientation and Relational Escalation,
were representative of the breadth of issues represented by this cluster. which was labeled
.\'pecial issue episodes. The goal structure of this cluster was more complex than that of
mail1lenance episodes, but less complex than the remaining two clusters.
The third cluster. problem-soh'illg episodes. consisted of goals that represented either high need or high rights to persuade. Such episodes tend to occur within more distant
social relationships (e.g .. strangers. neighbors. professors). a feature that was mirrored in
the decreased importance of relational resource goals. However. overall goal structure
complexity and the importance of the innuence attempt were higher than in either of the
two previous clusters.
The fourth cluster was called high-swkes episodes to reflect the fact that goals in
this grouping showed a dramatic increase in the importance of personal resource and
arousal management goals. Members of this cluster were flat only rated highest in importance but also showed the greatest flumber of active secondary goals, that is. the highest
goal structure complexity. This cluster included two highly risky activities: initiating a relationship and dealing with a bureaucrat.
It seems clear from the results of Schrader and Dillard's (1998) study that goal
structure complexity is a useful concept for organizing our thinking about different types
of primary goals. The findings also suggest that primary goals with complex goal structures are more difficult to achieve than those with simple structures. Furthermore, we
might reasonably expect individuals to be marc reluctant to engage another person in a

192

Pari III Seekillg alld Resisting Compliallce: Strategies and Tactin

highly complex episode because of the many potential risks of failure. Goal structure com
plexity might also shape our next topic. the planning process.

Plans
In this section, both the nature and content of plans are examined. Following that. atten
tion is given to the manner in which plans come into being and how choices are made
among them.

Features of Plans
Plans can be differentiated in terms of their hierarchy, complexity, and completeness
(Dillard, I 990a). Hierarchy refers to the level of ab'traction at which the plan is cast.
whereas complexity captures the number of steps and contingencies it contains (cr.
Berger, 1997). Plan completeness is a measure of the extent to which the plan is fleshcd
out. Because the behavior of others is sometimes difficult to predict. it is assumed that
even when speakers engage in preconversational planning. the resulting plans are neces
sarily incomplete (Bratman, 1987). These three properties Illay be used to analyze plans of
any sort, but it is the cOlltellt of influence plans that sets them apart from plans more
generally.

The Content of Compliance-Seekillg alld Resisting Plalls

Influence plans contain guidelines for the production of verbal and nonvcrbal behaviors.
Whereas strategy level plans are concerned with lines of action and sequences of behav
iar, tactic plalls exist at a lower level of abstraction. 4 They are instructions for producing
smaller units of behavior such as individual utterances. For example, though one might
approach an influence attempt with the intention of implementing a liking ~trategy, there
are many different ways to do this at the tactical level. The first move might consist of
utterances such as, Hyou look great! Looks like you lost some weight" or, "That was a
really smart thing that you said in our discussion group. I was impressed."
Research on the perception of message tactics sugge't' that four dimensions are particularly important to understanding innuence plans (Dillard, Wilson, Tusing. & Kinney,
1997; Wiseman & Schenck-Hamlin. 1981). Any influence plan or behavior can be repre
sen ted as a point (tactic) or a vector (strategy) in this four-dimensional space. The first of
these dimensions, explicitness. is the degree to which the message source makes her or his
intentions transparent in the message itself. Whereas implicit messages require little or no
guesswork regarding the speaker's wants, inexplicit messages necessitate more interpreta
tion (Blum-Kulka, 1987). Table I 1.2 presents examples of both types of action.
Dominance references the relative power of the source vis-~I- vis the target as that
power is expressed in the message. An expression of dominance in any sing le utterance
need not accurately reflect formal differences in status nor a consensual definition of the
source-target relationship. Rather, message dominance simply expresses the source's per
ception of, or desire for. a particular sourcetarget power rclmionship.

Chapter 11 The Gual.\-PlcmJ-Acf;Oll Model oj IlIIerpersuflallllfillell<."e

TABLE 11.2

The Contelll of Compliance-Seeking Plaus and Actions

Dimension of Plan/Action
Explicitlle!oos

193

Example of One Roommate Urging Another to Exercise

High: " I would like you to come
Low: "Hey, I'm going

to

10

the gym with me:'

the gym."

Dominance

High: "You ... aid Ihat you wanted to wor'" oul. Now, let ...
do it:'
Low: " I would really, really appreciate it if you worked out
with me."

Argument

High: " I !ooleep a lot hl!tll!f when I work oui. I'll het that you
would too."

Low: "We ... hould go worl.: out."

Sou rce control

Iligh: "If you want to get ~oll1e exercise. )'11 go to the gym
with you."

Low: ")f you don't get sume c){crcise. you arc probably
going to die:'

Argllmellf is defined a~ the extent to which the message presents a ration:Jlc for the
sought-afte r ac ti on and rerers to the degree to which the source prO\ides explicit rca~ons
for why sthe is see king complia nce. rather than simply making an unelaboratcd request.
Of course, messages may be structured argumentatively even though the evidence is less
than compelling (e.g .. Langer. Blank. & Chano witz. 1978). Argument refer; to the pcrceived quantity rather than quality of rca"ion giving (d. Roloff. Janiszew!\ki. McGrath.
Burns. & Manrai. 1988: Samp & Solol11on. 1999. on elllhel/i"/lIl1elll).
COl1lro/ over outcomes is the fourth and final dimen"iion that charactcri/e"i influence
plans. The property indexes the extent to which the "iource can exerci"c control over the
reaso ns for compliance. Among other things, thi" di-.tinction makes clear the difference
between a threat (e.g .. I wi ll hurt you. if ... ) and a wurning (e.g .. You could be harmed,

if ... ).
A ... noted above. these four dimcn'iion:., are central to characterizing the content of
influence plans. However, they are abo useful for undcp,tanding resistance. In fael. messages intended (0 refute compliance-seeking auemph can be analyzed in term.., of the
same four concepts. Table 11.3 provide" an illustration of resistance messages Ihal might
be made in response to one or more of the inilucnce mes"iage~ in table 11 .2.
Before turnin g to the question of how plans are generated and selected, it i.., important to ask what mi ght be missing frum the charac terizat ion of plans along these four
dimen sions. The answer is, "A grea t deal." There arc many elements to plans and co nve r
sal ion that are I/O! encompas!o.ed by exp li ci tness. dominance, argument. and source control.
For instance. persons who see"- to innuence often anticipate various forms or re~islance
and attempt to gain information about those obMac lc!o. prior to making a request (e.g .. "Are
you busy right nowT "No'! Then you wouldn't mind helping me out with this, would

194

Pan III Seeking and Resisting Complicma: Strategies and Tactics

TA BLE 11.3

The Contelll of Compliance-Resisting Plans and Actions

Dimellsion of Plan/Action
Explicitness

Responses to One RoomnuJle Urging Another to Exercise

High: "1 don't want to."
Low: "I'm pretty busy right now."

Dominance

Hi gh: '"I' ll decide when I exercise, not you."

Low: " I really appreciate you helping me out in this way,
but now is not a good time for me."
High: "Can't do it now. I've got to study for an exam later
'oday."

Argument

Low: "Nope. I don't think so:'

Source control

High: "I'm just going to take it easy right now, but 1 may
go later."
Low: "Can't do it. 1 have to wait for the telephone repair
person to come."

youT) (lfert & Roloff. 1994; Paulson & Roloff, 1997). Even afler 'he 'arge' has complied,
the ~ou rce may revisit the request later in the episode and attempt to sec ure further commitment, such as when a source says "50, you did agree to pick me up at 6 P.M .. right?"
(Sa nders & Fitch. 2(01). Thus, the four dimensions should no' be viewed as offering an
exhaustive account of the content of influence/resistance plans. Nevertheless, because
there is such strong evide nce that social actors them selves view influence in these terms
(Di llard. 1997). 'hey mu,. be considered essential aspects of any influence episode. Having now addressed the features and con tent of plans, we can tum our attention to where
plans come from and how choices are made among them.

Gel/eratil/g al/d Selectillg Plal/s

When 'he desire to influence another arises, individuals will initially search long-term
memory for boilerplate plans tha, are likely 10 achieve the primary goal (Berger, 1997;
Dillard. 1990.; Meyer. 1997; Waldron, 1997; Wilson, 1995). This search may yield plans
,hat vary in abstraction. complexity, and completeness. If the available plan(s) meet or
exceed some individually de,ermined threshold of perceived plan adequacy, then the individual moves toward translating the cognitive representation of action into behavior. Of
course, this involves a great many lower-level processes that must work in unison (and
could fail do so) if 'he plan is to be successfully instantiated as behavior.'
To the ex'en' that the preexisting plans are judged to be less than satisfactory and the
primary goal is viewed as important, individuals will devote additional cognitive effort to
( I) making existing plans more complete or more complex and/or (2) creating new plans.
This kind of top-down planning is constrained by the recognition that successful interac,ion partially depends on the behavior of the target. To the extent tha, the source views

'0

Chapter 11 The Goals-Plam-Actioll Model oj lllU'rpt'r.H)Jwf IIIj7m'lIce

195

tho~c response~

a\ unpredictable. he or ..,he wi ll be less inclined to expend cognitive effort

in the ~erv i ce of plan developme nt. Moreover, it should be the case that the number of
plans viewed a~ adequate shou ld show a negative correspondence with goal ~tructurc
comp lexity. Although there may be many different ways to achieve a primar) goal if none
of the secondary goals is activated. it ,hould be more challenging to devi ... e CJ plan that will
salisfy the man y competing de~ires that are present in an episode th at is high in goal structure comp lexity.
When multiple plan~ or plan variations are available. the message ... ouree mu ... t select
among them. The GPA model assumes that selection is made with regard to finding a ,atisfac tory confi guratio n of primary and seco ndary goals. This may be a drawn-out. con templative process but very often is not because conversation movef.. so quickly. Indeed. an
opportunity for innucnce may open up during the course of interaction that demand ... plan
deployment in the nex t co nver;at ional turn. Berger (1997). Meyer (1990. 1997). and Wilson (1990, 1995) all provide more detailed accounts of the cognitive operations involved
in plan generation and se lection. Havi ng now described the fir)! two componcnt<o; of the
GPA model -goa l-.. and plans-we can move to an examination of the third cOllllxment:
action.

Actioll alld Illteractioll

GPA theory was de~igned to model the processes by which individuab produce action ...
intended to alter or maintain the behavior of other~. The \'arious s ubcomponenh of the
model and their relations to one another arc depicted in figure 11.1. Thi ... ,eglllent of the
chapter addres~es theory and research regarding how individual ... produce influem:c behaviorf.. and how. together. two individuab create an interaction.

Message Productioll ill the GPA Model

The model propOf..es two pmhways to the production of influence behavior. In the first.
individuals af..se'''' their goals. decide to engage the target. and then mo\e to plan generati on and select ion. It is assumcd that this sequence is likely to obtain when the importance
of th e primary goa l substantially ou tweighs the coullterdynarnic repre ...entcd by thl.! ... ct of
relevant. incompatible secondary goals. 1I In the second sequence. the generation of one or
more plans that arc viewed a~ likely to succeed encourages thc decision to engage. which
is then followed by plan select ion. This path is more likely when Ihe approach and avoidance forces are fairly closely matched. It is worth emphasiLing that although thcse two
path~ are logically distinct possibilities. they nced not be approached in a de libermive
manner. Rather. because real-time conversation takef.. place very quickly. we might expect
tra ve l time on these paths to be measured in milliseconds.
Movement from plan ~e l ectio n to tactic implementalion is the tran ... lation of cognitive entilie~ into empirical action. Thi, process must necc, ... arily involve a host of very
rapid. elemental processe~. many of which do n01 involve con,cious awareness. The link
from tactic impl ementation to target response a~sume~ a target that proce ... <o;e<o; the ... ourccs
uttera nce and returns a more or less appropriate re ... ponse. On the ba ... i... of thai rc'ponsc.

196

Purt III Sl'l'J..illl-[ amI RI'\i\lil1g COlllplial/a: Strtl/{'Rie,\ al/(I Tactics

Decision
to Engage

'"

Goal

Assessment

Plan

Selection

'" .

Tactic
Implementation

Target

Response

Plan

Generation

Buffer

F'IGLRE ILl

The Goals-Plans-Action Model of IlIIerpersonalluj1uellce

Thl! ua . . hed line .. ~hov. unt.! of Iht.! tWO p<)... ~ihk palhway~ to pl:m 'eicc tion, while the dolled line ... indie:llc
the aJtematl\'c. Sulld line ...... ho" noncontingcnt . . . cquenced ... lage ... in the model

Nil/I':

the '1ourcc may return to the gou l av. arcnes~ '1wge and move throug h th e entire proc es~
again. In such a scq uc n<.:c. goa b are ree va luated in li g ht of the target' s behavior. Alte rnathely. the ... ource may ... to re a number of tact ic plans in a buffer and iterate only as far
bad, a ... th e tacti c ~c l ec tion stage . Wh en the !-.ource encounters nonco mpliant behavior
fro m th e target. th e first tendency will be to chan ge low level elenlents in the existing plan
(Berger. 1997). But to the ex te nt th at the plan it self is ... ce n as having failed. Ihe so urce
may di sca rd il wholesale and move to other available options. In the event that no plan is
aV<Jilable that ca n sati sfy the primarY-'1ccondary goal array and thai the perceived value of
de\bing o ne i'l low, individuals may attempt to exi t th e ep isode. The mos t ob\iou,,> means
of accolllpli~hing an exit i ~ by c hangin g the topi c or physically leaving the interaction .

Research

011

Compliallce-Seekillg Message Productioll

Research o n the ll1e ... sage production proces'I permits severa l e mpirical generaliLations
that are co n ~b t c nt with the logi c of the GPA model. For example. there is evidence Ihat
indi vid ual s try harder to achieve inOuence goals that are important to them . As the importance of the primary goal in creases. so does the amount of planning and cog niti ve e ffo rt
that indi vidual , expend in the ,crvi ce of that goal (Dillard et al.. 1989: Wilson & Zigu".
200 1).

Chapter II 71", GOliIS-PI(/II\ -Anion M(J(JeI (d JIII('I"f'erwlUiI Inpllt' me'

197

Primary goal imponanct! also has implication ... for mC"I ... age con"ltruction. For in... Lance. more important primary goab corre ... pond with l11e ... ~agcs that U!o,c higher level ... of
argument (Dillard et 1.11.. 1989). In their ... tudy of computer-mediated communication. Wilson and Zigurs (100 I) showed that primary goal imjxlrtance is negatively a ...... ociatcd with
the u ... e of images and emphatic text formatting (i.c .. the u ...c of bold. italics. underlines,
font chilngcs. or type size ch~.IIlges). Evidently. important primary goals promote il focus
on mc ...... age content and away from me"l"lagc Myle .
Of course. a"l predicted by the model. secondary goals ... hape message production as
well. For example. in face-to-face interaction .... incrca ... ed importance of the identity goal i ...
a ... sociated with increases in the use of argumcnt and dccrea ... es in explicitnc:-,s (Dillard et
0.11.. 19H9). These findings sugge.." a desire to influence on principled ground:-i and to allow
the target the option or refu ... al. In computer-mediated exchange .... heightened importance
of the identity goal yields reductions in thl! usc or images but increased usc of emphatic
tcxt formatting (Wilson & Zigur .... 200 I). The lowered lI'.,C of images might be "iccn as a
move away from form in the direction of function. but the gro\"th in emphatic text i~ more
difficult to under ... tand. Ccnainly. additional re~ean.:h in both face-to-face and computermediated contex .... i"l needed to paint a more complete picture of the operation of the idl.!n tit) goal.
The data al ...o pre~ent a coherent pattern of rc ... ults for the affect management goal.
Greater efforts to ll1ilnage one'!o, arousal arl! a~sociated with message~ thai are both more
dominant (i.e .. lower in po~itivity) and les ... dcpl!ndeJ1l on argument (Dilbrd ct al.. 1989).
In addition. as a!Teet management becomes more important. individuals become Ie ...... verbose and less concerned about conforming with rules of language u...e such a"l ... pelling.
capitali/<ltion. and punctuation (Wilson & Zigurs. 20(1). All of these finding~ ~ugge ... t that
strong concern with managing one's affect interfcrc~ with the ability to produce fluent.
compctent influence l11es~ages.
Various nnding~ for other secondary goals are dctailed in paper... by Dillard el 1.11.
(1989) and by Wilson and Zigurs CWO I ). lIowever. the result ... de:-icribed above are sufficient to make two imponanl point:-i. First. they undl!r ... core the value of the distinction between primary and ... econdary goals. Second. they demonstrate that each of the two goal
type ... contributc to me:-..sage production in unique and predictHble \\iays.

Illteractioll Processes alld the Rebuff Phellomelloll

The behavior of both the ... ourcc and thc target can be modl!lcd as GPA proces:-ic"I. Thu"l,
whill! the GPA model is es ... entially individualistic. it allow ... for thc study of inter;'lction a~
a p<.Iir of collaborating GPA processes. Examination of a stream of behavior 1.11., the output
of two cooperating psychological sy...,tcm ... rcvcal ... that LOp-dol).. n processc ... highlighted in
the GPA :-.equcnce arc receptive to Jllany bottom-up influences. including the action of the
other illtcractant. A brief an;.t!y ... i.., of one l!ll1pirical regularity hc::lps to make thi~ point.
The rebuff phellolllnuJI/ can be ul!scribed a!o, follow ... : " ... when un initial persua..,ive
effort i... rebuffed. follow-up persuasive mcs"Iage..., are ruder. more aggressive. and more
forceful than the first one (Ilalllple & Dallinger. 1998. p. 3(5). Conceived in this way. the
rebuff i"l clearly a pattern of interaction. Hample and Dallingcr (1998) ... ugge~ted that it
may occllr for two reason ... ; Inui\idual ... may become more aggres ... ivc beci.lu ... e they

198

Part III S(>ekillg ami Resisting Compliance: Strategies and Tactics

exhaust their ~upply of prosocial appeals. or message sources may adjust th e ir standards
for behavior in such a way that more aggressive messages are seen as acceplable. Although their study did not address th e first explanation. it did offer support for the second.
Peop le's concern for effect iveness increased as a positive function of numbe r of rebuffs,
wh il e their concern fo r principles and desire to harm the hea rer decl ined. In the te rminol ogy of the GPA model. it Inight be ~a id that resistance (i.e . rebuffs) in creased the importance of the primary goa l and decreased the importance of the identity and co nversati o nal
management goab.

Illteraetioll Processes at Multiple Levels of Abstractioll

Th e four variab les that describe tact ic and strategy pl ans and act ions can also be co nce ived
of a ... features of th e imeract ion. In fac t. the va lu e of under:-,tanding the influence e pi sode at
the level of hoth ullerance a nd episode can be seen in the following exa mple. Consider
that a s ingle hint ... uch as. "Do you think that it 's a little breeLY in here?" is low in explicitness. However. a se ries of such messages- "Do you think that ir" s a lillie breezy in
here'!"; 'Till kind of c hill y"; "Do you suppose th at someone meant to lea ve that window
openT- has the cU lllulati ve effec t of co nvey in g the source's intent very clearly. Given
that the ~alllc variab les are used to characteri ze both strategy and tactics. thi s exa mple implie ... a ... urpri\ing point: The impact of a series of utt erance . . that occupy o ne location in
the four-dimen . . ional message . . pace may produce an o ut come opposite to that of a si ng le
utterance in the sa me location. Or. in this partic ul ar ca . . e. a se ries of inexpli ci t messages is
explicit. The imp li cat ion o f this illustra tion is c lea r: If o ur understanding of influe nce interaction ... ca n vary so dramatically a ... a function of level o f analysis, it may be important
for future research to u . . e both perspectives whe never po . . sib le.

Message Effects
Research 011 the CPA model has abo Mimulated research o n message e ffec ts. The first
portion of th is segmen t co ns iders th e impact of influence messages 011 target e mo tions and
relational judgments. Th e seco nd portion addresses how the perce ived co mpete nce of influence messages varies as ajoint fun ction of messagc form and goal structurc.

The Relational and EII/otionallmplications

of Influence Attempts
It seem ... sc lf-c\idcnt that what individuals say to one another has implication s for their
feeling ... and the we ll -bei ng of their relationship. Surely, thi s is as true o f influence attempts as it is of com muni cati on mOTe generall y. Thus, it is not completel y surpri s in g that
scvera l sludi e ... have shown that influ e nce atlemplS that arc high in dominance have nega tive rclational imp li cati ons. Source dominance corre lates negatively with perce ption ~ of
liking for the targct (Dilla rd . Palmer, & Kinney.1995) and with perceived politeness
(D ill ard & Kinney. 1994: Dillard et al.. 1997). Conve rse ly, hi g hl y dominant innu ence

Chapter II The Gou/s-Phms-Acliofl Model oj 11lterpersonallnfluence

199

messages are viewed as illegitimate and as obstacles, two perceptions that typically result
in anger (Dillard & Harkness, 1992; Dillard. Kinney, & Cruz, 1996).
Explicitness shows quite a different pattern. Whereas some theories of message production contend that explicit requests result in unfavorable relational inferences (e.g.,
Brown & Levinson. 1987; Leech. 1983). it appears that the reverse is true at least among
interactants who are in friendly relationships with one another. In this relational context,
highly explicit request!o. seem to ~ignal solidarity between the interactants and correspondingly favorable emotions and interpretations of the influence attempt (Dillard et aI., 1996;
1997). Although explicitness and dominance themselves tend to occur simultaneously
(Dillard. Henwood, Giles, Coupland, & Coupland, 1990; Schrader, 1999), dominance is
responsible for the negative relational judgments and for feelings of anger. The relational
meaning of explicitness !o.cems to be highly context-dependelll (Dillard et aI., 1996).
Finally. there is the argument dimension. Individuals generally report a preference
for messages that provide reasons for complying versus those that do not (Kipnis et aI.,
1980). However. convincing evidcnce exists to show that reasons are not necessary for
producing compliance in close relationships (Roloff et aI., 1988). Roloff and colleagues
contended that the obligations inherent in close relationships substitute for persuasion.
Nonctheless. messages high in argument seem to indicate positive regard for the target
(Dillard et al.. 1997), and whether they are necessary or not, they may contribute to the
long-term health of a close relationship. Research has yet to examine the relationship between argument and emotion, but on the basis of the research just reviewed, it seems quite
likely that messages high in argument will engender favorable emotional responses.

Goal Structure Complexity alld Perceived

ComlllUllicatioll Competellce
The notion of communication competence hinges on the ability to comprehend the situation accurately and formulate messages appropriate to the circumstance. At the most general level. the Schrader and Di liard study (1998) on goal slructure complexity suggested
that some primary goals arc much more difficult to achieve than others (because there are
more secondary goals associated with them that speakers are trying to achieve simultaneously). Significantly. the study specified exactly which goals are more or less difficult
and grouped them into four clusters. Knowledge of these clusters and their content provides individuals with advance knowledge about the difficulty of achieving various primary goals. In other words, a priori information concerning goal structure complexity can
provide the basis for one aspect of communication competence. that is, accurate identification of the important aspect~ of the situation. This is the first step toward constructing
effective and appropriate messages.
Schrader (1999) studied the relationship between message behavior and perceived
competence as a function of goal structure complexity. His work provides several useful
picces of information concerning communication competence. First. higher levels of
dominancc are associated with higher levels of perceived incompetence regardless of goal
complexity. Second. whereas explicitness will nOl harm competence judgments in the
low-complexity cluster!o.. explicitness correlates negatively with competence in the high-

200

ParI III

Se('J.;.illg (lml Resi.will~ COII/piial/a: Strtlll' 1-!it' ,\ al/(I Tactin

complexity clusten. 1 Here we see evidence suggesting that one's ability to formulate
inexplicit me ... sages may substantially enhance effectiyenes"i in complex situalions (which,
notably. contain highly important primary goals). Finally. the use of argument correlates
positively with competence. except in the high ... takes cluster (i.e .. the most complex cluster). A ... Schrader noted, "In highly unpredictable circum ... tances wherein the target has the
power to embarra ... s or humiliate the ;"ource. perceptions of argument use become decidedly negative" (pp. 196-197). As a group then. these conclusions present fairly specific
guidelines for what qualifies as competent influence behavior across episodic Y<:lriarions in
goal structure complexity. Knowledge of the way in which pal1icular message forms will
be perceived encourages planning aimed at developing competent messages.

Frequently Asked Questions About the GPA Model

Since the GPA model was first detailed in 1990. a number of questions ha\e arisen
connection with it. Several of these are considered in the following section.

III

What Is the RoLe of Awarelless ill the CPA Model?

Some of the language u~ed abm'c. such a... the "deci">ion to engage" and "plan ~election:'
might be taken to imply a high degree of con ... cious choice in the GPA process. In large
mca ... ure however. these lexical choices are only matters of exposi tory convenience. Many
of the proce ......cs necessary to run the GPA model may take place with little or no con,,>cious awareness. In this vcin. people often find thcmsclycs embroiled in conversation
without ever having made a reflective decision to cnter that interaction. They expel air
from their lungs to power their vocal apparatu .... moving their tOngue and lips in (usually)
well-coordinated way ... to produce sound ...-all without a\Varene:-.~.
At the same lime. the Illodel docs assume that primary and secondary goals an.: ill
principle accessible to consciou ... awareness. To make thi ... assertion is. in man) respect..,.
equivalent to saying that people generally know what they are doing. When a college student ponder ... how to obtain permission 10 usc her roolllmate's car to gel to the grocery
... tore. she is aware of her goal and. depending on its importance. aspect ... of the planning
procc ....... If the roommate in question unexpectedly mentions that ... he will be making a trip
to the grocery store. the fir~t Mudent may quid.ly recall her own need for groceries and as"to accompany the car owner \\'ithout any appreciable forethought. In this in ... tance. it might
appear that the first ~tlldent acted on a goal without a\\"areness. However. if she were queried about what she wa ... doing with that request. she wou ld very likely understand that
portion of the interaction as attempting to gain compliance from her rooml11ate. Put differently. she would be able to recover her goal con ...cious ly despite the fact that she might flat
have articulated it without being asked.
This example hints at another interesting property of goals: Once an indi vidual begins to pursue a goal via il1lcraction. that goal can be monitored without much consciou~
effort. Consequent ly. when a child attell1pt~ to persuade a parent to quit sllluki ng (a Give
Advice goal). he may not be acutely aware of th.H goal throughout the interaction. Rather.

Chapler II Till' Goa!\ -Plmn -AuuU/ Mmll'l OJ'/IIIt'rI'l'rl"OlilIl h,{l/lell(,(,

201

he i... more likely to foctl . . on the ... econdary goab that are at play on a lurn -bY-lurn basi~.
Once a per!-oon become ... beha\iorally commilled 10 a primary goal. awarenes ...... hift ... away
from that ovcrarching concern and toward the meal1~ 01" accompli ... hing it.

Do Goals A rise from

Selj~/lIferesf?

It i... ~lIrely the ca ...e thai individuab often act out of sclf-inlerc:-tl. but it would be a mi!-otake
to concludc from thai observation Ihat they always ... eck to ... atisfy only their own needs
(cf. Shepherd. 1998). Goals CiJn be cgotistic or altrui ... tic. i'lclf-serving or philanthropic. As
the existence of the Give Advice goal (table 11.1) implies. intlucnce goab may arise for
the purpo ... c ofbcnefiting others (Dillard & Schrader. 1998). Self-interC\I i... not a defining
fealure of goaJ... in the GPA modl:!.

Call Goals Challge Durillg COllversatioll?

Much of the research conducled on the GPA model has relied on individuals' recollections
of conversations in which they look part. Thus. they have been asked about their goals in
the convcrsLition as a whole and nol a~kcd to report on their aim~ before Jnd after or on
how their goab might havc changed during the conversation. However. a ... ~hould be clear
from figurc I 1.1. interaclant ... may conceivably change their goal ... at variolls til11elo! within
an intcraction. In principlc. thi, could occur at e\'cry wrn.M
Waldron (1997) described the r"ults of a study that speaks to precisely this iSM,e. In
hi!-o inve~tigalion. iJ1lcractant... took pari in an cighl-minule conversation in which they attempted to acquirc information about their punncr" ... religiou, or political belief,. Next.
each intl:r:lctant reviewed a videotape of the conversation ,Ind rated the importance of their
primary and secondary goab evcry 30 ~cconds. Waldron reported that approximately 30
percent of the comparison~ (from one time period to Ihc next) showed a significant shift in
goal importance, and over half of thaI 30 percent involvcd multiple changes in importance .
.\uch as an increa . . e in the instrumental goal and a decrea!'!c in one or more of the !-oecondary
goals. Such result!-o offer ready evidcncc of the nuidily of the GPA proce.\.\.
Thinking about influence epi,odes in terms of diMinct primary goal\ may offer a
sati~faclOry account of an interaction after the fact. Moreover. characterizing interactions
in terl11~ of individual goab is an effil:icnt means of explaining what lOok place and remembering the relevant detail~. Howcver. a~ Waldron's data indicate. when individuals
arc engaged in interaction, goals can "hift quite rapidly, just as the GPA model !-.ugge.\ts.

Whaf Happens When a Secolldary Goal Becomes More

Importallf Thall a Primary Goal?
One an!-owcr 10 this question might be that when a secondary goal eclip~cs a primary goal.
thc interaction is no longer about innuence and is consequently beyond the purvicw of the
model. However. as noted at the oulSet of this chapter. the GPA model can be applied 10
many different types of intcraction. In fact. secondary goals can assume the status of primary goaI!-.. When they do. the intcraction may not be defined in terms of innuence. but it

202

Part III Seeking and Resisting Compliance: Stmregies and Ta('(in

can be modeled as a GPA process nonetheless. Consider the following hypothetical ex change between a mother and her son:
01

Mother: "Did you remember to clean up your roomT

02

Son: Yeah."

03

Mother: "And did it get done ""

04

Son: ''I'll do it later. Mom:'

05

Mother: "You know that pan of your respon~ibilitie~ a~ a member of

this household includes cleaning your room. We're having guests for
dinner, and I would like you to have it done before they arrive"

06

Son:"1 know, Mom. and I'll get it done. butl'lcjust got a lotto
about right now."

07

Mother: "What? Is something bothering you?"

08

Son : "Yeah. I did terrible on m) geography exam yesterday. and I feel

like dirt because of it. I gue~s I'mju~t dumb."

09

Mother: "Hmm. You know you said that you felt :-.ick yesterday at
breakfast. I wonder if you weren't just having a bad day."

thin~

Although it i~ not certain what the aim~ of these particular individual~ might be, the interaction indicates that two primary goals might be in play. From cOIl\'er~ational turn~ 01 to
05, it looks as if the mother is trying to get the son to clean hir-. room. In fact. at turn 05, her
explicit reference to his household respon~ibilities suggeMs that we might view the interaction up to this point as an instance of an Enforce Right ... IObligations primary goal. In
turn 06, however. the son makes an explicit promise to comply but also ~hift:-. away from
innuence LO somcthing else (in the la:-.t cIHu"ic). From that point on, it appem:-. that the
mother's primary goal has changed. In turn 07 she seeks information that would allow the
conversation to be defined along some other line. By turn 09 it appears that :-.he ha:-.
adopted a primary goal of social support.
This simple example i, intended to illu,trate two point s about the GPA model. One
is that it can be applied to a variety of different Lypes of interaction. However. to move
beyond influence episodes will require additional research aimed at uncovering the content of goals and plans in other communication domains. The second point bears on the
utility of the notion of a primary goal. From the vantage point of the reader. one can ea ... ily
view the sample interaction in terms of Ull influence goal and a :-.ocial support goal. But
breaking the conversation into two neat piece~ may not be jll"~tified. Do we need to po ... it
the existence of an information-acquisition goal to explain turn 07? Or. i~ turn 07 better
understood as a point in the conversation that lacks a primary goal but representr-. a trnn"ii tion from one primary goal to another? In its current formulation, the GPA Illodel doer-. not
provide a definitive answer to these questions. Indeed, rather than answer by theoretical
decree, the best means of addressing this queM ion may be through the interplay of theory
and data.

Chapter 11 .. The Coals- PI(/II\-Auiofl Mudd of IlIfe'1'('I"\OIlOI IIl/lUt'lll"l'

203

COllclusioll
This c hapte r preselllcd a brief descri ptio n of the worJ..:i n g~ or the GPA model. ~l\ we ll a~
answers to so me question s that arc so met imes rai sct.l about it. LiJ..:e all current theori es. the
GPA mod e l is an incomplc te framewo rk for unde rstanding the co mpl e'(i t ic~ of human
comrn unic:ll ion behavior. No n ethe l c~..,. it achieves many of the goa ls that a theory shou ld
accomplish. It provides trac ti o n on difficult conceptual i... sue'i. offers guit.lance for empirical resemch projects. and exp lain'i ho\.\ and \I"hy lI11li\ iduals attempt to influence o ne ano ther. By these standard s. th e GPA model has cOIl,idcrahle utilit y.

Notes ________________________________________________________
I. Whic h is nollo ,ay that primary goa l, arc il1\ ilriably 'lH.:l:e,-,flll <It n::orielliing. ami unif)lng Ihe,e
3ubsy,tcm,
1. Thc,e "cre l:a lled "interaction goal.;' in OIII'lrd (1990a. IlJI.)Ob ). Bel:au,e that phr.....e ha, taken (In a
hroader mealling in the current hteralUre. it ,cel11~.'d ad\l\ahlc to choo..e an ;l ltematl\e: l;lbcl. " Inter.u,.'!lon
goaJ:... are :-.Wtc ... of a ffair .. that indi vidll,tI ... want 10 atwin/maim:lIn through 1a1J..." (\\' il'>oll. 1997. p. 11)
3. Thc 1990 vcr ... ioll o f the Iheory COllce:ptlwli/ed the:,e: more narrowl y ilo;; "aroll"'al managcmcnt
goals." Affcctmanagement i3 no" preferab le IIhofar a ... it rccognll.e, the nlullidimen,innal ;'Ino multllunctional nature of fecling' .
4. Ce:rtainly o ne c:1I1 conceive: of pl .. n ... atlllany hlt:rarchlCallc\el, dllh:rcnt from tile two offered here.
and it may pro\C u ...cfulto do ..,0 depending o n onc', re ... eiln::h quc,tion, Thu, far . t\\.o Ie:'vd, ha\e hce:n
suffi cicnt for advanci ng re~carch on inte:rper... onal intluem:c.
5. Ahhough unde:r'tanding the:\e: pn>ce ...... c ... may be IInportanl. thl.!) arc not the: fOl:u, of the CPA
model. Ad\andng o ur underqanding (If the role 01 these luwe:rle:'vcl pnxe ......e' is left to tho..c ime,tlgator ... who find the m int erc,t ing (c.g" Greene. 1997).
6. or cuur ...c. any rde\ant 'iccondary goal'> thaI were cOlllp,lIib lc \\-ith the primary goa l would work
again ... tthc ...c t o f relevant. incompinihJc ..,ccondilry goah.
7. I ha\'c wkcn ... ome ... mallllbcrty \\ith Schrader' .. (1999) Jala in thi , Inte:rprCI<llion , I he: corrcl:lt ion
betwecn explicllnc ...... and compete ncc i, -. 10 in the: problem -,ol'v ing clu,tcr. \\ hich i ... not ,ignificam :11 p <
.05. Howcver. nei ther i... it significil ntly Jlffercnt from the . 1Mcorrelation in the high-... t;'lke, clu,ter To
my eye. II appear.. mo,t mcaningfullo break the explicitne ..... re,ult, Inlo tugh - and 10\.\ -l:ompk'l(ity du,ter... HO\'vc\cr. thi\ movc" not full) .. upporteJ by the: ... ignilkam:e te,"
8. 01 l:our...c. thi .. I ' an oveNmplilication. In rcality. Indl\ idua]... l:Ould changc their gnal, or plan,
,c"era l time ... wirhin a l:on'vcr.,atu)Ila ltlll'll . While there may he Inh!rc"ing pm.... ibilitie:' tn he explored III
thi, rega rd . adopt ing th i, more rupid and more: micro ..copic po ... it lOn i.. ill ad\ j ... ed. Occ:tu,c II turn, allelllion away from \.\hat \\e ,cek to .. tudy : communi c.llion.

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{/I/(/

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imCf:lctioll": Effect ... of con'.truc t diHercntiation un 1ll1!'''age organil<lIinn, ('olfllllllllinlfioll MO//II gmph ... 5.J. 396---l19.
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to cOlnpl i.lI1ce. COII/IIIIIIl;carion Rl'H'lIrdl. 2.J, 26 1 -290.
Roloff. M. E.. Jan i<;zc\\'iki. C. A .. McGrath, M A .. Burn ... C. S .. &. Manrai. L. A (19~!H. Acqui ring re.. ource, from intimate .. : When ohltgatmll .. uh,tllute'" for pcr .. u, .... ion, 1-111/1/(/1/ CO/IIIII/micalioll Rl' .. ('arch. I.J. 364--396.
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Sadl. M .. & O'Kecfe. B. L ( 199-l). Rcfu ... al~ <lmi rejection .. : De.. lgm ng Tllc .... age .. \(I ...c.:hie\l multlrle
goaI-.. /-Il/l1Iall Commllll;catirm Rl'.\{'an-it. 21, 67 102.
Sal1lp. J. A .. & Solomon. D. H. ( 1999). COllllllunlca tl \e re ... pon ..I!" to prohlematK C\C:11I" 111 cJo... e relation .. hip .. 11 : The inlluence of fi\(: facet... o f goa l.. on me ...,age featurc:,. ('mll/llllllinlfimi ReH'lIrd,. 26.
I 93- 23lJ.
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11.263 289.
Sc hradt.: r. D. C. (1999). Goal com plc'\ ilY :tIllithe perceived compete nce o f interper .. nllal inllut.:I1I.:C: me .. ...agc .... Coml1lllllicarirm SllIdin, 50. I HH 202
Schrader. D. C. & Dillard. J. P. ( 1998). Go:d ... truclurc ... and interpcr ...onal innuc:nec . ('OIl/I/III11/{'(lIioll SllIdU',\,

.J9, 176-293.

Shepherd. G J . (1998). The trouble: \\ 1\h goal-.. COll1l11l11li("(lIioll Sllidil'l . .J9. 29-l 199.
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...elecl i\c attention. Qllarrerl\ JOIIl"llal (If Etpt'riml'tlllll P~yd/(Jlogr . .J7A. gOl)-R..Hl.
TraC)-. K.. & Coupland. N. (1990). Mu ltI ple goal .. in di .. couI"'\c: An oven ie\\ of i ..... ue ... )0/11"//(// oj 1~1II
.!:Wllfl' Cllld Social PsycllO/og\'. y, I 1-'.
Tral.'Y. K.. & Tracy. S. J. (1991'0. Rudene ..... at911. ReconceplUali71ng face and l'i1ce :Hlad. /-1 //1//011 COlli/11ll11iwlioll Re.H'Clrch, 25, 225-15 1.
"nil Cranal"il . M .. Madder. E.. & Steiner. V. (19H5). The organi \ati nn of goal-direc ted action: A re ...C::lrch
rc:porl. In Gin .. burg. G. P., Brenner. M. & \'(1I1 Cranac h. M. (bh.). /)il('(I\ 'er\'\/r(llegie,\ ill Ihl'
pHe/wlng\' (if {lct;OII (pp. 19~(1). London : Academic Pre ......
Waldron . V. R. ( 1990). Com,trained ralional it y: Sit uational inllllcnce .. on informatIOn :lcqll l.. itlOn p lan ..
and tact ic ... COIl/l1Il11licarioll /I1ollogmplll, 57. 184 201.
Wa ldron . V . R. ( 1997). Toward a theor> or interactl\c planning. In J . O . Greene (Ed .). Mt',I\Ug l' pror!m 'lion: Adwl/laf il/ COllllllllllinllioll II/l'on' (pp. 195-220). Mahwah. ~ J : Erihaul11.
Wi l...on. E. V .. & Zigur\. I. (200 1). Intcrper..ona l inllucnce goal\ and com puter-med iated communicat ion.
JOllmlll (If Organi:arjOlwl COl1lJllllillg lI/ul l:'/l'l'I/"fmic COif/man'. II. 59-76.
WiI ..nn, S. R. (1990). Development and tc: .. t of a cog nit1\ C: rule . . model 0 1' i/llcracl1on goa!... COl1l",llfIimliol/ MOllographs. 57. 8 1- IOJ.

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Part III S(Jeking lind Resisting Compliance: StrCltegit's and Tactics

Wihon. S. R. (1995). Elaboratin g the cogn iti ve rules model of imerac tion goa ls: The problem of account ing for individual differences in goal formation. In B. R. Burleson (Ed.). Communication yearbook
IN (pp. 3- 26). Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage.
WiJ..,on. S. R.. Aleman. C .. & Leatham. G. ( 1998). The identity implicat ions of influence goa ls: A revi~ed
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Wihotl, S. R .. Kim, M.-S .. & Meischke. H. ( 1991/1992). Evaluating Brown and Lev inson'., politeness
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12
Sequential Request
Compliance Tactics
Robert B. Cialdini and Rosanna E. Guadagno

Have you ever gone to a store or auto sales lot with the intent of purchasing the "bargain"
item that was advertised in the Sunday paper? If your experiences are anything like ours,
when you arrived, the salesperson may have told you that the bargain item was sold out,
but that a similar item at a higher price was available for you to purchase instead. Many
people in such a situation find themselves buying the more expensive item and, once they
walk out of the store. end up wondering why. The reason most people buy the more expensive replacement item is that they have already committed themselves to the purchase.
As you will read later in this chapter, commitment can be a very powerful motivating
force. The above scenario is an example of a compliance tactic called bait and switch,
wherein an individual commits to purchasing one item, only to have it replaced by another, more expensive one.
Often we find ourselves purchasing items or agreeing with requests made by friends.
family, or salespersons when we may not have initially planned to do so. In these situations, the individuals around us may have used persuasive appeals to gain our compliance.
Compliance occurs when an individual behaves or responds in a particular way because
another individual is encouraging him or her 10 do so (Cialdini & Trost, 1998). For instance, individuals who end up purchasing the more expensive ilCm as a result of the baitand-switch procedure are complying with the salesperson's suggestion. At some point,
they acquiesce. There are many types of compliance tactics that can be used to increase the
likelihood that we will agree with another's request. The focus of this chapter will be on
sequential compliance tactics, that is, tactics that require more than one step (usua ll y two)
to be effective. These types of tactics can be successful in gaining compliance.
However, before we move on to a discussion of why compliance tactics work, we
need to introduce a few terms that we will use throughout the chapter. Because most sequential request compl iance tactics are two-step maneuvers, there are common terms for

207

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PJn III Seeking and Re,i,flinX Compliance: Srrmegie,\ lind TllUics

each request or stage in the process, The first \tagc of a sequential rcqueM tactic is usually
rcfcrred to as eithcr the initial or first request, The next request or singe in thc process is
u ... ually rcfclTeu to as the second or rarget request, becau:-,c it is lhe rcque:-, t on which the
influence agent actually hopes to gain compliance, The first request is what helps to in-

crea;c the likelihood of the larget of innuence acquiescing to the larget request. This can
occur for <l number of rea..,oll!o.; the initial request may be too large or may be something
thai incrca..,es the target's commitment to the course of action,
Another ... et of terms thai you will see throughout this chapter refers 10 the individuals involved in the attempt to gain compliance. First, the target, or targe t of i nfluenee.
refers 10 Ihe person at whom the attempt lO gain compl iance is directed. For instance, in
the hypothetical example in the introduction, you wou ld have been the target of influence.
Next. the influence practitioner. or agent of influence. is the individual who makes the
influence attempt- Ihe one who wi..,he!o. to induce compliance in others. In the example
abm c. the !o.alcspcrson waf;, Ihe influence practitioncr. Now let us move on to answer the
que ... tioll of why influence tactic ... work.

Why Do Compliance Tactics Work?

Cialdini CWO I) was interested in dctermining why influence practitioners sLich a.., salespersons are "'0 ..,ucces~ful in gaining compliance from their targets. To examine this question. he observed the mcthods used by ~ales practitioners in real s ituations such as
advertising. fund -raising. recruiting. anu sales. Ba!o.ed on hi~ ob:-,ervatioll!o.. Cialdini determincd that ... ix key principle ... of influence underlie moM influence attempts: scarcity. reciprocity. con~isteIH..:y/commitmcnt, authori ty , social proof. and similaritylliking.
When scarcity is u!\cd. an item or opportunity is presented as somet hin g that is not
readily available. eithcr due to low quantity or because the offer is on ly good for a short
perilxl of timc. For example. when the Mazda Miata was first introduced. it was released
in slich low quantitie ... that the cars usually sold for several thousand dollars over the
manufacturer" ... sugge ... ted reHul price. Because the Miata was both new and hard to get. its
!\carcity increased it ... de ... irability. The second principle. reciprocity. de ... cribes intluence
tactics that work because the inllut.!nce practitioner has done a favor for or made a concession to the ",rget of influence. Targets are more likely 10 agree with the request because
they feel they "owe" the influence practitioner. Anyone who has received free address labeh with a request for a charitable donation shou ld be familiar with these types of tactics.
Con:-,islcncy-and-commitment taclics work because the influence practitioner is able to get
the target to commit to the transaction before the practitioner alters the deal. The example
of the bait-and-switch tactic mentioned at the beginning of this c hapter illustrates this type
of tactic. Next. experts CU ll influence us because they are authorities on a lopic. For instance. Senator Bob Dole is sliccessful at selling Viagra because he has experienced prostate cancer. Social proof is most successfu l in situations where we look LO ot hers to guide
our actions. We choose to engage in a behavior because we believe th at others would do
the same thing in that situation. Car salespeople take advantage of thi s when they emphasize how popular a particular car is. Internet service providers use this taclic when they
empha ... ize the large number of subscribers to their service. Finally. simi larity and liking

Chapter 12 Seqllenfilll Reqlltst Compliance TlICfiCJ

209

tactics emphasize that the intlucncc agent is likable or similar to us. For instance. a salesperson may statt! that he or she shares the ... ame hobbies or drives the same car as a potential cu ... tomer. The mention of this similarity is intended to make a customer more likely to
purchase from the influence practitioner.
The majority of scquential requcst compliance tactics fit into one of two categories
from the list above: commitment and consistency or reciprocity. We will start off with
a discussion of commitmcill-and-consistency tactics and then move on to reciprocal tactics. In each section we will cover the basic mechanism of each tactic. factors that affect
the likelihood of its success in gaining compliance. and defenses against each type of
tactic.

COl1ll1litl1lellt-alld-Collsistency Tactics
Have you ever seen an adverti ...emcnt encouraging you to enter a contest concerning a certain household product? in such contests. individual ... arc asked to write a short testimonial
on the product to explain why they usc a certain laundry detergent or toothpaste. The pril.e
for the conte ... t i... frequently a one-year supply of the product. Well. that kind of conte ... t
.,ound" like a good deal for the winner. but thc manufacturer of the product will have to
give away a large quantity of its product. Why would the manufacturer want to givc away
money that way? In actuality the manufacturer ha~ found a subtle way to increase sales:
By a~king consumers to extol the virtues of the product. the manufacturer is ensuring that
many people will make a public commitment to the product. This written and public commitment will increase most individuals' loyalLy to the brand. So while giving away a oneyear supply to one winner, the company is actually gaining thousands of customcrs who
will become more loyal and more likely to purchase the product consistently than before
the contest. And. commitment can be a powerful motivating force.
A number of sequential request compliance tactics work by making the targets of
inlluence feel committed to an action or a product. We will review three of these tactics in
the sections below. Table 12.1 presents the bafo.ic mechanism of each tactic: the low-ball
procedure. the foot-in-the-door technique. and the bait-and-switch tactic. Although each
tactic is different in the v. ay it i... implemented. all rcly on the same underlying mechuni\lll ... to make them \ucces"ful: com",irmelll and consistency.

The Low-Ball Procedure

The reason the ... econd author of this chapter studies social influence has to do with the
low-ball procedure. During her senior year of college. she bought a car. At the time it
seemed like a good deal. Two weeks later. however. the salesperson from the dealership
called to say there was an error in the loan paperwork and that she had to return the car or
pay an additional $2.000 for it. or course she chose lO pay the money. because she was
already committcd to the I,;ar and had already shown it to her friends and fami ly. It was
only after this stressful predicamcnt was over that she realized she had never received an
updated loan statement and that the extra cash was never recorded on any of (he paperwork. It was then that she realized she had been duped.

210

Part III Seekin!-: and Re.vi'iting Complicllll'l': Slmlt'xie\ and Tactics

Commitment-Based Sequential Request Compliance Tactics

TABLE 12.1

Tactic

Initial Request

How Initial
CommiJment Is
Created

Example

Second Request
How the Initial
Commitment Is
Used to Trap t"e
Target into a Less
Desirable Outcome

Example
Changing the deal due
to an error in the
financial paperwork !l0
that it co~t~ more .

Low-ball

Gelling the target

to agree tn a <.,pecific
dc .. irable
arrangement.

Negotiating a deal to
pun.:ha.,c a car.

The tcnll'~ of the

agreeme nt change to
be Ie!';" advan tageous
for the larget.

Bait -a nd-Switch

Urging the target to

cOll1mit to a certain
bcha\ior or action.

Gcttlllg the targct to

commit to purcha .. ing
a new 'Iereo ha ..ed on
a 10\1( adverti ..cd price.

Informing the target that

Making the behavior
the desired .. tcreo is ~o ld
or action unadvi .. ablc
or una\ ail:lolc and
out and offering an
proposing an
altemati\e. more
alternative that i.. not
expcn,ive one.
a, de .. irable an
outcome for the target.

Foot -i n-Ihc-Door

A .. king the target 10

agree with a small
reque3t.

Ge(\lng the target to

sign a petition ad\'oc::lIl1lg govcrnmt.!nt
aid 10 a group In need .

Following up with a
rcque<.,t for more
a .... i3tance on a
(u,ually) rdated
reque ..!.

A<.,J..ing the targelto

volunteer time or donate
money to help the same
group.

This experience is one example of what soc ial scien ti sts rerer to as the JOI\'-ba/l technique. This technique is used when an individual commi ts to one outcome. in thi s case
purcha~ing the car for a specific price. Once the commitment has been made. the deal
changes and becomes less desirable than the arrangement 10 which the target initia lly
committed (i.e .. the price on the car is rai~ed). Howe\er. because of the existing commitment. many people will sti ll agree to it. Thl". in the low-ball technique, an individual
agree\ to the first request because it i ... easy to agree to. or is advantageous to him or her.
When the opportunity or deal changes to become less desirable. most individuals already
feel commilted and follow throu gh on that commi tment.
Cialdini. Cacioppo. Bassett. and Miller (1978) were first to demonstrate the low-ball
technique. In their study. research participant ... were called and asked to participate in an
experiment. Participants in the con trol gro up were told that the experi ment was sc hedul ed
for a very undesirable time: 7:00 A.\I. In con tra ... !. participants in the low-ball group were
first asked to participate in the experiment and th en, once they agreed, were informed that
it would take place at 7:00 A.M. As can be see n in figure 12. 1. the initial commitment to
the first reques t had the desired effect: Participalll~ in th e low-ball condition agreed to participate at a much higher rate than did control participants (56 percent to 24 percent respectively). In addition_ the commitment made by the low-balled participants had a

Chapter 12 Sequential Request Compliance Tactics

211

100%
80%
60%

Controt
(participants told the time of the experiment before
being asked to commit)

Low-ball
(participants told the time of the experiment after
they agreed)

56%

40%
20%
0%
Percentage of
participants who
agreed to participate
in the experiment at

7:00
FIGURE 12.1

A.M.

Compliance with the Target Request ill the First Low-Ball Study

Source: Cialdini et al.. 1978.

powerful impact on actual behavior: 95 percent of participants in the low-ball condition

who agreed to participate actually showed up for the experiment.
Why is the low -ball technique so successful? It works because once someone agrees
to a business deal or course of action. that individual feels committed and will stay committed to that course of action even when the details change. In addition, the initial request
is usually perceived as a "good deal" by the target. and this perception helps enhance his
or her commitment.
As the initial demonstration of the procedure presented above clearly illustrates, the
low-ball approach is a powerful compliance tactic. However. a number of factors affect
the likelihood of its success. For instance. additional research has indicated that the degree
of commitment between the target and the influence agent plays an important role in the
success of this technique_ For example, Burger and Petty (1981) demonstrated that this
tactic did not work when different people administered the first request and the target request. In addition. Burger and Cornelius (200 I ) demonstrated that both public and verbal
commitment is necessary for this technique to work. In their study. participants who were
interrupted before they had the opportunity to commit to the initial request were significantly less likely to agree to the less desirable target request than were participants in the
low-ball condition. Additional research indicates that targets must also feel that they made
the initial commitment freely in order to be sliccessfully low-balled (Cialdini et aI., 1978).

Bait alld Switch

At the start of this chapter. we presented an example of the next consistency-based compliance tactic we will examine: the baif-and-switch technique. We are sure many people
can remember instances when they have been drawn into a store after spotting the 40 percent off lag on a nice camera or pair of shoes. However. if your experiences have been
anything like ours. you have probably been disappointed because the camera was out of

212

Par1 III Seeking (llId Resisting Compliance: Stra tegies and Ta ctics

Mock or the bargai n shoes were available only in extremely large or small sizes. In most
situations like these. the typical sales associate is only too happy to recommend an alternati ve s. hoe or camera that is very similar in appearance or features but is pricier. And if
you are anything like us, you may have purchased the alternative item even though it was
not what you wen! into the store for in the first place. If so, you have experienced the baitand-sw itc h procedure.
The tactic works by ge tting a target to commit to an item or a course of action. Then,
once the commitment has been made or the "bait" taken, the influence practitioner alters
the silUation so that the item or action that the target has co mmitted to is no longer available. The influence practitioner the n offers an alternative option or course of action that is
not nearly as good a deal for the target. Many target s in thi s situation will accept the alternative item or action eve n though they would not have done so if that had been the initial
option.
Although thi s. tacti c ha~ been around in the sales industry for quite a while. the initial publi shed cx pe rime ntal dcmonstration of the bait-and-switch tactic was authored by
th e French social psyc hologists Joule. Gouiiloux. and Weber (1989). They referred to it as
the lure procedure. In the ir study, they recruited partic ipants to take part in a study on film
c lips-a very interesting experiment in the eyes of the typical re search participant. Thi s
was the bait. Once willing participants arri ved to take part in the experiment, p:.uticipant <;,
in the lure co ndition were told that the experiment had becn canceled. Then they were
sw itched: They were offered an alternative experiment in which their task would be to
me morize list~ of numbers-a ve ry boring task in comparison to the original experiment.
The re~u lt ~ attested to the s u cce~s of thi s compliance tacti c. Among a control gro up of
participants who were ju~t asked to do the number-matching task , only 15 percent agreed.
whereas 47 perce nt in the bait-and-switch co ndition agreed to be in the memory study _
Wh y does it work? Much like the low-ball procedure, the bait-and-sw iICh techniqu e
works by ge lling an initial co mmitme nt to comply, which makes people more like ly to
accept a less attractive arrangement than they ordinarily would have accepted. It is diffe rent from the low-ball tactic in that the outcome the target commits to is not altcred to beco me something less des irable; rather, it is replaced by a different outcome that is less
desirable than the one initially committed to. For example. a victim of th e low-ba ll procedure would agree to buy the sa me car for a hig her price, while a victim of the bait-andswitc h proced ure would agree to buy a different. more expensive. car.

Foot-ill-the-Door Technique
A few years ago, while walking through a shopping mall , the second author was stopped
by a clean-c ut young man who asked her a few short questions about her hou sehold demographics. Once she answered hi s questions, he thanked her for her time. Then, before she
could walk away. he asked her to provide more information about her family demograph ics and consumption habits in a longer interview. An hour later. she walked out of thi s
yo un g man's office carrying with her a box of ';fire-roasled grill snap s" that she had
agreed to taste- test fo r a week and wondered what had hit her. Her family tried th e crackers. and a week later she participated in a 20-minute telephone interview to provide feed -

Chapter 12 Sequel/tia! RequesT COlllpli(lI/C() Tactics

213

back on the taste test. She was amazed that agreeing to answer a few short questions had
led her to commit to a course of action that she would have initially refused if she had
been informcd of what the clean-cut young Illan really wanted from her in the first place.
This is an example of the next consistency-based compliance tactic. the foot-in-the-door
(FITD) technique.
Essentially. the FITO technique works by asking for something small-usually a
minor commitment-and building upon that commitment to gain compliance with a
larger. usually related request. When two social psychologists. Jonathan Freedman and
Scott Fraser (1966). initially investigated the FITO technique. they found that once an individual agrees to the small request. he or she is more likely to agree to a related. larger
request. They labeled this effect the foot-in-the-door technique because the slllall request
is like the proverbial foot in the doorway that makes it hard for a potential customer to
close the door on a salesperson.
In their initial demonstration of the FITO cffect. Freedman and Fraser (1966, study
2) asked participants either to ~ign a petition or to place a small card in a window in their
home or car. The petition and the card advocated one of two prosocial messages: to keep
California beautiful or to support safe driving. Both requests were easy to agree to. After
all. most people living in California believe in safe driving. and 1110st Californians wan I to
keep California beautiful. Approximately two weeks after complying with the initial request. participants were contacted by a second experimenter and asked to place a large
sign advocating safe driving in their front yard. Although initial acceptance of the small
card that advocated safe driving led to the greatest amount of compliance with the large
request. all experimental conditions generated more compliance than the control group.

Why Is the FITD Techllique Effective ill Gaillillg Compliance? Freedman and
Fraser explained their results in terms of self-perception. They concluded that compliance
with a small initial request for a public service action causes a change in the individual's
self-perception. This small act of compliance produces a change in self-concept in which
the person "becomes in his own eyes, the kind of person who doe;., this sort of thing"
(p. 201). Thus, the initial act of compliance with a small request. a request virtually no one
would refuse. makes an individual more likely to agree to a later. larger rcquestparticularly if it is similar to the initial request.
Othcr researchers have challenged this explanation of the FITD technique both because they suggest alternative explanations seem more likely and because the FITO technique has been notoriollsly difficult to replicate. In a literature review on thc FITD effect.
Dejong (1979) concluded that support for the self-perception theory is weak. Similarly. in
a meta-analysis of 120 FITD studies. Beaman. Cole. Pre>lon, Kientz. and Steblay (1983)
concluded that the FITD is an effective compliance technique. but that the size of the effect is smaller than was suggested by the results of the Freedman and Fraser study. The
results of the meta-analysis by Beaman and colleagues also suggest that support for the
self-perception theory to explain the FITD effect i;., inconsistent. In addition, in another
FITD study. Gorassini and Olson (1995) measured participants' self-perceived helpfulness between the first and second reque!->ts. Although participants in the FITD condition
perceived themselves as more helpful than participant .. in the control condition, this
greater perception of helpfulness did not predict compliance with the second request. In

2 J4

Pan III Sl'ekinlt and Resi,Hillg Compliance: Srmfl'gie.\ allli Tacrin

sum. much research on the FlTD ha ... ind icated that o ther factors beyond ... elf-pe rcept ion
may we ll inOuence susceptibil it y to it.

Factors That Affect the Likelihood of all FITD Effect.

More recc ntly. Burger

(1999) conducted a meta-analysis on FITD lactics and found support for a number of factor ... that inOuencc whether an attempted FITD lUetic w ill be e ffecti ve in increasing compliance. A detailed listing of many of the facto" appears in table 12.2. The first. as we
ha ve already me nti o ned. is self-pe rcept ion. Individuah. who see the act of com pl y i ng with
the lirst req uest as indicative of the type of person they are will be 1110re like ly to comply
with the target reque~t than will indi vid ual s who do no t experience thi s self-percepti o n.
For instan ce. Burger and Caldwell (200 I) reported that a monetary reward for co mpliance
with the first request reduces comp liance wi th the second request. They ex plained this
findin g as indi ca tin g that a monetary reward leads people to believe that they agreed to the
first request for the money. not because o f the kind of people they were. In addition.
Burger and Guadagno (in press) reported that individuals who have a c lear or high sc lfconcept are more \usceptibl e to the FITD than are indi\iduals who have a less clear scn ... e
TABLE 12.2

Factors Tho/Impact the Likelihood oJ a SuccessJlI1 FITD I\ttempt

Psychological
Process

Potential Effect
Oil

the FITD

Example

Self-percept ion

Enhances the effec t

H an individual sees him- or herse lf as the type of

pcr<';ol1 who c n gagc~ in actiom ... lI ch a ... Ihe initial
rcque ... t. he or ~he wi ll be more likel y 10 agree with the
larget req uest because of thai se lf-percept ion.

Reciproc it y

Reduces the effec i

Indi vidua l... who comp ly with the initial request

the requc ... lOr has done them .1 favor are
unlilo..ely to co mply with the larget request because
they perccive the favor a~ already havi ng becn
returned.
b CC.lU SC

May reduce or
enhance the effect

Indi vidual ... for whom consistency i ... not a core need
arc unlikely 10 be ... u~ceptib l e to the FITD. However.
when cOlh i... tency is a core need. the oppo ... ite is true.

Anributions

May reduce or enhance

the effect

If indiyidu;:lb allribute their comp li ance to an

ex ternal factor (e.g .. payment for complying), 3n
FITD effect i~ unlikely to occur. However. if indi vidual ... altrihute thei r co mpl ia nce 10 an interna l factor
(they arc helpful by nature). they are more lik e ly to
compl y.

In vo lve ment

Enhance~

The greater the involve ment requ ired to complete the

initial rcque~t. the morc likely individual:. arc to
co mpl y with the target request.

Cons iste ncy

SO/lrce:

need~

the effect

Adapted in part from Burger. t<)99.

Chapter 12 Sequential Reqllest Compliallce Tactics

215

of self. because such individuals are more likely to aher their self-concepts when reacting
to new information than are individuals with less clear self-concepts. Thus. after complying with the first request in the FITD manipulation, individuals with high self-concepts are
morc likely than those with low self-concepts to experience the resulting change in selfperception that will incline them to agree with the second request
Self-perception. however, is only one factor affecting the likelihood of a successful
FITD. For instance. according to Burger's (1999) meta-analysis. if targets comply with the
initial request because of reciprocity norms, that is. because they think they owe the influence agent something. they are less likely to agree with the target request. The perceived
reciprocity produces a boomerang effect. because the targets come to believe that they
agreed with the initial request only to return a favor. For instance. if an individual received
a free gift for signing a petition to change the speed limit (first request). he or she would
be less likely to agree to attend a demonstration on the topic (target request) than if he or
she had not received the free gift.
Individual differences in consistency needs also have an impact on the likelihood of
success of the FlTD effect. Cialdini, Trost. and Newsom (1995) suggested that individuals
might actually differ in the amount of consistency they prefer. In their study. Cialdini and
colleagues introduced a personality scale that measured individuals' preference for COI/sistellcy (PFC). The PFC scale mcasures individual diffcrences in the desire to be both
internally and externally consistent on three separate but highly interrelated subscales: the
preference for consistency within oneself, the preference to appear consistent to others,
and the preference for others to be consistent. Individuals who score low on this scale may
actually prefer to behave in an inconsistent manner. Conversely. individuals who score
high on this scale consider consistency very important.
Cialdini and colleagues (1995. Study I) conducted an FITD study, examining
whether PFC level would have an impact on the success of an FITD manipulation. Specifically, they predicted that high-PFC individuals would bc susceptible to the FITD and
show the traditional increase in compliance after first agreeing to a small, related request.
For low-PFC participants. they predicted no difference between the FITD and the control
conditions because consistency was not important to them. To test this hypothesis, the researchers contacted experimental participants by telephone and asked them to answer
three short questions about their television viewing habits (the first request). Next, all
participants received the target request: to fill out a 50-item questionnaire on their television viewing habits and return it in two weeks. The results showed. as predicted. that highPFC individuals (people for whom consistency is important) were more susceptible than
the 10wPFC participants to the FITD effect. Figure 12.2 presents a graphic representation
of the results. Thus, high-PFC participants who agreed to a slllall request were more likely
to agree to a second. larger request. Conversely. low-PFC participants were just as likely
to agree to the second request whether or not they had agreed to the small request first.
These results were interpreted 1O support the hypothesis that individual differences in PFC
are one reason the FITD effect is difficult to replicate reliably. Additional data analyses
revealed that the low-PFC participants displayed a relatively strong tendency to say yes
regardless of condition. This tinding suggests that low-PFC individuals tend to be interested in novel opportunities and experiences such as the chance to participate in an unknown survey about television viewing habits.

216

Part III Seekil11: {lml Re:ii.Hillg COl1lpIUIIICe: Stratt'1:ie.1 a/Jd Tactics

100%

90%
80%

Control
70%

60%

FITD

50%
40%

Percentage of participants who agreed to fill

out the 50item survey

30%

20%
10'%

0%

Low

High
PFC

FIGURE 12.2 Individual Differences ill Compliallce with the FITD Technique. People with
a low PFC are not ..,usceptibJe 10 the tactic. wherea.., people with a high PFC show the traditional
increase in compliance after fir..,t agreeing to a ... mall initial reque .. t.
Srmne. Claldini el al.. 1995.

In a replication and expansion of the ..,(udy by Cialdini and colleagues. Guadagno.

A ... her. Demaine. and Cialdini (200 1. study 2) used the same method as in the previous
study. with slightly modified FITD conditions. They found that for high-PFC individual>.
reminding them of the concept of consistency between the first and second requests increased the extent of the FITD effect. For low-PFC individuals. however. reminding them
of the concept of consistency had the opposite result. actually decreasing the FITD effect.
In addition to co nsistency needs. several other processes influence the likelihood of
the FITD effect (Burger. 1999). For instance. the greater the action or involvement required to comply with the initial reque .. t. the greater the effectiveness of the FITD. Han\en
and Robinson (1980). for example. reported a stronger effect when participants elaborated
on their answers to question!oJ than "hen they simply provided responses. Labeling the behavior a .. helpful also increases the likelihood of an FITD effect unless the target is low in
PFe (Guadagno et <II.. 200 I). Making the target request a continuation of the initial request a lso increases the effect. The Illany factors that affect the likelihood of a succe!oJsful
FITD make it one of the most difficult seque ntial compliance tactics to repli cate reliably.
Table 12.2 lists all of the faclOrs (hat affect the likelihood of a successful FITD attempt.

Defellse Agaillst Commitmellt and Consistency Tactics

What can individuals do if they find them!oJclves trapped by their own consistency and
about to hecome a victim of the low-ball procedure. the bait-and-switch tactic. or the

Chapter 12 Sequential Request Compliance Tactics

217

FITD technique? Cialdini (200 I) recommended two options, both based on the premise
that consistency generally is a good thing unless it is foolish and rigid. Prospective targets
of influence (e.g., most people) should learn to recognize both when a commitment and
consistency tactic is being used on them and when they are engaging in such foolishly and
rigidly consistent responses.
How can we tell the difference between healthy consistency and this perilous second
variety? Sometimes when we are in a situation in which an influence agent is eliciting a
foolishly consistent response from us, our instincts tell us that something is wrong and that
we are being pressured to agree to a request with which we do not really want to comply.
If this happens to you, we recommend thm you inform the influence agent that complying
with his or her request would be a foolish type of consistency that represents behavior in
which you choose not to engage. A good way to judge the situation is to ask yourself
whether you would make the same commitment if you could go back in time and make the
initial choice knowing what you now know. If the answer is no. we suggest you refuse to
comply with the influence agent's request.

Reciprocity-Based Sequential Request

Compliance Tactics
While walking to class. have you ever been stopped by a friendly individual who offered
you a free T-shirt or teddy bear if you would take the time to fill out a credit card application? Or, have you ever received free chocolate to entice you into a candy store? In either
situation most of us have at some point in our lives found ourselves successfully influenced. We are influenced because we feel the need to "repay" the individual who has
given us a "frec" gift. This feeling stems from the norm oj reciprocity, which states that it
is appropriate for individuals to return favors (Gouldner. 1960). Although reciprocity is a
prosocial behavior. influence practitioners can easily take adv31l1age of this norm to induce compliance. The next two sequential request compliance tactics, the door-in-the-face
and the that's-not-all-technique, work by using the norm of reciprocity against us. Each of
these tactics is reviewed in the next section, while table 12.3 presents the basic mechanism
of each.

The Door-in-the-Face Technique

Have you ever answered a knock on the door to find a salcsperson asking you to buy 10
two-year magazine subscriptions for a total of over $350? For most of us, that is far loa
much money. Imagine you refused the request to buy the magazine subscriptions and the
salesperson followed up by asking you to purchase a single two-year magazine subscription. This modified request seems so much more reasonable by comparison that you agree.
As you shut your door, you immediately ask yourself why you just purchased a two-year
subscription to Modem Fishing when you do not even fish. If you have ever had an encounter like this, you have experienced the door-in-the-faee (DITF) technique.
In order for the DITF tactic to be successful, the influence practitioner has to come
up with a request that is so large that most people would not even consider agreeing with

doing volunteer work.

218
TABLE 12.3

Part III Seeking {lmi Resistin8 Compliance: Srrategies and TaClic\

Reciprocity-Based Sequelllial Request Compliallce Tactics

Initial Request

Tactic

Second Request
How Reciprocity Is

How Reciprocity
Is Initially Created
Door-in-the-facc

The target rejects an

unrea ...onably large
requc\t from the

innul!nce agent.

That's-not-all

The innuencc agcnt

offer, to makc a deal
with the target.

Used to Trap the

Target into a uss
Example

Desirable Outcome

Example

Asking the target to

spend five hours a
week for the next
two years do ing
volun tee r work.

The inOuence agent

concede ... by making
a . . econtl .... maller rcque . . t. and the target
feels normative
pressure 10 reciprocate and agree to the
conce ...... ioll.

A,king the target to

... pend olle a ft ernoon
doi ng vo luntee r work.

Offering to ...ell

Before the target has

a c hance 10 re ... pond .

Adding ~l nc\\ CD
changer to the offer
without c hang ing the
price.

...omeone a car for

a certain price.

the innuence agent

sweetens the dea l by
offering more for the
... ame prict'!.

it. Once the targe t rejects {he inordinalely large reque~t, the influe nce practitioner concedes and asks the target 10 agree 10 a s maller reque st. In thi s case, more people w ill agree
with the second req uest than if they had been presenled with that req uesl initially . Most
researchers believe that the co ncession on Ihe part of Ihe innuence agent is essentiul for
the DITF tacti c to work. That is becausc the target fee ls nonnative pressure to reciprocate
the co ncess ion of Ihe target.
Cialdini, Cacio ppo. Basscll. and Miller published the initial demonslration of the
DITF tech nique in 1975. To exami ne the effeCliveness of the tec hnique. these ex perimenters approached student.s on a college ca mpus and asked Ihe m (Q vo lunteer to chaperone
ju ve nil e delinquents on a day long trip to Ihe LOa on an upco ming Saturday. All participa nt s received this req ues t. For participanls in the DITF condilion. thi s see min g ly large
request followed an even larger one. Pmtic ipanl s in the DITF condition were first asked to
vo lunteer to cou nsel juvenile delinquents for two hours a week for two years. Once they
refused to compl y with thi s initial reques l, targets were then asked to volunteer for the trip
10 Ihe zoo. As fi gure 12.3 shows. Ihe resulls , upp0rl ed Ihe elTeclivencss of Ihe DlTF: 50
percent of participants w ho received the requeM as pari of the DITF technique agreed to
chaperone the trip to the LOa, co mpared 10 17 perce nt of participants who received only
Ihe targe l request.
In anoth er DITF study. C ialdini a nd Ascallli ( 1976) demonstrated that Ihi s technique
wm. more successful at gelling indi vi dual s both to agree to donale and aClllally donate a
pint of blood. Thai is. after refusi ng a request to donate a unit of blood every six wee ks for
IwO years. participants who the n received a request to donate just one pint of blood were

Chapter 12 Seqflemial Request Compliallce Tactics

219

1000/0 ,----------------,
80%

Control
(participants asked only to chaperone juvenile
delinquents at the zoo)

Door-in-the-Face
(participants first asked to spend two hours a week
volunteering with delinquents)

50%

60%
40%
20%

0%
Percentage of
participants who
agreed to act as a
chaperone on a trip
to the zoo

FIGURE 12.3

Compliance with the Target Request in the First Door-in-theFace Study

SOl/ree: Cialdini ct

ilL. 1975.

more likely to agree than were those who had received only the request for one pint of
blood. In addition, of those participants who agreed to donate blood. those in the DITF
condition were more likely to follow through on their agreement and actually donate the
blood. Thus, the DlTF tactic ha!) been shown to produce both verbal and behavioral compliance.
Another DITF study is of particular interest to students (Hami, Mohr. & Hosey.
1980). In it professors were the research participants. Initially, the professors were asked
to spend two hours a week all term tutoring a student. The target request was to spend 15
to 20 minutes with the student. A~ preoicLeli, compliance was much greater after the professors heard and refused the initial request: 79 percent agreed to spend 15 to 20 minutes
with the student. compared with 59 percent of the control participants. Thus. one tip for
students is that if you want some extra help or attention from your professor, ask for more
time or help than you think you need. If your professor refuses. retreat to requesting ajust
adequate amount of help.

The That's-Not-All Technique

While flipping through the channels watr.;hing late-night television, have you ever
stumbled across a commercial for a knife that slices wood and soda cans and is still sharp
enough to slice a tomato? After demonstrating the knife's prowess, the announcer mentions that it is available for an all-time low price of 519.99. Then. after a short pause, the
announcer says: "But wait. that's not all. For the same low price you'll also get a paring
knife, a set of steak knives. and a knife sharpener." Getting additional items for the same
price makes this seem like quite a bargain. At the end of the commercial. you may feel
compelled to pick up the phone and order now. This is a cla~~ic example of the Ihat's-lIolal/ technique.
This technique works as follows: The inOuence practitioner offer., the target a product for a specific price and then sweetens the deal by throwing in a "free" gift or lowering

220

Part III S('ekll/.~ alld R('.\;\lillg COIIII'/;(llIn':

SII"lIIt'V,II'.\ and I(/("Iin

the price. It "ork\ becam.e the anchor point i... adju<.,{ed. An anchor point i ... an initial \ ..lIuc
that c ... tabli..,hcs the standard price of an iteill. tclling u\ what the item i ... worth. Once the
initial price point \cl.., thc value of an item. the free extra items or the lowered price make
the ..,ccond offer ..,CCIll like a bargain in contn.. ..,t to the first. Reciprocit) is al ... o a factor
here. By Imvering the pricc or providing additional item ... for the :-.amc price. the influence
practitioner appears to be doing the target a fa\Of. increasing the normative pres..,llre on
the target to reciprocate by making the purcha ... e.
In the initial demonstration of thi ... tac ti c. Burger (1986) gave re ... earch participant ...
the opportunity to buy cupcake ... at a univer ... ity c<.lmpu:-. bake sale. They were offered a
cupcakc for a 'pecifie pri ce. a:-.kcd to "wait a ... econd: and then lold that the pricc abo
inclmkd a ... mall bag of cookie .... The ...e participant... turned out to be significantly more
lil..cl) to buy the cupcake and cookie:-. pacl..age than participant ... who \\'ere told at the out... et thaI the price \\a:-. for the cupcake and cookie:-. package.
HO\l,.'cver. Burger. Reed. DeCe ... arc. Rauller. and Rozilil" (1999) dClllolhtrat~d that
the that's-not-aI1tcchnique can boomcf<lIlg if the initial requc~t is 100 large. Participc.lnts in
their ~tlldy \... ere offered free coffee mug ... for a charitable donation of a ~pecific amount.
After a ,hort pall ... e. participant ... were told that the minimulll donation to receive a mug
had been reduced. Some of the ...c participant ... heard that the minimum dOllation had been

uropped from SIO to $3: othe" were told that it hau been reduced rrom S5 to S3. Compared 10 a condition in which participant' heard only about a 53 donation. the manipulation from S5 to $3 produccd a s ignificant increa ... e in donation .... Howe\er. thc :-.witch from
$10 to S3 caul"ed participant ... to gin: ... ignilicanlly Ie ... :-. money than tho ... e in thc control
condition. The re"earcher!-l rea ... oncd that becau ... e the initial reque . . t wa ...... 0 large. it led tn
an imlllcdiate rejection of the requc"t. The experilllenter:-. were therefore unable to alter the
participant ... anchor point. and the effccti\enc ...... of the tl1at' ... -not-o.1ll manipulation wa,
lost.

De/elise Agaillst Reciprocity Tactics

What can we do when a favor or conct.:\l"iol1 turn ... Ollt not to be the boon it was initially
percei\'eu to be. but inqead merely the initial ... tep in the DITF or the that""'-l1ot-a ll tech nique ? The 1110 ... t extreme rc\pon"c \\'ould be to reject all favor, and conccs\ion ... that come
our way to protect our:-.elve~ from thc potentialmi"u:-.e of the norm of reciprocity, While
that approach may 'illcce!-l<..full) protect againl"t thi, t) pe of compliance tactic. it ma) abo
end up hurting the fceling~ or people \\ho hone ... tly mcallllO do u... a favor or mal..e a conce~:-.ion. We therdore recommend a more moderate re"'poll\c: to rt.:frame the favor or COIlcc ... :-.iol1 a ... the trick that it actually i~ rather than ... ec it a~ a true act of gencro<.,ity. Once
people recogni7c the trick for "hat it i". the normative pn:" ... ure to comply by reciprocating
with a cOl1ce:-.:-.ion or favor J"rom their own cnd will di:-. ... ipate (Cialdini. 2(01). The author~
u:-.c thi" dcfen"c c\'ery time they get "frec" addn::-.:-. lubeb in the mail along with a reque ... t
for a charitable donation. They rccogni/c Ihat the label:-. arc actually not a gift at all but
merely a ~ale:-. lOol. While the) mayor may not choo"e 10 donale money to the charity. thb
choice i... ba:-.ed on their opinion of the charitable cause. not the result of any pres:-.ure to
comply and reciprocatc becaul"c they recei\cd label:-. at no co ... t. Although thi~ cxample i...
not a ,equential request tactic. the same defen,c technique can be applied to situation ... in
which the intluence practitioner i... u,ing the.! DITf- or the that'\-not-alltechnique.

Chapter 12 Sequenfial Requesf Compliance Tacfics

221

Conclusion
Sequential request compliance tactics require two steps to produce a successful influence
attempt. The majority of influe nce tactics can be categorized into one or the six principles
of influence: scarcity, reciprocity, co nsistency and comm itment, authority, social proof,
and simi larity or liking. Most sequential request compliance procedures fall into one of
two categori es of influe nce: commitment and consistency or reciprocity. There are three
main com mitment-based procedures-the low-ball approach, the bait-and-switch technique, and the foot-in-the-door effect-and two reciprocity procedures-the door-in-theface tactic and the that's-not-all technique. Although more research in this area is needed.
social scientists are slow ly learning more and more about the factors that compel us to say
yes to a request when our initial inclination is to say no.

References___________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Beaman. A. L.. Cole. C. M .. Preston. M .. Klentl, B.. & Steblay. N. M. (1983). Fifteen years of the foot-inthe-door research: A met'l-analysis. Per.wJl/ality al/d Socia! Psycholog\' BI/lletil/. 9.181 - 196.
Burger. J. M. (1986). Increasing compliance by improving the deal: The that'~-not-all technique. JOl/mal
of Persol/ality al/d Social P.I)'cho!ogy, 51. 277-283.
Burger. J. M. (1999). The root-in-the-door comp liance procedure: A mu1tiple-proces~ analy~i~ and review.
Persol/ality and SO'ia! PsycllOlog\" Rel'iew. 3.303- 325.
Burger. J. M .. & Caldwell. D. F. (20CH). The effects of l/uJl/etary illCf'lItil'es and labelillR all fill' .!oor-illfhe-door effect: EI'idellce for a self-perception proce.~.\. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Burger. J. M .. & Cornelius. T. (2001). Rai.~il1g fhe price of agreemel/t: ComparillR rhe illl('l"l"IIPlioll and
low-hall compliance pmcedllres. Manuscript submitted for pllblication.
l3urger. J. M .. & Guadagno. R. E. (in press). Self-concepi clarity and the foot-in-the-door procedure. Basic
and Applied Socia! Psychology.
Burger. J. M .. & Petty, R. E . (1981). The low-ball compliance technique: Task or person commitment?
Journal of Persollalily al/d Social Psychology, 40. 492-500.
Burger. J. M., Reed. M., DeCesare. K.. Rauner. S .. & Rozilis. J. (1999). The effects of initial requcst size
on compliancc: More about the that's not <111 technique. Basic lIl/d Applied Social Psychology. 21
(3),243- 249.
Cialdini. R. B. (200 I). 11/j7/1ence: Science and practice (4th cd.). New York: IlarperCollins.
Cialdini. R. B.. & Ascanti. K. (1976). Test of a concession procedufC for inducing verbal. behavioral. and
further compliance with a request to give blood. Jourtlal oj Ar1plied Psychology. 61. 295- 300.
Cialdini. R. B., Cacioppo. J. T .. Bassett. R .. & Miller. J. A. (1978). Low-ball procedure for proJucing
compliance: Commillneni then cost. JOIIl"llal oj Persol/ality and Social P.IYc/W!OXY, 36. 463--476.
Cialdini. R. B .. & Trost, M. R.. (1998) Social inOuence: Social norms. conformity. and compliance. In D.
T. Gilbert and S. T. Fiske (Eds.). The handl}()ok of socia/ p.\ychology. 1'0/. 2 (~th ed .. PI'. 15 I- I 92).
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Ci<lldini, R. B., Trost. M. R .. & Newsom. J. T. (1995). Preference for con':oi~tency: The development of a
va lid measure and the discovery of surprising behavioral implications. JOllrtllll oj Penol/aUfy and
Social Psychology. 69. 3 18- 328.
Davis. B. P.. & Knowles. E. S. (1999). A disrupt-then-reframc technique of social influence. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology. 76. 192- 199.
Dej ong. W. ( 1979). An examinat ion of self-perception mediation of the foot-in-Ihe-door effect. JOIlrt/a! of
Persol/ality (ll/d Social Psychology. 37. 2221-2239.
Freedman. J. L.. & Fraser, S. C. (1966). Complia nce without pressure: The foot-in-tht.::-door techniqlle.
JOllmal of Per.wl/ality and Social Psvdwlog\'. 4, 195- 202.
Gorassini. D. R .. & Olson. J. M. (1995). Does self-perception change explain the foot-in-the-door effect?
JOllrtlal of Personality and Social Psychology. 69. 91 - 105.

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Gouldncr. A W (!960). The norm 01 reciprodt)' : A prdimm.H) ,-talcml'nl. Americal/ SouoJog/('a/ Rel'ieu.25,161-178.
Guadagno. R. E. A<;;her. T., Dem~lInc. L. J . & Cia ldin i. R. B. (l(X)!). When "aying yc.,lc:!t!<. to "aying no:
Preference for consiste ncy and the rever.. e foot-in-Ihc-door c lTr.:cl. PerwJIllllity cllld Sm'illl P,\yclwl0KI' Blilletin. 27. 859-867.
Han sen. R. A., & Robin'ion. L. M. (1980). Te'iting the effecli vcm: ...... uf ,t ltcrnati vc foot -in-lhc-do(Jf mampulatlon ... Joumal of MarJ..etIllR Rewarch. J7. 359-36-L
Harai. H .. Mohr. D .. & Ho<.ey. K. (1980). Facult) hc1pfulne... ... to ... lUden",: A compari.,nn of compliance
techniques. Peno"alin'lImJ Sonal Pn'dlOlog\, Blllln/n. 6. 373 )'77
Joule. R. V.. Gouilloux. F.. & Weber. F. (1989). The lure : A new compliance procedure . Journal o/"Social
P.n'choJog\'.129.741 -749.

13
A Review of Fear-Appeal Effects
Hyunyi Cho and Kim Witte

Since the beginning of recorded time and before. fear has been a powerful motivator. For

example. the Bible abounds with fear appeals: " ... but you must not cat from the tree of

the knowledge of good and evil. for when yo u eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:
17), Death in thi s passage is a key constru ct of the fear appeal. represe nting what researchers have termed "unfavorable con,eque nces" (Hovland. Janis, & Kelley. 1953), "magni
tude of noxiousness" (Rogers. 1975). or "severity" (Witte. 1992b). By describing the
terrible consequences that may happen unless people do what the message recommends.
fear appeals attempt to per!\uade them to change their attitudes and behaviors (Witte,

I992b).
The use of fear in persuasive appeals. however. is fraught with accounts of unsuccessfu l resu lt s and even adverse effects if lIsed incorrectly (see Hale & Dillard. 1995). For
example. despite the evocation of death. Eve ate the fruit from the tree , marking perhaps
the earliest incidence of an unsuccess ful fear appeal. Failed fearappeal attempts can be
unfortunate when you consider th e consequences. Fortunately. current theorie s show how

to develop fear appeals that work as we ll as how to avoid developing fear appeals that fail
or even backfire (Rogers. 1983: Witte, 1992b. 1998: Witte. Meyer. & Martell, 2(01),
For example, the Extended Parallel Process Mode l (EPPM). a fear appeal theory
that integrates 40 years of research. clearly distinguishes the conditions under which fear
appea ls arc like ly to succeed from those under which fear appeals are prone to fail (Witte.

1992b, 1998; Witte et al.. 200 I). This theory will serve as the guiding framework for this
chapter. In addition. this chapter acknowledges that despite the best theoretical advice. no
messages produce uniform effects across a spectrum of audiences (McLeod & Becker.

1974). Because communication is a social process by definition (Berlo, 1960; Shepherd,

1999). the effects of fear appeals may differ from one audience to another as each processes messages differently. Fear is a universal emotion. but different audiences may hold
different perception s about what is scury and how scary a message is. The understanding
of such audience differences is pi votal to the development of effective fear appeals. There

223

224

Part III St'f!~illg (lml Rl',<;i.\lillg COIIII,/iWIl"t': SlrtHt'gie,\ allll rac1in

fore. the purpose of thi ... chaplcr
diver<.;c audience<.;.

I~ 10 n:\'I~\\

the

r~~earch

on

th~

effects of fear appeah on

The Extellded Parallel Process Model

Defillitiolls
The IwO key conslrue" of Ihe EPPM (Wille. 1992h. 1998: Witte el al.. 2(01) are perceived Ihreat and perceived efficacy. Fir<';l. imagine Ihat you smoke two pach of cigarettes
a day and ha\ejust heard an adverti<.;em~11l telling you that cigarettes cau<.;c cancer and thai
che\\ ing nicotine gum can help you break your habit.
Perceil'ed threat. the fin,t com,tnu.:1 of the EPPM. refer<.; 10 whether you perceive
you afe in danger. It sugges .... that YOlI pcrc~iye danger If you belieye thai (I) you arc nllnerable 10 a threat anu (2) Ihal the threat i...... erious. In Ihi ... case. if you cOlhider that your
chances of gelling cancer from "'Illo~ing arc high (i.c .. percein'd susceptibility) and that
cancer i... a scyere disease (i.c .. pl'rceil'l't/ s{,I'frity). Ihe percei\-ed Ihreat is high.
Pen'e;\'ed efficacy. the second con ... lruct in the EPPM. refers to a per... on ... pen.:epliol1' aboul Ihe re'ponse Ihal i, recommended in Ihe fear appeal. In olher word,. "hal arc
your perceptions regarding the ni<.:otin~ gum rec:olllmt.:ndation'? Perceived efficacy COI11pri ... e ... two elements: <.;elf-efficacy and re ... pnn ... e efficacy. Per('eil'ed se~f-eJJic(ln' refers to
beliefs about whether or not you believe you can perform the recommended rc"'pol1 ...e.
whereasperceil'ed respo"se effic(U'\' refers to your beliefs ubulit whether or not the recommended response work .... For example. are you capable of chewing nicotine gum? If so.
self-efficacy is high. Do you believe that the gum will breal.. your habit'! If so. respom,e
efficacy is high.

Appraisals lIlld Processes

The EPPM \uggests that upon expo,U/'c 10 a fcar appeal. 'JUdience ... will appraise it in one
of the IWO ways and then respond in one of the thn:e way ... a ... a re ... ult of Ihe apprai ... al (see
figure 13.1). Fir ... 1. individual ... appraise the threat. Is it severe'! Are they ... usceptihlc to II'!
The greater the perceived threat. the grl!ater the rnoli, <Ilion to act. If no threat is perceived.
110 action is taken: the fear appeal i:-. compklcly ignored. and the recommt.!ndcd respon ...c
i~ not even e\,lIuated. On thc other hand. if the percel\ed ... c\'erit) of a threat i~ high and
indi\iidual~ feel susceptible 10 the seriou ... threat. they arc mOli\'ated to take action in an)
Wily po ... sible. This ICilds to a second appr~l\~al. ill \... hich indi\iduals e\'aluate self-eflicac)
and rc ... ponse efficacy. It is this ... econd apprabal that determine:.. "hat type of action the)
willl"'e.
If individuab belie\'e that the) are able to ta~e ""me action that " ,ill ellectively U\crt
the threat- that is. if Ihey have ... trong ... elf-efficacy and response cfficac) perceptions toward the recommended response- then they art.! motivated 10 cOllfrolrhe danger. Danger
control is a constructive response to fear. In th .... dmlgl'r ("(mtrol process. indi\ iduals adopt
the responses recommended in a fear appeal and make appropriate attitude. intention. or
behavior change .... In the cxmnple abo\'e. Ihey choo ... c to che" nicotine gum.

Message Processing
Appra isals

External
Stimul i

Protection
Motivation

PERCE IVED
EFFICACY
MESSA GE
COM PONEN TS
Self-Efficacy
Response Efficacy
Susceplibllity
Severity

f----'

(Self-E fficacy,
Response Efficacy)

<-- ____

feedback loop

(Susceplibility,
Seventy)

No Threat Perceived
(No Response)

T T

N
N

VI

The Ex/elided Parallel Process Model

Danger

Control
Process

FEAR

~
Defensive
MotIvation

Individual DIfferences

FIGUR E 13.1

Message
Acceptance

~
1
-:1

PERCEIVED
THREAT

Process

Outcomes

Message

Rejection

Fear
Control
Process

226

Pan III Seeking afld Resisting Compliance: Strategies and Tactics

If, on the other hand. individuals doubt their ability to carry out the recommended
response effectively, or don't believe that the recommended response works, then they
give up on trying to control the danger and instead attempt only to control their fear. Fear
control is a nonconstructive or maladaptive response. In the fear control process, individuals engage in psychological defense mechanisms like defensive avoidance (avoiding
thoughts about the threat), denial, or reactance. [n this condition, the audience's responses
to fear appeals are focused on controlling the unpleasant arousal of fear (hence the name
"fear control process").
It is important to distinguish between no effect, which occurs when no threat is perceived, and fear control effects, which occur when perceived threat is high and perceived
efficacy is low. Both result in rejection of the fear appeals' recommended responses; but
the former calls for stronger fear appeals whereas the latter calls for the avoidance of fear
appeals, that is, efficacy messages only.

The Role of Individual Differellces

As shown above, th e EPPM elucidates how audiences with different levels of perceived
threat and efficacy may process a fear-appeal message differently and subsequently engage in either danger-control or fear-control processes. The EPPM delineates the role of
individual differences in fear-appeal message processing, suggesting that individual differences affect one's perceptions of the message. For example, individual differences inOuence how a threat and a recommended response are perceived. A naturally anxious
person may perceive a threat to be greater than it really is, whereas a naturally pessimistic
person may perceive the recommended response to be less efficacious than it really is.
Once threat and efficacy are appraised, however, the same theoretical tenets apply.
Specifically, threat motivates action, any kind of action, and perceived efficacy determines whether or not individuals engage in danger control or fear control.
In summary, individual differences can and do affect how a message is processed.
Therefore, fear appeals must be designed with the nature and perceptions of the audience
in mind, as the same fear appeal may have different levels of effectiveness and different
kinds of effects among different audiences.

Fear-Appeal Effects: Message Topics

The EPPM has been tested in a variety of persuasion contexts, including fear appeal messages advocating preventive behavior against AIDS (Witte, 1992a), genital warts (Witte,
Berkowitz. Cameron, & McKeon, 1998), tooth decay (Berkowitz, 1998), bulimia (Smalec,
1996), skin cancer (Stephenson & Witte, 1998), electromagnetic fields (McMahan, Witte,
& Meyer. 1998). tractor-related injuries (Witte, Peterson, Vallabhan, Stephenson, Plugge,
Givens, Todd, Becktold, Hyde, & Jarrett, 1993), and others.
Regardless of the study topic, messages that made individuals feel seriously at risk
and made them believe that they could do something that would effectively avert the
threat promoted the most attitude. intention , or behavior change (Witte & Allen. 2000).
These results suggest that the most persuasive messages are those that promote perceptions of both high threat and high efficacy.

Chapter 13 A Rel'ieu of Fe(lr~Appe(l1 ffecfs

227

Fear-Appeal Effects: Audience Characteristics

Age
One demographic factor that has been shown to influence the effectiveness of fcar appeals
is the age of the audience. A number of meta-analyse!! of fear appeals have been conducted (Bo,tcr & Mongeau. 1984; Mongeau. 1998: Sutton. 1982: Witte & Allen. 2000).
These meta-analyses have consistently reported that such appeals are more effective for
older audience!>. than for younger audiences. suggesting that the interaction of age with the
perceived fear influences the attitude change. That younger audiences tend to believe they
arc invulnerable to possibly seriou~ consequences of their behavior and environmental
cvents is well documentcd (e.g., Weinstein. 1980. 1982). Researchers attribute this tendency to younger audiences' lack of experience and exposure to unfavorable life events
relative to o lder audiences (e.g .. Mongeau. 1998).
Witte and colleagues (2000) suggested that the key 10 effective fear appeals in
young audiences is finding out what they truly find threatening or scary. Death or terminal
illnesses may not be scary to a teenager. but losing one's friend s or facing changes in
physical appearance could be. To create effective fear appeals for young audiences. message designers need to identify the kind of threats that the young can relate to.
For example. adolescents may vie\\' the prospect of developing lung cancer as a result of smoking as quite remote. A more immediate or pertinent threat may be a better
vehicle to persuade them. Hansen and Malotte (1986) noted that although adolescent
smokers tended to deny the ultimate severity of the danger of smoking, they readily acknowleJged that as smokers they were at risk of being out of breath during exercise. presllmably becau~e of their own experience.
Schoenbachler and Whinier (1996) found that for adolescents, the social threat of
rejection by peers was more effective than physical threats in a fear appeal. persuading
them to change their attitudes and intentions townrd drug u ... e. Therefore. it is critical to
find out exactly what is threatening to a target audience about a given topic. The perceived
harm may be physical, social. economic. spiritual. and so on.

Allxiety
Some people are more chronically anxious than others. Trait anxiety refers to "one's charlevel of anxiousness in response to a threat thai leads one 10 react in either an
avoidant or coping/sensitizing manner" (Wille & Morrison. 2000. p. 6). The very nature of
the trait. characteristic anxiousness. has invited fear-appeal researchers' attention, because
individuals with high levels of the trait may be particularly likely to be adverse ly affected
by fear appeals (e.g .. Boster & Mongeau, 1984: Dabbs & Leventhal. 1966: Dziokonsk &
Weber. 1977; Goldstein. 1959; Hill & Gardner. 1980; Jepson & Chaiken. 1990: Wine &
Morrison, 2000). Research to date reports th:.ll audiences with different levels of trait anx ie ty respond differently to fear appeals. However, the pattern of results remains inconsistent: Some studies have found that people with high rather than low levels of trait anxiety
are persuaded by strong fear appeals. However. other research has shown that it is lowrather than high-anxiety persons who change their atti tud es when exposed to strong fear
appeals (Witte & Morrison. 2000).
acteri~tic

228

Part III Seekillg and Resistillg Compliance: SrlYlre!;ies (lnd Tactics

One notable factor explains the inconsistency. Specifically, the terms used to describe individuals with high versus low trait anxiety have been mi slabeled (Wi tte &
Morrison, 2000). For instance. the terms that have been used to label th e construct have
included individuals high and low in trait anxiety. repressors/sensitizers, and cope rs/
avoiders. ' Accordi ng to Witte and Morrison. researchers have long mistakenly gro uped
individuals high in trait anxiety with repressors/avoiders and indi viduals low in trait anxiety with sensitizers/copers (sec Witte & Morrison. 2000, p. 8 for a full review). As a result,
with this categorization. the pattern of results appears consistent: individuals high in trait
anxiety and repressors/avoiders are less persuaded. whereas indi vid uals low in anxiety individuals or sensitizers/copers arc more persuaded as perceived fear increases.
However. Witte and Morrison (2000) pointed out that according to the scales used
to measure these constructs. high-anxiety individuals are in fact se nsitizers/copers and that
low-anxiety individuals are repressors/avoiders. With this clarifi cation, it became c lear
that there is no consistent pattern regarding trait anxiety and fear appeals' effec ts.
Overall, two major hypotheses have been tested as explanat ions for the influence of
fear appeals on high- versus low-anxiety individuals. First. meta-analyses of fear-appeal
studies (Boster & Mongeau. 1984; Mongeau, 1994) suggested that an interaction between
fear and trait anxiety influences attitude. intentions. and behavior. to th e exte nt that hi ghanxiety individuals were not influenced by stron g fear appeals, whereas low-anxiety indi viduals were. Second, Witte and Morrison (2000), using the EP PM. hypothesized that trait
anxiety (I) directly intluences threat and efficacy perceptions and (2) indirectly influences
fear-appeal outcomes as mediated by perceptions of threat and efficacy. Studies have been
relatively unsupportive of any of these explanations.
For example. the results of Witte and Morrison's (2000) study indicated that trait
anxiety is positively associated with perceived threat and efficacy. However. the fact that
trait anxiety did not corre late with attitude. intentions. or behavior was consiste nt with th e
results of earl ier research (e.g .. DLiokonski & Weber. 1977: Goldstein. 1959: Wheatley &
Oshikawa. 1970). Nor did trait anxiety intluence fear-control responses of message derogation and perceived manipulation. Witte and Morrison (2000) a lso tested the other two
proposed relationships described above (direct effects and interaction effects) and found
no support for either of these hypotheses. Overall, it appears that the designers o f fearappeal messages do not have to worry about particularly anxious or particularly repressive
audiences. as these variables appear to have little inlluence on how fear appeals affecl
people.

Fatalism
The possible role of fatalism in processing and responding to fear-appeal messages was
first noted by Casey ( 1995). According to Casey. fatalism refers to "the belief that death is
imminent and unavoidable. a fulfillment of a socia ll y-constructed reality" (p. 20). In oth er
words, we're all going to die someday and we can't do mllch about it. Although the effects
of fear appeals on audiences with a fatalistic perspective have not been specifical ly investigated, other evidence suggests that this trait may well be a limiting factor.
For example. fatalism has been positively associated with attitudes and behaviors
that increased the risk of occupat ional hazards (e.g .. Such man, 1967). traffic accidents

Chapler 13 A Rl'\";t'\\ oj Fear-Appeal tl/t'ch

229

(e.g .. Kouabenan. 1998 ). and contri.lc tion of HIV/AIDS (c.g .. Hardeman. Pierro. &
Mannetti . 1997; Kalichman, Kelly. Morgan. & Rompa. 1997). Some rescarch ha."> shown
that ce rtain ethnic groups may hold grea ter fatalistic tendencies than OIhcrs and thus may
be Ic!-.:--. likely to engage in danger control procer.,:-,c!-o for threats such a:--. cance r (e.g ..
Domino. Fmgoso. & Morcilo. 199 1: Straughan & Scow. 1995). Indeed. jf a person considers such dangers are imminent and unavoidable. why bothcr trying to control them?
Research is needed to as ...e:--.s whether fatalism moderates response!-o to fear appeals.
Studies to date suggest that understanding the ro le of perceived response efficacy may be
important in persuading fatalistic audiences wit h ft.!ar appeals. For example. in focus
group:--. of Chine:--.c women regarding their attitudt.!:--. toward mammography. the results revealed that "faith in medicine" Illay motivate them to i.Idopt mammography. while fatalism
works as a barrier to sllch adoption (S traug han & Scow. 1995). Special messages that pro\ide hope and ... trong self-efficacy perceptions 111a) also be needed to counteract the fatalistic pcn,pcclive.
Finally. !-oocielal and MrUl:tural inequities mUM he addre..,~ed to prevent fatalistic respon!o!cs. For example . if COlldOI11~ an.:: promoted in rural Africa, they mu~t bc readily avai lable at a rea:-.onahlc cos I. Similarly. if immuniallions an! promoted in poor. cri me- ridden
areas. l ow-co~t clinics mu~t he made :--.afe ly available to clicnt~.

Reactallce
PSycllO/O}:iclll reactance (Brehm. 1966: Brehm & Brt.!hm. 1981). a proce ...... that occurs
when individuals perceive threats to freedom and freedom of choice. typically results in a
boomerang effect whereby people react in a manner oppo:--. il c to the me ... sagc~ rt.!conllnendatioll\\. For example, a parent might try to scare a child into riding more slowly o n her/his
bicycle by say in g. "You're going to knock your teeth out." This might. however, ca use the
c hild to ride even faster. Reactance wa.., originally COl1ccpltll.l li Led as a state. but in recent
research it is treated both a ... a Lrait and a state (Brehm & Brehm. 1981: Beutler. 1979:
Fran~. Jac~"lI1 - Walker. Mar~'. Van Egeren . Loop. & Ol,on . 1998: Jahn & Lichstein,
1980: Rohrbaugh. Tennen. Pre". & White. 198 I).
Rc:--.ean.:hers have found that trait reactance is significantly associated with a host of
per!-.onality variables that may predict res istance to persuasion (e.g., Dowd, Milne, &
Wise. 1991: Dowd & Sander,. 1994: Dowd. Wallbrown. & Yesenosky. 1994). Specifica ll y. trait reactance was "po:--.itively associa ted with \uch personality variables as
autonomy. dominance. and independence. and negatively as\ociated with such variables
as affiliation. tolerance. inter~st in making a favorable impression, and nurturancevariable; with implications for noncompliance" (Seibel & Dowd. 1999. p. 374).
The perceived threal construct in fear appea ls is different from the threat Con\Lruct
in Reactam:e Theory. The former refers to perceived \\ul,ccptib ility and severi ty, whereas
the latter refers to perceived threats to freedom. However. rear appeals may still be perceived as a form of a threat 10 behavioral freedom. Fear appeab commonly include behavioral recommendations :--. uch a ... dental hygiene practice . . (c.g .. Jani:--. & Fe~hbach, 1953).
safe ~cx (e.g .. Witte. 1992b). sl11o"-ing cessalion (c.g .. Kleinot & Rogers. 1982: Rogers &
Mev. born. 1976). and so on. all of \\ hich. to a \'arying degree. limit individuals' freedom
(Cho, 20(0).

230

Part III Seeking and Resistillg Compliallce: Stratexies and TaClics

Cho (2000) examined the effects of fear appeals in persuading both high- and lowreactance individuals to engage in behavior to prevent skin cancer. The results suggested
that compared with low-reactance individuals. high-reactance individuals evaluate fearappeal messages unfavorably by derogating them as a distortion of truth or mere manipulation. However. while high trait reactance may promote unfavorable evaluations. it does
not appear to significantly affect compliance with fear-appeal recommendations in terms
of attitudes, intentions. and behavior. In short, people high in trait reactance may not like
fear appeals. but they arc persuaded by them nonetheless.
Cho (2000) conjectured that there may be two possible reasons for these results.
First, because behavioral recommendations are a key feature of fear appeals, fear appeals
have thc potcntial to elicit the perception of threatening the audience's behavioral freedom. However. according to Brehm (1966), one factor that determines the boomerang effects of reactance is the importance of the threatened freedom. For example. while a
fear-appeal message recommending the use of sunscreen before going out in the sun in
essence asks people to compromise their freedom. the reduction in freedom may be considered less important than the corresponding reduction in the risk of skin cancer. Or. the
compromised freedom may be considered less serious than the risk of developing skin
cancer.
A second premise of Reactance Theory is that boomerang effects of persuasion occur when individuals perceive that they have choices (Brehm. 1966). If a fear-appeal message clearly conveys to an audience that ~kin cancer is a serious threat and that a particular
audience is vulnerable to it, members of that audience may no longer really consider going
out in the sun without putting on sunscreen as a choice. Therefore. highly reactant individuals may not exhibit counterproductive attitudes, intentions, or behavior in response to
the fear appeal.
A similar line of reasoning and conclusion was drawn by Bushman (1998). In his
study examining the effects of warning labels on full-, reduced-, and non-fat food prodlIctS. Bushman found that although subjects preferred full-fat cream cheese, they actually
chose to eat reduced-fm cream cheese, because they believed that fatty foods increase a
host of health risks.
More research needs to be done on the issue of reactance. because the two studies
reviewed above may not have involved a great loss of behavioral freedom and therefore
may have failed to produce a great deal of reactance. It eould be important to examine
highly reactant individuals' response~ to fear appeals advocating the cessation of addictive
behavior such as drinking or smoking.

Sensation Seeking
Perhaps the individual difference variable with the most significant implications for the
effects of fear appeals is the trait of sensation seeking. One key aspect of sensation seeking
is defiance of and a positive predisposition toward risky behaviors. Specifically, sensation
seeking involves a willingness to experience consequences in order to experience sensation (Zuckerman. 1988. 1994). And sensation-arousing activities, such as drinking and
drug use, tend to involve risk (Donohew, Lorch, & Palmgreen. 1991, 1998). Indeed. research to date indicates that the sensation seeker poses a special challenge to persuasion
attempts using fear appeals.

Chapter 13 A Review of Fear-Appeal Effecis

231

\Vill~ and Morrison (1995a) firM inveMigated the effectiveness of fear appeals on
high- and low-sensation !o.cekers. The re!o,uirs of the study, advocating safe sex among high
I.,chool and juvenile detention youth, indicated that high-sensation seekers were not persuaded by either high- or low-threat messages. whereas low-sensation seekers were per,uaded by both high- and low-threat messages. Wille and Morrison (1995.) suspected that
although high-threat message!>. may have captured high-sensation seekers' attention, they
failed to persuade them. It appeared that adolescents' perceptions of invulnerability to risk
might have worked as a barrier to persuasion.
In contrast. Berkowitz', (1998) study. in which she advocated dental hygiene practices among high- and low-sensation . . eekcrs who were college students, found that highruther than low-threat message!o, were more effective for both high- and low-sensation
seckers.' How can we explain the different results? Wille and Morrison's (1995a) study
indicated that fear appeals have limited utility for persuading high-sensation seekers.
However. Berkowitz's (1998) study sugges" that the audience's sensation-seeking level
may not influcnce the effects of a fear appeal.
The kind of risky and recommended behaviors presented in a fear-appeal message
may playa role. Berkowitz noted. "Sensation seeking may affect attitudes, intentions, and
behavior!>. only when the activity ha!>. high sensation value" (p. 71). Additional research is
needed on topics with a high sensation value like sex, drugs. and driving fast to assess if
and whcn fear appeals can effectively persuade high-sensation seekers. Current research
~uggest!o. that without offering an equally appealing alternative to the risky behavior. the
fear appeal may fail.

Stages of Behavior Challge

Fem appeal~ have been used in a wide range of health communication contexts to bring
about behavioral changes associated with risk prevention (Freimuth, Hammond, Edgar, &
Monahan. 1<)<)0). Most recently. researchers noted that behavioral change is not a one time
event. but rutller a process involving multiple stages (Prochaska, DiClemente, & Norcross,
1992: Weill'tein. 1988). Specifically, Procha,ka and colleagues (1992) asserted that individuals typically go through five stages before they fully adopt and maintain a healthy
behavior: precontemplation. contemplation, preparation. action, and maintenance. For example. a smoker who has no plan to quit smoking in the near future is in the precontemplat ion stage. However. a smoker who i~ thinking about quitting smoking within the next
one 10 :-.ix months i~ in the contemplation/preparation stage. At the action stage, a person
ha:-. refrained from smoking for more than a month, but less than six months. A person
who has not ~moked for more than six months is in the maintenance stage.
Tht; re!o.ult~ of research on fear appeals and risk communication indicate that an audience's behavioral status may be an important factor to consider in fear-appeal message
design. because individuals with different behavioral statuses will respond to a fear-appeal
message differently. For example, increa~ing susceptibility for individuals who have already been engaging in ri~ky behaviors may produce deleterious effects. A longitudinal
study found that some homosexual men exhibited "obsessive/compulsive behavior, social
role il11painnenl. and more imru!>.ivc worries about AIDS" (p. 231) as their perceived susceptibility to AIDS increased (Joseph. Montgomery. Emmons, Kirscht, Kessler, Ostrow,
Wortman. OBrien. Eller, & Eshleman, 1987). In particular, it was suspected that for

232

Pan III Seeking alld Resisting Compliallce: S1r(lfegie.~ and Tacfics

individuals who have been engaging in risky behaviors. "a sense of pcr~onal risk of the
development of HIV infection of AIDS is not beneficially influencing behavior" (Montgomery. Joseph. Becker. Ostrow. Kessler. & Kirscht. 1989. p. 321).
Similarly. adults who had low-quality diets were more likely to respond to the threat
of food safety with fear-control responses such as defensive avoidance and fatalism than
with danger-control response" of rational problem solving (Schafer. Schafer, Bultena. &
Hoiberg. 1993). Somewhat similarly, in response to a message presenting heart di~ease
risk and the role of exercise in heart health, adolescents who had engaged in exercise indicated greater danger-control responses than those who had not engaged in exercise (Fru in.
Pratt. & Owen. 1991).
Thus far, a pattern of results has emerged: For the audience who has engaged in the
recommended response. perceived threat may create danger-control responses. Conversely. for the audience who has not engaged in the recommended response but has engaged in the risk behavior. an increased perceived threat Illay produce fear-control
responses. From the EPPM standpoint. individuals with different behavioral statuses respond to fear-appeal messages differently because their perceived efficacy levels are different (Cho. 1999).
Specifically. individuals in later stages of behavioral change would have strong selfefficacy perceptions because they have "ctually performed preventive behavior and therefore do not doubt their ability to do ~o. Those in earlier stages of change. however, would
not be so sure of their ability to perform the behavior. By the same token, those in the later
stages of change would have strong response efficacy perceptions. because by e ngaging in
preventive behavior they have experienced benefits such as improved health. Those in earlier stages. however. have yet 10 experience this benetit.
What can be suspected regarding Montgomery and colleagues' (1989) study of an
at-risk population is that their increasing susceptibility level was not matched by an increasing efficacy level. Because they had engaged in risky behaviors. the individuals may
have believed that preventive behavior was too late to be effective (i.e .. low perceived
response efficacy) or that they were unable to change their long-held behavioral habit (i.e ..
low perceived self-efficacy).
With this premise. Cho (1999) examined unintended. adverse responses to fear appeals among individuals in different stage~ of behavior change delineated by Prochaska
and colleagues (1992). Specilically. three types of audience were exposed to fear-appeal
messages: those in the precontemplation stage (do not intend to change). those in the contemplation/preparation stage (intend to change). and those in the action/maintenance stage
(engaging in preventive behavior). The results showed that individuals in the earlier stages
of change exhibited greater likelihood of fear-control responses. such as defen~ive avoidance and fatalism. than those in th e later stages of change.
In addition, the magnitude of danger-control responses was greater among individuals who had engaged in preventive behaviors than among those who thought about changing behaviors. who in turn displayed greater danger-control responses than those who had
no intention of changing their behaviors. The results illustrate the re lati ve effectiveness of
persuasion in reinforcing responses rather than in creating new responses (Klapper, 1960:
Stiff. 1994). Also, the results indicated the importance of designing and delivering fear
appeals tailored for an audience's unique behavioral status. because individuals who did
not intend to change their behavior clearly emphasized fear control over danger control.

Chapter 13 A Review of Fear-Appeal Effecls

233

Considering the studies reviewed above, future fear-appeal research may need to
incorporate behavioral status as an important audience variable. In so doing. fear-appeal
research should address the following question: How can fear appeals better persuade
those who have not engaged in message recommendations to comply without creating
fear-control responses?

Contexts of Exposure
Over 40 years ago. Hovland (1959) observed that an examination of the results of experiments and surveys revealed "a marked difference in the picture of communication effects
obtained from each" (p. 8). One of the major factors causing such differences, according
to Hovland, might be the contexts of exposure to communications.
Attempts to understand the impact of contexts of exposure on fear-appeal effects
have been made by Horowitz (1969. 1972; Horowitz & Gumenik. 1970) and Berkowitz
(\998). In particular, Horowitz's research focused on the role of volunteerism on fearappeal effects. Overall. the results indicated thai individuals who chose to read a fearappeal message had more positive attitudes toward message recommendations than those
who did not choose to read one.
However. Berkowitz (1998) pointed Ollt that although Horowitz investigated the impact of choice. the choice was whether or not to participate in an experiment, not the kind
of message (high or low threat). Berkowitz gave participants the option of choosing either
high- or low-threat messages. The results showed that all members of the audience chose
to view a low- rather than a high-threat message. However, despite the fact that their
choice was unanimously in favor of the low-threat message, participants in Berkowitz's
study were still more persuaded by high- rather than low-threat messages.
The implications of these studies are twofold. First. in natural settings, fear appeals,
perhaps bccause of their arousal of strong, unpleasant emotions, may not be the message
of choice from the audience's standpoint. Berkowitz's finding on message choice is even
more significant considering that high-sensation-seeking participants of her study chose to
view Jow- rather than high-threat messages. which were defined as vivid, intense, and
graphic.
Sccond. however, the fact remains that the high-threat message was more effective
than the low-threat message, despite not being the message of choice. Therefore, feaIappeal researchers may need to develop ways to bring fear appeals to their audience's attClllion in natural contexts. Are effective fear appeals, as a Chinese saying goes, "a good
medicine which is bitter to the tongue but effective in curing a disease?" If so, research
nceds to focus on ways to inlroJuce selective exposure to fear appeals in naturalistic settings. Future fear-appeal research should also incorporate the factors raised by Hovland
(1959), including the impact of competing messages, delayed measurement reflecting
post-communication interaction. and fear appeals without sponsorship.

Culture
Culture refers to "a set of guidelines (both explicit and implicit) which individuals inherit
as members of a particular society"' (Hclman, 1990. p. 2). Therefore, culture determines
how members of a community share meanings of verbal and nonverbal messages in their

234

Part III Seeking and Resisting Compliance: S{({Itegies amI Tactics

interaction (Witte & Morrison, 1995b). Consequently, what is scary in one culture may
not necessarily be so in another. For example. Connors (1992) found that for intravenous
drug users, being arrested for using drugs might be a more immediate and important threat
than contracting HIV/AIDS. As a result. the IV drug user~ may continue to share needles.
nOlwithstandiog the risk of HIV infection. For fear appeals to be effective, J11essage~
should address such sociocultural contexts.
Witte's (1997) study on teen pregnancy found thai teen mothers' attitlldc~ toward
the social consequences of pregnancy may not be all negative. For inner-city teen Illother~.
having a baby was viewed positively, but fccling "fat and bloated:' "like they were all
alone and that they had no one they could talk to." and "like they lost their friends and
their social life and felt extremely isolated" were seen as ~ignificantly negative consequences of getting pregnant (p. 148). Economic threats or other future threats of being a
teen mother did not emerge as significant threats to teen mothers. This study suggests that
researchers shou ld abandon their preconceived notions of what constitutes a health danger, and find out what a specific culture group actually finds threatening about a health
issue. Thus. these findings underscore the importance of clearly understanding an
audience's perceived susceptibi lity, an element of the EPPM introduced earlier in thi:-.
chapter.
A cross-cultural study of fear appeals found that AIDS may e licil a range of threat
perceptions. depending on the culture to which the target audience belongs (Wille et al..
2000). Specifically, audiences with collectivi~tic orientations (group-oriented) werc more
influenced by fear appeals threatening the co llect ive such as the family. wh erea~ audience~
with individualistic orientations (self-oriented) were more affected by fear appeal..; threatening the individual. Similarly, a study on attitudes toward smoking revealed that familyrelated consequences such as "harming the health of their chi ldren and family criticism"
were more important for Hispanic smokers than for non-Hi:-.panics. because of Hi~panic~'
strong family orientation and collectivism (Marin. Marin. Perez-Stable. Otero-Sabogal. &
Sabogal, 1990. p. 490).
A caveat emerged from Wille and colleagues' (2000) research. which found that
ethnicity does not necessarily overlap with cultural orientation. Contrary to the aS~lImp
tion that Taiwanese college students arc more collectivbtic than U.S. college student~.
Taiwanese college students emerged as more individualistic.

Conclusion
The overall results of recent fear-appeal research suggest that high-threat mes~ages work
better than low-threat messages-as long as perceived response and self-efficacy are
high-regardless of age, trait variab les. culture. and stage of change. However. individuals must truly believe they can effective ly carry out a recommended response before they
will do so. Similarly. it is imperative to discover what a f,pecitic target audience perceive~
as threatening about a specific heallh issue. especially in terms of young high-sen:-.ation
seekers and members of different cultures. The variables of fatalism and reactance deserve
more research, which shou ld provide greater insight ilHo the effects of fear-appeal
messages.

With (hc emergence of rcmarJ...<.Iblc (echnological .Il.lv31H.:e:-. that enable lI:-. to dcvelop
more and morc tailored message .... i( b important (0 cO(l'l,idcr these diver...c audience variab les when dc\'eloping effecti\t:: fear appeab-.. The designers of fear-appcalmc:-.sages have
an unprecedented opportunity to de ... ign. de li ver. and engage in effecthe. audicncccentered peN,a,ion (Buller. Borland. & Burgoon. 1998).

Notes' ________________________________________________________
I. Rcpre" .. op.. tend 10 avoid potentially threatening though",. emotions. and c'<pcricncc .. (Byrne.
1964). Thu~. they arc avoider.. "who cngagc ill perceptual defc n ..c" (Gold .. tcin, 1959. p. 247). SL!Il<;iti/L!r .. ,
on the other hand. are coper .. who "~how "ell"it i/ation or \igila1ll:c" in their approm.:he ... tn "timuli
(Gold ... tein. 1959, p. 247).
2. No dTec\\ of threat were found for atlllude and Intention', 1\ hich Berlo;owill ( 1l)9H) allrihutc:d \(l
po.... iblc ceiling dTel't.

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Camhridge University Pre, ... ,

14
Interpersonal Deception Theory
Judee K. Burgoon and David B. Buller

Introduction
Newspapers and television daily call our attention to all manner of deceptions : :-.pie\ creating false identities and spinning false tales. politicians lying about lheir priYlltc relationships, business executives covering up fraudulent deal\. foreign governmcnt\ creating
disinformation campaigns. But deceit is nO( just the Mufr of !o.cnsational headlines. It is all
around us, every day and in every relationship. In fact. even the most publicized cases
of deceit comprise endless interpersonal encounter~ in which lies. exaggerations, misrepresentat ions and the like are created and perpetuated. An understanding of deception.
then, is best realized when grounded in the interpep;.onal interactions that give deceit its
sustenance.
IlIIerpersollal Deception Theory (IDT) arose out of just this concern that deception
should be examined within the nexus of interpersonal encounters. It was formulated to
contex tualize an explanation of deceptive communication in what we know about conversation. T his approach stands in contrast to more psychological explanatio ns of deceptive
communication. It also draws altenlion 1O the dynamic nature of display5. of deception and
to the mutual influence between sender and receiver th aI occurs in all conversations.
This c hapter outlines the assumptions on which IDT is built and discu!-oses several
key proposi ti ons of the theory. In formulating lOT. we 'ynthesied a broad range of evidence and conceptual perspectives on co nversational behavior. interper..,onal influence.
nonverba l communication. normative expectations. and source credibility. The most notab le proge nitors for IDT are the first author' s research into conversat ional expectations
a nd behavioral adaptation ( Burgoo n, 1978. 1993; Burgoon. Stern. & Dillman. 1995). the
seco nd author's researc h on verbal and nonverbal social influence (e.g .. Buller. 1986.
1987; Buller & Aune, 1988, 1992; Bulle r & Burgoon. 1986), ou r combi ned functional approach to nonverbal communication (Bu rgoon, Buller. & Woodall. 1996). and decades of
research on verbal and non ve rbal factors in source credibility (see. e.g .. Buller & Burgoon.
1986; Burgoon. 1976; Burgoon & Hoobler. in press). Given the broad net we cast. IDT

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Part III Seeking (llld Re\'isting Compliance: Strategies (llld Tactics

qualifie!o. a~ a mid-range theory that has multiple explanatory mechanisms within its
propositions.
The remainder of the chapter i!o. devoted to summarizing the results of our experimental te~ts of lOT. We present these in a largely chronological order so as to give readers
a sense of how the thinking about, and testing of, lOT evolved.

Assumptiolls About Illterpersonal Communication

The mutual influence in normal social interaction arises from the active participation of all
parties to the conversation. Communicators are not involved in conversation only when
encoding messages; they are dynamically engaged in reception of messages, as well. In
fact. it is a misnomer in interpersonal interaction to separate senders from receivers, except in an abstract sense (which we do henceforth). In normal conversations. speakers
encoding messages are simultaneously monitoring and decoding the conversational behavior of listeners (e.g .. observing feedback, turn-taking cues. and overt reactions to the
message- including emotional reactions). Likewise, listeners usually are not passive message recipients. While listening. (hey provide verbal and nonverbal feedback and tUrtltaking cues. manage their demeanors. and formulate their own turn at talk. All parties to
deceptive episodes are likewise concerned with multiple goals such as preserving good
interpersonal relationships, masking inappropriate emotions, keeping conversations running smoothly, and appearing credible. In achieving these multiple conversational functions. they muM manage a host of verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
Thus. conversations are dynamic. multifunctional, multidimensional. and multimodal events in which participants must perform numerous communication tasks simultaneously in real time. Such juggling requires considerable skill to accomplish effectively.
Communicators are also responding to a host of cognitive and behavioral factors that
influence deliberate communication acts and in turn produce some unintended and unwitting behaviors. Although conducting social interaction is arguably a cognitively demanding activity, it appears that people are generally good at it because much of normal
conversation is fairly routinized. Also. social interaction is made easier by the fact that we
have learned to follow culturally prescribed rules and expectations. Some of the most important feature~ of lOT are expectations for truthfulness, for conversational involvement.
and reciprocal or matching conversation styles. How one reacts to, and interprets, the fulfilhnent or violation of expectations goes a long way toward determining the outcome of
conversations containing deception. These features of interpersonal communication are
the context in which we formulated lOT.

Assumptions About Deceptioll

In lOT, deception is defined as an intentional act in which senders knowingly transmit
messages intended to foster a false belief or interpretation by the receiver (Buller &
Burgoon, 1996a; Ekman, 1985; Knapp & Comadena, 1979). To accomplish this. senders
engage in three classes of strategic. or deliberate, activity: information, behavior. and im-

Chapter 14 11I('rpt'rwmal Dl'l'('ptioll Theon

241

:.Ige management. The term "management" implie, that deception i, a motivated beh'I\'ior.
undertaken for i.l purpo..,e. U,ually. that purpo"l: j", one that benefit ... the ~ender, although
...enders frequently claim that the) dccci\'c to bcnefit the recei\cr or a third part) to the
conver~ation. Iliformarion 'tUlIIlIMemem refers to elTort~ to control the contents of a me ... ..,age and u,ually concern~ verhal fcatures of the mcs~age. Bel/lll'ior IIItlllllxemelll refer~ to
t.!ITorts to control accompanying nonvcrbal bdmviors that might be telltale ... igns that one
i.., dccci\ ing. It derive~ from tht.! a ... sumption that \erbal and nOIl\erbal me..,sages an: con... tructed <.\ ... a unified \\ hole and that nonverbal behaviors are often inh.!nded to augmcnt
i.ll1d extend the meanings convcyed by \"I:rbal contcnt. Image IJumagemellf refer.., 10 more
gencral cfforh to maintain crt.!dibility and to protect one's face. evcn if caught. It derive ...
from the w'I ... umption that individual.., arc motivated to protect their ..,elf-image and public
image. The..,c three classes of ..,tratcgic activity work hand in hand to create an overall believable me"i ... agc and demeHllor. By way or example. a student ... u... pected of cheating
might tell her profc..,sor. " 1 did not look at m) neighbor's exam" (information management) while cro ...... ing her arm.., to aVOId ncrvou.., gc ... tures or body movement.., (beha\ior
management) and ... miling to appear hone ... t (image management).
Thi ... a ...... umption that ...cndcr.., arc active agent<.; \.\ 11O"C bchavior renects planning. rchcar... al. cl1iting. and other con ... ciou ... or scmicon ... cioll'" effort.., at succcs ... rul deceit does not
preclude uecei\.er ... from also engaging In what we rcfer to a.., lloll.\lraregic actiol/.\. that i..,.
c1a..,,,e ... of heh:.1\ ior that may be involuntary ilnd uncontrolled. NOn"ilfUtegic activity may
rc<.;uit in poor. unnatural. or Clllhi.IJTa..,sing communication performance .... A case in point i ...
when a child blushes \vhen gi\ ing a Ilontruthful answer to a parent ... inquiry. The complexity of deceptive messages. and the knowledge that deception violates conver..,ational
rules and ... oeial prescriptions again..,t deceit. can alter the mcntal ... tate of ..,ellder". It CUll
incrca ...e the cognitive effort necded to formulate thi.., multiraceted conversational behavior. It may al ... o increa..,e arou ... al ~lIld provokc ncgati\c affect. All of thc~e processes may
result in lIladvertent ... ignals that something i.., not quitc normal in the conversation. that is.
nonstrategic activity. although lOT does 110t ih~lIlllC thm ..,uch signals are neces~arily or
univer~ally pre ... t.!I1t.
Finally. hcci.lu ...e we <.;ituatc deception in cOIl\.'er\<ltion. the action" of recipients of
deceit are an object of..,tudy. A ...... uch. the 1110..,t important counterpart~ to deceit on the part
of the ~cnder arc recci\er",' perception ... of deceit and their suspicion (a belief held without
... uilicient C\ Idencc or proof to ".;~Irranl certainty that i.I communicator may be decei\ IIlg
them).

The IDT Model Summarized

With the ... e n..,..,umj1tion" about intcrper..,onal communication and deception as i.I backdrop.
we formulated i.I theoretical model of deception containing 18 propo~ition~ (table 14.1).
They dc..,crihe all iterative proccs.., of Illutual intlucllcc in which the enactment of deception by one convcr..,ational participant provoke.., a cascade of moves and countermoves by
hoth pal1ies to thc conversation. The ...c moves are aimed on the one hand at adapting the
dccepti\'e me ... ..,agc in order to maintain its apparcnt truthfllines.., (i.e .. achieving deception
... ucce",..,) and Oil the mher at di ... cerning the credibility of the message and the ,ender and

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TABLE 14.1

Propositiolls ill t"terpenwllal Deception Theory

I. Sender and rccei ver cognition ... and behavior'-. vary systematical ly as deceptive communication contexts vary in (a) access to social cues. (b) immediacy. (e) relational engagement. (d) conversational demands. and (e) spontaneity.
2. During deceptive interchange ....... ender and receiver cognitions and behaviors vary systematically as relationships vary in (a) relational familiarity (including information and
behavioral familiarity) unci (b) relmional valence.
3. Compared with truth teilers. deceivers (a) engage in greater strategic activity designed to
manage information. behavior. and image and (b) di~play more nonstrategic arousal
cues. negative and dampened affect. noninvolvement. and performance decrements.
4. Context interactivity moderates initial d~ccption displays so that deception in increasingly interactive context, results in (a) greater strategic activity (information. behavior.
and image managemcnt) and (b) reduced nonstrategic activity (arousa l, negative or
dampened affect. and performance decrements) over time relative to noninteractive
contextS.
5. Scnders' and receivers' initial expectations ofhone~ty are positively related to degree of
context interactivity and positivity of relationship between sender and receiver. From
Buller. D. B.. & Burgoon. J. K. (1996) Interpersonal deception theory. Communication
Theory. 6. 203- 242.
6. Deceivers' initial detection apprehension and associated strategic ac ti vity are inversely
related to cxpectations of honesty (which are them ...elves a function of context interactivity and relationships positivity).
7. Goals and motivations moderate strategic and nonstrategic behavior displays so that (a)
senders deceiving for \clf-gain exhibit more strategic activity and nonstrategic leakage
than senders deceiving for other benefits and (b) receive rs' initial behavior patterns are a
function or (i) their priorities among instrumental. relational, and identity object ives and
(ii) their initial intent to uncover deceit.
8. As receivers' informational. behavioral. and relational familiarity increases. deceivers
not only (a) experience more detection apprehension and (b) exhibit more strategic information, behavior. and image managcment but also (c) engage in more nonstrategic leakage behavior.
9. Skilled senders better convey a truthful demeanor by engaging in more strategic behavior
and less n()n~trategic leakage than unskilled ones.
10. Initial and ongoing receiver judgments of sender credibility are positively related to
(a) receiver truth bi;.lse .... (b) context interactivity. and (c) sender encoding skil ls: they are
invcrsely rclated to (d) deviations of sender communication fro111 expected partern~.
11. Initial and ongoing receiver delection accuracy are inversely related to (a) receiver truth
bia!o.cs. (b) context interactivit) . and (c) sender encodi ng skil Is: they are positively related
to (d) informational and behavioral familiarity. (e) receiver dccoding skills. and (f) deviations of sender cOlllmunication from expected patterns.
12. Receiver suspicion i~ manifested through a combination of strategic and nonstrategic
bchavior.
13. Senders perceive suspicion when it is present. Dcviation~ from expected receiver behavior increase perceptions of sllspicion. Rcceivcr behavior signa lin g disbelief. uncertainty,
or the need for additional information increases sender perceptions of sllspicion.
14. Suspicion (perceived or actual) increases sender ... (a) stratcgic and (b) nonstrategic
behavior.
15. Deception and su~picion displays change over time.

Chapler 14 Ill terpersollal Deceptitm Theory

TABLE IU

243

('omi"ued

16. Rcciprm:Jly

j ... the predomin<lnt interaction adaptation p.ltlcrn bCI\\een \cnde rs and reduring interper ... onal deception.
17. Recei\er detec tion accuracy. bia .. , and judgment .. of .. ender credibility following an in tcrac li on afe a fun c tion of (u) terminal receiver cognition.. (su"picion. tnllh biases). (b)
receiver decoding skill. and (c) terminal . . e nd er behavioral displays.
IH. Sender ... perccived deception ... ucee .... i... a fun ct ion of la) tcrminal .. ende r cog nition s (perceived . . u..picion) and (h) tcrminal rcccivcr behavioral display ...
cci\(~n,

ultimately reaching an interpretation of th e meaning (i. e .. achieving detection success).

Because mo.." people know how to carryon a conversatio n, th ese actiol1 l-1 may be "nm off"
with rela ti\ c ease and at a low level of co n..,ciouliness rather than requiring significant cogniti ve or physical effo rt. The s ubtl ety of deceptive processes is o ll e reaso n that detection is
... uch a cha ll e nge. as we shall sec. This process and its outcomes arc determined by several
factors di..,cu ... sed throughout this chapt er. These include co nt ex tual factors. such as the
degree or imcractivity pos~ible, sender~' and receivers' preinteraction charac teri stics slich
a.., ..,ocial .. kills. preexi~ting knowledge (called information und behavioral familiarity), th e
po..,iti\e or negati",! vale nce of the re lationship between conversationa l partners, and
initi a l l!.'I(pccta ti o ns fo r hone..,ty wit hin the excha nge (see figure 14 . 1 for a simplified depi cti on of th e interact iyc process of interpersonal deception). All of Ihe . . e factors sho uld influence whethe r sende rs or receivers hold a re lati ve advan tage during deceptive episodes.
IDT has been tested in a program of experi me nt s that address the nature of deception displays in interactive c ircumsta nces (i.e .. ones in which perpetrators o f deceit interac t in rea l tim e with the sa me receive rs w ho re nd er judgme nt s of se nd er truthfulnes s). To
tes t IDT properly. the experiment"> had to I11cd a number of othe r c rit eria. They needed to
be of .. uf'licient length to captu re the dynamic . . of interacti on. inc luding the potential for a
broad range of pos..,ible strategic and nonstrategic actions to e me rge. Our co mmitme nt to
an intc.:raclive research design and to ac hievi ng ge nerali zability to a broader range of
discOlIl. . e abo led us to emp loy C0 l111110n rorl11~ of discourse. such a . . interviews or di sc ussions of a partic ular topic. that not o nl y situated the deception wi th in normal conversational routine ... but a lso required far more exte nded ta lk than typ ical deception experiment s
u... ing very brief. ... ometime~ sin gle-se nte nce, utterances. Additionally. in stead of the usua l
practice of relying on college stude nt samples. many st udi es enro ll ed non student partici pants who we re rec ruited from th e jury assembly room at the coun ty co unhou se. from
c ivic organit:.llion'-l. from employ me nt centers (wi th trainin g offered in exc hange for participa ti o n). and from nonprofit group ... (w ho earned money for their o rga ni lation by partici patin g). In a ll cases. we lio ugh t equa l numberl-l of mal e\ and fema les in ou r sample so
th at our re~u h .. would be applicable to bot h sexes. In some cases. we ah o inc luded bo th
friend ... and strangers so as to furt her increa~e ge nera li zab ility and to uncover any relation!o.h ip dilTerellccl-I. Finally. to compare pal1icipants' percepti o ns wi th o ne another and with
objccti\c behavioral data. we a . . ked partil:ipa11l~ themselves to report o n the ir own and
their partncr's communicat ion and then s ubj ected videotaped inte racti o ns to extensive

244

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CONTEXT AND RELATIONSHIP

Interaction

Pre-Interaction
CognitionsiAHect

a:

zw

- - - --?

Expectations
Goals
Familiarity
Detection Apprehension

(/)

>-

a.
'"

f--7

?!

'"
<5

'"
"

Skills

ro
./

~c:

Cognitions/Affect

a:

w
~

w
w

Expectations
Goals
Familiarity
Prior suspicion

a:

Behavior

'\..

- -

Behavior

.c

Routines

CognitionsiAHect
Perceived suspicion

"5

Behavior

Post-Interaction

information management
Image management
Behavior management
Nonstrategic behaviors

DECEPTION
SUCCESS

CognltionsiAHect
---? Credibility judgments
Behavior
Suspicion display
Uncertainty management
Nonstrategic behaviors

DECEPTION
DETECTION
ACCURACY

Routines
Skills

FIGURE 14.1

Depictioll oflhe illteracth'e Process of Illterpersollal Deception

codin g by trained raters. Some s tudie~ abo included third -party observers to test for differcnce~ due to perspective (part icipant ver~us ob"erver).
The re,t of this chapter is devoted to reviewing evidence from this program of re:-.carch in ... upport of the propo:-.ilions of IDT.

II/put Factors
COlltext Factors
A major prcmise of lOT setting it apart from other models of deception is that it hold!<. that
deception di!olplays and processes differ according to whether or not the sender of deceptive messages interacts in real time with the intended recipients of those messages. This is
the concept of illleraClil'iry. If. for example. a third party observes a videotaped illlerview
at a later time. that third party will not have the same responses 10. or asse~.'-.ment~ of. any
deception by the interviewee that are availablc to lhe interviewer who asked the que ~ tions .

Chapter 14 hllerpl'r.H)/W! O('ceplioll Theory

245

The observer is not "interactive" with the sender. Similarly. if two friends communicate
electronically. doing so via instant messaging is more "interactive" than exchanging serial
e-mail messages over the course of a week.
Interactivity is thought to make a difference in how deception plays out. One reason
is that people in interpersonal interactions usually expect others to be truthful (often referred to in the deception literature as a "truth bias"). and these expectations are considered to become more pronounced as interactivity increases. Three of our studies examined
this premise by comparing judgments of receivers who participated in the conversation
(high illleractivily) and those who merely observed it (low interactivity). In each case,
participants rated senders more honest and trustworthy than observer~ did (Buller.
Strzyzewski. & Hunsaker, 1991: Buller & Hunsaker, 1995; Dunbar. Ramirez. & Burgoon,
in press). Participant-receivers also judged sender communication more favorably (rating
it as more involved. pleasant, and expected) and evaluated sender credibility more leniently Uudging senders as more competent. dominant. and higher in character) than observers did. Together. these studie.<, clearly s.how that interactivity confers an expectation
for honesty. and a bias toward leniellljudgmellts. in receivers.
IDT suggests that interactivity should also affect senders' deception displays. Senders should increase strategic activity (e.g .. briefer utterances) and decrease nonstrategic
behavior (e.g .. fewer pauses) in highly irlleractive circumstances because (I) senders have
the opportunity to repair and adapt their communication as they obtain feedback from
receivers on their apparent believability and (2) the rapport and trust engendered by conversational participation produces a more coordinated, smooth interaction thai helps senders behave naturally in conversation (Buller & Burgoon, 1986: Burgoon. Buller. Floyd. &
Grandpre. 1996). The experiments to be reviewed shortly attest to the impact of interactivity on senders' strategic and nonstrategic activity.
Finally. interactivity should affect receivers' ability to distinguish deceit from truth.
Compared to observers. receivers embedded in conversation~ face a complex set of conversational and cognitive demands. They must interpret messages in real time while simultaneously formulating their own conversational turns at talk. providing feedback to
senders. and engaging in turn management. These tasks can distract them from cues to
deception. At the same time. receivers are enmeshed in relationships with senders. As
such, they may commit to their expectations for honesty at the outset of the conversations
and not adjust them later. These expectations can be further reinforced by the patterns of
reciprocity and the maintenance of self and others' face needs during conversations
(Burgoon el al.. 1996).
Four out of five studies we have conducted have supported the impact of interactivity
on detection accuracy (the exception being Buller & Hunsaker. 1995). Buller and colleagues (1991) showed that participants did not differentiate between truthful and deceptive messages but that ob~ervers did. A study by Burgoon and colleagues (1996)
comparing sender, receiver, and observer per. . pectives found that observers were Illore attuned to behavioral differences between truthful and deceptive cOlllmunications than were
participant-receivers, but that neither set of receivers labeled deceptive performances as
deceit. In a study comparing receivers in a dialogue (two-way communication) and monologue (one-way communication). receivers initially were less accurate at detecting deception in a dialogue Lhan in a monologue; as conversations wore on, however. receivers in

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(I1/(/

T(lClie's

both dialogue and monologue were less accurate at detecting deception (Burgoon, Buller,
& Floyd, 200 I). Fi nally, a recent companion study that collected observer data to compare
to that of dialoguing receivers found that particip:mt-receivers were less accurate in detecting deception (Oullbaret aI., in press). These studies demonstrate that interac ti vity reduces
receivers' ability to detect deception. Two questions that arise are ( I ) whethe r lo..,ses in
detection accuracy are only short-term and (2) whether any gains receivers might make in
their detection acuity are off~et by senders' own gains from adapting to receiver feedback.
Studies summarized below partially speak to these issues.

Relatiollship Factors
In lOT, the nature of the rdationship between sender and receiver is another input factor
that influences the process and outcomes of deception (Buller & Burgoon. 1996: see also
McCornack & Park" 1986: Stiff. Kim, & Ramc,h, 1989), The most important relationship
features are relational familiarity and relational va lence.

Relatiollal Familiarity.

Relmional familiarity can be both informational and behavioral. Compared with strangers, people in relation~hip\ clearl y know more about one another and are morc familiar with each other's behavior. Such informational and behavioral
familiarity could improve receiyer~' ability to detect deception. Military intelligence specialists and law enforcement personnel routinely judge the likely validity of re!o.pollses
from prisoners of war or criminal ~uspects by asking questions to which they already
know the truthful an~wer 41\ a way of determining how truthful th e respondent i~ being.
The same process cou ld be u~ed by relational partners. eithe r deliberately. when their suspicion" are arou~ed. or inadvertently. when information in a deceptive message does not
square with their shared history. A shared history also may make relational partner~ more
cogni/ant of how each usually behaves in conversation. thus helping them beller recognize deviations from normal conversational paHerns. In o ne of our st udi es. novi ce interviewer.., improved their detection accuracy when asking acquaintances an unexpected
que~tion but not ",hen asking it of a stranger (Burgoon, Buller. Ebesu, & Rockwell, 1994).
Their familiarity with the \ource'~ behavior probably improved their ability to detect abnormal responses.
Another reason detection accuracy may improve over time is that senders interacting with acquaintances. friends. and family may become worried that their deceit wi ll be
detected, precisely because of the information and behavioral familiarity these receivers
POS\css. But this i~ a complex issue. On the one hane!. any such concerns could be revealed by the presence of nonstrategic anxiety cues and negative affect. These te lltale indicators of deception should Illl.lkc detecting of deception easier for the receiver. On the
other hand. anxiety could also motivate \enders to engage in Illore strateg ic move~ to hide
their deceit. making detection more difficult because there would be fewer cues for receivers to rely on. Such adjustments in turn cou ld lead to overcontrol. reducing senders' conversational involvement and producing other performance decrements such as nonOuent
speech. These addi ti onal nonstrategic behavior\ should make detection easier. Thus.
arousal and anxiety can have very mixed effecls on deception display~ and their detectability when interactants know one another.

Chapler J 4 IlItNI'erV/Hw/ Deceptioll Theon'

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Our re!o.earch findings reflect just such a mixed bag of re.!o.ulls. By way of illustration,
in a study conducted prior to fonnulating IDT (Buller & Aune, 1987), inrima tes and
friends differed from st ran gers in their use of eyc contact. forward lean. nervous tou ches
to th e face and head. voca l ncrvous ness, vocal pleusantness. and gestural expressivity. A
recent study revealed that friend.!o. may benefit from high interactivity (dialogue) but not
low interactivity (mono logue). Scndcr~ dialoguing with friends were judged as managing
their behavior and image better than senders dialoguing with Mranger.!o.. but friends did
wor!\.e than strangers when delivcring a monologuc (Burgoon et al.. 2001). Other Mud ies
reviewed below further confirm th at the nature of the interpersonal relationship between
interactan ts influences the deception process.

Relatiollal Valellce.

The degree of positivity and trust associated with a relationship

may be a powerful cause of truth bias. leading receivers 10 overlook. discount. or misinterpret signals that the communication is not what it ...eem .... For example. in a recent study
(Burgoon et al.. 200 I ). receiver... felt that interactions with friends produced more rapport.
trust. and simi larity than interactions with strangers did. In another study (Burgoon et
al.. 1994), receive rs also co nsiste ntl y overestimated the honesty or acquain tances. Co nve r.;;ely. when led LO be s uspic ioll", (i.e .. when receiver!>. were induced to place a negative
va lence on the relationship). novice receiver~ (a!>. opposed to military intelligence specialists) greatly undere!o.timated ... tranger~ truthfulness.
In !>,Uln. features of communication contexts and of interpersonal relationships frame
deceptive encou nters and must be taken into account 10 achieve any precision in predicting and explain ing deception. AS"iociated belier!>. and expecta ti on"i innuence the initial
jlldglllent~ of !>.ender credibility and ea rl y act ions by deceptive sender... with in the conver~at i on. This is just the beginning of the story of interper!\onal deceptio n. Quickly. sende r
a nd receiver begi n to exert mutual influence on each other' s cogn itions. reelings. and behavior so that conversational patterns change over ~lIcce~sive conversational turns. With
Iho~e adju~tlllent~ come changes in ~e nd er credibi lit y and deception success. In th e next
secti o n. we consider the propositions in IDT that describe the interaction processes in interpersonal deception.

Interaction Processes
DeceptiQII Displays
The prevailing wisdom prior to IDT was lhat the act of deception is accompanied by a
number of im'oluntary reactions con ... titllting telltale signs thai a person is lying. Deceivers
were expected to experience anxiety and negative emotions such as guilt or fear of detecti on, to find their cognit ive workload increasing as they tried to concoct plausible li es. and
to make (usually un s u ccc~sful ) efforts to s upprcs~ th e signs of nervousness, discomfort.
and cognitive effort-all of which would result in behavioral cues that the savvy observer
could usc to detect deception. Ekman and Friesen (1969) called this the leakage hypothesis. Like Sigmund Freud. they thought that people would inadvertently reveal or " Ieak"
their deceptive intent and that these leakagc cue ... were uncontrollable, so they would

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appear unbidden. All that an astute observer needed (Q do was rune in to the right ones to
have some surefire clues that deception was occurring.
Decades of research have been dedicated to discovering the anticipated verbal and
nonverbal signs of deception (see, e.g .. Ekman, 1985: Zuckerman & Driver. 1985). Yet
research has failed to yield many consistently reliable indicators. Pinocchio's nose is not
evidem in real life. Coupled with the persi~tent evidence that people's accuracy in detecting deception hinges on chance at best. this raised the que~lion of whether a profile of
valid indicators could be identified. An equally important question lurking in the background was whether any of the research findings would generalize to conditions in which
deceivers actually interact with the inrcnded recipienrs of their deceit.
This is where IDT entered the scene. Our fundamental premise that interactive and
nonintcractive deception differ led us to expect that deception displays would be transitory. We also predicted that deceivers (or at least, skil1ed ones) would make use of the
communication interplay between sender and receiver to repair their performances over
time. thus making detection even more difficult as time pa\sed. We further reasoned that if
deceptive performances comprise both strategic and nonstrategic elements, researchers
needed to examine a broader range of associated verbal and nonverbal behaviors to see if
the presence of intentional (strategic) behaviors would make deceit even less detectable.
Our conviction that deceit is an active. goal-oriented activity also raised the prospect of
senders employing multiple <.;trategies for enacting deceit. each one replete with its own
profile of verbal and nonverbal behaviors needing investigation. Also. our conviction that
receivers are themselves active agents raised the prospect that their own communication,
including overt indications of suspicion. might alter decei vcrs' displays.
We summarize next. in chronological order, those IDT studies that explicitly exalllined deception displays. In all. eight original experiments. plus secondary analyses of
several of Bavelas and colleagues' experiments and follow~lIp analyse~ on our own videotaped interactions. were undertaken explicitly to test I DT propositions and hypotheses.
Because experiment I focused on receiver suspicion and is discussed later, we begin by
summarizing experiment 2. which was the first to address deception displays.

Experimellt 2.

This experiment wa~ the fif'..,t to assess a wide range of percei ved and
coded nonverbal (Burgoon & Buller. 1994) and language behaviors (see Buller. Burgoon,
Buslig. & Roiger, 1996). It built upon earlier investigations by Buller and colleagues
(Buller & Aune. 1987: Buller. Comstock. Aune. & Strzyzewski.1989l showing that deceptive performances included a mix of nonstrategic cues related to arollsal and negative
affect and <;trategic activity related to information. behavior. and image management. We
hypothesized that compared to truth tellers. deceivers would manage information by obfuscating their verbal responses with vagueness. uncertainty, reticence. and nonimmediacy (avoidance language) and that this information management would be accompanied
by nonverbal nonimmediacy (e.g .. less gaze, greater distance) and inexpressiveness. We
also hypothe~ized that initially. deceivers would be more nervous. negative, and nonOuent
than truth tellers but that the dynamics of interactive deception would allow them to improve behavior management and image protection over time.
Our experimental methods were intended to elicit natural interactions and selfpresentational concerns that would be common among friends and strangers alike. since
our sample included both. Adapting procedures first used by Toris and DePaulo (1985)

Chapter l-t bllerperwmaf Deception Theorv

249

and Buller and Aline (1987). we framed the study as related (Q how people prc",ent themselves to others during an interview and how well interviewers can detect misrepresentations of true feelings and actions. Half of the participants were asked to lie after the first
five questions. The first five que~tions thus provided a truthful baseline during which participants could acclimate to the task and familiarize themselves with the interviewees'
communication style. This approach also approximated real-world circumstance~ in which
deception and truth are intermixed. Afterward, both participant . . rated interviewee behavior. and trained coders rated assorted nonverbal behaviors from the videotaped sessions.
As hypothesized. deceivers and truth tellcrs behaved differently. Consistent with our
contention that deceivers strategically manage what information they reveal, deceivers'
statements were characterized by brevity. vagueness. uncertainty. nonimillcdiacy. and
nonspecificity (e.g .. "everybody went drinking" verMI~ "1 went drinking"). This had the
effect of minimizing the amount of concrete and verifiable detail that deceivers supplied
and of disassociating deceivers from what they were saying. Other linguistic patterns were
contrary to predictions but also had the effect of making deceptive answers more pallid
and less personal than truthful ones. Nonverbally. deceiver~' initial behavioral patterns
were as predicted. They displayed some strategic moves- less nonverbal immedil.lcy, less
dominance, and more formality than truth tellers- that collectively should have curtailed
conversation and/or made them seem passive. polite. composed. and nonmanipulative.
But their behavior also included some nonstrategic ingredients - nervousne~s, unpleasantness, and gaL.e avoidance- that together with the overall reduction in comersational involvement created an unexpected and undesirable impression. Contrary to lOT. then.
deceivers did not project a more favorable image.
Had these patterns persisted throughout the course of the interaction. we might have
concluded that regardless of any deliberate efforts to the contrary, deceptive performances
lack credibility. However, in support of our position that deceivers actively attempt to
control and repair their performance~. deceivers' body language became increasingly relaxed and pleasant over the course of these brief five-minute interactions. With more time,
we might have seen even more Mrategic repairs. Even without major repair~. it was likely
that the subdued demeanor of deceiver~ was effective in evading detection because. as we
shall see in later investigations. deficiencies in deceptive performances need not give the
deceiver away. Additionally, other results discussed shortly supported IDT's premise that
deception varies by such factors as relational familiarity, partner's communication style,
and suspicion.

Experiment 3.

The next experiment lengthened the interview time and replaced novice
interviewers with trained interviewers who maintained a con..,i..,tent interaction "'tyle across
interviewees. Unacquainted participants first completed a truthful interview with a samesex interviewer and then completed a deceptive interview with a second same-sex interviewer. To learn whether there might be multiple deception profiles, deceivers were
instructed to use one of three types of deception- fabrication (outright lying). equivocation (being vague and al11biguou~). or concealment (withholding relevant information)or, in a "general" condition, to use whatever forms of deception they wished.
As predicted. deceptive responses were seen as les.1'.i conversationally complete (i.e ..
failed to meet usual conversational obligations). direct. relevant, clear, personalized, and
veridical (honest) than truthful re'ponse, (Burgoon. Buller. Guerrero. Aflfi. & Feldman.

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Part III Seekil1~ and Resisrin,:: Compliance: Srrare,::ies and Tacrics

1996). Those results related to information management confirmed that deceivers have a
number of features at their disposal to effectuate deception. Senders also reported being
far less truthful when fabricating answers than when concealing or equivocating, but observers failed to see differences among the three types. Linguistically, deceivers again
used fewer self-references and tended to use fewer group references than truth tellers
(Buller, Burgoon, Buslig, & Roiger, 1994). This stripped deceptive responses of so me of
their concreteness and personalization. However, as other linguistic analyses proved problematic. we made several methodological changes before the next test of deception types.

Experimellt 4.

Reported in Buller, Burgoon, White, and Ebesu (1994), this next experiment again employed interviews and compared three types of deceivers: falsifiers. equivocators, and concealers. To see how suspicion alters both sender and receiver behavior, we
reverted to novice rather than trained interviewers. half of whom were made suspicious.
Participants were civilians and military personnel from two locations and included strangers and acquaintances.
The resultant complex findings confirmed our conjecture that deception dispJays are
highly respo nsive to such factors as the type of deception, degree of relational familiarity.
and partner's sus picion. Information management went largely as predicted. Truthful responses were seen as more complete, veridical, direct/relevant, clear, and personalized
than deceptive ones. Of the three deceptive types. falsifiers were the least truthful but also
the least reticent; their answers were less vague. hesitant, and brief than those of equivocators or concealers. Equivocators were the least clear, direct, and relevant. Additionally, as
predicted, deceivers tended to include di sta ncing and ambiguous language (e.g., levelers,
modifiers, and group references). but contrary to predictions they also used more present
tense verbs and fewer past tense verbs. (After the fact, we conjectured that past ten se verbs
are more likely to sound definitive and therefore deceivers might have been expected to
use present rather than past tense verbs.) As for nonverbal patterns. they failed to support a
clean strategic-nonstrategic distinction. as many behaviors were opposite to predictions.
For example, deceivers were expected to be less expressive than truth tellers; instead, they
were more so (and yet less involved). Deceivers were hypothesized to be more formal;
in stead. the y were less so. Further. only strangers showed the expected pattern of
nondominance when deceiving; acquaintances instead became more dominant than their
truth-telling counterparts.
The overall conclusion we drew from these data is that in interactive contexts. very
few display s of uniform deception are likely due to deceivers adapting to audience and
context and employing an array of discourse form s, each with different accompanying
nonverbal cues. Still. some suggestive patterns emerged. Deceivers often seemed to opt
for greater verbal reticence. withdrawal, and vagueness, which has the advantage of reduc ing their chances of making contradictory or implausible statements; to adopt an informal.
nondominant demeanor. which might discourage others from probing too deeply and disassociates them from respon sibility for their statements; to offset verbal nonimmediacy
and depersonalization through more ex pressive body language; and to hide arousal by
suppressing some, but not all, other physical activity. The net result of all these behaviors
was an apparent general reduction in involvement, which was emerging as a strong telltale
sign of deception. at least at the outset of conversations.

,
1

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Chapter 1-1 IlIIer"e,wlI(l1 Dece"lioll Theon'

251

Secolldary Allalysis of the Equivocatio1l Experiments.

The next move in our research program (Buller el al.. 1994) took us not to yet another experiment but rather to
further analysis of research undertaken by Bavelas, Chovil, Black, and Mulletl (1990),

who had been conducting numerous experiments on equivocation. Janet Bavelas graciously made available the audiotapes and videolapc!o. from six studies so lhal we could
code the utterances on the same verbal and nonverbal behaviors we had measured previously. (II ~hould be noted that 8avelas does nO( cOI1\ider equivocation a form of deception, but her characterization of it is still quite similar to ours. namely. a form of discourse
that includes truthful but indirect. irrelevant. ambiguous. or evasive information to create
an impression that deviates from "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but thc truth.")
Her program of research offered an excellent complcment to ours becausc. unlike our direct instructions to subject~ to be equivocal. her experiments induced equivocation by
placing people in avoid-avoid conflicts (i.e., situation~ in which both telling the truth and
lying would have negative con~equellccs) that naturally encouraged them to equivocate.
For example. in one study. people were a!o.ked 10 imagine that a friend had performed
poorly on a task and was asking for feedback on how he or ~he did. Telling the truth would
hun the friend's feeling!o.; yct people are oftcn loath to lie outright. hence the likelihood of
resorting to equivocation. Most of the experiments contrasted a connict condition with a
no-conflict condition.
Results <;;howed that equivocators were nondominant. which would be consistent
with a withdrawal response. but they were also linguistically immediate. which is an approach response. They were Ics ... expressive vocally but more expressive kinesically. They
also "leaked"' some tension and unpleasantness when equivocating. These combined patterns pointed to equivocation including channel discrepancies. which makes sense given
that people arc likely to equivocate when they arc feeling ambivalent.

Further Vocal Analyses from Experiment 4.

Our own and others' research had already repeatedly established that vocal behavior can be a major separator between deceptive and truthful speaker!o.. The next investigations (Rockwell. Buller, & Burgoon. 19973,
1997b) therefore sought to identify reliable indicalOrs of deceit using acoustic and perceptual measures. Vocal features generally fall into one of three categories of measures (I)
those related to duration or speed of utterance. (2) those related to frequency or pitch. and
(3) those related to intensity. Based on the expectation that deceivers would be morc reticent. withdrawn, and uncertain than truth tellers and would exercise greater control over
nonverbal behaviors. we hypothesized that deceivers would exhibit shorter overall message durarioll. slower tempos. less nuency. and longer response latencies than truth tellers.
At [he same time. the voice is not as easily controlled a.., the body, and previous findings
have shown Lhat arousal can be leaked through higher pitch. We therefore also predicted
that deceptive voices would be higher pitched. Finally, on the supposition that deceivers
would try to "shrink" from discovery with a submissive demeanor. we thought they would
speak more softly than truth tellers.
Trained coders rated such features as nuency. response latencies. internal pauses,
pitch. vocal quality, articulatory precision, and pleasantness. Acoustic software then
analY7ed the recordings of the interviews. measuring such features as number of segments
of sOllnd and silence. re ... ponse latency. fundamental frequency mean and variance. and

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Part III Seekil/g (111(1 Re,~isrif1g COlllplia/1ce: Sfr{m'gies (l1Il1 Taeries

intensity mcan and variance. Re~ults revealed thm deceivt;!r~ constructed shorter mes~age~,
spoke more ~Iowly, were less Iluent. and had longer response latencies than truth teliers
did. Unlike many other deception ... tudie~. deceivers did not show elevated pitch. but the
acou"'lic analy ... is revealed that they di"playcd more pitch variety and a wider intensity
(loudness) range than truth teller~. Additionally, deceivers' voices were rated less plea",ant
than those of truth teller~. There are several plausible explanations for these findings. For
example. deceivers may have adopted these pallerns strategically so as to restrict the
amount of information conveycd, to reduce their responsibility for the receiver's interpretation of what is said by being vague and uncertain. or to cover any verbal insufficiencies
with an expres~ive voice. Alternatively, behavior pallerns may have been unint ended. Deception may have required greater cognitive cl'fort that prevented rapid responses and long
messages. It may have heightened arousal in a manner that impaired efficient functioning
of the articulators and prevented deceivcrs from controlling tluclUations in intensity. The
indeterminacy of whether these vocal patterns bcst fit ~ strategic or nonstrategic interpretation eventually led to the design of Experiment 6.

Experiment 5. Meantimc. this next ~llIdy. reponed in Burgoon. Buller, White. Afifi.
and Bu .. lig ( 1999). was underlakcn to exmnine further the extelll to which senders adapt
their deceptive displays over time and to different receiver comlllunication styles. Several
hypothe~es were tested: (I) Interactive deception displays dilTer from truthful ones only at
the outset of interactions and approximate truthful displays over time: (2) deceivers adapt
to receiver communication: (3) receiver involvement affects sender displays: (4) receiver
judgments of truthfulness correlate dirt.!ctly with sender displays: and (5) senders' social
skill~ affect their deceptive performance. We discuss the last hypothesis later in the
chapter.
We again recruited a highly reprcsentative community sample to conduct intcrviews. Interviewees were instructed to alternate between telling the truth and deceiving
acros~ four blocks of three ljuestions. Half of the interviewees started with truth. so their
truth (T) and deception (D) sequence was 'ITTDDDTTTDDD. The othcr half followed a
deception-fiN order (DDDTTTDDDTTT). Subsequently. trained coders rat ed the recorded sessions on verbal and nonverbal involvement.
Result ... were supportive of JOT generally and the hypothese,', specifically. Tnllh tellers were initially more lalkative than deceivers. but decei\er~ became more verbose O\'i.~r
time and spent as much time talking b) the close of the inten-iew. Involvement followed a
"imilar pattern. Deceivcrs were le~s involvcd than truth tellers initially bUI achieved COI11parable levels of involvement by the end of the illlerview. They also showed increases in
involvement each lime they shifted fromtruthflll responses to deceptive ones. dcmonstrating that they were able to adjll ... t their level of involvement upward despite the normal
inclination to become subdued when deceiving. Moreover. interviewee involvement
closely followed interviewer involvement levels. indicating a strong tendency for truth
tellers and deceivers to adapt in a reciprocal fashion to the interviewer's co mmuni cation
style. The exccption~ were lhal. as predicted, deceivers and truth tellers compensa ted for
the interviewer's low involvement by becoming more involved. But unexpectedly.
interviewce~ who began the interview~ by deceiving also compensated for the interviewer's high involvement by becoming le!o.s involved too. possibly because they thought

Chapter 14 /Ilterpew",a/ Deceplioll Tileary

253

the high involvement conveyed suspicion and made the interview seem more like an interrogation. By contrast, interviewees who began with truthful answers reciprocated the
interviewer's high involvement, probably because the interviewer's behavior remained
constant when the interviewee shifted to deception. thereby making it evident that the
interviewer's communication was not tied to the interviewee' s behavior. These res ults
demonstrated that both verbal and nonverbal behaviors followed I DT predictions.

Experimellt 6.

Up to thi s lime. we had been making assumptions that deception includes many strategic features. and indeed we had classified entire clusters of behavioral
cues as strategic. Yet we had not attempted to verify directly that decei vers intend to manage their presentations in the manner we had been hypothesizing. This ncxt small -scale
study was therefore intended to learn directly from deceivers what they thought they did to
create more successful performances and to use this knowlcdge to refine Ollr '-)ubscquen t
experiments.
Business students were recruited to participate in or observe soc ial conve rsation s
between friends or strangers about stich topics as " responsibility" and "the most unpleasant job" they had ever had to do. Participants designated as "se nders" were a~ked to be
truthful on some topics and to deceive on others. Participants designated as "receivers"
were merely asked to keep the conversation flowing . Observers watched the convcrsations
through a onc- way mirror and rated senders after two target topics. Senders and receivers
s ubseq uently rated the videotaped interaction on the same target topics. and senders we re
personally interviewed about what they did to appear truthful.
Res ults provided clear evidence that deceivers intentionally manage their communication. Senders reported giving less complete information when deceiv ing than when telling the truth and said their deceptive answers were less clear, direct, and rele va nt than
their truthful ones. They reported trying to achieve a Ilormal appearance and to shift conversational responsibilities to the receiver. They thought they were as pleasant in deception as in truth. But they al so thought their conversational style was less express ive. less
attentive. less smooth, more anxious, and less domina nt when deceiving. Participantreceivers and observers failed to detect many of these apparent changes. Receivers were
particularly oblivious, seeing virtually no differences between truthful and deceptive
performances. Observers were more sensitive to sender differences. see ing decep tive messages as less complete. less expressive, less other-centered, and more awkward than truthful ones. But discerning these differences made them no less willing to rate se nders as
believable. Thus, senders were able to escape negative judgme nts through thei r stra tegic
machinations.

Experimellt 7.

A quick perusal of the IDT propositions reveals that interacti vi ty is one

of its central features: yet no experiment had tackled its role directl y. This next inveMigation (Burgoon, Buller, & Floyd, 200 I) did. One form of interacti vity follows a dialogue to
monologue continuum. Under dialogue (i.e .. high intcractivity). senders and receivers exchange turns frequently and have relatively equal turn s at talk. Under monologue (i.e .. low
interactivity), one person hold s forth for lengthy periods while the other lislens. Thi s experiment tested the effects of illleractivity by having underg raduate men and women conduct social conversations while engaged in either a dialogue or a monol ogue. Half of th e

254

Part III Seeking and Re,\"islillJ,: Compliancc:

Strale~ies (llId Tactics

participants again became instant accomplices who deceived their partner on two of the
four topics, using either a TrDD order or a DDTT order across the four topics. Afterwards. participants and trained coders rated sender communication and credibility.
Results wcre quite telling. Senders reported better information and speech management in a dialogue than in a monologue, both initially and over time (although these perceptions were altered somewhat by the relationship with the receiver). Behaviorally.
senders felt that they appeared more dominant. involved, and pleasant when dialoguing
than when monologuing. especially with friends. Coder ratings of behavior and image
management behaviors showed that senders displayed more involvement, dominance.
pleasantness. and adaptation when dialoguing rather than when monologuing. Finally. receivers detected deceit less accurately when the interaction was a dialogue than when it
was a monologue.
Overall. these data support the IDT proposition that interactivity in the form of
senders engaging in a dialogue with receiver~ enahle~ better strategic management of
senders' message content. nonverbal behavior. and overall image.

Experiment 8.

This next investigation entailed two studies intended to continue examination of the dynamics of senders' strategic adjustments to receiver involvement levels
(White & Burgoon) 2001). The fIrst study established participants' expectations, motivations, and typical behavior patterns under truth or deception. The second study paired students to engage in conversations similar to experiment 7. during which ~enders were either
truthful or deceptive throughout and receivers increased or decreased their involvement
level halfway through the conversation.
One research question we posed was whether attitudes before the interaction differed between deceivers and truth tellers. They did. Deceivers felt more anxious and more
concerned about their self-presentations beforehand. All five hypotheses were also supported. When beginning to deceive. senders showed less involvement than their truthful
counterparts. but they increased their involvcment over time up to a level comparable to
truth tellers. These involvement patterns are cOllsi~tent with a st rategic behavior management interpretation. in that senders may have initially attempted to mask their deceptiveness by suppressing behavior but eventually were able to adjust to a more normal pattern
of interaction. They were thus able to satisfy competing goa ls of evading detection
through withdrawal and creating an impression of normalcy through approach behavior.
Interaction patterns were also responsive to those of the partner. If the receiver illcrea~ed
or decreased involvement. so did truthful senders, thus displaying the kind of reciprocal
interaction patterns that characterize normal conversations. Deceivers also malched partner increases, though to a lesser exten t than truth tellers. Deceivers were expected initially
to compensate for partners' reduced involvement, that is. to show an offsetting increase in
involvement and then to reciprocate. Results showed that they did compensate. but not
immediately. and that they generally -"howed reciprocal decreases in involvement.
Finally, as predicted, deceivers interpreted receivers' behavior as feedback to thcm
about their own performance. Low involvement was interpreted as possible skepticism or
suspicion, something that probably motivated deceivers to try harder and con~equently be
less inclined to become as uninvolved as the receiver wa~. High involvement was interpreted as a sign of successful deception and probably reinforced deceivers' existing com-

Chapler 14 Inte''lJenmw! Deception Theory

255

munication patterns, thus again leading to less adaptation by deceptive than truthful senders. We had expected deceivers to show more adjustments over time than senders, and
there was definitely evidence or more variabilit y in deceivers' responses when faced with
low in volvemcI1I from the partner. In retrospect, however. it makes sense that on ly those
deceivers facing "negative feedback" might need to make adjustments. It is also possible
that the demands of crafling a credible deceptive performance, combined with monitoring
partner feedback and handling all the other usual conversational responsibilities. may have
taxed deceivers' cognitive resources and hampered their ability to adapt. These alternative
explanations warrant further investigation. because the former interpretation implies that
senders had greater capacity to manage their pre~cntations in intentional and deliberate
ways. that is. to behave stratcgicully, than does the latter.
In sum. the experiments conducted 1O date support many IDT propositions regarding
the dynamic and adaptive properties of interpersonal deception, their responsiveness to
partner behavior. and the nature of strategic and non!-.tralegic deceptive displays. At the
same time. they have produced enough curious findings. and raised enough unresolved
questions, to invite further experimentation before lirm conclusions are drawn.

Suspicioll Cues
A key tenet of IDT is that both sender and recciver are active participants in deceptive
episodes and that se nders are responsive to receiver suspicion. If this is the case, then we
should be able to document that receivers exhibit overt behaviors that correlate wit h their
suspicio ns. What follows is a brief review of the findings related specifically to receivers'
display!-. of suspicion.

Experiment I.

This first t"t or IDT. reported in Bu ller. Strzyzewski, and Comstock

(1991). came upon the heels of studies by Buller and colleagues (1989) and Stiff and
Miller ( 1986) that had investigated whether use of probing questions. which suspicious
receivers might be inclined to use. elicited more detectable deception by senders. Contrary
to expectations, previous stud ies had found that probing led receivers to judge senders as
more. not less, truthful. Buller and colleagues reasoned that probing might tip senders off
to receiver skepticism, leading senders to repair their performances by supprcssing arousal
c ucs and increasing immediacy and pleasantness. Thc result would be an honest-appearing
demeanor that wou ld defy dctection as deceptive.
The current study used an interview format during which senders either lied or lold
the truth to friends or strangers. To induce suspicion, half the receivers were told that
interviewees are often less than completely candid and truthful when interviewed face to
face and that the research assistant would signal them surreptitiously if the sender's responses were not matching a previously completcd version of the questionnaire. This
would be their cue to ask follow-up questions about the senders' reasons for their answers
to the questions, which were taken from a social desirability questionnaire. Afterward,
trained coders ratcd the recorded interviews on a widc array of verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
Results showed that probing did elicit behavioral changes. though not all in the hypothesized direction. Sendcr~ who wcre subjected to probing questions gave lo nger

256

Part III Seekillg alld Resisting

COlllp/i(l//('('.'

Strlllegie,\ alld Tactic,\'

answers, made more pauses and speech error~. u~ed more illustrator gestures and body
adaptor gestures (increased head nodding and shaking late in the interview). and displayed
le~s pleasant facial expressions. The bul~ of the ...e cues suggeM increased arousal accOIllpanied by efforts to elaborate \'erbal ans\\ers and ~upport them with gestures. However.
when senders thought receivers were sll',.picious, thcy used fewer gestures. reduced bodily
activity, laughed less, and gave shorter answers-behaviors in keeping with greater reticence and cffoJ1S to mask arousal. Oyerall, thCIl, thesc results showed that deceptive displays are governed not solely by sender intent to be truthful or deceptive but aiM) by how
the receiver behaves and whether the receiver is thought to be suspicious.

Experimellt 2.

This next experiment (described earlier) tested suspicion effects directly

by creating three levels of sllspicion (low. moderate. or high) based on the stated likelihood that senders misrepresent the truth. We also created separate measures of (I) receiver
belief that the sender is untruthful. (2) motivation to detect sender's deceit, and (3) degree
of vigilance in observing sender behavior ":iO as to <.I ...... c, ...... uspicion more thoroughly.
As Burgoon. Buller, Dillman, and Walther ( 1995) reported. different leve" of ""picion created different beha\ioral profile" for hoth sender... and deceivers. In a sampling of
this very mixed set of findings, sender\ were vocally unpleasant and most physically actiyc when facing moderate su\picion but pleasant and inactive when facing high ":illspicion,
Conversely. receivers were more fluent and had smoother turn ~witches under moderate
than under high suspicion. Deceivcrs thus seemed tlustered under moderate ::,u"'picion.
whereas receivers seemed so when they were highly ..,uspiciow.;. These perplexing results
led us to speculate that moderate suspicion may create the highest level of uncertainty.
which accounts for part of the difference in behavioral patterns.
As for the behaviors that provoked su:-,picion among r~ceivers. there were quite a
few, Receivers were more suspicious when senders were vague and uncertain. unpleasant
vocally and kinesically, nervous and ten ... c vocally and kincsically, nonimmediale (ies ...
eye contact, greater physical di"'tance). and generally behaving in ways deemed undesirable. Senders who hid their demeanor allayed receiver suspicions. These findings clearly
signal the importance of actual verbal and nonverbal communicative practice in percep
tions of deceit.

Experimellt 4.

In this next suspicion experiment. \\c reverted to two level ... of su~picion
(low or high) because of the number of olher faclOrs (three kinds of deceit. experti,c. familiarity. deception. and deception order) in thc de sig n. It will be recalled that ...enders
alternated between blocks of truthful and deceptive answer~. which allowed U~ to look for
changes across the interview and differences bt.":t\I,.'ecn truthful and deceptive responding.
The results, reported in Burgoon, Bullor. Ebcsu. Rockwell. and White (1996). produced a number of very intercsting finding .... In brief. senders' and receivers' behavior differed ~igllificantly depending Oil whcther suspicion ""as present or not. Senders whose
partners wcre not suspicious decreased their involvement levels when shifting from truth
to deception. showing the typical pattern ... of deceil initially depressing involvement levels. If, however, partners were suspicious, senders were able to maintain a high level of
involvement when shifting from trUlh to deception. consistent with lOT's contention Ihat
deceiver~ are capable of ... tratcgkally ;.I(lju ... ting inyol\'cment toward Ihe level Iypical of

Chapter 14 /lIIerper.\OlIa/ Deception Thea,..\'

257

trUlh teller~. An exception was concealers, who likely came acro~s as uninvolved becam,e
they say liLLie. Additionally. ~ender~ seemed more submissive when the interviewer was
su~picious. consistent with our contention that senders will adopt avoidance and reticence
strategies to reduce their cOll\ersational obligations and. hence. their likelihood of being
detected. The exception was that. when they were telling olltright lies. they took a more
dominam tad... It seems plausible that when trying to "sell" someone on a lie. deceivers
would become more assertive. This came at a price, however. Senders fabricating a lie in
the face of ~uspicion wcre rated le~~ nuent than those committing other kinds of deceit.
Other behavioral changes varied according to the type of deception and relational
familiarity.
As for receivers, su:-,picion caused them to remain more involved during deception.
to be more expressive voca ll y but less expressive kinesically. and to be more informal.
Other receiver behaviors varied depending on relational fumiliarity, expertise. and type of
deception. These behavioral patterns reveal that suspicion creates potentially noticeable
change~ in receiver..;' nonverbal behavior. change . . that can be used to tip off sender. . that
they need to make adjuslIllent ..... even when receivers' verbal behavior does not give away
th eir suspicion. lOT posits that receivers often telegraph their suspicion" to "enders and
that it i!\ this cycling between deceivers' and receivers' 11100es and countermoves that ulti mately allows deceivers to gain the upper hand through strategic adaptation of their
behavior.
The remaining experiment~ examined suspicion indirectly
by manipulating receive rs' interviewing behavior. A~ noted previou~ly. senders were responsive to receiver communication styles and read those . . tyles as feedback about their
own performance. Thus. whether . . uspicion was induced directly or "created" by having
receivers act the way suspiciolls receivers aCI. deceiver... <lltered their behavior in re~ponse
to those suspicions. Ironically. because the predominant pattern was olle of reciprocitysenders matching receiver!-' communication styles-interviewers who attempted to become more assertive in their questioning often elicited higher levels of involvement from
"enders. which in turn made sende~ look more truthful. In "hart, adopting an assertive
interviewing style backfired because it mude it easier for senders to craft a believable pre"entation. This may be why interviewers arc often taught to create an outward appearance
of neutrality so that their own style isn't 'catching." Because communication i . . inherently
a mutually innuential proces". \\hen it doe . . become "catching:' it i. . nOI the . . enders own
internal stales that govern his or her behavior but rather the receiver':-, external beha\'ior.
This is an important caveat in interpreting deception di!,plays, and it becomes evident only
when experiments permit . . ender and receiver to interact. A summary of experiments I
through 8 i, provided in table 14.2.

Experimellts 5 Through 8.

Outcollles of Illterpersollal Deceptioll

II/itial al/d Ollgoillg Credibility Judgmel/ts
We have already discus . . ed receiver . . ' judgments during interpersonal deception as it relate" to context and relational factors . Hml,c\'cr. in lOT. judgments of senders' credibility

258

ParI III Seeking and Nesisril1g Compliaflce: Slrarl'gies and Taclic.\'

(i.e .. hone"ty) arc considered to be dynamic. Context and relational faclors have their
greateM impact on initial credibi lity judgments. As conversati ons unfold , recei vers' judgments o r the honesty or senders and their messages become increasingly influenced by
se nder performance. To th e ex tent that senders ' behavior departs from what is expected,
receivers sho uld alter th e ir judgments accordingly. However. because senders are monitoring receivers for feedback on their success at deception in order to adjust and repair
their commu nica ti on. detection ab ilit y is like ly tb decline over time in co nve rsations
(B ull er & Burgoon. 1996b: Buller. Burgoon. Afifi, White, & Busli g, 2002).
Our research has shown co nsistentl y thar receivers recog nize deception when it is
present. However. th ey usually tend to judge deceptive messages as less truthful but not
ac tuall y deceptive (i.e .. judgments of both deceptive and truthful message s fall within the
truthful portion of the con tinuum) (B urgoo n et aI., 1994). In one study. as deceivers
shifted from truth to deceptio n. receivers' j udgmen ts of honesty also shifted upward and
downward correspondi ng ly (Bu ller et al.. 2002), indicating receivers' awareness of the
shift ing truth value of senders' responses. Among the factors influencing accuracy that we
have co nfirm ed are type o f deception (falsification, equivocation , concealment), suspicion. and expertise (Burgoon et aI., 1994). Receivers judge equivocal answe rs as least
hone~t. concealments as most honest. and ou tri ght falsifications somewhere in between.
Suspicion not only often fail!-. to improve accuracy, it often hinders it. tn one study, expert
deteClor~ (m i Iita ry imc ll ige nce special ists) were least accurate when suspic ious. Recei vers
were especially harsh on eq ui voca l answers when suspic ious. but suspicion undermined
th ei r ability to detect co ncealme nts. Finally, suspicion led receivers to consider acquaintances more honest and st rangers less hon esl.

Effects of Skill alld Motivatioll

alld Detectioll Accuracy

011

Credibility Judgmellts

Given the number and complcxi ty of tasks facing communicators in conversation. lDT
holds that the ability to persuade others of one's truthfuln ess or to make accurate evaluati ons of se nde r credibi lity are ~ killed behaviors. Our researc h has bolstered others' findings that skilled sende rs are beller able to c raft an honest-a ppearing demea nor and so to
escapc detection (Bu rgoo n. Bull er, & Guerrero. 1995 : Burgoon, Buller, Guerrero, &
Feldman. 1994). We havc been unable to determine, however, that receivers who have
better social sk ills are better able to recogni ze and interpret deceit, leaving open the question of whether native abilities affect de tecti on accuracy. Research by others has documented that with the right kind of training. receivers can improve their accuracy. which
s ll gge~ t s that receivers may need to acquire skills through experience and training.
Sender motivation to deceive SlIcccf.,sfull y is another factor that can influence receivcr~' abilities to make accurate asscssments of sender c red ibility. An early co nception
of the motivation-accuracy relationship he ld that motivated senders were actually less successfu l at deception. This motivation impai rm ent hypothesis he ld that motivation impaired
nonverbal performa nce during dece ptio n (prod ucin g more nonstrategic behavior), even
though it improved ve rba l pe rform ance (De Paulo & Kirke ndol. 1989). This theory is similar to the proverbial "choki ng under pressure" notion but applied only to nonverbal behaviors and 10 deception (Bu rgoon & Floyd, 2(00).

B) conlra ... t. lOT prm Itlt: ... i.I tllIlen.:nt \ ie\\ of mOl i\ation: IL i-. predicted to facilitate
deception ... uccc ...... (Buller & Burgooll. 19960: Burgoon & Floyd. 2(00). A':. 'Iv'e have rc~
\iewed. Illany non\'eroal beh;j\ior ... are contrnllabk and can be strategically dcployed to
impro\e ueccption ... ucce ....... Generi.ill~ "'peaJ...lng. then. Il1mi\';'lIion ... hould increa ...e ... tmtegic
beha\ ior and i mprm c cOllllllunll:ator, ' con\ er'lJtional pt:rformance both \\ hen telling the
truth anti \\ hen decei\ ing. (Thi, i, not to den) that e\trell1C le\ t.!b of motinllion may inler~
fcre with efft:ctl\'c produdlOn not ju,t ol ... oJ1le I1(Hl\'t.!rhal heha\'iop., but al,o of 'Ollle verbal one ..... ) E\idcncc from ollr n:'can:h program hear, out the ... e IDT prediction .... In one
. . tudy. dl!t'ei\cr ... \\'ho reported hcing more motivatcd \"cre 1.11 ... 0 judged more . . ucce ... sful by
oh . . efvef':. (Burgoon et al .. 19(5). Another . . tudy found that motivation. mea,ured with
multiple.: indiciltor~. enhanced . . emle.:r ... management of their ht.'!IHl\ ior . .II1d image in'espcc~
ti\e of whctht.!r the) were dccci\ ing or tt.!lling the truth. There wa!-. no evidence that any
form of 1110tl\aIl011 harmed an) fi.It.:et of ... end!!r ... ' \croa l and nonverbal ~rronllancc. and
thc onl} ad\cr ... c impact on l.'redioilit) occurred among truthful and dcceptin:: . . ender ... who
"cre merl) COIl(CfI1I!U \\ ith J...l.'eping their urmhal in checJ... (Burgoon & Floyd. :WOO), Thi ...
e\ idenc!! heller fit ... the lOT claillllhat 1ll01l\atHHl facilitate" ... lratcgic di ... play . . in C0I1\Cr':.3lion, rather than the motivatioIl impairment hypothe,,, .

Conc/usion
In taJ...lllg a C0l11111llllicatioll per'peCII\e on deceptIOn. v.e h~t\c huilt a far richcr and more
complicated \ iew of thi . . all ~ hll)-C(lI1ll11nn form of information managcment. It hu'-I forced
u, to recoll,idl.'r 'Ollle uf the fumlul11ental i....... uc . . In c011lmunicatiun . . uch a ... what makes
communication Illteracti,c. what lI1ultiplicity of communicator goab anti r~ ... pon ... ibililics
. . hape interpcr'onal interaction. and hm\ mutual influence in cOllver ... :'l1inn i~ enacted.
The,c que ... tion . . have complex <In'\\(:r .... ohliging u. . to huild ,c\eral explanatory I1lccha~
l1i ... l11 .... Into IDT . . u(h a... the di . . tin(tion between ... tri.llcgic (go:.lI-dri\'cn. planned) and 110n,trmcga: (il1\oluntaf). unlll1Cndl.'d) <l(ti\ily. prcexI ... llng J...nov.ledge and expectations.
mental ,hortcut . . 111 proce ....... ing dt.:l.epti\c me, ... age" anu cOl1\ep.,ational adaptation. Obviou . . ly. no 'Ingle ,tud) can le't ,III tht.: propo . . illOn ... 111 IDT. Confirming evidence hu-. had to
be obtained from a Illulti"tudy rC't.!art'h program.
To date. til" research program ha:-. demon . . tratcd that deceptive displays are highly
dynamiC and \ariahle. dcpending, among other thlllg'. on \\-'ho the deceivcr is interacting
with. the t)I'lC of deceit being enacted. \\hether the recei\'cr i ... ~u.-.,piciou' or not. and the
communication ... tylc of the recel\er. J)ecei\cr'l deliberatel) manage ~ol11e <I':.pcct ... of their
verbal and non\erbal bcha\ior ... o " . . to c\ade detection. and those who arc the 1110 ... t -.killful communicator ... are vcr) . . ucl:e ....... ful 111 appc:uring truthful. At the same time. rccci\'crs
L10 recogni/e when ~omething I... <1mb .... and they oflcn reveal their ... uspicion, through their
own communication. ,omclhing thaI deceivers in turn rc:cogni/c and usc to further modify
their 0\"11 hch"l\ ior. The net r!! ... ult i:-. thaI more Oftt.!11 than not. aC(lIfacy in det~cting deception i, 10\\ tcq<lmcnl. pcrhap .... to human ... general ;:HJeptne . . ~ at creating believable
deceit-..
SIlII. mllch work rcmHIIl' to he done tilling Ihi':. ferule re,earch ground to te':.t unre ... ol\t:u or unle ... teu i. . ..,ue .... ,\dditionall). IDT ha . . plljued l1e\\- line ... of inquiry Ihat have

TAHLE 14.2

Experiment.'!, Variables, amI Citations/or Experimellts Testing IlIterpersonal Deception Theory

:>

Experiment
prc~

lOT

pre~

lOT

Independent Variables

Dependent Variables

Source

Relationship (intimate/friend/
stranger)
Sender deception (yes/no)
Interaction time

Sender nonverbal behavior

Buller & Aune. 1987

Sender dect:!ption (yes/no)

Probing (yes/no)

Sender nonverbal behayior

Buller. Comstock. Aune. & Strzyzewski. 1989

Part icipation (partici punt/obserycr)

Sender nonverbal behavior

Receiver honesty
Judgments
Receiver accuracy

Buller. Str;ryzewsli. & Hun<;aker. 1991

Sender deception (ye~/no)

Probing (yc~/no)
Suspicion (yes/no)

Sender nonverbal behavior

Buller. Strzyrcwf'ki, & Comstock, 1991

Participation (participant/observer)
Sender nonverbal behavior

Receiver honesty
Judgments
Receiver accuracy

Buller &

Sender deception (yes/no)

Sender nonverbal behavior

Burgoon & Buller. 1994

Receiver suspicion (high!

moderate/low)

Sender and receiver

Nonverbal behavior

Burgoon. Buller. Dillman. & Walther. 1995

Sender language

Buller. Burgoon. Buslig. & Roiger. 1996

Sender social skills

Sender behavior

Burgoon. Buller. Guerrero. & Feldman. 1994

Sender deception and type (tru th at

time I: fabrication/concealment/
equivocation/general deception
at time 2)

Sender infomlation
Managemcn[

Burgoon. Buller. Guerrero.

Feldman. 1996

Language

Buller. Burgoon, Buslig. & Roiger. 1996

Hun~aker.

1995

Ann. &

TAHLE 1-'.2

Continued
Independent Variables

Dependellt Variables

Source

Sender deception (yc~/no):

Deception type (fabrication!
concca lmc nt1 eq ui voc ar ion )

Sender language

Buller. Burgoon. Buslig. & Roiger. 1996

Sender ~OCi<ll :,kills

Sender behavior
Receiver accuracy

Burgoon. Buller. & Guerrero. 1995

Receiver suspicion (yes/no)

Receiver behavior

Burgoon. Buller. Ebesu. While. & Rockwell. 1996

Receiver accuracy

Burgoon. Buller. Ebesll, & Rockwell. 1994

Sender information
Management and language

Buller. Burgoon, Buslig. & Roiger. 1994

Further analysis of acoustic and

perceptual vocal features

Sender vocalic behavior

RockwelL Buller. & Burgoon. 1997a. 1997b

Sender deception (yes/no) and order

Verbal and nonverbal invo lvement

Burgoon, Buller. Wh ite. Alitl.. & 8uslig. t999

Receiver involvement

Same

Same

Sender social skills

Same

Same

Deception (yes/no)

Sender verbal and nonverbal behavior

Sender intention~

Burgoon, Buller. Floyd. & Grandpre. 1996

Sender deception and order

Verbal and nonverbal behavior

Burgoon. Buller. & Floyd, 200 1

Sender participation (dialogue/

monologue)

Same

Same

Deception (yes/no)

Verba l and nonverbal behavior

Credibi lit y

White & Burgoon, 200 I

Receiver invo lvement

Same

Experiment
~

R eanal)'!)i~

of Bavdas et al.

stud ies
Equivocation (yes/no)

(TITDDDTlTDDDIDDDn,'DDDTlT)

CrfDDIDD'n)

l>:

262

Pari III Seckillg (l1/l1 R/!.\isril1g C(}lIIplillllU': SrrtlreMies and T(luic:J

applicability beyond face-to-face deception. For example. the rise of new communication
technologies h;.l\ moved to the foreground i... sues of how interactivity in various modalities
(e-mail. audio- and videoconferencing) affech users' ability to discern truthful from deceptive me~sage ... due to the availability or lack of feedback and to opporlunilie!o> for editing and personali/ing content that facilitate greater evasion of deception detection. The
number of questions descrving investigation seems endless as we peer into the cybcrfuture
Ihat is close upon us. Taking a communication perspective on these and related issues
should yield unique insights beyond those obtained from models that reduce deception to
intrapersonal phenomena. It is hoped that by centering attention on communicat ion practices themsclve ... , a ... well as on the psychological and social factors that are their antecedent .... our under"ilanding of interpersonal deceit w ill be enriched and c larified.

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15
Inoculation and Resistance
to Persuasion
Michael Pfau and Erin Alison Szabo

Unlike other theories in this book, which foclls on explanations of influence. inoculation
is a theory about how to prevent influence. Inoculation. in a nutshell, is a strategy for re~isting influence auempts. It motivates receivers to bolster their beliefs and attitudes.
thereby rendering them less susceptible to influence.
Since the 1920s both academics, who investigate influence, and practitioners. who
usc ii, have expended considerable lime and resources to discover, understand, a nd perfect
new and beller means of persuasion. Although it has received much less emphasis than
persuasion (McGui re. 1964: Miller & Burgoon. 1973). resistance to persuasion is simply
the flip side of the same coin: persuasion is an exercise of inOuence: resistance is abou t
protecting people against influence.
This chapter wi ll explore one approach to resisting persuasion: McGuire's Inoculation Theory. The theory posits that refiualiOlw/ treatments. which both raise and refute
counterarguments to a person's attitude, confer resistance to influence (Pfau, 1997). inoculation Theory embodies an elaborate and systematic approach to resistance. Eagly and
Chaiken call inoculation. "the grandparent theory of resistance to attitude change" (1993.

p. 561).
This chapter will first trace the origins and describe the nature of Inoculation Theory
and then summarize research findings on inoculation to date. Next, it will explore unresolved questions concerning inoculation and the process of resistance. Finally. the chapter
will address applications of In oculation Theory in a variety of actual contexts.

Origins and Nature of Inoculation

In ocu lation traces its origins to early research on the relative superiority of one- versus
two-sided messages. One-sided messages simply reinforce attitudes a person already

265

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Part III Seeking and Resisting Compliance: Strmegies and Tacfics

holds. For example, a parent might tell a nonsmoking adolescent that smoking causes cancer. Two-sided messages raise arguments contrary to a person's altitudes, called
counterarguments, and then offer arguments and ev idence to refute those counterarguments. For example, in addition to the "cancer" argument. an adolescent might be told,
"Your friends may tell you that you can quit smo king anytime. but nicotine addiction is
extremely difficult to overcome."
In a classic experiment on message "sidedness," Lumsdaine and Janis (1953) found
that one- and two-sided messages were comparable in influe ncin g people who were not
subsequently exposed to an opposing point of view. Two-sided messages. howeve r. were
superior in "producing sustained opinion changes" in people who were subsequently exposed to an opposing point of view (p. 311). That is, the two-sided message co nferred
lasting resi stance to persuasion. The critical question was. \Vhy? The researchers speculated that two-sided messages may " inoculate" people, thereby making them more resistant to counterpersuasion.
It was the aftermath ofthe Korean connict that provided the impetus for Inoculation
Theory. During the war, some American POWs had broken. yielding to pressures from
their North Korean captors to renounce thei r country (United States Senate. 1956). Congressional hearings following the war raised alarm about the seeming effectiveness of
North Korean "brainwashing" techniques. How mi ght such brainwashing be prevcIlIcd?
This question was the catalyst for McGuire's interest in ways to instill resistance to propaganda and other form s of influence (McGuire & Papagcorgis. 1961).
McGuire devised Inoculation Theory as an explanation for resistance to inlluence.
He formulated a biological analogy to ex plain how inoculating messages might confer resistance: "We can develop belief resistance in people as we develop di sease resi stance in a
biologically overprotected man or animal; by exposing the person to a weak dose of the
attacking material strong enough to stimulate his defenses but not strong enough to overwhelm him" (1970, p. 37). Ju st as injecting a person with a small dose of a flu virus can
build up the person 's immunity to the t1u, exposing a person to weak arguments and refutation on an issue can increase the person's resi stance when she or he is later exposed to
stronger arguments on that issue.
Early applications of Inoculation Theory argued that these effects were particularly
true for "overprotected" people. Note that, if a person has been rai sed in a germ-free environment, he or she will be more vulnerable when exposed to germs than someone who
grew up less protected. In the same way, some beliefs. which McGuire called "cultural
truisms" have never been challenged and may therefore be more vulnerable when attacked. In other words, cultural trui sms are beliefs that are uncontested and therefore taken
for granted. Early on in his research, McGuire focused on such trui sms as the benefits of
having an annual physical; the merits of penicillin; use of chest x-rays to prevent tuberculosis ; and the need for regular dental hygiene (McGuire, 1970).
Although McGuire was tempted to frame Inoculation Theory much more broadly
(McGuire, 1961 a), research findings of the period cast doubt on whether inoculation protected beliefs other than cultural trui sm s (Brehm & Cohen, 1962). Thus, McGuire narrowed the boundaries of Inoculation Theory to c ultural truisms (McGuire. 1970).
Later, Pryor and Steinfatt (1978) extended the theory be yond cultural truisms. They
maintained that McGuire's rationale for restricting inoculation to "germ-free" (e.g .. un-

Chapler 15

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267

contested) beliefs was faulty: that the biological analogy applied to the ... pecific argumen ....
that might be raised in an inoculation treatment. not the topic ihelf. Pryor and Steinfatt\,
results failed to support the \ iability of inoculation on behalf of Illiddh> or higher-Ie\cl
beliefs. However. other researcher ... were able to confirm that re./wmiolla/ preemptioll. one
of the key uxiollls of the theory. was effective in fostering rc ... i... tancc to influence. evcn
with controversial topics (Adams & Beatty. 1977: Anatol & Mandel. 1972: Burgoon.
Burgoon. Ricss. Butler. Montgomery. Stinnctt. Miller, Long. Vaughn. & Caine. 1976;
Burgoon & Chase. 1973; Burgoon. Cohen. Miller. & Montgomery. 197H; Burgoon &
King. 1974; Crane. 1962; Cronen & LeFleur. 1977; Hun!. 1973; McCroskey. 1970;
McCroskey. Young. & SCOII. 1972; Miller & Burgoon. 1979; Sawyer. 1973: Szybillo &
Heslin. 1973; Tale & Miller. 1973; Ullman & Hodaken. 1975).
Inoculation Theor) posit ... that Iwo components contribute to rl.!si ... talll:c: threat and
re/Ittaliollll/ preemption. Thrcut con",ish of warning a pefl'lon that hi ... or her existing attitudes arc lik.ely to be challenged. For thrl.!t1t to work.. these challengt!.., must be.:: ... urficielllly
powerful 10 make people accept that their exi:-.ting attitudes may be vulnerable. Thu.s. the
threat serves a'" the mOliwlliollOI Irigge,. in the inoculation model. It mOlivale.s the indiv idual to strengthen his or her attitude ........ t!tting in mollon the internal proccs", of rcsi~
tance. The "iecond element. refutational prt!t!mptiol1. il1\olve", the pro(;e:o."i of rai..,ing. and
then an ... wering. specific objections. The refutational preemption component function ...
much like the two-"iided message: It rai ... c ... oppo"iing argull1ents and tht!n prm ides the arguments and e\idence to refute them. Thc",e integral component ... thn.~at and refutation;]1
preemption. work. in tandem : Threat 1110{J\'u tt!s the indi\ idual to bol .. ter hi", or her attitudt!:-.:
refutational preemption offer... "'pecilic content that can be u .. t!u to protect and defend
one'", attitude ....
Of the two clements. the threat component may be thl! more important, because it i..
the "motivational effect' thut bllost~ a per"ion:-. immunity to all form .. of attacks. "If the
construct were limited to preemptive refutation. it would afford limited utility ",ince COI11municator", would need to prepare "'pccific preemptive mes\agt!.., cOITe"'ponding to
each "nd every anticipated "lIack" (PI'"u & Kenski. 1990. p. 75). lIowever. due 10 the
"motivational etTcct:' inoculation unlca",he", a praces ... that o'Tt!r", a broad umbrella of protection. extending beyond the ... pecific arguments raised in the opp<)..,ing message. Inonllation increa",es receivers resi ... wnce to novel. unfamiliar counterargumen .... a\ \\ell.
The best e\idence of this broad umbrella of protection j<.. found in the re:o.ults of studie", that reveal comparable efficacy for both relwatiolllli same and tlWl'rellf inoculation
treatment ... Rcfutational "same" trealmcnh :-.y:-.tel11atically rcfute one or mort: "'pecific
counlerargumellts that will be encountered, whereas refutational 'diffen.::nt" l11essage.s art!
more generic in nature. For example. during the 1988 pre:-.idential campaign. polling dma
indicated that Democrat Michael Dukaki ... wa ... vulnerable to Republkan attack. for being
",oft on crime. prau and hi .. colleagues (1990) prepared a refutational .....lIne .. inoculation
me ... sage that rai",ed this counterargument and preemptively refuted it. The l1le.s",age argued
that Dukak.is favored tough sen tences. but that tough sentences i.llonc did little to reduce
crime. The message also argued that drug ... are res.pon ... ible for l1lo .. t crime and that
Dukaki ... fa\ored increased funding for drug education and enforcement. The researchers
also prepared a refutational different" message. arguing that in contra ... t 10 his opponent.
Michael Dukaki .. believed that it was time for a change: that America call. and mu",t, do

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ParI III Seeking ond Resistillg Comp/ialla: Strmegie.\ and Tactics

beller to extend the economic expan~ion to those who have been left oul. provide basic
heulth insurance for all families, and stop the pollution of America's air and water. The
resull~ of the study revealed that. fo llowing inoculation, when Dukakis supporters were
confronted with a Bush message attacking Dukaki~ for being soft on crime. they were less
persuaded by the attack than comrol participants who were not inoculated. The effectiveness of the refutational '"same" and "different" inoculation messages was comparable.
Indeed, the early laboratory research on inoculation (McGuire, 1961 b, 1962, 1966:
Papageorgis & McGuire, (961), later "eld research (Prau, 1992: prau & Burgoon, 1988:
Pfau, Kenski, Nitz, & Sorenson, 1990: Pfau, Van Bockern, & Kang, (992), and more recent experiments (Pfau, Tusing, Koerner, Lee, Godbold, Penaloza, & Yang, 1997a; prau,
Szabo, Anderson, Morrill. Zubric. & Wan. 2000) have all indicated that refutational
"same" and "different" treatments arc virtually identical in their capacity to confer resistance to influence.
Additional evidence for the crit ical ro le of threat in resistance comes from two areas.
First, a number of studies have confirmed a positive relationship between threat and re..,istance, Studies that ovenly manipulated threat conditions (McGuire, 1962, 196-1: McGuire
& Papagcorgis, 196 L (962) or the presence of threat levels (Pfau & Burgoon, 1988: Pfau
et aI., 1990; Pfau et al.. 1992; Pfau el aI., 1997a: Pfau, Szabo et aI., 2000) round that
greater threat enhances resistance. Second. research findings have suggested that communication increases attitude persistence. not so much due to the spec ific conte rll emphasized
but by motivating people to generate their own thoughts about the topic (Love & Greenwald, 1978; Petty, (977).

Empirical Support for Inoculation

Early research on inoculation compa red the effective ness of supportive (bo lstering) versus
re!utafional (inoculation) approaches to rcsistance. The supportive approach seeks to reinforce existing beliefs and attitudes. If a person believes that a ballistic mis~ile defense sy~
tem is desirable, a supportive approach wou ld provide arguments and evidence to bolster
this position. By contrast. the refutational or inoculative approach attempts to threaten
people's attitudes by warning of possible challenges to altitudes and then raises and preemptively refutes these challenges, The person who suppons a balli"ic missile defense
system would be told that she or he can expect to encounter strong arguments oppo~ing
her or his position. Then specific objections would be raised and immediately refuted.
Studies direct ly comparing the effectiveness of the supportive and refutational approaches have generally indicated that the refutational approach is superior (Anderson &
McGuire, 1965; Crane, 1962: McGuire, 1961 a, 1962, 1966: McGuire & Papageorgis,
1961, 1962: Papageorgis & McGuire, 1961; Sueureld & Borrie, 1978: Tannenbaum,
Macaulay, & Norris, 1966; Tannenbaum & Norris, (965), although a number or these
stud ies revea led that the use of both approaches was better than the use of ei th er one alo nc
(McGuire, 1961 a, 1962; Tannenbaum & Norri s, (965), These studies established the viability of inoculation and in the process resolved a nagging caveat aboLit use of inoculation, namely. whether prompting people in regard to arguments that are contrary to
attitudes might unwillingly produce attitude change.

Chapter 15 Illom/arion alld Re,\ist(llU'e to Per.\Uosiol/

269

Early ~ tudi cs also explored the persiMe ncc of inoculation treatme nt s mcr time. revea lin g that although treatme nt s did deteriorate over time. refutati onal "diff(!rcn!" me . . sages decayed less than rerutational 'same" message, (McGuire. 1962. 1964. 1966: Pr)or
& Steinfatt, 1978). Also. stud ies ex plored the pOlelllial of reinforcemcnt, or booste r se ... sions. anempting (Q di scover whethe r it was pos . . ible to prolong a rc ... i ... wnce effect. The
an,wer was a qu alified ye,: McG uire ( 196 1b) repo rted that doub)e deren,e, provided
additional reinforce ment. but only with refut ational " sa mc" treatments. Tannenbaum and
coll eagues ( 1966). however. revealed that "concept-boost" mcssage~ ... tn::ngthcned re ... i... lance. although lhe effec t fell !-.hort of slali"'lical significance.
All in all. re~earc h indicates th at inoc ul ation b amazingl) robu~1 in conferring re\i ... lance to influence. Although trea tments need 10 incorporate tht! core elel11en t\ of threa t and
refutational pree mption. it see m ... to make very lillie difference how else inoc ul ati on treat ments are de ... igned. Researc h ~uggest s com parabl e efficacy for inocula tion treatment...
w hether they are wri tte n <.1\ refutat ional "same" or "diffe rent" (see work ... c ited above).
designed 10 elici t central or peripheral message processing (Prau et al.. 1997b). built to
emphasize a message's con ten t or source (Freedma n & Scar~. 1965: Stonc. 1969). constructed as cog niti ve or affective positi ve/negati ve (Lee & Pfall. 1998) or affective happyl
angry ( Pfau . Swbo e L a l.. 2000). or de li vered via print or \ ideo (Pfau. Holbert. Zubric.
Pas ha. & Lin. 2000).

Questiol/s about the Process of Resistance

Recen t year~ ha ve w itn e~sed a resurge nce of illl ere~t in inocuiatioll. SOI11I! research re turned to the corc axioms o f inoculation. ~eek in g to un cover further nuance ... abo ut th e
process of re~is tan ce and updating the theory on the ba~i\ or the new knowledge about
soc ial innuencc that has accumulated since the 1960s. This ... cc tion of the c hapter wi ll focus on these effo rt ~ to under~tand the proce ... s of resistancc.

The Core Compollellts of Resistallce

As indicated above, [hreat and refutat ionC:i 1 preempti on arc core elemen t.., of In oculation
Theory. Threat \erves a~ the motivational cata l y~t for im'K:u lation. Refutational precmp
ti on provide.., co ntc nt that people might use in order to stre ngthen their alt itudes and afford s thel11 an opportunit y to pructice defending them. Thu .... the proce~~ of re ... istance i..,
part moti vati onal and part cog nit ive. Howeve r, much morc needs to be learned about the
inne r workings orthe proce", (Eagly & Chaike n. 1993).
Rece nt ... tudies have focu ...ed on the role of these and (Hher critical elements in the
process of resistance. It i... known. for example. that threat motivates receiver\ to bol ... ter
beliefs. but how? Precisely what imenral pl'Oce,'\s does threat trigger? b the proces~ a ll
cog nitive. c,llIsing people to co me up with cou!ltcra rgume nts to defend th eir attitudes. or i...
it both cog niti ve and arrective '! prau and his colleague, ( 1997a. 2000) tri ed to answer
th e~e questions by pinpointing the ro le and impact of threat. refutational preemption. and
other potentially cruc ia l element ... in the process of resistance.

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Part III Set'king (llId ResisTing COlllplianCl': Strateg;l'l

{lIId

{actin'

The initial \tudy (1997a) examined a variable that Petty and Cacioppo (1979b)
called i,\,we illl'o/remellf. People tend to di ... play greater i\sue involvement when the outcome of an i...... ue affects them pcr... onall). The qucqioll examined in the "'lUdy wa ... whether
inoculation ... effectiveness hinged Oil rcceher invohement in an issue. Pfall and his colleague ... ( 1997a) ... peculated that involvemcnt might function a ... a prerequisite for rcsi ... tance. in other word .... that involvcment might dictate the boundary conditions for
Inoculation Theory.
Previoll\ research had hinted (hilt thi ... might he the case. Studies found. for example.
that for inoculation to work. the receiver Illu ... t be involved in the topic or issue (Kamins &
A-seal. 1987: Papagcorgi\. 1968: POllY & Cacioppo. 1979a: pr"u. 1992). On the other
hand. the results of another study by prall and his colleagues (1997a) revealed that threat
incre<.lsed resistance. primarily with I/Jodemle/r irn'olving topics. Specifically. with a
moderately involving topic. threat accomplished two things. Fir>;t. it immediately and
directly strengthened the altitude>; that were heing. threatened. Second. it caused people 10
comc up with arguments defending their attitudes (i.e .. more counterargument . . ). which
also strengthened their rcsi>;tance to att:It':k. Thi ... effect was not nearly as pronounced with
low-involving topic .... and it \\'<.1'" nOllexi ... tent \\ ith high -involving topic.;;. Why? prall and
hi>; colleague . . rca ...oned that there i... an optimal Ic\el of involvement for inoculation 10
work. If im'olvement i ... too low. inoculation Cl.Illnot generate enough threat: if it is too
high. inoculation i>; unable to generate further threat. In other \.\ords. if an individual
already care ... about an i... sue. it is difficult to threaten her or him further. The pcr ... on's
high level of involvement already ensures that he,;: or ... he i... alert and \igilant to oppo ... ing
messages.
In addition tn issue invohemcnt and the core clements or Inoculation Thcorythreat and refutational preemption-pratr and colleagues (1997a) also operationali7cd the
process of counterarguing in terms of a pcr"':()[1's ability to generate reflltational responses
to argumcnts contrary to exbting attitude .... McGuire a ... slImed that threat c li citcd "an un derlying process of covert counterarguing" in inoculated receivers (Eagly & Chaiken.
1993. p. 56-\.). Although he often employed the term cOIlllferargllillg. to explain the process of re ... istanct:. he never operationalilcd it in his O\\.-n research. prau and colic ague.'. .
( 1997a) re ... ults were mixed insofar as counterarguing was concerned. With the moderately
involving topic. re ... uhs revealed that both inoculation treatlllen .... and is ... ue im'oh'emcnt
elicited threat. which in turn contributed to countcrarguing and thereby to resistance to
pcr... uasivc att<.lck~. Howc\'er. the re ... ulh were Ie ...... clear for the role of cOllntcrarguing with
either 10\\- or high-involving topic ... .
In addition to the role of threat. i.... suc involvement. and receiver counterarguing in
the process of rt!sistancc. results revealed that rnoculation treatment<., make a direct. Silable contribution to resistance. Thi>; effect wa ... evident for each of the three issues in th e
study. Thi ... finding suggests one of two possihilitie~: Either the refutational preemption
component of inoculation treatments cOlllributcs independently to resistance. or there arc
as yet unexplained element.;; in the process of resistance. In ... ko ( 1967) was the first to raise
the specter of unexplained clements in resi>;tancc. He noted: "Beyond the.'.e defense alerting Ithreat elementl and defen ... t: producing Irefutational preemption element I mechanisms, it is entirely possible that other mechanism ... re ... ult in the creation of defen . . es ... "
(p. 3 19 ): "a complctc explanation of re ... istancc to persua ... ion will depend upon the In ocll-

Chapter 15

If/ocillation lIml Re.w tllllce to PenlU/\'ioll

271

lalion Theory mechanisms as well as upon , , . additional mech:'lI1i ... ms" (p. 328). The next
wave of inoculation studies will attempt to dctermine if attitude accesl..ibility or priming
reveal further nuances in our understanding of the proccsl.. of re~istance .

Role of Affect ill Resistance

The next investigation to illuminate the process of resi\tancc (prall. S/aba et aI., 2000)
examined the role and impact of oJ/eel on resi stance. Specifically. the ~ tudy examined
whether making people angry or happy altered their rcsi~tancc..: to i.I mes..,age that threat ened their attitudes. Lee and prau (1998) had initially i nvestigatcd th e relative effectiveness of cognitive and affective (positive and negative) inoculation treatmcnts in conferring
resistancc against cognitive and affective attacks. The resultl.. re\ealed th at all three treatmenlS (cognitive. positive affect. and nega tive affect) co nferred re ... i..,tam:e. but their effectivenes~ varied depending on the type of persuasi\'e attack. encou nt ered. Lee and Pfuu
( 1998) reported that cognitive inoculation trcatment~ provided the most resistance overall.
T he cognitive treatments were effective with cognitive and affective positive attacks, but
not affective-negative attacks. However. results for the afft;:ctive inoculation treatments
were obfuscated due to weak affect manipulations.
The Pfau and colleagues' (2000) investigation also compared the c flicacy of cognitive and affective (anger and happine s~) inoculation treatments . Howe ver. this study focused mo re broadly on the process of rcsil.,tance. especially the role of elicited affect in
resi stance. The researc hers reasoned that affect should play an in~trumcntul role in resi stance because threat functions as the l11oti\-ational catal)~t to re . . i . . tance (Pfau. 1997) and
mot ivation is more affective than cognitive in nature (l7i.ud. 1993).
The study predicted thaI all three treatment types would foster re ... istance. si nce they
featured both threat and refutational precmption. but that th ey might do so in different
ways. The res.earchers postulated that cognitive inoculation treatments would be more effective than affective-anger treatments. which in turn would be superior to affeclivehappiness treatments in fOMering coullterarguing. Howcvcr. rcsult~ indicatcd that all three
treatment types triggered counterarguing and. thereby. rcsiMancc. The reason was that
self-efficacy moderated resi stance outcomes. Self-efficacy. a measure of an individual' s
perceived confidence in handling environmental obstacles ( Bandura. 1983). was thought
to predict how a person responded to threat. Interesti ngly . affective-happine~s message . .
did not work through the co re resi stance mechani sms of e licited threat or receiver
counterarguing. The effectiveness of affective-happiness messagcs was also limited to receive rs with low self-efficacy. Affective-a nger inoculation treatments produced the greatest res istance in the high self-efficacy condition. whereas cognitive inoculation treatments
produced a curvilinear effect. producing maximum resiMance at mooerate levels of selfefficacy.
prau and colleagues (2000) found that iss ue involvement tri ggered receiver
counterarguing and contributed to resi stan ce. providing fUl1hcr . . uppOI1 for the re sult s of
Pfau et al. (1997a). especially in revealing that inoculation treatment, mak.e direct and indirect contributions to resistance. Inoculation treatments acted directly. independent of internal processes. to foster resis tance. In addition. treatment . . worked indirec tl y to promote
resistance. The pattern of res ult, indicated that cog niti ve iJnd affecthc-anger treatments

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Pan III See!..;I1!: (lml Refi.HlI1g Camp/iWICt': 5tmtegil'_, ami Tactics

elicited threat. which in turn contributed to recciver counterarguing and elic ited anger.
thu:-. indirectly fostering re~i"tance. The role and impact of elicited emotion in the process
ofre ... istance was particularly noteworthy. The re ... ull\ revealed that e li ci ted anger and happiness exerted siLable. but opposite. effects: anger facilitating resistance. happiness inhibiling il.

Other COllsideratiolls ill Resistallce

Other important issues in resi..,tance include the timing and persistence of inoculation
and reinforcement treatments and the role and influence of communication modality in
resistance.

Timillg alld Persistellce Questiolls

The optimal timing of inoculation treatments has been the focus of a number of "'lUdies.
but the issue remains unsettled. Because of the role of threat in resistance. some lag between treatment and attack is required in order to pennil people to generate cOlIIHerarguIllenls (Miller & Buron. 1973). How Illuch delay is unclear. especially in lighl of research
indicating that inoculation. like any message stimulus. decays over time (McGuire. 1962:
Prau. 1997: prau el al.. 1990: Pfuu & Van Boc~crn. 199.+: Pryor & Sieinfall. 1978).
Early inoculation scholar~ reasoned that the type of treatment a per\on receives may
impact ho\\< persistent his or her atlitude~ will be. McGuire ( 1964 ) and Manis and Blake
( 1963) found that the resi"itancc produced by in ocu lation "different" as opposed to "same"
treatments increased following a modest delay prior to attack. In addition. McGuire (1962,
1966) ond Pryor und Sieinfall (1978) reported Ihal Ihe decay of inoculaliun-induced resistance could be reduced yia refutational "different:' as opposed to "same:' treatments.
Lalcr "udics by Pfou ond Burgoon ( 1988) and Pfau el aL ( 1990) indicaled Ihm Ihe resistance conferred via inoculation "different" treatmenl\ persisted longer. at least with character attack~.
Finally. research examined the potential of reinforcement. or booMcr ses:-.ions. seeking to determine if the inoculation effect could be prolonged. As noted previously. two
early studie . . of bOOMer intlucnce produced weak results (McGuire. 1961 b: Tannenbaum
et al.. 1966). Further. more recent ..,tudies by Pfall and hb colleagues featuring reinforcement or booster treatments (1990. 1997a. 2000) failed to clarify the matter. revealing no
incremental persistence for reinforcemcnt messages. The reason may involve timing. All
... lUdie.., to date have admini..,tered booster session~ within a brief interval following initial
treatment (maximum of four weeks). In order (0 test reinforcement fairly. future research
... hould increase the time interval between the administration of inoculation treatments and
boosler messages and shou ld employ multiple reinforcements administered over time.

Role alld Illfluence alld the Commullicatioll Medium

Wilh Iwo exceplions (Godbold & prou. 2000: prau el al.. 1992). all Ihe inoculalion research to date has employed print mes ... ages. The reason is that inoculation is ..,upposed to

I
Clmptcr 15 IIIO("I//afirm

{lilt!

Re.~israflce In Perl'llasi{J/1

273

be an active. cognitive process and print is perceived as the optimal medium for triggering
this process. Following Medium Theory, prau. Holbel1 and colleagues (2000) reasoned
that both print and visual media should function as effective vehicles for the communication of inoculation treatments, but that they might do so in different ways. Because print is
considered the more effective medium for systematic processing. that is. actively thinking
about a message (Chaiken & Eagly. 1976. 1983: Pelly & Cacioppo. 1986). Pfau, Holbert,
and colleagues (2000) predicted Ihal print inoculation treatments would be superior in
triggering counterarguing. Because video elevates visual over aural content (see Chesebro. 19R4: Meyrowilz. 1985: Salomon. 19R7). the researchers posited that video inoculation treatments would rely more heavily on source cues and less on counterarguing.
These suspicions were confirmed. Both media conferred resistance. but in markedly
diffcrcm ways. Video treatmcnt!, worked immediately. whcrcas trcatmcnts using print mcdia took more time. Video treatments fostered resistance based on the source of the message. Viewers displayed more positive perceptions of the source of the inoculating
message. This in turn resulted in more negative perceptions of the credibility of the source
of the counterattitudinal attacks. In contrast. print inoculation treatments worked via message conteill. requiring more time to foster resistance.

Applications of Inoculation Theory

Becausc inoculation is designcd to protect people against influence. it has received increased attention in recent years in a number of applied contexts (Eagly & Chaiken. 1993).
This section will focus on the applications of Inoculation Theory and research in the political. commercial. and health campaign contexts.

Political Applications
The scope and intensity of attack messages in highly visible U.S. Senate and presidential
races have grown significantly in recent years (Ansolabehere & Iyengar, 1995: Jamieson.
1992: Kern. 1989: prau & Kenski, 1990). now comprising nearly half of all political ads
(Johnson-Cartee & Copeland, 1997). Political atlack messages. which seek to "create
negative images" of an oppo!'ing candidate's position on issues. past record. or character
(Gronbeck. 1992) are considered to be a very effective strategy to influence "Ieaners" and
undecided volers (Ansolabehere & Iyengar. 1997: Johnson-Cartee & Copeland. 1997:
Kaid & Boydston. 1987: Kern. 1989: Kern & Just, 1995: Mann & Ornstein. 1983:
Newhagen & Reeves. 1991: Pfau & Kenski. 1990; Pinkleton. 1998: Sabato. 1981. 1983:
Tarrance, 1980: Tinkham & Weaver-Lariscy. 1993). The question for political practitioners is. given the near certainty of facing an opponent's attacks. what can be done to
deflect their influence? The standard options. refutation or response ads or news media
adwalchcs. are after-the-fact remedies and are therefore onen unable to undo the damage
inflicted by the attack. By contrast. inoculation is a preemptive strategy. Inoculation seeks
to make potential voters resistant to attacks before the attacks occur.
The potential of inoculation to deflect the influence of political attacks was investigated in Iwo large tJeld studies. The first centered on Ihe 1986 campaign for the U.S.

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Pari III S('('~ing alld Resil1il1g Compliallce: Slmlc'Kie,\ all(/ TlInin

Senate from South Dakota involving incumbent Republi(.an Jame ... Abdnor and Democratic challenger Tom Daschle (Prau & Burgoon. 19881. The other centered on the 1988
presidential campaign involving Republican George Bu~h and Democral Michael Dukaki ...
(prau et al .. 1990).
The 1986 ... tudy included 733 potential votcr ... and featured an inten ... e campaign. in
which the two well known and highl) regarded candidatc!-. made cxten!-.ivc u\e of polillc~tI
advertising .... pending $6.6 million. or $22 pcr vote cast in the election (Brokaw. It)R6).
The results of the 1986 study indicated that both inoculation "same" and "different" mc ... ... ages conferred resistance to the influence of !-.ubsequcnl political attach (Pfau &
Burgoon. 1988). regardle!-.:-. of political party. i...... uc. and character conlent. Overall. inoculation effech were most pronounced among :-.trong party identifiers. although an i nler'lclion revealed that inoculation "same" treatments were better with strong identifil.:rs,
whereas "different"' treatments were beller among weak identifiers (Pl'au & Burgoon.
1988).
The ... ub!-.equent 1988 ill\-e~tigation featured 31-J. pro... pective YOler'" and \\,11 ... conducted in September and October or the Bu\h-DukaJ..i\ pre\idential campaign. The 1988
study featured a number of new twi ... t~. It employed direct mail to admini ... tcr inoculation
treatments. It featured boo!-.ter '\ession!-.. and it allowed for a direct compari:-.on of inoculation versus POq hoc refutarion. Inoculation j, a proccs ... that inrrin\ically imohe ... acknowledging vulnerabilitic .... ba ... ed on the r<1tionale that this is the be ... t way to protcct
again\t counterinfluence. If there i", a dO\lvn ... ide to this approach. it can only be expo ... ed in
direct comparison to PO!-.I hoc approachc .... Yct lhi.., ha ... "rcceivcd scant attelltion in the
extant literaturc" (Pfau et al.. 1990. p. 19). The only previous asscs ... mcnt of pre- and
po ... trefutation treatments was conducted by Tanncnbaum and colleague ... and revealcd a
.., Ii ght advantage for prerefutation (Tanncnbaum & Norri .... 1965: Tannenbaum et 1.11 ..
1966).
Results of the 1988 investigation offered further evidence for the viability of inocu lation in a political campaign context. Results confirmed previous finding .... indicating that
both 'same" and different" inoculation treatmcnts increa:-.cd re~istancc 10 suhscqucllI political attach (PfiJU et al.. 1990). Result ... did not indicate efficac) for boo ... ter ... e ...... ion ....
perhaps due to the premature administration of the reinforcing material ....
Finally. the results indicated that a jJl"l)-wtack approach. operationali7ed as inoculation and inoculation-plus-reinforcement. wa~ ",uperior to pm.t hoc refutation in ... afegu<-lrding voters' original attitude ... about candidates. The effect was most pronounced with
'trong party identifiers and with nonidclltifier .... With weak party identifiers. thc ... upcriority of the pre-attack over the post hoc approaches wa~ confined [0 the character attack
condition errall et al .. 1990).
The combined finding!-. of the 19H6 ilnd 19X8 studie:-. suggest that inoculation ofler:"<.I viable approach for candidates 10 deflcl't the persuasiveness of political attack me:-.\age," (prau & Kenski. 1990, p. 160). Both >ludies u,ed a sing le inoculation. injecLed during the final weeks of intense campaigns. l'onditions that ... llOUld have weakened rcsi ... tance
effects. Inoculation would excrt more impact in less intense campaign .... or. in more intense campaign!-.. if initiated early. prior to opponents' attacks. In today ... <.Illack oriellted
political campaigns. inoculation offer:-. jj viable remedy . A:o. Republican consultant Jim

Chapter 15 II/oclllation alld Resistance to Persllasion

275

Innocenzi (cited in Ehrenhall. 1985, p. 2563) advises, "Inoculation and preemption are
what win campaigns."
The next application of inoculation in a political context was as a potential preventive to Noelle-Neumann's "spiral of silence." Noelle-Neumann (1974, 1984) posited a
"dark side" of public opinion and democracy. She theorized that many people who hold
opinions that deviate from majority sentiment on controversial issues become hesitanteven unwilling-to express those opinions publicly. Their reticence stems from "the fear
of sanctions resulting in social isolation" (1984. p. 65). The spiral of silence sets in motion
a "snowball effect." in which those in the majority continue to speak out but those in the
minority fall increasingly silent.
Lin (2000) examined the potential of inoculation to break the spiral of silence in
Taiwan. a tledgling democracy. He chose a highly controversial issue: Taiwan's relationship with China. The study tested the potential of inoculation treatments to boost the attitude confidence and willingness to speak out on behalf of people holding minority
opinions on this issue. Results of the two-stage survey of 206 randomly sampled adults
indicated that inoculation strengthened attitudes. Compared to the control group. those
who were inoculated became increasingly confident in their attitudes over time. They
showed more attitudinal confidence, greater willingness 10 speak out on behalf of attitudes. and increased likelihood of resisting the opposing positions of others (Lin, 2000).
Lin concluded that inoculation can "break" the spiral of silence. potentially invigorating
public deliberation of issues. a bedrock of viable democratic political systems.

Commercial Applications
Inoculation has been tested in two commercial contexts: as a strategy to mitigate the influence of comparative advertising messages, and as a strategy to protect the public image of
corporations in crisis situations. In both instances, preliminary results were promising.
Five studies established a foundation for later inoculation research in commercial
advertising. Two of them focused all social marketing. First. Bither. Dolich. and Ne ll
(1971. p. 60) examined the use of inoculation to foster resistance against attacks espousing
movie censorship. The study concluded that inoculation was able to reinforce attitudes.
Szybillo and Heslin (1973) inoculated people's belief that airbags should be installed in
automobiles. finding that refutaLional treatments were superior to supportive treatments.
Two other studies compared the efficacy of refutational and supportive treatments in promoting resistance to Federal Trade Commission (FfC) attacks. Hunt (1973) concluded
that refutational treatments were superior. but Gardner, Mitchell, and Staelin (1977) reported 110 differences. A fifth investigation examined the efficacy of refutational and supportive print ads on behalf of five products. Sawyer (1973) found that refutational ads
were superior. with limitations based on attitude toward the product and/or the product
class.
These studies employed a refulationai approach. which is .a necessary. but not
sufficient. condition for inoculation. What they did not do was feature threat. Research on
inoculation in a commercial advertising context either failed to operationalize threat and/
or failed to measure it. Since threat is one of the two core elements in inoculation,

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Part III Seeking and Resisting Complian ce: Strategies and Tactics
functioning as a motivational catalys t for rc~istance. th c~e manipulations fail ed to manipulate the inocu lation co nstruct properly. What these studi es have suggested is th e potential
for the other core element, refutational pree mption , in foste ring resistance.
A more rece nt stud y. which did confirm effectiveness of the threat manipulation.
found th at inoc ulation works. but with cel1 a in caveats (Prau, 1992). The caveats arc re ceil'e r illl'oh'emelll in the product class, whi ch is viewed as an " important mediator of CO I1sumer behavior" ( Mitche ll , 1978, p. 195 ). and compararil'e message formlll. whi ch
involves the sty le and direc tionality of th e co mpariso n (La mb. Pride, & Pletcher, 1978:
Pride. Lamb. & Pletcher. 1977. 1979) and has been found to moderate th e persuas ive ness
of comparat ive messages (Lam b. Pletcher. & Pride. 1979).
Pfall ( 1992) reported that inoculati on treatments had a direc t effect o n rece ive r
brand attitude. but that thc effec t of inoculation in th e product class depended 011
receiver's level of invol vement. Follow-up tests indicated that inoculation is effective in
conferring resiMance to co mpariso n ads:. btu o nly for hi ghl y invol ving products. Thi s finding is consistent wit h recent research on In oc ulation Theory, which suggests that i s~ u e
involvemenl ma y dictate th e boundary co nditions for Inoc ulation Theo ry (Pfau et al..
1997a). Scholars or practitioners interes ted in applications of inoculation in advertising
should recogn ilc that it may prove effective only with hi ghly involving products (Kamins
& Assea!. 1987: prau. 1992). Thi s would limit its potential , since so much adverti sing is
on behalf of goods and services that aren't hi ghl y involving.
In th e contex t of public relation s, resea rch has foc used on whether inocui<Hion mi ght
prove to be an alternative proactive cris is co mmunicatio n st rategy. Proacti ve approaches
te nd to be preventive in nature . The two most co mmon proactive approach es in cris.is co mmuni cati on arc issues 11l1llwgemellf, in which organizati ons try to anticipate potential problems and put in place formal plans designed to monitor and to prevent them (Heath . 1997).
and imaxe promorioll. in wh ich organ izat ions strive to establish a base o f goodwill to denect damage to an organi za ti on'S image should a cri sis occ ur (Coombs. 1998).
Image promotion is a strategy that i~ co nceptually similar to bolsterin g messages in
the resistance lite rature. " seeks to foster positive attitudes about an orga ni zation. in C~
sence building a " reservo ir of goodwill" to protect an orga ni zation against attitude slippage in the event o f a crisis (Fink, 1986. p. 96). In contrast. inoculation. which has not
bee n studied in the crisis com munication contex t, would rai se an organization's poten tial
vulnerabilities and the specter of crisis and then preemptively refute them . delin eatin g
what the organization is doing to address th ese concerns (Pfau & Wan, in press). Wan
(2000) predicted that a co mbination of inocu lation and image promotion would provide
th e best proactive approach. Wan predicted. howeve r. that if only one approach was used.
inoculation wou ld prove :>. upe rior 10 image promotion. This prediction i ~ consisten t wi th
th e ea rly resistance research, indicating that refutational defe nses are superior to su pport ive defenses (A nde rso n & McG uire. 1965 : McGuire. 1961a. 1962. 1966: McGuire &
Papageo rg is. 1961. 1962 : Papageorg i' & McG uire. 1961: Tanne nbaum e t al.. 1966:
Tannenbaum & Norris. 1965).
To t e~ t (hi s notion. Wan (2000) studi ed public attitudes toward a real petroleum
company over a one-month period. Partic ipant s received an inoculation "sa me" treatme nt.
an inoc ul ati on "d ifferent" message. an im<.lge-enhancing "bolstering" message. a COI11 bined "'refulational-bolstering" message. or no message (co ntrol ). Later. SO me partic ipants

Chapter 15 Il1oCl//orion and Resistance 10 Persuasion

277

assigned to crisis conditions received a counterattitudinal crisis message. The results

indicated that for participants possessing positive initial attitudes toward the organization. all treatment approaches-inoculation "same" and "different." image bolstering and
combination-were effective in protecting the image of the organization following exposure to the crisis scenario. but that no one approach worked best (Wan. 2000). With subjects not exposed to the crisis scenario. the bolstering approach was slightly superior to
inoculation, suggesting some downside to inoculation. but a lack of power rendered this
finding tentative.

Health Campaign Applications

Because inoculation is a useful approach in situations in which altitudes are vulnerable if
challenged. it is receiving increased attention in the health campaign context. particularly
targeting adolescent behaviors. In many areas. children's attitudes are initially formed
during preadolescence but are then subject to intense pressure during adolescence.
Millman and Botvin (1983) have observed this developmental pattern in a number of adoiescelll controversies. such as tobacco. alcohol, drugs. and sexual intercourse. Jessor and
Jessor (1975) refer to these as "transition-marking behaviors." For these behaviors, inoculation would seem to be an ideal strategy because it is designed to make attitudes more
resistant to change (Miller & Burgoon. 1973). In this section we will examine research 011
inoculation's ability to reduce the onset of adolescent smoking and drinking.

Smokillg Prevelltion. As a result of the efforts of parents and teachers. most children
develop attitudes opposing smoking early in their lives. Typically. these attitudes persist
until the transition to the middle grades, when they erode due to physiological changes
(Hamburg, 1979) in conjunction with intense peer pressure (Bewley & Bland, 1977:
Evans & Raines, 1982; Flay, d'Avernas, Best, Kersell & Ryan, 1983: Foon, 1986; Friedman, Lichtenstein & Biglan, 1985: Goldberg & Gam, 1982: Gottlieb & Baker, 1986:
Harken. 1987: Hurd, Johnson, Pechacek, Best, Jacobs, & Luepker, 1980; McAlister,
Perry, & Maecoby, 1979; O'Rourke, O'Byrne, & Wilson-Davis, 1983; Pechacek &
McAlister, 1980: Pederson & Lercoe, 1982; Rosenberg, 1965; Salomon, Stein, Eisenberg,
& Klein, 1984). Just before and during this period, many adolescents' antismoking attitudes soften (Elder & Stern, 1986; Evans & Raines, 1982: Hamburg, 1979: Johnson, 1982;
Killen, 1985: Pfau & Van Bockern, 1994; Rokeach, 1987). Consequently, this is a highrisk period for the onset of smoking. McAlister and colleagues emphasize that, "More
than half of all current young people who adopt the habit of daily smoking do so before or
during their ninth grade school year" (1979, p. 651). Experts agree that a strategy of resistance is needed on or before this critical transition period; a strategy designed to protect
against attitude slippage (Allegrante, O'Rourke, & Tuncalp, 1977: Bernstein & McAlister,
1976; Evans, Rozelle, & Mittlemark, 1978: Harken, 1987; McCaul, Glasgow, O'Neill,
Freeborn, & Rump, 1982). The Centers for Disease Control (1998) recommended schoolbased prevention programs that exert maximum intensity during grades 6 through 8.
The most popular antismoking approach has been social inoculation, which
combines one facet of Inoculation Theory, refutational preemption, with Bandura's
Social Learning Theories (Wallack & Corbett, 1987). Despite its name. however. social

278

Part 111 Seekill}.: (lnd Resi.\lillg COl1lpli(ll1a: 51rl1regil s (111(/ Tactics

J

inoculat ion is not inoculation. II doesn 't operationalize the threat component, whi ch provides the internal moti vatio n for people lO resist subseq uent innuence (McGuire. 1962).
Instead. it features a potpourri of tactics, including teac her- and/or peer-led di sc ussion sessions. slide and vi deo presentations, peer mode ling. sc hoolwide smoking prevention campaigns, and ot hers. Thi~ smo rgasbord of methods makes replication diffi c ult. which
undermin es ib utilit y. Also. it makes it impossible to i ~o l a te what elemcllIs are responsible
for outcomes. Foo n questioned. " If th c~e programs are working, what special features arC

working and how?"" ( 1986. p, 1025 ). Flay ob,erved that. ", , , we really know ve ry little at
thi s time about which of these program co mpone nts are necessary for program effecti vene" , , ," ( 1985, p, 378),
The potential of inoculmion. including both threa t and refutational pree mplion e lements. has been the focus of rece nt studi es. prau and colleag ues ( 1992) co nduc ted a longitudinal field study of stude nts making the transition from ele men tary school to junior high
sc hool in Sioux Fall~, South DakOla, startin g in fall 1990. Inocu lation was accomplished
via professionally prepared 12- to 25-m inute videos. Students were studied for two years.
Results of the first year indicated that inoculation vi deos instill ed resistance to smoki ng
onset. but only among adolesce nts with low self-estee m (Pfall ct al.. 1992). This interaction patlern of inoculation and receiver 'ielf-esteem dissipated by the end of the second

year of the study, At thi s point. 84 weeks after the inoculation treatments. participants in
the treatment group he ld less favorab le attitudes toward smokin g and smokers (Pfall &
Van Bockern, 1994),
The next study of inoc ul ation and smoking pre ven tion by Szabo (2000) exami ned its
potential with fifth- and sixth-grade nonsmokers in both a metropolitan area ( 163 predominantl y African American stude nt s) and a rural setting ( 157 overw helm in gly whi te s tudents
in Iowa).
Szabo'!., study incorporated additional e leme nts. warra nted by recent research documen ting a large and unexplained upsurge in adolesce nt smokin g and by recent research on
Inoculation Theory. First, Szabo posited that the surge in adolesce nt smoki ng during the
I 990s, even in the face of perva<.;ive antismoking campai gns, mi ght in part reflec t a " boomerang effect"' in response to the antismoking ca mpai gns. Using assumptions of Brehm 's
Psyc ho logical Reactance Theory. Szabo designed nonnative inoculation appea ls. whi ch
stressed peer disapproval of smokin g, plus morc tradit ional hea lth-based messages. She

posited that both normati ve and health-based treatments. which included threat and
refutational preemption e lements. would inst ill resistance ill most adolescents but that the
normati ve appeals wou ld be l es~ likely to tri gger psychological reactance ill some ado lescents. Second. to shed further li ght on the ro le of affect in resistance. Szabo designed two
normat ive messages, one to e lici t anger and one to tri gger happiness. In addition. she mcasured affect e licited by inocu lation treatments. Third, Szabo inc luded c riti cal indi vi dual
differe ncc va riables in the design. such as self-efficac y and self-esteem. to determine their
roles in the process of resistance.
Szabo's res ults (2000) \uggc~ t ed that a fine linc se parates antismoking messages
that foster resistance from those that tri gger reactance. Co ntrary to the predic ti on th at all
inocu lati on treatment~ would en hance resistance to smokin g. the res ults indicated that inoculation effects were contin ge nt on the subpopulation of interes t. In oc ulation elicited resistan ce. but onl y on behalf of two of the four gro ups targeted. The normative-a nger and

Chapter 15 Inom/miml

(/1/(/

Rt'sisf(lIIce 10 P(Jr,wasioll

279

traditional health-based appeals achieved attitudc resistancc in rural \ixth grader\. while
the normative-cognitive and he~llth-ba~ed messages conferred attitude resistance in urban
fifth grade".
Neither rural fifth graders nor urban sixth graders showed any signs of resistance:
ruther. they exhibitcd psychological rcactance to all the inoculation attempts. In addition.
there was some evidence of reactancc in all subpopulations. For example. the health-ba\cd
appeal produced reactance in rural fifth graders. the cognitivc messagc elicited reactance
in rural sixth graders. and the normative-anger treatmcnt triggered reactance in all urban
students. This study suggested that antismoking mcssage, produce both resistance and reactance in children, depending on the message type and the subpopulution of interest. Finally. Szabo's (2000) results revealed that receiver self-efficacy was strongly associated
with resistance to smoking for all ~lUdents in all conditions but that self-esteem w<.\s not.

Drinking Prevention.

For the "iame reasons thai inoculation i"i a promising approach

for smoking prevcntion. it offers potential for reducing the onset of adolescent alcohol
use. School-based programs designcd to fo~ter resistance to alcohol usc have become increasingly prevalent (Elder et aI., 1987). The,e programs feature life ski lis training and arc
patterned after the social inoculation approach dcst:ribed previously. Researchers maintain
that prevention is a more effective approach than trying to persuade adolescents to stop
drinking once theyve begun (Hansen. Graham. Wolkenstein. & Rohrbach. 1991:
Krelltter. Gewirtz. Davenny. & Love. 1991: Webb. Baer. & McKelvey. 1995). To date.
however. re~iSlancc efforts have yielded mixed rcsult~ (Foxcroft. Lister-Sharp. & Lowe.
1997: Slater, Beauvais. Rouner. Van Lellven. Murphy. & Domenech-Rodrigue7, 1996:
Tobler. 1986). The rcason could he "the limited application of a theoretical basis for predicting when pecr-based resistance programs are cffective" (Godbold & Pfall, 2000. p.
413). As with antis-moking social inoculation. it is il1lpo:-.~ible to pinpoint the specific clements Ihat are responsible for outcomes with "Illulticomponent" alcohol resistance programs (Krelltter et al.. 1991).
Godbold and Pfau (2000) admini'tered an inoclilation study involving 417 nondrinking sixth graders. Inoculation was accomplished via threc-minute informative or normative videos. de!o.igncd to resemble public "en icc announcements. Participants were
exposed to attack messages either immediately after inoculation or two weeks later. AItacks consiMed of actual beer commercials embedded in a series of television advel1i\ements. made to look like a television break.
Godbold and Pfau (2000) predicted that both informative and normative inoculation
upproaches would be effecti\'c in conferring resh.tance to drinking initiation but that normative message:-. would be ~lIperior because research indicates that they arc better ~uited
to "judgmental ta~h" (Kaplan, 1989). The results of the study indicated that normative
messages produced the lowest e~timates of peer acceptance of drinking. However, normative inoculation messages were no better than informative mcssages in instilling resistance
to the beer commercials. and in fact both message strategies exerted limited innucnce on
attitudes and behavioral intentions. The results also revealed that immediate attacks resulted in more resistant attitude and behavioral intentions than did delayed attacks.
Overall. Godbold and Pfall (2000) reponed relatively weak effect' involving either
the normative or informative inoculation strategy. Instead. the pattern of result:-. revealed

280

Part III Sed.illg alld R'.\isrillg Complialln': Stmu'gie.\ lIlId TaClic.\

that the key factor in resistance is adolescent perception of peer approval of drinking.
"hich ,ubsequcntly leads to threat and. finally. to resi"ance to alcohol use. The result,
~uggt.!~ted that practitioners should employ normative messages in order to lower the e~ti
mates of peer acceptance and peer pres~ure to drink in order to enhance resistance to adole;ccnt alcohol use. Godbold and prau placed the blame for the weak inoculation erfect> on
the experimental design. Results revealed that the threat manipulation was not adequate.

Conclusioll
Inoculation appears to offer an effective means of bolstering receivers' resistance to opposing messages. Inoculation is particularly u\eful bet:ause it increases resistancc not only
10 the "'pecifie arguments included in the inoculation treatment but also to novel argument":.
on the same topic or issue. Two key components of Inoculation Theory are threat and
refutational preemption. Threat i\ the motivational trigger that promph cOllJltcrarguing.
When receivers feel threatened. they are more likely 10 bolster their attitudes against impending attach. Refutational preemption involves raj",ing objections and then refuting
them within an inoculating message. This approach tends to increase receivers' resistant:e
not only to the specific objections rai,cd but also to other. novel objections. Although a
number of caveats and qualifications regarding the use of inoculation remain. the theory
has been show n 10 work in a variety of persua~ive settings.

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16.5.17-567.
Ullman. W. R .. & Bodaken. E. M. (1975). Inducing resistance to pcr'\ua<.;ivc attack: A w\! o f two 'itrategie~
of communication. Weslem JOIln/al of Speech Commullication. 39, 240-2-l8.
United State ... Senate (1956). Committee on Go\'ernment Operation". Permanent Subcommittee on Investigillinu ... (84th Congress, 2nd Session). CommlilliJl i1l1erroga/ioll. imJot'trillll/u}f/ and exploillltioll oj
Amt',-inlll military lind poliliwll'riwmer.\'. Wa'ihington. DC: U.S. Go\'ernment Printing Office,

286

Part III Sel'/';inf,: and Re,~;.HiI/X Compliance: Slnttegje.\ lind 1(/('1;0

Wallack.. L.. & Corbel!. K. 1191-17). Alcohol. tobacco and nKlnJu~IIl'1 u ...e among )outh. An oycnlc,", 01
epidemIOlogICal. program and policy trcnd~. lIeallll l:.'tl/lCClliOi/ Quarterly. N. 223-2W.
Wan.I-IA1. (2000). illocu/w;o/llind priming illihe COIlIl'xl ofcri\'/I' c(JI1/lI/l/llicali(JI/. Unpuhli <.;hed doclOral
di ......ertation. Univer... ity of Wi ...consin- Madi ... on,
Webb, J, A .. Bacr. P. E.. & M(,Kchcy. R. S. (1995). Development of a ri~k profile for IIltcntiom, to u . . c
alcohol among fifth and \ixlh grader.... JOIII'tUl/ of the AIII('I"/(11/ Academy of Child ami Adult'IH'tll
Psychiatry. 3-1. 772-77H.

Part

IV
Contexts for Persuasion
In chapter 3 of Ihis volume. Daniel O'Keefe discussed what he believed were three broad
recent developments in the study of persuasion. social illiluence. and complia nce gai nin g .
Among thc ...c developments wa!o. the increasing amount of research focusi ng o n specific
conlext", for per\uasioll. While ...OI11C pcr ... uasive strategics arc field invariant or co ntext
free. most arc not. Even sli ch generic .., trategies as fear appea ls. for examp le. must be tai lored to the specific audience. topic, and setting. Tlms. a fear appea l that an utlorney mi g ht

use in

<-I

clo:-.ing argument

10

a jury (" 'I' you leI the defendant go free. he will kill aga in ,")

wou ld likely bl.! different from a fear appeal that a ca r sa lespe rso n mi ght li se in trying to
clo ... e a ... a le ("Do you really wallt to risk your life ill a car without side ai r bags?"). Similarly. a po liti ca l consultant who wa~ de ... ign in g campaign ad ... that included fear appeals
("Our opponent \I.'ants to rai~e lUxes and cut social ... ccurity.") would like ly use a different
approach than a pol ice officer as\igncd to th e D.A.R.E. program ("D ru gs aren't just physi-

cally addictive. they are psychologically addictive as welL"). The same app lies to other
persuasive stratr.:gics, principles, and processes. Persuasive strategies rarely come in a
"onc size fits
va ri ety. There probably neve r wi ll be a single, unified theory o f persuasion capab le of encompassing a ll persuasive phenomena in every con tex t. Thus, the need
to study how per ... uasion operates in "'pecifie contexts is vi tal. The devil. as they say. is in
the detaib. and the ~ub Ll e nuances that ca n make or break a persuasive attempt lie in the
particular strategies and tacti!:s that are unique lO each persuas ive contex t. For this reason
we have included this final section. which ill ustrates that the study and practice of social
influence have many "nooks and crannies:' In other words. contex tual or situat iona l factors such a~ the lime and place of the persuasive encounte r. or the nature of th e relationship between the persuader and the persuadee. affec t not o nly th e types of influence
strategies people use but a lso how dfcetive such st ratcgies might be.
Chapter 16. by Renee Klinglc. for example. explore!'. comp li ance gai ning ill med ica l
context:-.. In it. you \I. ill \ce how theories and models of per~l1as i on have been u~ed to identify effective and ineffective strategies in physician-patient encounters. If a husband fails
to convince.! his wife that they ... hould buy a big screen lclevi ... ioll. the conseque nces for

<I""

287

288

Part IV

CO/lfe.usjor PerSIUlSioll

failure aren't too dire. If a phy-,ician i:-:. unable to per~lIade a paticnt to lose weight. \IOP
<..,moking. or lower hi<.., or her blood pres~urc. however. the patient ... life may hang in the
balance.
Chapter 17. hy Lc.,lic Baxter and CamHi Bylund, examlne~ persuasion in clo~e relationships by juxtapo.,ing three unique perspectives: the traditional, the social-meaning.
and the dialogit: communication approaches. The chapter illustrates not only that the nalure of relationship.., affects the process of persua<..,ion but al"io that the way in whi<.:h we
cOllceptualiLe and study per ... uasion affecl"i our undcrstanding of it.
Finally, the laM two chapters in thi"i volume explore ,ocial inlluence in traditionul
organiLational context .... Chapter 18. by Randy Hirokawa and Amy Wagner, examine ... per..,ua~ion a~ it occur~ between superiors. <..,ubordinate"i. and coworker"i within an organi/ation. Specifically. it examines the nature of upward and downward inOuence attemp ts in
organizational sellings. Chapter 19. hy John Seiter and Michael Cody. examines persuasion in retail sales contexts. Specifically. thi"i chapter focuses on the nature of pcr"illa~ion
in "elling contexts by exploring how buycl""i' and sellers' charactcri"itics. tactic<.." uno goab
influence succes<..,rul sale~ and buyer-seller relationships.
These are. of course. only a fc\\ of the myriad contexts in ",hich persuasion occurs.
By gaining a bettcr under"tanding of ho\\ persuasion operutes in these four specitic contexts. you should develop a greater appreciation for the unique features of persuasion. "iOcial influence. and compliance gaining in other contexts and settings as well.

16
Compliance Gaining in
Medical Contexts
Renee Storm Klingle

Introduction to Medical Compliance

Although medical adherence is generally in the best interest of the patient, patients who

,eek expert medical advice often fail

10

follow through with the pre,cribed or ,uggested

tremment regimens (Eraker, Kir ... cht. & Becker. 1984: Pitt ....

J 991:

Roter. Hall. Merisca.

Nordstrom. Cretin. & Svarstad. 1998). In 1996. I argued that "ignoring medical adv ice
seems to be as common as the common cold and equally difficult to cure" (Klingie. 1996.
p. 206). Since that time. remedies have been advanced that are quite effective in reducing
the ,everilY and duration of the common cold. The verdict on how be . . , to eradicate patient
noncompliance. however.

i... 't ill out. Even the act of defining compliance. often known as

medical adherence. has been open to debate (Henson. 1997).

In the not 100 di"'Ia!l1 pa",t, the term medical compliance simply referred to the degree to which patients yielded to the suggestions. orders. or recommendations given by
their health care provider (Karo ly. 1993). Failure to do so could take a number of forms.
ranging from inability to comply. refusHI to comply. overcompliance. and partial compli ance wit h what the physician specifica ll y recommended (Fletcher. 1989). The recent
l11oven1elll toward patient-centered care and away from paternalistic care (Ba llard-Reisch,
1990: Jones & Phillips. 1988). however. puts a different spin on the definition of medical
compliance. a,>; well as the appropriate terminology. Consistent with this trend. authorityladen term'" such as compliance and adherence ha ve quickly begun to be replaced by
words that highlight the more reciprocal nature of the physician-patient relationship such
as mutuality. cOllcordance. cooperation. and therapellf;c alliance (Kyngas. Duffy, &
Kroll, 2000). In turn. definitions of the phenomenon began to contain elements relating to
the patient's collaboration with the health care provider and the patient's responsibility for
se lf-care (Kyngas. 2(00). Medical compliance came to mean adhering to what the physician and patient mutually agreed upon a,>; the appropriate course of medical action.
289

290

Part IV COIl/eX!.1 for Pcrsllmiol1

The more politically correct name:-. and definitions. hO\vever. could not change the
fact that compliance rates , especially in the long term. often fall below 50 percent for patients of;)11 agc:-.. :-.ocial classes. and intellectual levels, and they remain low regardless of
the severity of the :-'Ylllptoms or the life-threatening nature of the disease (Adams, Pill, &
Jones, 1997; Klopovich & Thruewonhy. 1<)85: Kyngas. 20(0). The consequences of noncompliance or failed cooperation arc often quite serious: unnecessary or dangel'Ous diagnost ic and treatment procedure~ (Bec,,"er & Maiman. 19HO; Norell. 1(80), exacerbation of
the medical condition and progression of the ailment (Stewart & Clulf. 1972), inaccurate
assessment regarding the value of prescribed medicines or treatment regimens (Wilson.
1973), and additional costs to the patient and the medical community (Berg. Dischler.
Wagner. Raia. & Palmer-Shevlin. 1<)93: Weinstein, 2000). In :-.um. a patient's Jack of adherence to medical recommendation:-. that arc either sct by the phy~ician or mutually
agreed upon by the physician and patient is nothing to sneeLe at. Unlike the common cold.
noncompliance has the potential 10 be life-threatening for the patient and an economic disaster for the medical community.
For decade~. ~()cial scientists have conducted studic,- aimed at assessing interventions linked to improved medic.:d compliance rates. Studies in the medical field have typically focused on educational intervention.'- such a:-. verbal. audiovisual, and written
instructions and reminders: behavioral pattern shaping and skill building: and appeals to
emotions and social relationships (Roter ct al.. 1(98). In each advocated intervention, comIllunication between health care providers and paticnh is cited as playing an integral role in
adherence lO medical prescriptions. Medical article~ (e.g .. Dube. O'Donnel. & Novack,
2000: Meryn. 1998) also reiterate the need for better physician commun icalion sk ills to
improve adherence rates. The exact content and nature of the physician's compliancegaining <.IlIempl. however. is genemlly unspcci fied (KI ingle. I <)96; Ph iII ips & Jones. 1991).
Rather, advice tends to be overly hroad or general in nature. Most problematic is the fact
that the vast majority of thc compliance-gaining recommendat ions offered have been
atheoretical. After an extensive 1"C\ie\\-' of the medical compliance literature from 1970 to
1989, Dunbar. Dunning. and Dwyer (1993) concluded that "as the absolute number of
studic~ has increased. the proportion of studies that have been theory driven have decreased" (pp. 36-:n). Lillic has changed since. particularly in the area of interpersonal
inlluence messages and medical adherence (Klinglc. 19<)6). Given the lack of theoretical
guidance, it is no wonder that complialll:c-gaining advice is broadly stated and often limited to methods of increasing patient compreh(:n~ion.
This chapter deline,lIes eITecti\(: medical compliance-gaining strategies by reviewing per~uasion models and theories thaL uniquely address medical adherence. rathe r than
reviewing the plethora of atheoretical research from the medical field. Additionally. the
focus of this chapler is on communication as opposed to other factors thaI may affect compliance sllch as patient personality or access to medical care. An examination of three
models that focus on health beliefs. Lhe HealLh Belief Model. the Extended Parallel Processing Model. and the Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior. provides the
starting point. These more traditional belief-adj ustment models have frequently been used
lo guide and evaluate the "contcnt" of health prevention campaigns and have recently
been used by interpcrsonal researchers in their qu(:~t to develop interpersonal messages
directed at incrcasing adherence rates. These belief change models. however. tend to

Chapter 16 Compliance Gaining ill Medical COl1fe\1.\

291

ignore the role of nonverbal coml11unic[ltion and the relational meanings attached to met-.
sage",. The second part of thi", chapter [lddrc::-.ses Reinforccment Expectancy Theory (RET)
which addrcs ...es thc relational \lyle of the cOl11pliancegaining message rather than its
content. The final part of this chapter brielly examines the role or patient participation in
the health care decision-making process.

Health Belief Perspectives and Patient Compliance

Medical compliance is often regarded as 11 consensual process, involving collaboration
bet\.\cen the health care provider and patient as to medical regimens and therapeutic expectations (Anderson & Kirk. 1982: Linden. 1981). Corresponding with this viewpoint i ...
the development of numerous compliance models espou ... ing the importance of education
and attitudinal adjustmcnt in order to "~dign" expectation ... (Becker. 1974: Hciby & Carl
,on. 19R6). According to a meta-analy,i, by Roter et al. (1998). the bulk of medical
compliance-gaining studies publi:-.hed between 1977 and 1994 focu:-.ed either exclusively
on educational interventions or on combinations of both educational and behavioral inter
vent ions (e.g ..... kill building and behavioral modeling). Educational methods for eliciting
compliance also "eem lO be the ... trategy of choice among phy~ician~. According to empirical findings by Burgoon and colleaguc, (M. Burgoon. Parrott. J. K. Burgoon, Birk et al..
1990: M. Burgoon. Parrott. J. K. Burgoon. Coker et al.. 1990) both patient' and physician,
report that health carc pro\'ider ... are mo~t likely to emplo} the lISC of expert power by
ghillg simple direction ... or appealing to the knowledge or experti:-.e of the physician.
rather than using threats or prosocial reinforcing ~trategic:-.. Schneider and Beaubien'~
(1996) l1aturali~tic investigation of compliance-gaining stratcgie~ employed by doclOrs in
medical interviews also found expertise and liking strategic ... to be umong the most widely
used compliance-gaining MrHtegie ....
However. educational programs mu~t involve more than expert advice and instructions. since merely under~Landing what to do and how to do it have nOf been ~trongly associated with compliance (cf. Fulmer et al.. 1999). The phy,ician must make appropriate
attitudinal adju,tments to patient" belief 'y'tem, (Becker & Maiman. 1980: Webb. 1980).
Commonly used belief models and theories in the health arena ~uch as the Heallh Belief
Model. Extended Parallel Proce"ing Model. the Theory of Rea,oned AClion. and the
Theory of Planned Behavior provide recolllmendations for phy ... icians by addressing ~pe
cific belief~ that should form the core of educational intervention directed at improving
patient compliance. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to articulate fully the complete
formulation ... of each of these 1110dels. Instead. a summary of the central aspects of the
Jl10deb and theories that arc 1110~t germane to the topic of message content is offered.
followed by a discussion of each critical variable that should guide the content of the
compliance-gaining message.

rhe Health Belief Model

The Health Belief Model (HBM) was originally developed to e'pl"in low compliance
with preventive health beha\'iors (Bt:cker & Maiman. 1975. Janl & Becker. 1984:

292

Part IV COIl/ex/sf"r Persuasio/l

Ro,en!o.tock. 1974) and has been used as an organizing framework for developing and explaining a variel) of preventive mcssages. from wearing bicycle helmel~ (Witte. Stokols.
Ituartc. & Schneider. 1993) to ha\ing mammograms (Hyman. Baker. Ephraim. Moadel. &
Phillip. 1994) lO managing eating disorder~ (Grodner. 1991: Smalcc & Klingle. 2000) to
practicing safer sex (Matt,on. 1999). According to the HBM model, patients will adhere to
the physician's recommendations when the physician's inlluencc me,sage addresses several components.
The first component physicians should address includes perceptions or severity and
susceptibility. According to the HBM. threatening messages must communicate to the recipient both lhal the effects of not complying with a health recommendation are serious
(perceil 'ed se\'erilY) and that the recipient is pcrsonably vulnerable 10 the negative consequence (percei,'ed s/lsceptibility) (Becker. 1974). Health risk belief,. or Ihreals. are considered by many lO bc a vital clement in persuading others to comply with health
recommendations. bccause without threat. the danger goes unnoticed, and no aClion is
laken (Lave. 1987).
Perceived ,everity rellect, the individual's beliefs Ihal nol following health recommendations will result in dangerous. life threatening. and serious outcomes (Becker. 1974:
Grodncr. 1991). The more severe the threat appears. the more the individual will be intere"ed in avoiding Ihe harmful con,equences (Rogers. 1983: S'lIIon. 1982). For instance.
Klohn and Rogers (1991) found that women who were given information regarding the
severe effects or osteoporosis. such a, ,,>erious disfigurement. reported significantly higher
perceptions of Ihe sevcrity and greater intention to comply with the recommended responses than did those who received only general information or no information at all.
Thus. phy ... icians attempling 10 gain patient cooperation must inform patients of the potentially seriolls consequences associated wilh not following through on the mutually agreed
recommcndat ions.
Paticnt, mu,t also feel personally at risk for contracting or developing seriolls effects. As an illustration of the importance of perceived susceptibility, Thurman and
Franklin (1990) found that although 60 percent of the students in their study feared a
c<1mpuswidc spread of AIDS. les ... then 25 percellt of them felt personally susceptible to
contracting Ihe disease and less than 50 percent changed their behaviors. Increasing paticnt ... pcrcepliol1s of susceptihility can be a major obstacle for physicians. since researchers ha\e found Ihal few people believe Ihal the worsl will happen 10 Ihem (Perloff. 1983:
Wci'Ncin. 1983: WeinSlein & Lachendro. 1982). Wille (1992,,) poinl' OUI Ihal adolescents may bc the most challenging audience. ,incc young people tend to believe that they
are invincihle.
In addition 10 perceptions of threat. the HBM suggests that sc({-e.tJicacy is an important component for physicians to address in their influence messages. In relation to health
problems, self-efficacy refers to patients' own expectations that they can easily alter their
own actions to enhance their well-being (Hertog, Finnegan. Rooney, Viswanath. & Potter.
1993). In the area of notoriollsly hard-to-change behaviors. perceptions of self-efficacy
have proved panicularly important in gelling patients 10 consider a~ well as actually take
approprialc aClions (Herlog el al.. 1993). Perceplions of self-efficacy have predicled
alcohol abstinence (DiClemente. Carbonari. Montgomery. & Hughes. 1993: Rolnick &

Chapler 16 COl1lpliance Gaining ill Medical COl/texts

293

Heather. 1982). smoking cessation (DiClemente, 1981). relapse of addictive behaviors in

general (Marlatt & Gordon. 1980), preventive oral health behaviors (Tedesco. Keffer. &
Fleck-Kandath. 1991). changes in diet to prevent cancer risks (Hertog et aI., 1993). adolescents' ability to resist pressure to smoke (DeVries, Kok. & Dijkstra. 1990), and whether
bulimics will seek medical help (Smalec & Klingle, 2000).
Although many studies have merely looked at the relationship between perceived
efficacy and compliance, several studic!o. have shown that messages can be effectively manipulated to communicate efficacy. which in turn can facilitate compliance. Rippetoe and

Rogers (1987). for example. found that women who received high-self-efficacy literature
on the ease of performing breast self-exams were significalllly more likely to conduct selfexams than women who were given low- self-efficacy literature. Prentice-Dunn, Jones.
and Floyd (1997) manipUlated self-efficacy in messages regarding skin cancer prevention
and found that subjects who read the high-efficacy message believed that wearing sunscreen and reducing sun exposure time would be effective. in contrast to subjects who read

the low-efficacy message. Smalec and Klingle (2000) demonstrated that individuals with
eating disorders were more likely to seek help for their problems if someone in their social
network communicated to themlhat getting help would be simple and relatively effortless.

Witte (1992b) manipulated the efficacy of an AIDS prevention message and found that
subjects receiving the high-efficacy message as opposed to the low-efficacy message believed more strongly that they could use condoms (0 prevent AlDS. developed more favorable aftitudes toward condoms. and were more likely to report using condoms as long
as they perceived a significant AIDS threat in l1ddition to eflicilcy.

According to the HBM. the third component that should be addressed in physicians'
influence messages is perceptions a/benefits and costs. Specifically. the HBM states that
the benefits of complying must outweigh the costs or barriers associated with not comply-

ing. Perceived benefits in the HBM have been defined by Brown, DiClemente, and
Reynolds (1991) as "the individual's beliefs regarding the effectiveness of strategies designed to decrease vulnerability or reduce the threat of illness" (p. 51). Perceived barriers
are described as obstacles in the path of performing the recommended response (Leven-

thal & Cameron, 1987). Jan7 and Becker (1984) found that perceived barriers accounted
for more behavior change than any of the other HBM components. Spector (2000) argues
that compliance can be improved by communicating to patients the potential baniers to
compliance such as side effects to medication.
Barriers can be more than just the side effects, however. They can be physical, psychological, or I1nancial. Barriers related to quilting smoking, for instance, might include
weight gain and irritability, fear of losing friends who still smoke, and financial constraints associated with buying the patch or attending a smoking cessation clinic. According to the HBM. if the barriers outweigh the benefits, noncompliance is more likely; if the

benefits outweigh the barriers. compliance is more likely (Hayes, 1991; Janz & Becker,
1984).
The final component discussed by the HBM is cues to action. When attempting to
influence threat and efficacy perceptions, the HBM states that "cues to action," such as
advice from a physician. are needed to create awareness of the threat (Janz & Becker,

1984). These cues may be either internal. such as medical symptoms experienced by the

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Part IV CO/llexts for PerSl/asio/l

patient or external, such as advice fmm a physician. a reminder letter, or a gruesome picture. Both internal and external cues have a direct effect on threat and an indirect effect on
health-compromising behaviors. From a physician's standpoint, cues to action are the
physician's messages that help bring the threat to the forefront for the patient and persuade
him or her to carry out the recommended response. According to Manson (1999). communication cues to action should be at the center of the HBM, since health beliefs, perceptions, and behavioral decisions are "socially constructed and contingent upon interaction
with others" (p. 258).
Applied to thc medical setting and physician compliance-gaining strategies specifically, the HBM postulates that patients will be more likely to comply if the physician
communicates to them (e.g .. provides "communication cues to action") that (1) the outcomcs of noncompliance are severe. (2) they are vulnerable to these outcomes. and (3) the
advocated health recommendation will produce positive results that outweigh the difficulties or barriers associated with noncompliance. At the same Lime the physician must convince patients that they have the skills to carry out the recommended action effectively.
Although the HBM delineates the importance of critical message variables in shaping or
altering patient health behavior. the relationships between the HBM variables are not theoretically specitied in the model. The Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) reconciles this problem and illustrates the relationship between threat and eflicacy.

Extellded Parallel Processillg Model

Witte's (1992a, 1992b) EPPM (see also chapter 13 of this volume) improves upon the
HBM by explaining "how" to construct fear-appeal messages efficaciously lIsing the right
combination of threat and efficacy. Although fear appeals and threats have been a primary
foclis of many persuasion theories, health communication scholars in the medical compliance arena have predominantly focused on interpersonal communication that produces
satisfying relationships. arguing that compliance is facilitated by patient satisfaction
(Cousins, 1985; DiMatteo, Prince, & Taranta, 1979; Hanson. 1986; Pendleton, 1983). Research evidence associating satisfaction with compliance. however. is often negligible (M.
Burgoon, 1991: Ley, 1988). Findings that threatening communication by the physician
leads to patient compliance (e.g .. M. Burgoon, Birk, & Hall. 1991; Kaplan, Greenfield, &
Ware, 1989; Robberson & Rogers. 1988) also appear to contradict the presumed effect of
a provider's friendly bedside manner on adherence. Kaplan and colleagues (1989) examined physician communication style in a longillidinal study and found that it was physicians' negative affect, nor their positive affect. that related to positive health status.
Perhaps the "fear" of lIsing fear appeals stems from the fact that threats have actually been
known to backfire. Witte (I 992a) developed the EPPM to address how to use threats without fear of a boomerang effect.
The EPPM illustrates the interdependent relationship between threat and efficacy
and proposes that messages communicating threat (severity and susceptibility) and effi
caey (self- and response efficacy) influence perceptions of threat and efficacy, which interact to produce either health-promoting actions or defensive actions. According to
Witte's EPPM (1992a, 1998). delivery of a threatening message activates a two-appraisal

Chi.lpter 16 Compliance Gaining ill Medical COllfexts

295

process in the receiver. First. the individual evaluates the influence message to determine
the degree of threat possible if the recommended response is not adopted. Similar to the
HBM, the (wo underlying dimensions of a threatening message are susceptibility and sevcrity. If the message doesn't adequately convey to the individual that he or she is susceptible to a severe threat, the message will not be appraised further. People are only
motivated to continue message processing when a threat is relevant and serious.
If the message does adequately convey threat, the individual goes on to the second
appraisal process, which involves the evaluation of efficacy. Efficacy, like threat, is a twodimensional variable con!ooisting of respollse efficacy and selfefficacy. Self-efficacy is defined in a manner consistent with the HBM's self-efficacy component. while response
efficacy is defined in a manner consistent with HBM's perceived benefit component. Specifically. response efficacy is a person's belief that the advocated response will produce
the desired outcome; perceived self-efficacy is a person's belief that he or she has the ability to execute the desired response.
According to EPPM, perceived efficacy interacts with threat to determine whether
an individual will go into danger control (message acceptance) or fear control (message
rejection). As long as efficacy perceptions are higher than threat perceptions, the individual will go into danger control, which is an adaptive response involving message acceptance and taking the recommcnded action to prevent the danger from happening.
However. if efficacy perceptions are lower than threat perceptions, the individual will go
into fear control. which is a maladaptive response involving message rejection. Rather
than accepting the message, the individual who has high threat and low efficacy then attcmpts lO control the level of fear associated with not being able to avert the threat through
slich methods as rationaliling away vulnerability.
Wine (1994) clearly pointed out, and has shown through a recent meta-analysis
(Wine & Allen, 2000). that allhough threats are needed to motivate people, if perceived as
too high, they can create slich insurmountable levels of fear that people will respond by
expending energy to rationalile away the fear (e.g., ''I'm not going to get lung cancer if I
!oomoke cigarcttes for a few more years. I can quit later") rather than by taking action to
avoid the danger (e.g., ''I'm going (Q quit smoking as my doctor recommends"). Back in
1977. Bandura also theorized that high arousal states can be debilitating to performance
and that individuals tend to avoid threatening situations that exceed their coping skills.
Several ~tudies addressing adherence rates in patients with chronic disease have shown
thar when the treatment prescribed is challenging, threat is negatively related to compliance (e.g., Bond. Aiken, & Somerville, 1992; Hartman & Becker, 1978).
Applied to the medical seUing, EPPM postulates that patients will be more likely to
comply with advocated health advice if the physician communicates to the patient that the
outcomes of noncompliance are severe and that the patient is vulnerable to these outcomes.
At the same time, the physician must clearly communicate that the patient can enact the
behavior recommendations and that they will be effective. It is of critical importance, according 10 EPPM. that threatening messages not be used in isolation. Compliance-gaining
attempts by a physician must do more than scare the patient into action. The compliancegaining attempt must also include arguments demonstrating that the advocated response is
effective at eliminating the threat and that the patient can carry out the recommended
behavior.

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Part IV COlltexts jor Persllasion

The Theory of Reasoned Action and the

Theory of Planned Behavior
Missing from both the HBM and the EPPM is the concept of social normative beliefs, or
an individual's beliefs regarding what other people think he or she should or should not
do. The component of social normative beliefs. when compared to other cognitive components such as health beliefs, has heen shown to be the stronger predictor of health behaviors (Seibold & Roper. 1979). Classic persuasion perspectives sllch as Kelman's (1961)
influence processes and French and Raven's (1959) power bases provided the original
foundation for the claim that individuals in our environment serve as frames of reference
for making judgments about whether or not to carry out behavioral recommendations. According to Kelman's identification process, compliance is often the result of a recipient'S
desire to maintain a self-defined relationship with the source. Similarly. French and
Raven's reference power indicated that compliance can result from a recipient's identification with the source and desire to do things to please the source. Regardless of whether
one presumes that social normative beliefs influence compliance because of individuals'
innate need for social approval or because of their need to maintain satisfying relationships, the power of normative beliefs in influencing compliance decisions should not be
underestimated or overlooked.
Two of the most prominent theoretical models that address normative beliefs are the
Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980: Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) and the
Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen , 1985, 1988). Both theories argue that intention to
behave has a direct influence on actual behavior and is a function of the person's attitude
toward the be/wI'ior and the subjective norm with regard to the behavior. Attitude toward
the behavior is a function of the personal consequences expected from enacting a behavior
and the affeclil'e value placed on those consequences. Personal consequences include the
costs and benefits associated with the behavior. Thus, personal consequences encompass
notions of benefits, barriers, response efficacy, susceptibility, and severity addressed in
the HBM and EPPM. Subjective norm is often equated with social pressure (Friedman.
Lichtenstein, & Biglan, 1985) and is defined as beliefs about what specific individuals or
groups think they should do and their motivation to comply with or desire to please each
of these referents.
The Theory of Planned Behavior extended the Theory of Reasoned Action by claiming that intention toward a behavior is a function of behavioral control in addition to atti tude toward the behavior and subjective norm (Ajzen, 1985, 1988). This modification was
necessary for the theory 10 be applied to situations in which the behavior in question was
not under complete volitional control. For instance, practicing safer sex is affected by the
actions of one' s sexual partner and one's own ability to practice safer sex, in addition to
one's attitude toward practicing safer sex and normative beliefs. Petraitis, Flay, and Miller
(1995) argued that behavioral control is a concept similar to self-efficacy in that both
terms are related to "perceptions of control over the sliccessful completion of a particular
behavior" (p. 69). According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, self-efficacy (i.e., behavioral control) has a direct influence on both intention and behavior. Thus, an indi vidual
may have the correct attitudes and nonnative beliefs but still fail to carry out the behavior
because of low self-efficacy. This claim is similar to Witte's (1992a, 1994) prediction that

Chapter 16 CompliCll/ce Gail/111M ill MedicClI CmUt:,lts

297

threat beliefs are influential only to the extent thai the individual believes he or she can
carry out the recommended actions necessary to avert the threat. The Theory of Planned
Behavior, however. adds the construct of subjective norm to the compliance equation.
Both theories have proved useful in predicting a variety of health related behaviors
(Kashima. Gallais. & McCamish. 1992; Petraitis et al.. 1995). and the addition of the subjective norln has turned out to be quite valuable. For instance, in adolescents, one of the
best predictors of sub~tance use among high school students is social normative beliefs
regarding classmates' substance use (Johnston. OMalicy. & Bachman. 2000; Klingle &
Miller, 1999). College students' decisions 10 use substances such as marijuana have been
strongly associated with social normative beliefs regarding marijuana use (Ajzen. Timko,
& White. 1982). In regards to patient compliance, Tedesco and collcagues (1991) found
that intention to brush and floss was significantly a. . sociated with attitude toward :he behavior and subjective norm.
Applied to the medical setting. the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of
Planned Behavior suggest that a physician needs to construct messages aimed at altering
(I) attitudes of perceived severity, susceptibility, and efficacy toward the health behavior,
(2) subjective nonn ..... and (3) efficacy or behavioral control. Subjective norms are often
equated with loved ones such as family members and friends. The physician. however, is
also an important referent, and studies have found that a physician's recommendation is
among the most influentiul factors in a patient's health care decisions (Dube et al.. 2000).
Kyngas (2000) showed that paticnts who received support from their physician were more
likely to comply than patients who did not receive . . uch ~lIpport. As an important referent,
the physician can modify his or her verbal and nonverbal language choice.s to communicate approval or disapproval of the patient's actions. which in turn . . hould influence a
patient's future behaviors. Thi . . is a central notion of Reinforcement Expectancy Theory.

Reillforcement Expectallcy Theory

Although attitudinal adjustment and skill building are certainly integralLO a patient's ability to follow prescribed treatment regimens, they do nOI guarantee that a patient will act
appropriately. As Gross (1987) Slates, knowing what 10 do and how to do it in no way
in ... ures cooperation" (p. 10). A substantial amount of research (e.g., Cummings, Becker,
Kirscht. & Levin. 1982; Dunbar & Angras, 1980; Kirscht & Rosenstock, 1979; Mazzuca,
1982; Podshadley & Schweikle, 1970; Webb. 1980) has demonstrated that patients who
hecome more knowledgeable are not necessarily more compliant. According to Altman
and King (1986). these noncOirpliant patients who comprehend and concur with the necessity of the medical regimen are often the nonn. rather than the exception, in chronic
disease trcatment and prcvention programs. Montgomcry el al. (1989) stated that chronic.
lifelong diseases such as AIDS necessitate the development of more adequate theoretical
frameworks than those offered by morc traditional models such as the HBM.
Where the belief change approaches fall short is in flot recognizing that in many
situations patients have the appropriate belief structure but are confronted with a number
of obstacles that affect subsequent behavior. Patients who are chronically ill or who are
seeking lifestyle changes often fail to comply because of motivational shortfalls rather

298

Part IV Contexts/or Persuasion

than as a result of misaligned belief st ructure s. These patients visit heahh care professionals on a rcgular basis and arc often asked to comply with complex managcment regime ns.
The adherence rates for such lifelong changes are generally lower than for short-term
medical regime ns. and the se rates decrease dramatically with time (Bloom. Ccrkoney. &
Hart, 1980; Epstein & eluss, 1982).
Although the number of patients aUempting difficult lifestyle chan ges is increasing.
most strategic suggestions to improve chronic conditions and to alter patients' lifesty les are
generalized from studies associated with relatively brief regimens (Klingle. 1993; Turk,
Salovey, & Lin, 1986). This approach is somewhat suspec t because it fail s to recognize the
uniqueness of long-term compliance. Long-term compliance by definition co ntains a time
element that greatly affects the meanings attached to commu nication tran sac tion ~ . individuals' expectations for future interactions (J. K. Burgoon & Lc Poire, 1991 ). and the
acceptability of communicalion respo nses (Le vi nger & Huesman. 1980). Additionally.
situations invol vi ng long-term compliance are more likely to require time for positive consequences to manifest them selves. which decreases a patient's initial moti vation to comply
(Gross, 1987). Grounded in the notion that medical noncompliance is often related to patients' motivational difficulties in adhering to long-term management programs, Klingl e
(1993 , 1996) developed Reinforcement Expectancy Theory (RET) to address how physicians can use verbal and nonverbal compliance-gaining strategies to motivate patients in
initial encounters as well as to increase behavioral persistence. The following sec tiun s examine this theory.

Overview of RET
The logic underlying RET rests on the premise that human behavior is driven by th e need
to gain rewarding stimuli and eliminate aversive stimuli. To address influe nce messages.
RET classifies verbal and nonverbal messages as e ither rewarding. neutral. or aversive
based on the degree to which th ey com municate approval or disappro va l for a patient;
physician approval cues are assumed to be innately rewarding. and phys ician disapproval
cues are assumed to be innately aversive to patients. The theory illustrates how approval
and disapproval messages can shape patients' communication reinforcement expectations
and in turn motivate and guide patients' prese nt and future behaviors (Klin g lc, 1993;
1996).
To articulate the theory fully requires describing the co mpliance-guinin g conceptualization scheme used by RET; explicating RET' s predictions for initial encounters with a
physician; comparing those predictions with those offered by Language Expectancy
Theory (LET), which makes identical predictions but for different reasons; and, finally.
delineating RET's unique predictions for repeated influence attempts by th e physic ian .

Conceptualization of Verbal alld NOllverbal

Physician Illfluence Strategies
Application of reinforcement principles to human illlc ractions must begin by conce ptually
defining compliance-gaining messages based on thei r rei nforci ng properties. Based on the

Chapter 16 Complilll1Cl' Guill/Ill: III Medical COI1It'.\f\

299

notion that humans have a ~trol1g need for approval from other~ (Harre. 1980). RET classifies verbal and nonverbal ~trategies based on thc type of approval cOlllmunicated by the
mcssage (Klingle. 1993). Communication choiccs that signal positivc fcelings towards an
individual or that individual's actions are considered positi\le regard straret;ies. Convcrsely. communication choice~ that indicate negative feeling~ toward an individual andl
or that individual's action' arc labeled "ega/iI'e regard stta/egie.f. Comlllunication choice~
that are ~imple directives orjuMifications are llelllral regard strategies that. used in isolation from other strategies. do not indicate approval or disapproval for an indi\idual andlor
an individual'~ actions.
The RET framework use~ the relational l11e~:-.age approach for categoril.:ing
compliance-gaining messages because of the enorll1l}u:-, importance hUlllan:-. attach to the
relational meanings of messages and to approval cue ... in gcncral (1. Burgoon & Le Poire.
1991). In the health care context. researchers have suggested that a health care provider's
relational message is much morc inlluential than the content of the mes\ugc (Buller &
Buller. 1987: Street & Wiemann. 1987). Although a variety of relational mes\age~ differentiate compliance-gaining strategies (e.g .. 1. Burgoon & Hale. 1987). RET rOCUSe\ on
messages that ~ignal (he degree of approval because approval cues are uniycrsal rcinforcers and arc thus ideal for the applicalion of reinforcement principles.
Conccptualiling compliam;e-gaining strategies based all their reinforcing properties
is consistent with several communication scholars' classifications of innllencc attempts
(Miller. 1983. Roloff & Barnicotl. 1979: M. Burgoon. Parrotl. 1. Burgoon, Coker el al..
1990). Missing from most past conceptualizations are innucnce aile mph that arc neither
rewarding nor punishing and nonverbal intluence strategies. Neutral strategie~ used in isolation during single-episode encounters would be neither reinforcing nor aversive and
would tllll!o. have little motivationailltility. However, a~ discussed later. when used in combination with reinforcing or avcr:-.ive strategie . . , neutral :-.trategies call becomc potential influence attempts because they represent the removal of either a positive or negative state
of atTair:-.,
A second problem with pre\ious compliance-gaining conceptualiwtions is thaI most
measures of inlluence are ba~ed entirely on verbal utterance ..... which Berger ( 1985) states
constnlin researchers to ~tudying "the tip of a very large iceberg" (p. 483). Nonverbal immediacy behaviors serve as comparable communicative indices to the proposed verbal
categorization scheme, because they are associated with the degree of interpersonal
warmth or approval for another. According to Mehrabian (1969), immediacy helul\'hu's
are approach behaviors that signal interest in. involvement with, and affect for another.
Conversely. /wl/immediacy belim'iors signal hostility toward. exclusion of. and a lack of
sensory engagement with another. Numerous nonverbal cues associated with immediacy
have been cited in the literature, the most common being close conversational di\tance.
direct body and facial orientation. positive reinforcers such as smiling and pleasant facial
expressiveness. touching. forward body leaning. and a high degree of eye contact. Opposite behaviors. including scowls. negative facial expressions. and cold vocal tones. communicate Ilonimmediacy (Anderscn, 1985), A substantial amount of rc~carch has shown
that nonimmediacy behavior~ signal disapproval or negative regard and act as aversive
stimulation. whereas immediacy behaviors signal approval or po-.itivc regard (J. K.
Burgoon. Buller. Hale. & deTurk. 1984: Coker & 1. K. Burgoon. 1987).

300

ParI IV Cmuextsfor Persuasioll

Table 16.1 dj~plays somc cxamples of the three types of verbal and nonverbal compliance-gaining strategies used by RET: positive regard. neutral regard, and negative regard. Classifying messages based on the degree to which they communicate approval or
disapproval for the patient allows a number of additional physician influence atlcmpts lO
be generated that are not specifically depicted in the conceptualization scheme. The initial
test of the conceptualization scheme provided empirical evidence that positive, neutral,
and negative regard strategies are differentially evaluated: positive regard strategies used
by physicians show the greatest amount of approval and are rewarding to patients.
wherea!o. negative regard strategies used by physicians ~how the least amount of approval
and arc aversive to patients (Klingle & Burgoon. 1995).

Initia/lnfluence Attempts
Numerous research efforts have attempted to conceptualize and categorize compliancegaining strategies (e.g .. Boster & Stiff. 1984; M. Burgoon. Dillard. Koper. & Doran. 1984;
deTurck. 1985). Such efforts. however. have rarely addressed effective strategy use.
Even rarer are research efforts that have looked at effective strategy use over time. RET
was specifically developed to explain strategy effectiveness in both initial and ongoing
physician-patient encounters.
The predictions advanced by RET for initial physician-patient encounters coincided
with those advanced by Language Expectancy Theory (LET) and were based in part on
some of the basic tenets of LET. As outlined in chapter 9. LET maintains that message
persuasiveness is a function of the receiver's language expectations that are grounded in
sociocultural norms or standards for variolls speakers. According to LET. message acceptance occurs when a speaker engages in a positive violation of expectations (i.c .. uses
strategies that are both appropriate and more desirable than expected); message rejection
occurs when a speaker engages in a negative violation of expectations (i.e .. uses strategies
that are socially inappropriate given what is expected for a certain communicator) (M.
Burgoon. 1990; M. Burgoon & Klingle. 1998).
One characteristic that has been shown to influence receivers' judgments regarding
expected language b the sex of the communicator. Numerous studies have shown that
women are expected to be more emotional. less verbally aggressive. less assertive. more
affiliativc. and 1110re nurturing than men in the way they communicate (Bell. 1981; M.
Burgoon. Dillard. Koper et aI., 1984; Fitzpatrick & Winke. 1979; Weisman & Teitelbaum.
1989). Studies tCSling LET (e.g .. M. Burgoon. Dillard. & Doran. 1984; M. Burgoon.
Dillard, Koper et al.. 1984) have supported the claim that females in ini tial encounters are
most persuasive when using affiliative or non-intense strategies, as opposed to aversive or
intense strategies. On the other hand. males are most persuasive using either affiliative or
aven.,i ve strategies as opposed to neutral strategies. M. Burgoon and colleagues ( 1991 ) put
their theory to the test in the medical encounter and demonstrated that male physicians
were most persuasive using affiliative or aggressive compliance-gaining strategies. as opposed to the neutral expertise strategies that physicians typically use. Female physicians,
on the other hand. were most persuasive using affiliative. compliance-gaining strategies
and least persuasive using neutral expertise strategies, followed by aggressive strategies.
One problem with applying LET to medical compliance is that LET focuses on
single-episode encounters and is unable to adequately address physicians' efforts to gain

Ch~lptcr 16 COlllpliwKt! Gajlljllg

T f\B LE 16. 1

jll

Ml'llic(I/ Cmllt!.\l\

30]

Strategy Defiuitiom; lIlId xllI"ples

Ne utra l Regard Stratcg) Definition: Communication requc~t\ that are "Iimplc dircctive~ or ju,tifications. These \erbal \tratcgie, ... ignal neither approval nor di,ap-

prmal for the patient or the paticnt\, act lOll' ;:U1d would be complemented with
moderate nOll verbal immediacy behavior, (moderate eye contact. no bod) lean. 1;:1t.:'"
of ~l11i l illg and p leasant facial exprc:-.:-.ivenc!o.:-').
7)'1)('.\ ami EtWllples
Dirl'cr RtJ{jJl(Jsr: ReqLle~t' that td l the patient what to do.

"Thc;re arc ~cveral dietary change ... I would like you to ma"'c"
"You need to change your c;:lIing habit,:
}wrijicat;oll Ba'\t!d (HI E.tpe,.ri,\e: Rcquc,t.., ba ... cd on experti ...e or re"'c'lfI.:h.

In my opinion. you ... houldn't put off the te,,"""

'Since re ... earch indicate.., that diet i... "'t!), plca ...c log \\ohat

YOll

cat:'

}u,Hi(icliriol/ BWelloll Palient Condilion: Reljue""" made bcc~lU ...e of the

pa tient ... particular illness.
Seeing a dietitian is the be"t advice' can give for your situation:
'" know from treating ... imilar C~I"'C'" that the 'Ie change" u ... uall) ,ol\c the
prohlcm."

l)ositi H Rega rd Stra tegy Definiti on: Communication reque"'b that arc ",uppol1i\c.
cOI1\":y lIndcr:-.tanding. or stress conct:rn for the p.tticnt. The. . e verbal ... trategic ... "gnal approval of the patient and/or thc patient ... actions and would be complemented
w ith high nOll\erbal immediaC) behavior ... (llirect hody/facial orientation .... miling.
plc'l:-.anl fadal cxpre . . sivencss. forward body Ic,lning, and a high degrcc of eye conIaCI) and al(c rcentrism (vocal warmth/in tercq).
TVjJt!., {lml

Ell/lllph'.\

SlIjJporrinJ Reqllest~: Requc'l" that reinforce. rca ...... ure. complimcnt. or promi ...e

bendit ... for compliance.

You1I feci "10 much bellcr about your..,elfbeeau ...e you1I know you arc
doing what it takes to prc\cnt problcm ... in the future:

1can lell you've been Irying really hard- no\\ ju ... t lake that extra qep ;;lI1d
eliminalc all the food.., we di..,cu.., ...ed."
Validmioll Reql/est.,\: Reqllc ... " that :1cknO\\ Icdgc the difficuhy of the compliance act and ind icate confidence in thc patient following the request.

' 1 know that changing one ... eating Iwbil ... i'l very difficult, but you'rc the
kind of pcr... on who can do il."
" If YOli make these change'l- and I "'now you call----cvcryon~ will be ... o
proud of you because we .. 11 know how diflicult it is:
COllllflOlllllifY

oJGoals: Requc..,,, that ... tre..,,, mutual concern. "ffeet. or

"\,,c"ne,,,.
We both wanl you to get beller .... o p1t:a"c cat right evcry d<1Y:
"Wc both \\ant to find oul what could be l'ausing you to feci ... 0 run down . ..,0
ple,l',e make the appointment to haV'L~ thc tC'lt ... :
(amtlllllf'd)

302

Pan IV

COIllt!.\f.\.for Persuasion

TABLE 16.1

Continued

Negathe Regard Strategy Definition: Communication requeM!o. thal :.mack or critic;/!! the
p:'ltienl'~ pa~l bcha\ior~ or potential future behavior. or reqlle"l~ lhal ;:tttribule primary rc",pom~i
bility to the p:.uient for feeling ill. Thc~c verbal ... tralcgies signal di"';'lpproval for the patient and/or
the patient's action~ and would be complemented with an unplea\tlnt and dominant nonverbal
intcr:.Iction style that included egocenlri~m (backward lean. cold vocal tones. rcduced eye con
tact) and negative feed hack (neutral or negativc facial exprc,>,')iom. an occa~ional direct look).
1\pe.\ amI

EXlIl1If1fl, \

NOII.HlPl'onil 't! Rl' qllt!J/s: Reqlles(~

that ~ugge . . t the ~implicity of the request andlor indic:.Ite

di . . belief in the patient's willillgne ... ~ to m;'lke the change~ .
.. It ... not going to take Ihat much of your time to

~cc

"Jf thi ... i. . diabetes. the ... olution i. . genera ll y quitc

rC~1 of your life wi ... hing you had."

a dietitian:'

~iT11p l e-stick

to your diet or spcnd the

11I1'lI/idalio" R(' quesl.\: Reque~ts that critici/e or :.ttI.lck the patient ... self-concept andlor

indicate di ...appointment in the patient . . previou ... actions.

"You can't keep fooling around \... ilh your dil!t-:.I
nO\\ i~ Ihe time to take charge."
"You have to see by now that

it'~

re~pon!o.ible

ah . . olutely irrational not

10

pcr<:.on would know that

make the

changc~

we

di~cu . . ~ed."

Negatil'e CmHl'qlll'flCt!,\:

negative

Reque,,",s that ",uggc,,", that noncompliant actions will lead to

con~cqucnces.

"Jf you won't follow this advice. you're going 10 continue to feci run dO\\n and
that . . implc:

tired - it'~

"Your irregular eating habits arc bound to make you overeat and gain weight."

ongoing compliance. RET extends LET by applying reinforcement principles. in conjunc

lion wilh LET'~ claim ... regarding gender differences and language acceptabi lity , The application of reinforcement principles allow ... both initial and long term medical adherence

to be addre"ed. RET', predictions regarding effective strategy usage by male, and females in initial encounters are identical to those advanced by LET. The rationale. however, i ... different.
According to RET. strategy effectivcness in a patient's initial encounte r with a phy... ician i~ based on a {u'o-appraisal process in which the patient judges first the appropri
ale"eJS of Ihe illj111eIlCl' messa/{e and then its morinltiOlllll lallle. Corresponding with
LET. if the mc!-.sage is judged inappropriate by the recipient. il will be immedi:Jtcly rejected. Like LET. RET presumes that Illc!o.sage appropriateness in initial encollnter~ i!o. influenced by phY!o.ician ge nde r in such a way that aggressive communication ( i.e .. negative
regard strategies) by females is rejectcd ou tri ght and aggressivc co mmuni cat ion by males
is tolerated. Although acceptable communication is necessary for an influen ce mcssage to
be successful. RET acknowledges that it i... not a sufficien t condition for increasing adherence rates for people who need motivation.

Chapter 16 COlllplillllC' Gaillillg ill Medical COlltexl,~'

303

If the message is judged appropriate by the recipient. RET argues that the reci pient
will next evaluatc it\., reward pOlel1liu/ or 1I/()lil'(lli01w/l'(l/ue (i.c .. the dcgree to which the
message is rewarding or i.!vcr ... ive). Although much of the medical adherence literature has
focused on material rewanJs such as tohens or money (see Chesney. 1984), RET focuses
on the symbolic rewards in (he form of verbal anti nonverbal approval cues (hat were discussed in the previous section on strategy conceplUali7.ation. Messages that are either
aversive (i.e .. negative regartl strategics showing disapproval) or rewarding (i.e .. positive
regard . . trategies showing approval) arc stored in working memory called reil!lorcel1lent
expectatiol1s and guide the patient's future behavior. Significantly. approval cues have
been shown to be more effective than material rcwards in motivating humans (Greenbaum, Turt1(::L Cook, & Melamed, 19(0), and te ... ts of mutual influence models (e.g ..
Andersen. 1985: J. Burgoon & Hale, 1(88) have demonstrated that receivers adjust their
behavior to avoid unpleasant exchanges or to maintain pleasant ones. Thu\, RET's cen tral
claim i\ that human behavior is driven by the need to avoid aversive commun icat ion cncouillers and to maintain rewarding communication encouiller ....
In sum. RET propose~ that during initi::11 intluencc altempts, verbal and nonve rbal
messages fooignaling either approval or disapproval for the patient and/or the patient's actions can be used by the physician to shape a patient',,> reinforcement expectations. These
reinforcement expectations guide the patient's future actions. The :-,trategy chosen by the
physician. however. must be viewed by thc patient as socially appropriate in order for the
patient to pay attention to the influence attempt. Because of sociological norms and the
motivational properties of reinforcement expectation\." male physicians can increase compliance in initial encounters by using either negative or positive regard strategies, whereas
female physician ... can increase compliance in initial cncounters by u. . ing only positive regard strategies (sec figure 16.1).
RET predictions for initial encounters were tested by Klingle and Burgoon (1995)
w. ing a multiple message design in which numerous diffcrcnt medical episodes were put
lO the test using positive, neutral. or negative regard strategies. Thc study supported the
claim that message appropriatenes ... in initial encounters is influenced by the gender of the
physician: negative regard strategie\., were viewed by patients us more appropriate when
(hey were lIsed by male physicians than by female phy . . icians. The study also clearly demonstrated the predicted physician gender by '>trategy type interaction on message persuasiveness. Specifically. in initial encollnter\" patients were lllort! persuaded when the male
physician used positive or negative regard strategies than when he used neutral regard
~trategies. With female physicians, on the other haJ1(\. patient", were most persuaded by
positive regard strategies and lea ... t persuaded hy negative regard stratcgie~.

Seqllelltiallllj1l1ellce Attempts
Patiellt~

who vi.sit health care providers on a regular basi~ have the opportunity to co ntinually ob.serve the reinforcement behavior of the health care provider and formulate more
elaborate reinforcement expectations (Klinglc. 1(93). Although the physician's frequent
use of rewarding positive regard or aversive negative regard qrategies would seem to establish the strongest patient expectancy for future rewarding or avcrsive comlllunication.
the occasional usc of nonrcinforcing exchange\., is needed to develop motivating reinforce-

304

Part IV COlIIl'x1.\ for Per,nw.\i(m

Physician Message:

Message Evaluation
Process:

PhysiCian Uses
Positive Regard

Physician Uses
Neutral Regard

J.

J.

Viewed as
appropriate for
male and female
physicians;
triggers second
appraisal.

Viewed as
appropriate for
male and female
physicians;
triggers second
appraisal.

J.

J.

!Motivated to Keep II

Not Motivating

J.

Physician Uses
Negative Regard

"

Viewed as
appropriate for
male physician;
triggers second
appraisal.

\,
Viewed as
inappropnate for
female phys,cians; message
rejected

J.
I Motivated to Eliminate I

Reinforcement Expectation Developed

Reinforcement
Expectation:

(Patients beheve they will be reinforced for

complYing by genlng a similar rewarding
message or avoiding an aversive one.)

Motivation to Comply:

FIGURE 16.1

MOTIVATION TO COMPLY
FACILITATED BY PH YSICIAN
COMMUNICATION

J
MOTIVATION TO COMPLY
HINDERED BY PHYSICIAN
COMMUNICATION

Reinforcement Expectancy PredicliOiIS for I"itial Physician-Patient Encolllllers

me n! expect<Jlion..,. RET predict~ thut palient ... develop motivating reinfon.:emcnt expcclati o n ... when the physician use ... both rewa rdin g and non-rewarding '\ tral eg i e~. wherca~
nonmotivating reinforcement c'(pectati()n~ are developed whe n the phy~i(:ian use ... on l)
one type of \trategy. The theory indicate.., that repetitive comm unication patterns by the
physician (i.e .. all positive regard Mrategie.." all negative regard strateg i e~. or a ll neutral
regard '\trategies) cause patie nt s to believe that their be ha vior does not and cannot impact
the phys i cian'~ communicati on behavior. Thu~. nonmotivating reinforcement expectations dc\'elop following repealed u~e of one \trategy. becau\e patients begin to expect the
same type of ~trategy re gard l es~ of th e ir behavioral adjustment. Ph ys icia ns who u..,e
nonre petiti ve co mmuni cation patterns (e.g .. the use of posi ti ve regard with negative regard, the use of positive regard with ne utral rega rd , or the use of neutral regard with negative re ga rd ) assist patients in developing motivating re inforcement expectations, or
expec tati ons that the ph ys ic ian 's behavior is a respo nse to the patient 's health-re lated acti ons. Greater motivation to comply and hi gher behavioral maintenance are predic ted to
occur following motivating reinforcement expectations than following nOll moti vating reinforcement expectation s (Klingie. 1996).
Klin gle (1994) found that motivating reinforcement ex pectatio ns following th e
physician's uo;e of nonrepetitive influence ~trategies developed even in case.., where the

Charl~r I() COIII/I/Wlln' (jaillillg ill Medica/ ComeXIJ

phy~ician's

305

use of reinforcement and nonrcinforccmcnt was not actually contingent on the

patient's compliant action and where the ordering of the strategies (e.g .. whether the order
ended \vith a r~\\:1rding or :1\,cr... lvc ... trategy) "ccmcd to be irrelevant. Specifically. in an
initialte ... t of RET. Klingle (199..t) used four "equcntial physician-patient session~ to create
three conceptually different nonrepctitive <.;trategy combinations (positive and neutral regard: pm,iti\'e and negative regard: and negati\'c and neutral regard) and three repetitive
strateg) cOl11hinations (all po"iti\e: all neutral: and all negative). These epi ...odc" were the
... ame epi ... ode ... 1I',cd to test the cllcctivene ... s of ... trategie ... used in the initial. one-shot encounter~ with the phy"ician that wcre.! discussed earlier. The ordering of the strategy COI11hination ... wa ... varied so that some ended with a reinforcing strategy and other... with a
nonreinforcing strategy: none of the strategies was directly tied to the patient's actual
compliance. In all case ... the nonrcpetiti\C~ \tratcgy combinations. regardle\s of order. produced morc motivating reinforccment expectation" and greater patient motivation than did
the repetiti\c communication pattern .... The fact that phY"iician" were able to motivme pallen .... \\.ithout having to determine whether the p<.Hicnt complied is of critical importance
given that phY"iiciam. are not able to Judge accurately the level of patienl compliance
(Norell. 19X1: ROlhert. 19X~).
When RET \\ a~ originally advanced in 19Y4. the a~sumption wa ... made that effee
tl\C strategy combination ... \voulcJ he Inlluenced by ... ociological language norm .... Thu ....
although nonrepctill\e ... tratcgy combll1alJon~ wcrc predicted to produce the most moti\atIng rt!inforccmcnt expectation". fClllale physician ... were not predicled to be effective If
u"ing combination" involying negative regard strategic,,_ RET predictcd that female physician ... would he 1110 ... t persuasive in ongoing exchanges with paticnts if they used combination ... or po"itive.! and ncutral regard ... triltegie .... whcrea ... male physicians would be 1110 ... t
persllCl\i\e lI ... ing any of the Ilonrcpct iti ve "itratcgy combinations (Kl ingle. 199..t: Klingle &
Burgoon. 1995).
An inltialle'l of Ihe Ihcor) (Klingk. 1994: Klingle & Burgoon. 1995) ,howed Ihat.
a" predicted by RET. nonrepetitivc strate.!gy combinations motivated patients to comply
with physician rccomll1endation~ more than repctitive ... trategy combinations did. Howe\'er. the predicted gender differences did not ... celll to extend to establi"hed relmion"hip ....
'Ince both male and female ph) ... icians were equally successful when using each of the
nonrepetitl\c strah:gy combination ... _ The rc"earcllcr.. concluded that established relJtion... hips have the potcntial to o\"crrid~ .. ex-role stercotypes present in initial relation",hip ...
(Khnglc. 199..t: Kltnglc & Burgoon. IYY5). This helief coincide~ with other re ...earcher,,
claims that gctting to knmv a pcr"on cause ......ex-role ... tereotypcs to playa less significant
role and that some di ... sati ... rying comlllunication cxchanges are to be expected by both
... cxt!" ;:" relational familiarit) incrc~I'e.!" (Crockcr. h ... ke. & Taylor. I 98..t: Deaux & Lewis.
19X4: Roloff. I 'IX?),
Although not yet empirically tc ... ted. RET al ...o argues that nonrepctitive communication pallcrns will facilitate behavior per~i ... tence.!. By applying AI1l~ers (1967)[rusfrarirm
/lrl}()fliesi.L RET statcs that individuals who arc exposed to occasional nonreinforcemcnt
becomc conditioned to expcl.:t nunreinforcemcnt in the future. whereas individuals exposed to continual reinforcement ... oon become fru ... trated ",hen the reinforcement is taken
away and quickly re\erllo old hab", (Klinglc. 1993). Klinglc (1996) explained Ihal when
paticnt", occ3 ... iollall) recei\e nonrcwarding stimuli lrom their health care prO\'ider. they

306

Part IV

COIl/n/.\ .fi)r Pen//(nio/l

begin to build up a frustration to lerance for not being rewarded. In reinforccmcnt expc<.:l<.1tion tcrnl''''. patients reali7e that Illedi<.:al adherence will not alway') result in .,ocial prai.,c .
A ... a result. when they enter Ihelr natural environment. \\ohere ... ocial reinforcers mu) \\cll
be infrequcnl. they conti nul.': to adhere to the mcdical recol11l1lendatiom. rather than becoming fru~tratcd by the lack of reinfo rceme nt Ihey get from their friend ... or family.
In sum, RET argues that long-term compliance and behavioral pCP.. i~tence depend
on the development of motivating reinforcement expectation .... which arc formed when ;.1
physiciml u.,e ... a comb inat ion of reinforci ng and nonre inforcing comp li ance- ga inin g mes.,aget-.. These ll10livating reinforcement expectations guide the paticnt' ... future actio ns b)
in still ing in that patient a ... en ... e of hope that adhe rin g 10 long-term health maintenance
wi ll. at ",ollle po int. result in p leasant communicat ion exchange., with the phy ... ician or other., in his or her en\'ironment.

Patiellt Participation: A Compliance-Gaining

Strategy or Just Another Compliallce Problem?
One comp li an<.:e-gaining technique not ye t addres~ed in thi ... chapte r but widel) advo<.:ated
in the ClIITent literature as an cffecti\e tool for enlisting and maintaining patient ad herence
is thc use of active patient participation (e.g .. Ka ... sirer. 19H.1: Kim. Klingle. Sha rkey. ParJ.. .

Sm ith . & Cai. 2000: Steward. 1995: Yo un g & Klingle. 1996). In fact. cu rren t research
elTorts havc nearly abandoned thc Iradilional line of re ... earch on phy!-.ician comp li anccgaining ... trategic ... that \verl.': abundant from the late 1970 ... to the earl) 199(h and h,we
shifted the hurden of compliance to patient ... (Phillips & Jone .... 19(1). arguing that the)
IllU ... t share re ... ponsibility for and in the mcdical deci ... ion-making proce ... s (Bc i!-.ecker &

Bei,cd,er. 1990).
According to Kaplan (1991 J. activc patient participation build ... a ... en ... e of per:-.onal
control over heallh mallcrs and ha ... a po ... iti\e influence 0 11 both p;'Hi e lll com pli ance and
health ... WIlI ... . The logic behind the claim that pUlient participation increa ... es compl iance is
genera ll y based on Festinger:-. (1957) Cognilive Disson<.ll1ce Theory. which staled that
people desire 10 appea r con ... i... tcn t with \\ hat th ey have :-.aid and done . Decade ... ago. per... uu ... ion research documented that acti\c ly constructing argument ... and communicating
one ... intention., in front of others lead ... to greater beha\'ioral change and per ... i... tence than
passive me ...... agc reception (Greenwald & Albert. 1968: Jani ... & King. 1954: Slamed.a &
Gmt'. 1978). Compliance. howc\er. is not th e on ly outCOlll1! en ha nced by active participati on in the medical encounter. The health ... talus of the patient a]..,o improve .... because the
ve ry ac t of participating c reate ... feeling ... of personal control that boo ... t the immune sy ... tem
and ullim<ltely lead to better health outcome ... (Kap lan. 1991). Invohed patient:-. ha\ cabo
been ... ho","n to cope beller \!,Iith a\'er ... ivc re . . ults than l1ol1il1\olved patient"> and arc Ie ......
likely to give in \\he n the act of compliance re.,ults in negative outcome ... (Wagener &

Taylor. 1986).
Patient panicipmion i... indi ... pulah ly an \!\cellcnt tool for facilitaling p;.nient compliance. Unfortunately. the act of patient participation i~ a lot liJ..e the act of medical adherence ihCIf. Specilically. C\'1!11 though patients J..now that acti\e ill\ohement i... in their best

Chapter 16 Compliance Gail/ing in Medica! COl/tex!s

307

interest and tend to prefer lllorC egalitarian interactions (Bcisccker & Beisecker, 1990:
Ende. Kazis, Ash. & Moskowitz. 1989: Kim et al.. 2000: Street & Wiemann. 1987), patient participation rates are alarmingly low (Braddock, Fign, Levinson, Jonsen, &
Pearlman, 1997). Thus, it is important to remember that the physician must first of all be
able to persuade the patient to comply with the request to participate actively in the deci~ion-making proces~. This act in itself involves addressing barriers to patient participation
and using motivational communication style.
Several researchers have advocated the use of patient-centered interviewing to increase patient participation (Levenstein, Brown, Weston, Stewart, McCracken. &
McWhinney. 1989: Marshall. 1993). The physician's goal during patient-centered interviewing is to elicit patients' feelings. thoughts. and expectations through a more openended interviewing style. as opposed to asking traditional, closed-ended questions.
Proponents of this style suggest that it leads to a morc accurate exchange of information,
which results in establishing the right diagnosis and treatment and enables the patient to
advocate actively for his or her choice of treatment regimens. In addition to changing the
physician's interviewing style, the physician may also need to communicate in a manner
that dismantles some of the barriers to patient participation. Several recent studies (e.g.,
Kim et al.. 2000: Young & Klingle. 1996) have looked at barriers to patient participation
in the hopes of improving participation rates and have shown that variables such as selfefficacy (i.e .. patient believes he or she has the skills to participate) and response efficacy
(i.e .. patient believes participating will result in positive outcomes) can have an effect 011
patient participation rates. Thus, many of the theories previously discussed could be applied to address how the physician should communicate to increase patients' willingness
to participate.

Conclusion
Physicians al!empting to alter patient health behaviors must construct influence messages
and argumcnts that attempt to alter patients ' threat, efficacy, and normative beliefs. whi le
at the same time adapting their message style (e.g., using both reinforcing and nonreinforcing messages) to help motivate patients to enact the behaviors that correspond to those
beliefs. Recent research efforts in the communication field have focused on patient participation as a viable tool for enlisting compliance and seem to have left physicianimplcmented inlluence messages by the wayside. Although patient participation is a
proven motivational tool for cnlisting compliance. physicians need to communicate in a
manner that will convince patients La pat1icipatc actively in the exchange of medical information and ideas. Rather than abandoning traditional compliance-gaining approaches, a
comprehensive theory should be devcloped that dictates the message content and style of
the physicians' influence al!empts. These attempts must effectively encourage patient involvement in the mcdical exchange and motivate patients to adhere to mutually agreed
medical regimens. Each of the theories and models reviewed in this chapter serves as a
starting point. Following are spccific recommendations for health care providers who wish
to increase medical adherence:

308

Pan IV Cf)llfl'.llS for Persuasion

~hould develop mes~age~ that encourage patient participation
by indicating that not participating may result in serious health errors that will directly affect the patient. At the same timc. the health care provider must convey hm\
ea~y it i~ to participate in the interaction (i.e., build self-efficacy) and communicate
that patients are expected to participate because participation will help the mcdi<.:al
process (i.e .. build response efficacy).
2. Phy\ician intlucnce messages directed at enlisting adherence to mutually agreed recommendations must make the health outcome appear se rious (i.e .. perceived ~ever
ity) and personall y relevant to the patient (i.e .. perceived susceptibility ). while at the
same time communicati ng lO the patient that he or she can effectively overcome barriers and achieve the benefits (i.e .. efficacy). Unf'0I1unate ly. Illany of the benefib ure
not immediate. Thus. the style of the physician'~ message is of cri tical importance.
3. Normative beliefs influence health care decisions and can be used by the physiciull
to motivate patients. One method of u~ing normative beliefs would be to adapt me!>'sage conte nt to include arguments suggcMing that loved ones want the patient to
engage in appropriate health behaviors. A second method involves considering the
health care provider a~ an important referent group on which patients base their deci\ions. Health care provider~ can alter the Mylc of their communication to mothate
patients. since pmiems are driven by the need to receive social approval from important referents. including their physician. In initial encounte rs. female health care
providers should use verbal and nonverbal mes~ages cOlllmunicali ng thai they approve of the patient and the patient'S action~ by u~ing nonverbal immediacy behavior\ and po~itive regard strategies that involve statements like, ." know you are the
type of person who can follow through with the agreed upon regimen" (i.e .. U'ie
po~itive regard strategies). Male health ca re providers can use similar messages but
a lso have the flexibility to use messages that com municate disapproval for the patient and the patient's inability 10 comply (i.e., use negative regard strategies). Thus,
the male physician cou ld use nonimmedime nonverbal behaviors and stern ly say,
"You have to see that it would be absolutely irrational not to follow through w ith the
agreed regimen." When commu ni cating with patients over time, both male <.Ind
female physicians must vary their language sty le and incorporate a variety of regard
strategies to help motivate patients to stick to the agreed regime n. Physicians shou ld
use nonrepelitive strategy combinations (i.e .. combinations of different regard
strategies) rather than repetitive strategy combinations to keep patients motivuted
and promote behavioral persi\tence.

1. Health care providers

In sum. compliance is facilitated by communication that correct ly modifies a

patient's belief ~ystem and motivates patients to fo ll ow through with actions that are consi'itent with their beliefs. The conten t of the physician's message should include argu ments related to severity. susceptibility. self-efficacy. response efficacy, and normative
beliefs. The sty le of the message must involve more than just reinforcing strat egies and
Illust involve the patient in the decision-making process. Motivation to comply and behavioral persistence are enhanced through patient participation und throu gh the physician's
u-.e of nonrepetitive strategy combinations that inc lude messages of approval and disapproval . A comprehensive approach to medical compliance invol ves a combi nation of care-

Chaptl!r 16 Compliance Gail/illg iI/ Medical Come.\(\

309

fully constructed arguments by a physician that are delivered in a motivational manner

and involve the patient in the decision-making process.

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3] 2

PJrt IV COll/ert.\ for Persuasioll

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Chapter 16 Complillllce Gaini/IK ill Medical COl/texts

313

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3J4

Part IV Contexts/or Persuasion

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Chapter [6 Compliallce GaillillK ill Medical Contexts

315

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17
Social Influence in
Close Relationships
Leslie A. Baxter and Carma L. Bylund

Ke lley and his colleagues ( 1983) have defi ned a re lati onship as close "if the amoun t of
mutu a l impaCI two people have o n eac h other is great or, in o ther words, i f th ere is high
interde pende ncc" (p. 13). In lig ht of thi s de fi niti o n, all of th e co mmuni cative exchanges
between c lose fr ie nds. ro mantic part ners, spo uses, and fam il y me mbe rs could be considered instances of soc ial innuencc or pers uas io n. S uch an a ll -e ncompass ing approach is
certai nl y compatib le with Gas; and Seiter's (2003) s uggcstion that any and all communi c~lI ivc events can be exa mined fo r the ir persuasi ve qu alit ies. However, an ex haus tive review of th e research and th eory surro unding all face ts of commun icHl ion in close
re lati o nships is beyond O Uf scope-a nd o ur page limi t. Ins tead. we are goi ng to foc us
mo re narrowly o n three specific perspect ives o n socia l influe nce between part ies in close
re lati o nships.
The fi rst perspec ti ve is more or less accepted as the c!a,\'sic, o r traditional, approach
in th e socia l sC iCllli fic resea rch literature: A pcrsuader has a goal o f seekin g be hav iora l o r
,Ht itudin al c ha nge in th e part ner (the "target") and strateg icall y deploys a message desig ned to accompl ish the des ired goa l. The focus of attention is o n the persuader's stra teg ic choice of a tacti cal message. This app roach ha ils from many disciplinary t rad iti oll~.
in c ludin g cO llllllunication, marketin g, psychology, and chi ld develo pment. It is generall y
c harac teri zed by q uant itati ve methods in whi ch research subjects arc asked to construct a
:-.in gle strategic message for so me spec ified goa l. o r to choose a strategy amo ng several
cho ices prese nted by the researcher. Thi s perspecti ve has dom inated the study of socia l
innu ence in c lose re latio nships for over th irt y years. and it has prod uced a large bod y o f
resea rc h fi nd ings, By contrast, th e second and third perspec tives di sc ussed in thi s c hapter
arc re lat ivel y rece nt arri va ls o n the social innuence sce ne. We present them as points of
contrast with the traditiona l perspective in o rder to pose alternative understandings o f soc ia l innue nce beyond the domin ant strategies approac h.

317

318

ParI IV COl/texts.for Persulision

The seco nd perspective, one \\c labcl the socialmelll/illg approach, al ... o rOCUSe!; on
a per~uader who has a goal of cha nging thc targct in so me way. However. from the socia lmean in g perspective, the meanin g of th e per ... ua ... ive e nte rprise and it-. exc(;ution are negotiated between th e two partie ... to th e relationship. Ce ntral to thi ... meaning- makin g
perspective are th e identities of the parties and th e rights and obl igat ions thaI gu ide action
in the ir relalion:\hip. From the soc ial- mea ning perspective, th e target is not a passive rec ipient of the persuad er's strat egic message but an active CoCom-MU Clcr of meaning. From
thi s second perspective. then, the foc us of attention is on th e co mmunicative exchange
between pe rsuader and target. This seco nd perspective. rooted in the traditions of anthropology, e thn ography of com muni catio n and conversation analysis. emp hasi zes the qualitative study of the mi cro-details of naturally occurring interaction between persuader and
target.
The third per ... pective. dialogic c()If/II//OliclIIioll. sus pends di,tinct persuader-larget
roles and focuses instead on those co mllluni cative ep i sode~. ca lled dia logic 1110111el1l~, in
whi ch two relationship parties jointly change each o th er wit hout prior inten tion to do so.
The focus of attention is on these occasions of dialogic cO lllllluni(;a ti o n, or ge nuine di alogue, between relation ship parties. This thi rd perspective. with root ~ in dialogism th eory,
feminist theory, and social cons tru ct ioni sm. features qualitative and interp retive methods
of inquiry.

The Traditiollal Perspective

The first sec ti o n of this chapter provides an ove rview of litera turc:: regarding soc ial influence s trat egic~ in two types of close relationship~: intimate rela tion '-lh ips (including friendship and romantic re lation ships) and family re lati o nship s hpousa l and pare nt -c hild
relationships). Examining inlluc nce ~Iratcgies in re lational co nt ex ts is important beca use
"the relationship presc ribes which strat eg ies are proper and usual" (Poppe. va n del' Kloot.
& Valke nbe rg. 1999. p. 456).
We established two guiding parameters for this ~ec ti o n . First. the litera ture included
had to be spec ific to o ne o r more of the types of close relationship, we identified. We
present the lite rature separatel y in eac h re lational co ntex t. although '-lo me , Iud ies ha ve examined how persuasion strat egies vary across different types of int ima te and no nintimate
relationships (e.g .. Buss. 1992: Cody. Mt.:Laughlin. & Schneider. 1981: Dunn & Cowan.
1993: Poppe et al.. 1999). Second. th e idea of a strategy had to be present in the stud y to
be in cl ud ed here . Terms such as "pcr'-luasive strategy," "(;ompliance-gai ning strategy,"
" influence strategy." "control strat egy," "power strategy," and "manipulation tacti c" are
pe rvas ive throughout thi s literature . We ha ve adopted the term persuasive strategy to e ncompass a ll of th ese. We do not. howcver. include the literature on co mpliance res istan ce
(e.g., Abc & Ilard. 1999: Ife rt. 2000: Mem. Cupach. & Imahori. 1992: White. Pea rson. &
Flint. 1989).
In the~c "udies, re~eaJ'chcrs re ly 011 different taxonomie", some developing their
own for a pmticular co ntext. A" noted by Kellerman and Cole (199-1-), different classificati o n sys lem ~ ha ve led to di!'.order and confu~ion. It is difficult to make I.,enl.,e of this Iitera-

Chapter 17 Social h!f7l1ellce ill Close Relariomhips

319

lUre because of thi~ cOl1fu~ion. We do not explain each taxonomy here. I nor do we critique
the various taxonolllie~ u"ed in ~tudying relational persuasion strategies: instead. we at
tempt to describe and explain findings using thelll. We have tried to make the names of
these persuasive strategics clear and to give definitions where possible. although we direct
the reader to the original \tudies for more clarification.

Persuasive Strategies il/ [I/fimate Relatiol/ships

Int imate relationo;hips between friend~ and romantic partner\ have been a we ll-studied
context for persuasive strategies. These are important contexts to consider. because
compliance-gaining effectiveness is related to the intimacy of the persuader and target
(Bo>ler. Rodriguez. Cru/. & Marshall. 1995: Cody et al.. 1981: Guerin. 1995: Mallalieu.
1999: Miller. Bo,tcr. Roloff. & Seibold. 1977: Roloff. Janiszewski. McGrath. Burns. &
Manrai. 198H). HO\vevcr. 1110st of this research has been limited to college-age students
and young adults (see Jones. 1995. for a study on young children's use of persuasive
... tnnegics in frienct\hips). As Kellerman and Cole (1994) pointed out. two guiding foci of
compliancegaining re~earch have been the types of compliance-gaining "Irategies available and the times when those strategies are used. We adopt th~ laller as a consideratio n
for this section and add another: the effectivenes ... of per\ua ... ivc :-.trategies.

COllditiolls of Strategy Use.

Strategy usc has been studied in two ways: the frequency

of strategy use and the type of strategy employed. Condition ... of strategy use have been
opcrationali7ed as characteri~tic ... of the individual persuader or target (including sex.
power. culluml background. and per\onality characterio.;tics). characteristics of the relationship. and type of reque ... !.
Frequency of stratcgy use has received much less research attention than lype of
strategy. In examining frequency of\trategy lise. one study reported that sex alone was not
the best predictor of frequcncy of per\uasive strategy use: however, among females. interpersonal orientation (10) predicted frequency of persuasive strategy lise. with high 10 females using per..,uasivc strntegies more often than 10w 10 females (Cataldi & Reardon.
19%).
The linding~ on sex as a predictor of type of strategy use are mixed. In one study,
some sex differences were correlated with type of strategy use. but none was consistent
across four conditions (e.g .. se lfreport and other report in two conditions each) (Buss,
Game .... Higgins. & Lauterbach. 1987). The sex of the persuader was not shown to be a
predictor of u\ing indirect or direct ... trategies (Steil & Hillman. 1993) with American, Korean. or Japanese college ... tudents. In heterosexual romantic couples, however, men were
marc likely than women to report using bilateral and direct strategies (Fa lbo & Peplau,
1980). Additionally. in the context of ,-;exual inllucnce strategies, males have been found
to be more liJ..ely than females to u... e pressure or manipulation as a persuasive strategy
(Chri' toph cr & Frand,en. 1990).
The relative power of the persuader ha~ also been linked to the type of st rategy used.
Those with more power in the relation"hip have reported a greater like lihood of using bi
lateral and direct strategies when compared to those with les~ power (Falbo & PepJau.
19RO). In a ~tudy on married heterosexual couples and cohabiting homosexual couples,

320

Part IV COflleXIJ!Or Per.HW.lirm

having a position of weakness in the relationship was shown to be ast-.ociatcd with the use
of weak persuasive strategies (e.g .. manipulation). while a position of strength in the relationship was associated with the use of strong persuasive strategies (e.g., bullying)
(Howard et aI., 1986). In a study of two t-.pecific genres of persuasive strategies. synthetic
benevolence (e.g .. flattery) and synthetic malevolence (e.g .. threat), participants reported
being more likely to direct synthetic benevolence at more powerful targets and synthetic
malevolence at less powerful targcts (Fung. Kipnis. & Rot-.now. 1987).
Another way of examining power in intillli1te re1Jtiont-.hips is to look at the number
of people the persuader is trying to persuade. In the friendship relationship, assertiveness
and exchange strategies have becn shown to be used more in relationships where the
power was balanced (OIlC person influencing one friend). whereas coalition and upward
appeal strategies were used more in situations in which power was not balanced (one person trying to persuade three people) (Mallaheu & Faure, 1998). Miller (1982) found that
the power of the target correlated positively with the probability of the lise of five of
Marwell and Schmitt's (1967) strategies: debt, moral appeal. self-feeling. altercasting
(positive) and altercasting (negative). We will return to the issue of power when we discuss facework in the next section.
Cullural background also appeart-. to playa role in predicting strategy use. Korean
and Japanese students report using less confrontational strategies than American students
(Steil & Hillman. 1993). Further. Japane:-.e women are more likely to use strong persuasive strategies (e.g .. bullying) with their male friends than are American women, who
more frequently use weak strategies (e.g., manipulation) with male friends (Dunn &
Cowan, 1993). In this study, no difference was found among female friends.
Buss and colleagues (1987) also reported some association between personality
characteristics and persuasive strategies. For example. participants who rated high on neuroticism were more likely to usc regression (e.g., pouting or sulking until the partner complies) and the silent treatment than were those who rated low. FUI1hcr, they also reported
that the type of persuasive strategy used varied according to whether a target was trying to
elicit behavior or terminate a behavior. Specifically. charm was used more frequently to
elicit behavior. whereas silent treatment and coercion were used morc frequently to tcrminate behavior.
Rescarchert-. have also examined characteristics of the relationship as predictors of
strategy use. In looking at those in satisfied versus dissatisfied relationships, Bui, Raven,
& Schwarzwald (1994) found that both men and women reponed that men were likely to
lise strong or controlling tactics (such as coercion or obligation) in dissatisfying rather
than in satisfying relationships. Women reported an equally low likclihood of using strong
tactics in either satisfying or dissatisfying relationships. Romantic couples whom interviewers judged to be less similar and less well matched were more likely to usc the silent
treatment, debasement. and reason as persuasive strategies than were those couples judged
to be more similar and better matched (Buss et al.. 1987).

Effectiveness of Strategy Type.

The effectiveness of persuasive strategies has not received much attention in the literature. although a few studies have examined this topic.
One study reported that direct requests are more effective than indirect requests at gaining
verbal compliance when combined with high levels of relational intimacy (Jordan &

Chapter 17 Social Illfluence ill Close Refar;OIuhips

321

Roloff. 1990). Funher, the persuasive strategies of pregiving and direct request have been
shown, among friends, not to differ in effectiveness (Boster et aI., 1995).
The examination of persuasive appeals regarding condom use has shown effective
persuasive strategies to be appeals to caring, pleasure. and responsibility, although in one
study three other strategies (heallh, threat. and fear) were effective but less well liked
(Sheer, 1995). Additionally, the strategics of pleasure. fear, threat. and heallh were more
effective with high- than with low-sensation seekers. Males and high-sensation seekers
raled pleasure strategies as most appealing while low-sensation seekers and females rated
caring and responsibility as most appealing (Sheer, 1995). Another study demonstrated
that males' ratings of nine appeals for using a condom showed a strategy's persuasiveness
and the likelihood of lise from that strategy to be consistent. Females, however, did not
rate these consistently. Although this study found only little resistance 10 condom use,
bOlh males and females preferred strategies that focused on health concerns (Edgar,
FreimUlh. Hammond. McDonald, & Fink, 1992).
Researchers have also investigated premarital sexual influence strategies. Using the
Sexual Influence Tactics Scale, which they created for this research. Christopher and
Frandsen (1990) determined the existence of four general influence strategies in this type
of contex!: (I) antisocial acts, (2) pressure and manipulation, (3) emotional and physical
closeness, and (4) logic and reason. The latter two were the only ones related to sexual
behavior: emotional and physical closeness positively. and logic and reason negatively.
Although social influence occurs frequently in friendships and romantic relationships, opportunities also abound for social innuence between different family members.

Persuasive Strategies ill Families

Family Systems Theory explains that families are both made up of subsystems and nested
in higher-order systems (Galvin & Brommel, 2000). The literature has focused on persuasive strategies in two of these subsystems: spouse-spouse and parent-child. We use these
two sub!-,ystems as our organizing framework for this section. However, we do not focus
on research examining influence strategies used in families with a history of violence
(Frieze & McHugh, 1992; Oldershaw, Wallers, & Hall, 1986).

Spousal.

The interdependence of spouses' behaviors and lives makes the marital relationship a rich context in which to examine social influence (Witteman & Fitpatrick.
1986).' Merging Kellerman and Cole's (1994) considerations and our organizational
schema in the previous section. we examine the types of persuasive strategies that are
used, explore how characteristics of the persuader and of the relationship affect the use of
strategies, and determine which strategies are most effective.

Types of Persuasive Strategies.

A basic consideration is what types of persuasive strategies spouses use. One approach to this has been to test developed taxonomies on married
couples. For example, marital partners rated 12 of 16 compliance-gaining strategies
(Marwell & Schmill. 1967) as more likely to be used when trying to influence a spouse
rather than a stranger; threat was the only strategy raled as more likely to be used with a

322

Part IV

COl/ln/.lfo/" PNI//ll.li/1J/

stranger than i.I -;rouse (Sil1ars. 1980). Additionally. in a ... tudy examining only dual career
couples. <.;POll-;L''1 reported u<.;ing more direct ... tfategies than indirect strategies \vhcn using
Falbo and Pcplau' . . (10XO) di-;llnction ... betv,.een the:-.e '1lrateg) lypc-; (Steil & Weltman.
1992). U'ling cultural COlhcnSLIS modeling. and based {Ul an a priori sel ofper,ua ... ive strategic ..... Mexican immigr;..I11l men and Vd.JJllCn \\cJ"e <.;hO\I,.n to h,l\e a ... hared belief sy ... tel11
about the type ... of per ... ua ... ive strategic<.; hoth <.;cxe'" usc \I.. ith their "'pou<.;es or pmtncn.
(Beckman. Harvey. Satre. & Walker. 1999).
A second approach invohc'l u'ling indlKt!\C h:::chniqUj....... to create taxonomic ... of pcrsuasi\"c :-.tratcgie...... perifie to the spou ... al context. Re . . earch extll1lining spollsal per'-iui.lsive
strategics u<.;ed in the context of joint purrha ... ing deci ... ion ... re ... ulted in a taxonolll) of IX
persua-;i\e strah:gie,. \\ ith bargaining and reason con . . i-;tcntly rcported to be the most fre quently used qralcgic~ (Kirehlcr, 1990, 1993). Ncv. 'lO n <.Ind Burgoon (1990) used previou ...
research and literature to create a categorical -;y"'cm for \erbal influence tacti(~ used by
~pou~e.., or partners in rc . . ol\ing di..,agrecment .... rinall). Tucker and Mueller (2000) dc\ eloped a taxonomy of ... trategie . . Lhcd by hu . . band ... and wive . . to modify thcir spou~cs' health
beha\ ior:-.: tho-;e mo~t u . . cd ,",crc engaging in health behm ior together. cngaging in facilitati\"e bchm ior. di . . cll ...... ing the health i...... uc \\ith the ... pou . . e, alld rcque~tillg that the partner
engage in the health behavior.

DaTering Uses (~r Pers//(/sil"t' .)frlllegi(!\. A . . ('cond an.!a III thi.., literature invc~tigale~ differing u... e ... of per. . ua . . i\c ... trategic ... b) indi\ idual characlcri ... tie ... of the . . pou ... e . . and by
Chi.lractcri\tic\ of the ... pOu~C\ a-; a marital couple.
Many rc ... earchcr ... have exaillined \\ hethe!" men and wOlllcn use different types of
... trategie\. For the J110~t parI. ... e\ doc ... not . . cem to be a ... trong predictor of the type
~tratcgy u ... cd. v. ith a 11..'\\ C\CcptIOll\ (Aida & I. .albo, IlJl) I: Beckman el a!.. 19l)9: Bu ... :-..
1992: Dillard & Fitzpatrick. IlJXS; Sagre ... tano. Chri'>lcn ... cn. & Heavey. 199~L Tucker &
Mueller. :WOO: Z\onk(l\ic. Schmicge. & Hall. 19l)..1-: \CC Kirchler. 1993. for a de ... cription
of hu\bands' and wive": differellt u... e ... of per... Lw ... ive ... tr~lIcgie ... in purcha ... ing dcci:-.iOlh).
A ... an alternative to ... c'<. as thl..' predictor of type of pcr ... ua ... ive ... trategy use. S;Jgre~tallo.
Chri:-.ten ...cn. and He,l\ey (199X) dellHHl\trated that il i-; actually the . . ocial role of the
spouse in thc cOIl\er\<.Itioll (which spou:-.c i. . sce~ing change) that predicts the type of per... ua:-.ive . . tn.ltcgy u<.;cd. Other individual characteristic ... that ha\e been found to relate to
type of ... trategy u\ed Include 10\\ confidence and \\i\(~-;' Ilurtllntnce (Steil & Weltman.
1992) a~ well as wivc,,' masculinity (SI..''<.ton & Perlman. 1981)). In addition. BlI ... :-' ( 1992 )
dClllon ... trated that the Big Fi\"c pcrsonallty f~\(.:tor ... (Surgency. Agreeableness. COJl\cicnliousnes . . , Emotional Stabilit). and Intcl1cct-Opennes:-.) related to choice:-. of \pou~al persuasive :-.trategic .... Finally. 1\\0 ... tudie:-. have dCll1on<.;lratr..'d that husbamb' and wives'
frequency of u... ing per-;u,hi\e ... Irategir..' . . arc correlated (Dillard & Fit7patrick. 1985: SexIon & Periman. 19!:l9). Specifically. in looking at pcr ... uu\i\e :-.trategics regarding health
behm ior .... wive . . havr..' not been -;hown to u... e the<.;e more freljuciltly tiwil hu ... banJs (although the sample \Va ... relati\{~I) young) (Tucker & Ander.... 20(1).
Fitlpatriek . . three couple type-; have bl..'cn a ... sociatcd with variou ... type:-. of perslIa~ive ~trategies in "'poLl ... al influence (Witteman & Fit/patrick. 19!:l6). FirM. Traditional
couples (high on traditional ideology and ... haring ,md hm on conflict avoidance) rely on
messages about po ... itive or ncgatlvc outCOI11C<.; of the dcebioJ1. Separate cOllplc'-I (h igh 011

or

Chapter 17 Sociallllj7I1('11Ct' ill Close Relatio1/ships

323

traditional ideology and contlict avoidance and Iowan sharing) use constri1ll11ng mes'"ges. The third type. Independent couple, (low on traditional ideology and contlict
avoidance and high on sharing) use a variety of me~sages, relying all more power bases
than the mher couple types do. In purchasing decisions, the choice of persuasive Mrategy
is affected by the type of connict. relationship characteristics (marital satisfaction, power
pattern,. and duration of the relation,hip). and gender (Kirchler. 1993).
Researchers have also been interested in how the employment status of spouses affects relational persuasion. One study found that career orientation (whether just the husband or both spouses work) did not predict the types of ' trategies used and that perceived
equity did not correlate with uses of means control or credibility influence strategies by
either single- or dual -ca reer couples (Sexton & Perlman. 1989). However. results about
which type of career-oriented couple uses more persuasive Mratcgies overall seem to be
mixed. Although Sexton and Perlman (1989) found that dual-career spouses use persuasive strategies more often than single-career spouses. Aida and Falbo (199)) found the
opposite: equal partners (those who report it is both spouses' duty to provide income for
the family) use fewer overall sirategies than traditional partners (those who repon it is the
husband's duty 10 provide income for the family).
The literature reports a consistently negative relation ~ hip between marital satisfaclion and use of indirect persuasive strategies. One study reported that more satisfied
s pouse~ were less likely to use indirect strategies than dissati~lied ~po u ses (Aida & Falbo,
1991). and a second ~tudy reported Ihal dissatisfied spouses more frequently lIsed emotional influence. which the authors deemed to be the most indirec t ~ trategy in their study
(Zvonkovic et al.. 1994).
EJjectil'elles.'I (~lPersu{lsi\'e Strategies. Only a few ~ tudie!o, have examined which types of
persuasive strategies used by ~pouses are morc or less effective, Generally, spouses who
gain compliance rely more on messages focused on the activity that is being requested
rather than on power or control in the relationship. They also rely on direct statements,
direct reque sts. and question, (Witteman & Fitzpatrick, 1986). Additionally, prosocial
strategies such as content va lidation (e.g .. agreement. explanation, problem solving) and
other-support (strategies confirming or reinforcing the relationship or the other) are effective in gaining a partner' s compliance. although there are some variations by sex (Newton
& Burgoon. 1990). Direct requests of wive, by husbands (Dillard & Fitzpatrick, 1985)
have also been found to be effective.
Different Iypes of emotional di sclosures as part of a persuasive strategy have not
been found to influence the objective effectiveness of requests (i.e., whether or not the
..,pous.e complies). However. these types of e motional disclosures do affect the subjective
effectiveness of requests (i.c" the spou se's respon se to the compliance request, the
spouse's attilude toward his or her spouse, the spouse's attitude toward compliance, and
the spouse's attitude IOward se ll) (Shimanoff. 1987).
Finally. the effectivencss of persuasive strategies for spouses' control of health behaviors has also been examined (Tucker & Mueller, 2000). Some strategies seem to be
more effective than others for both husbands and wives. including e ngaging in the health
behaviors with a spouse, having a spouse engage in facilitative behavior. and having a
spouse provide emotional support.

324

ParI IV COII/nf,\.for Persuasion

Parelll~Child.

The inherent imbalance of control between parent and child make!; thil.,
familial ~ub~)~tem interesting to examine. though it is significantly different from ~p()lI ... al
influence. The development of the chi ld through the stage ... of infancy. todd ler. sc hoo l age.
and adolesccnce brings different con,;"idcrmiono; to bear in cX<Hnining persuasive \trategies.
Hcre \\c examine the t\\'o periods in a child' I., life that havc received the most atten ti on in
the literature: preschool and adolescence. We present an overview of literature that looks
both at the perl.,lIa~ive strategie~ parentI., ul.,e on their children and at those that children UI.,C
on thcir parents.

l're.\c!tool. The majority of thc literuture on the persuasive qrategie~ parent,;" use with
preschool children is based on observing or recording playtime interact ions bctwee n a parent and child. Rcsearch indicates thai in play situations. parents use a majority of directives (telling the child what to do) rathcr than prohibitory statements (te llin g the child
what not to do) in trying to get thcir chi ldren to comply. Parents also tend to usc more
action control ... (trying to influence the child's immediate physical behavior) than attention
wnl<ol, (trying to modif) the child', perceptual "cti"ity) (McLaughlin. 1983).
The ...ex of the parent and the sex of the child seem to have no effect on the number
of rcrsua . . ive ;"trategies used with children in play situations (McLaughlin . 1983). However, with oldcr children fathers u~e more imperative ... than mothers do (McLaughlin.
1983). In play ... itu3tiom. the IOtal number of persuasive strategies used wa.., indirectly as:-.ociated with the child ... age (McLaughlin. 1983). Additionally. American mother~ u..,ed
more directive strategies than did Japane ...e mother~ during a mother-play interaction (Abe
& liard. 1999).
In aile I.,ludy. mother... who interacted with their chi ldre n in a "responsive mother"
manner. by encouraging the children to direct the interaction. received more compliance
from their children than mothers who intcracted w ith their ch ildren in a normal manner
(where matern,,1 compliancc with the child was not emphasized) (Parpal & Macoby.
1985). A subsequent two-part study confirmed that positive mood was the mediating variahle in thi ... relationship. That i .... children participating in responsive play had more positi\c mood ... than children particip.Hing in normal play. and children induced with positive
moods were morc likely to comply than their counterparts induced with negative moods
(La). Water;. & Park. 1989). Also in play situations. child compliance was higher with

attentioll-perl.,lIasive

s(rategie~

than with

actioll-per~lIa~ive

strategies (McLaughlin. 1983)

and with strategically timed per~uasi\'c strategies that attended to the child'~ current toy
involvement (Schaeffer & Crook. 1980). Although the compliance of the child was not
dependent on the se>.. of the parent or the sex of the child. the effectivene..,s of strategie~
did vary b) the child's age (McLaughlin. 1983).
In a crol.,s-cultllral study. American mothers had more sliccess in getting their children to comply in picking up tOY1- during pl:.lY than Japancse mothers did. when both sets of
mothers gave direct command .... Perhaps thi ... is because America n mOl hers are more lik ely
10 usc their authority and give direc t comm;'lI1d .... so America n chi ld ren arc more accu~
tomed to this (Ahe & Izard. 1999). However. during mother-child playtime. directiveness
stra tegies did not predict compliance in either the American or Japan ese mother-child
dyads (Abe & liard. 1999).

Chapter 17 Socitlllllj1l1el1ce ill Close Relariol1ships

325

Ado/esceJIIs. The study of persuasion strategies used by parents on their adolescent children and vice versa relies on self-report data, a notable methodological difference from the
studies with preschool children. Early research on parental persuasive strategies used with
adolescents conceptualized these strategies into three categories: coercion. induction (obtaining voluntary compliance), and love withdrawal (deTurck & Miller, 1983). Subsequent research has shown more variance in the persuasive strategies that adolescents
perceived parents using. Perceptions of strategy have been shown to be associated with
adolescent gender, age, parental gender, and context (deTurck & Miller. 1983). while adolescents' reported strategy use with mothers has been associated with adolescent gender
(Cowan & Avants. 1988). There is also some evidence that adolescents' use of persuasive
strategies that anticipate noncompliance correlate with their mothers' use of these strategies (Cowan & Avants. 1988).
Effective strategies for gaining adolescent compliance include. for mothers, frequent maternal praise and moderate levels of attempted control: for fathers, they include
moderate or high levels of attempted control. For both parents. the use of command techniques positively correlates with adolescent compliance (Smith. 1983).
One body of literature examined the consumer socialilation of children (see John,
1999, for a review). including adolescents' lise of persuasive strategies on their parents
during consumer decision making. Unlike younger children (aged 3 to II). who tend just
{Q ask for products (Isler, Popper, & Ward. 1987). adolescents use a more varied range of
persuasive strategies. A typology of adolescent persuasive strategies used to influence
consumer decisions and parental response strategies was recently developed by Palan and
Wilkes (1997), This typology includes seven types of strategies used by parents and/or
adolescents. Reasoning. a substrategy of the bargaining type of strategy. was the most effective adolescent persuu!->ive strategy named by adolescents. mothers, and fathers.
The traditional perspective has produced a sizable body of research literature for
friendship. romantic. spousal. and parent-child relationships. Strategy use. particularly the
type of strategy employed by the persuader, has recei\-ed more research attention than
strategy effectiveness. Efforts to identify patterns in findings across swdies are hampered
by the lack of a common strategy taxonomy.

The Social-Meaning Perspective

Two primary social-meaning approaches can be identified in existing literature: the
illcrel1lenta/~i11lerac(ive approach articulated by Sanders and Fitch (200 I) and the face~
work approach grounded in theorizing by Goffman (1967) and by Brown and Levinson
(1987). Although these two approaches are different in ways discussed below, they share a
common assumption: that all interaction, including social influence, is a socia/undertaking, by which we mean that the parties' actions are guided by rules of appropriate conduct
and hold implications for their identities and the nature of their relationship.
Sanders and Fitch (200 I) have argued that social influence is of necessity an incre~
mental and interactive activity in which the parties jointly negotiate the social meaning of
solicitation (e.g .. requesting, compliance seeking) and response (target compliance or

326

Pan IV C()flleXI.~ for Persllasiofl

resistance). Per. . uader and target engage in a subtle and complex interactional "dance" in
which they jointly determine whether a persuasive attempt is necessary and allowable,
how solicitations are interpreted as influence attempts rather than alternative things we
can do with words, whether and how the persuader's inducements to change are appropriate and sufficient. how responses are interpreted as acts of compliance or resistance, the
appropriateness of the target's responses, and the implications of the solicitation and response for the parties' identities and their relationship.
Some research from the traditional perspective has examined sequential influence
attempts by the persuader when the target initially resists compliance (e,g,. deTurek, 1985;
Lim, 1990b; Wilson, Cruz, Marshall. & Rao. 1993). However, several crucial differences can be identified between this body of work and the incremental-interactive
approach.
By way of discussing these differences, we'll work from a concrete example that
fortuitously occurred between one of us and her six-year-old daughter as this chapter was
being written. The conversation was prompted by the daughter's placement of her chair
about six inches in front of the television screen, blocking others' view of the image:
Mother: "That suunds like an interesting television program you're
watching. What is it?"
2

Daughter; "1 dun no,"

Mother: 'Td like to \\'atch it too."

Daughter: "With me? OK I"

Mother: "It would be a lot easier for me to see the TV if your chair
wasn't blocking the screen."

Daughter: "Let's both move to the couch to watch."

Mother: "Please move your chair back away from the screen so we can
both see the program from the couch. Remember, nobody can see
through the back of a chair. It's important to be "I Care" and think of
others when you act."

Daughter: "OK," [chair is moved backJ

This conversation features a particular kind of speech act known as a directive (Searle,
I 976}- an utterance attempting to get someone to do something they otherwise would not
do. The mother initially expresses the directive indirectly through hinting, first in utterance 1, then again in utterance 3, and yet again in utterance 5. In utterance 7, the directive
has been expressed explicitly. along with reasons for the request.
The traditional research on sequential influence attempts presupposes thaI successive attempts are necessary because of target resistance; that is, the persuader-target exchange is framed as an adversarial one. However. our illustrative conversation does not
appear to be characterized by target resistance. Although close-relationship parties can be
engaged in an adversarial battle in which the persuader seeks to overcome target resis-

Chapter 17 Socia/I"fluence ifl Close Relationships

327

tance. particularly in time, of connict. Sanders and Fitch (2001) have argued that everyday soc ial innuence in close relationships is far more likely to be characterized by a spirit
of cooperation and agreeableness in which both parties arc motivated to accommodate the
needs of each other. A similar point has been made by Roloff and his colleagues (1988). [n
our example, the daughtcr does not resist the mother's request; she simply fails to understano the indirect directives of utterances I and 3, hearing them instead as an invitation to
do something together. Although she does not take the hinted action of utterance 5, she
responds in ulteran ce 6 with a cooperative and agreeable solution to her mother's viewing
difficulty-mov ing to a different location-a solution that also advances the child's social
goal of doing so mething together. The mothers explicit directive of utterance 7 has acco mmodated to the child's desire to sit together on the couch. The child's utterance 8 acco mmodatel-. to the rcquel-.t to move the chair.
Whe reas the traditional approach views sequ ential attempts as necessary only under
co nditions of target rc si!o.ta nce. the incremental -interactive approach presumes that all social influence is of necessity an unfolding dynamic that is enacted across multiple utterunces between the persuader and the target. Sanders and Fitch (200 I) have advanced two
theoretical real-.o ns why soc ial influence is an incremental and interactive process.
The first reaso n, developed by Sanders (1987,1997), is that a given utterance is under~tandable only as pan of the larger interaction stream of preceding and subsequent utterances. Put s imply, utteran ces do not derive their meaning in isolation. Interacting
parties are busily engaged in the business of nego tiating what utterances mean in, and
through. th ei r !o. uccessive utterances. For example, when the mother's utterances I and 3
are linked together, they can be heard as a desire to see as well as hear the television.
However. it i ~ clear from the daughter's utterance 4 that the child hears this utterance
st ream differe ntly-as an invitation to a joint viewing of television . In short, meaning
emerges out of the "dance" between utterances. Whether and how an influence attempt is
hea rd unfold ~ ~I CroSS the interaction. The meaning of the target's response similarly un
fo lds as persuader and target interact. Thus, the daughter' s utterance 6 can be heard as a
mcre continuation of her agenda to achieve a joint viewing event, but it can also be heard
as an attempt to respond cooperatively to her mother's viewing plight, as expressed in
utterance 5.
The seco nd theoreti cal reason social influence must of necessity be incremental and
interactive is grounded in Fitch's (1994. 1998. in press) work in the cultural premises of
persuasion . "Culture" refers to the premises about personhood, relationships, and communi cation that arc shared by a community. whether that community is a society, a social
network. a family. or a couple. Relationship parties are embedded in larger cultural systems and si multaneously construct their own unique culture of two, or dyadic culture
(B<ixter, 1987). For example. middle-class white Americans conduct their relationships in
a socie tal c ulture that val ues individualism, and this premise serves as a backdrop against
which people negotiate issues of autonomy and privacy as they relate. At the same time,
eac h relationship pair has developed its own unique system of meanings that guides its
action. for example, the ci rcumstances in which privacy invasions are tolerated.
Cultural premises guide the process of social influence in three respects: the range
of what people may appropriately be persuaded. the symbolic resources available to
persuaders, and determinin g the pragmatic rules by which appropriate persuasion may be

328

Pan IV COnfeXl,<ijor Persuasiun

enacted. The range of actions and beliefo;; about which people may be persuaded con~titutc
whal Filch (in press) calls persuadable". Each culiUTe has a bandwidlh of acceplable
persuadables. bounded on one end of the continuul11 with actions and beliefs that are so
ingrained into the social world that they require no persuasion. and on the other with actions and beliefs that are persuasion "taboos:' Through their interaction, pers.uader and
target negotiate whether the solicitation is legitimi7ed as a persuadable. The righh and
obligations of the parties that characteriL.e their relationship are obviously important in
defining whether a given solicitation b a persuadable. In the context of our 1110therdaughter example. it is acceptable in the societal culture and in this dyad's culture for the
parental figure to make this specitic request. However, we can well imagine several other
kinds of encounters in which the child might challenge the parent's right to inlluence. particularly as the child reaches adolescence-for example. clothing preferences, friend~hip
choices. and so on. In any social-inllucnce interaction, the persuader and the target negotiate whether the request will be understood as a persuadable.
Cultural premises also provide a backdrop of symbolic resources available to persuader and target as they negotiate a social-innuence encounter. For example, in utterance
8 above. the mother invokes the symbolic resource of "1 Care." a program at the daughter's school in which children are encouraged to be thoughtful of others. Through their
interaction. persuader and target jointly detennine which of these symbolic resources will
hold currency. This is not necessarily an ea,y task, as competing cultural prcmiscf.. can be
introduced. In our mother-daughter exchange. for example. the child could have introduced individualism and her right to "do her own thing" but chose not to do so.
Last. cultural premises guide the pragmatic enactment of a social influcnce
attempt- for example. rules of turn taking. listening to the other's position, and so forth.
In our example. the mother and daughter operate on the prcmise that it is important to give
reasons to accompany requests rather than simply ordering commands based on authority.
Fitch (in press) argues that face work is one important aspect that guides the pragmatic
enactment of a social-inlluence encounter.
The facework approach presupposes that social-inlluellce attempts are socially
meaningful in that the parties' images or identities are at stake-what Goffmall (1967)
referred to a~ "face:' Brown and Levinson', (1987) Politeness Theory has been the most
influential theoretical framework in understanding the implications of a persuader'f.. re quest on the target's face. although several of its claims have been 1110dified by two decades of research aClivilY. Much of Ihis research has employed quamilalive melhods in Ihe
strategies tradition. although Brown and Levinson grounded their theory in the microdetails of naturally occurring talk between interactants.
Brown and Levinson (1987) identified two kinds of face. Negative/ace is the desire
to maintain one's own autonomy, that is. not having one's privacy invaded. one's resources spent, and one's actions constrained. Positi\'e face is the desire to have one's attributes and actions approved of by significant others. Subsequent research has subdivided
positive face into two components: fellowship face. the desire to be liked and included by
others; and competence face. the desire to have one's abilities and actions respected and
valued (Lim, I 990a; Lim & Bowers. 1991).
According La Brown and Levinson (1987). directives intrinsically threaten a target's
negative face because an attempt is being made to constrain his or her actions in some

Chapter 17 Sncia/IIlj7l1ellC(' ill C/me Re/atlOllSltip5

329

way. However, not all directives are equally face-threatening , Brown and Levin ... on argued
that the amount of face threat created by a directive i... a function of three variables: relational distance (the more distant the partie!o., the greater the face threat 10 the target): power
(the greater the power of the target relative to the per... uader. the greater the face threat);
and the culturally defined ranking of how much imposition i ... implicated in the directive
(e.g .. a requc\t to borrow $1 00 i~ widely accepted 3\ a greater imposition than a request to
borrow $5). The reque" by the mother in our example would thus be regarded by Brown
and Levin~on a\ relatively low in it\ face threat to the daughter: Their relation~hip i~ close,
the child hl!\ le ... s power than the mother. and a request to move a chair is not widely regarded as involving much imposition.
Brown and Levinson (1987) articulated a hierarchy of five slrategie~ available {Q
persuader\ who face the prospect of threatening the target'\ face. The lowest-level strategy i... to make the reque~( directly without any effort~ to ma ...... age (he target's face through
politenes\ c!Torts. Second. they could express the reque ... t directly with redressive actions
intended to enhance the target'i\ positive face- for example. assurances that the target is
liked and appreciated. Third. they could express the reque,t directly with redre"ive actions intended 10 enhance the target' ... negative face- for example, an apology for making
an imposition. Fourth. they could decide to exprc ... s the request indirectly rather than directly. affording the target freedom to hear the utterance as a directive or not. Fifth, at the
highest level of the hierarchy. they could decide not to . . eek change in the target. backing
off from the face-threatening directive. According to Brown and Levinson. persuaders decide to use higher-level strategies in proportion to the amount of face threat implicated in
the directive.
Two decade ... of politeness research suggest six primary moditications or extension~
to Brown and Levinson's (1987) Politeness Theory. First. a number of ...cholars have argued that face threat is not a unidimen ... ional phenomenon: instead. it i., important to take
into account qualitative differences in the type of face that i.., threatened (Craig, Tracy,
Spi,a~. 1986: Leighty & Applegate. 199 I: Lim & Bower<. 1991). Fellowship. competence. and autonomy face need ... are qualitatively diMine!. and a given directive could
threaten these ~ind, of face to different degrees.
Second. and relatedly. inOuence acts are not all alike with respect to their face-threat
implications. For example, Wilson and his colleagues (Wilson, Aleman. & Leatham.
1998: Wil,,,n & Kunkel. 2000) have compared three different kinds of influence
attempts-giving advice. requesting a favor. and enforcing an obligation-and have found
that po~itive face threat and negative face threat vary acro~\ these types. In giving advice.
for in\tancc. the persuader may be implying a threat to the target's positive face. perhaps
doubting. however indirectly. the target's competence to act. Such a threat is not implicated in the influence attempt of requesting a favor.
Third. in light of differences in types of face threat. the hierarchy of politene" strategies i.!l problematic in plncing negative-face redress at a higher level than positive-face
redrcs!o. (Melts, 2000). In~tead. positive-face redre~~ is viewed as respon<;ive to positive
face threats and negative-face redress is viewed as re~pon\ive to negative face threats,
with no higher-lower hierarchical placement of the ... e two politeness strategies.
Founh. the absolute level of face imposition captured in the ranking variable has not
appeared to be a very good predictor of the overall amount of face threat implicated in an

330

Part IV Contexts/or Persllmioll

act; instead, the persuader's right to make the reque~t appear.l. to be a more important
faclOr (Baxter, 1984; Craig et al.. 1986; Lilll & Bowers. 1991). The right to makc a reque>!
of another is consistent with the research finding that the more dominant the persuader. thc
less he or she redresses the face needs of the target (Baxter. 1984: Dillard. Wilson. Tusing.
& Kinney, 1997; Leighty & Applegate, 1991; Lim & Bowers, 1991).
Fifth, Brown and Levinson's (1987) claim with re\pect to relational distance nced.l.
to be Illodified (Baxter. 1984: Lim. 1990,,: Lim & Bowers. 1991: Leighty & Applegate.
1991: Roloff & Janiszewski. 1989: Roloff et al.. 1988). When the directive involves a
modest imposition on the target. the Brown and Levin:-.on prediction appears to hold: Intimacy correlates negatively with face-redre ... sive action. However. when the imposition is
great, the opposite pattern appears to hold: Intimacy corre lates positively with faceredressive action. In close relationships. the parties recogni7e that their interdependence
and commitment will naturally compromi"ie their autonomy needs: tim .... modest impo ... itions are expected and perhaps even function as an index of intimacy. Hml,.'ever. when an
imposition exceeds what would normally be expectcd in a cOlllmittcd relation:-.hip. thc
face threat is substantial and requires face-redressive action by the per.l.uadcr.
Sixth. and last, indirectness is not nccessarily rcgarded a~ morc polite. or face
redressive, than directness. Although :-.omc cultures view indirectne\:-. a\ more politc than
directness, indirect hinting is regarded as rude in other cultures (e.g .. Fitch & Sande".
1994). Further, in our closest relationships. whcre opcnl1c.l.s and honcsty are ideali/cd. indirectness can be interpreted as a form of face threat nuhcr than face redress (e.g., Dillard
et aI., 1997).
Despite their differences, the incremental-interactive and faccwork approaches
share the view that social influence in close rclatiol1.1.hip\ is a social-meaning-making enterprise in which parties' rights. obligation.l.. and identitics feature prominently.

The Dialogic Communication Perspective

It is in our closest relationships that we O1ost change and grow as individuals- VI. hat Aron
and Aron (2000) refer to as "elf-expansion. In fact, Baxter and Montgomery ( 1996) have
argued that we regard our relationships as close to thc cxtcnt that they expand the parties'
selves. The delicate interplay bctween similarities and differences betwcen the parties provides the scaffolding for such changes in self (Aron & Aron. 2000: Baxter & Montgomery, 1996; Baxter & West, 2002: Wood. Dendy. Dordek. Germany. & Varallo. 1994).
Similarities between partics arc obvioLl.l.ly important in providing the common ground
upon which bonds of intimacy can be built and sustaincd. But equally nccessary arc differences. As the dialogic theorist. Mikhail Bakhtin. ob.l.crvcd over seventy years ago. "What
do I gain by having the other fuse with me'! He will J..now and see but \\ hat I know and
see .... Let him rather stay on the outside v::lI1tage point. ~1I1d he can thll~ enrich essentially
the event of my life" (Bakhti n, as quoted in Todorov. 1984. p. 108).
But what is the communicative process of influence by which partics change or expand? The first two perspectives would answer this ql1c ... tion by pointing to change in the
target as an outcome of intentional. goal-dirccted activity by thc pcr\uader. However,
from the third perspective, the persuader-target distinction frame.l. thc parties' relationship

Chapter 17 Social Iflj1I1('ffC(' ill Clow Relatiof/.\/lfp_(

331

as one of power and dominance in which the per<"tuader functions to devalue the pcr ... pective of the other person. In!..tcad. the third perspecti ve di ..... olve!"t the per!..uadcr-targct di stinction and eXclll1ines the change that can spontaneou ... ly result when relational parties
engage in genuine dialogue who ... e purpo..,e i.., underqanding rather than influence. Such
change is "a re,uit of new understanding and in .. ight"l gained in the exchange of idea ..... a:-.
the parties "allow diverse po..,ition .. to be compared in a proce ...... of di,covery and qu e ... tioning that may lead to transrormation ror themselves" (Foss & Griffin. 1995. p. 6). The proces!.. by which this happen!.. goes by variou ... labels reflecting the different intellectual roOb
of the perspective. including "dialogue" with root~ in dialogic theory (e.g .. BaJ...htin. 1981.
1984; Bohm. 1999; Buber. 1958; for u more complete bibliography. see Ci"",. & Anderson. 1998). "relational respon ... ibility" with roots in !oIocial l:onstrlll:tioni ... m and fCI11ini~t
theory (e.g .. McNamee & Gergen. 1999: Shepherd. 1992 ). and " in vi tational rhetoric" "ith
rooh in fernini" theory (e.g . Fo" & Griffin. 1995 ).
CiS!oIn3 and Anderson (1994. pp. 13-15) have provided a comprehen..,i\c dbcll..,sion
of the characteri ... tics that are present in the dialogic communication envbioned by the
third per~pective . The partie~ do not focus on strategic goal ... or outcome ... but rather participate in a !-.pol1tancous. unrehear:-.ed exchange char::u.:tcri/ed by improvi ... alion and creativity. They refuse 10 assume that they already know one another's thought ... and feelings.
instead di~playillg a willingness to rccognile their "strange ()thcrne~\." The partil!!.. c.:ngage
one another in a spirit of authenticity and ge nuinellc.: .... : the parties are \pcaJ...ing from a
base of hOllc~ty. not sLrategy. They ha ve a collaborati\e orientation in \\'hich th ey ... hare
their pers pel:tive!'>- with pn~sion and perhap~ even heated argument-not with a goa l of
"winning over" the other but in a !'>pirit of sharing their views. Foss and Griffin (1995)
refer to thi ... a ... the di~course of offering. " the gi\ ing of expre~~ion to a per!'>pcl:ti\'c without
advocating it~ support or sceking its acceptance" (p. 7). Parties ... ustai n a vulnerability to
one another's views. an openness to be changed.
Dialogic encounters are unique. fleeting moments that punctuate the everyday. mundane. ta ~k-o riented exchanges o f relationship partie .... But they do ex i... t in our friend .. hips.
romantic relation :-.hips. and families und are vi\ idl y rem embered by participa nts us emotionally intcn,e and deeply meanin gful in a variety of ways (Baxter & DeGooyer. 200 I).
Dialogic encounters are those occa ... ion ... in which the interaction between the parties has
created the opportunity for their selves to become. The panie~ are deeply influenced by
the dialogue between them.

COllclusioll
In a chapter of thi ... length. we can do no more than provide H crude map of the fore~t of
social influence in close relationship!,> and examine a few specific trees along the way. We
have identified three per~pectives. which conceive of the influence proce\s in radically
different ways. Table 17.1 summarilcs the key fealures of these perspective~ as we have
discussed them . Rather than viewing these three perspectives as either-or options by
which to understand social influencc between close relation ship partner.... \\c prefer to
view them as complementary. Tnken together, they afford u ... a more complete view of
~ocial influence than any single perspective can provide alone.

332

Part IV COlllextsJor Persllasion

TABLE 17.1 Summary o/Three Perspectives on Sociallnfluellce ill

Close Relatiollships

Perspective
Traditional

Social-Meaning

Dialogic

distinct persuader and

target roles for the
relational parties

yes

yes

no

intentional goal
of seeking change
in the other

yes

yes

no

communication
of interest

the persuader's
strategic choice
of a persuasive
message

the exchange
between
persuader
and target

dialogic
moments of
mutuality
between
the parties

primary focus

target
compliancega in ing

the social meaning

of the influence
attempt for
the parties'
identities

the expansion
of the parties'
selves

role of persuader

proactive

proactive

both parties
proact ive

role of target

reactive

proactive

coparticipants

Feature

Notes ___________________________________________________________
1. In the section on persuasion strategies in the family, in cases in which a taxonomy was created
specific to a certain relational colllexL we do briefly explain it.
2. In two of the studies summarized here, both unmarried and married coup les were examined as one
sample (Beckman et aI., 1999: Newton & Burgoon, 1990).

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Ifert. D. E. 12(X)Q). Resistance to lllterpcr ..onal rcquc ... h; A ... ummary and critique or recent re\earch. COlli1I1111tinll101t YearboOk. 23. 125-16 1
hkr. L.. POPI>cr. T.. & Ward. S. (1987). Children' .. purcha ..e rcqllesh anll parental respon\e ... Jourl/al oj
Adl'tlnilill?, Rnearclt. 27, 28- .19.
John, O. R. (199lJ). Consumer socialilation of children: A retrospective loo~ at twenty-five years of rl'\l'arch. JOUr/wI of C011SUIIIl'l" Rt'watch. 26. 183-2 1:t
Jone~, D. C. (1985). Persuasive appt.!;lJ .. and rc .. pon ..c.. tn appeal .. among friend" and acquaintancc:-,. Child
Ot'l't'IOf)II1C'III, 56, 757-76:'.
Jordan. J M .. & Roloff. M. E. (1990). Acquiring a..... i .. lance from other .. : The effect of indirect requc .. ",
and relational intimacy on \erbal compli~lIlcc. lIumoli Communication Rewardl, 16, 5 J9-555.
Kellerman. K. & Cole. T. (1994), Cla .... ifying compliance gaining mes ..age .. : Taxonomic di .. ordcr and
\trategic confusion. Commlllliwtioll 'J11l'Of'\'. -I, J--60.
Kelley, Ii, Ii, Bcr\chcid. E .. Chri .. len\Cn, A .. Haf'\t:)'. J. H .. Hu.,lOn, T. L .. Lc\inger. G .. McClintoc~. E ..
Pepl;lu, L. A .. & Pelerson. D. R. (1983), C/o<;e relmiomhlp_~, Nc" York: W. H. Freeman.
Klrchler, E. (J 990). Spou"e,,' influence .. tr'.1Iegie\ in purcha'>c deci ... ion .. a\ dependent on conflIct t)-pc and
rch.lion .. lup characteristic<". Journal of 1::("{lI1omic P.\"W/IO!Og\" II, 101 -118.
Kin.:h lcr. E. (1993). Spouse,,' joint purcha ..e deci .. ion,> : Dctenllinanh of intlucnce tactic .. for muddling
through tht.! procc'\s. Journal of E't'OlUmll<' P.\rdlOlogy, 14. 405~:'8.
Ln)" K. L .. Watcr... E .. & Park, K. A. (19R9). Maternal rer..pon .. ivene"" and cbild compliance: The role of
mood .... a mediator. Child Del'tdoplltel1l, 60, 1405- 1411.
Leighty , G .. & Applegate, J. L. (1991). Social-cognitive and ,>itllational inl1ul'nce .. on the u~e of face":1\-1I1g per"uasi ve stralegie ... 1f1ll1U1II Comllllll1i('(l/iO/l Rt'_~e{lrch. 17. 451-484.
Lim. T. S. (199Oa). Politeness behavior in .. oeial influence 'iituation ... In J. P. Dillard (Ed.), SeekillS COII/plialler: The production of il1lerpuI(ntlll inj7IIl'lIce me.I,Wlge,\ (pp. 75-86). Scomdale. AZ: Gor,>uch
Scari'\bric~.

Lim, T. S. (1990b). The influence of recel\cr'" re,j .. t;1nce on per"utldcr.. ' \-erbal aggre''''I\ ene~s. Commu
nicatioll Quarterly, 38. 170-188.

Chaptl'r 17 Sm;tlllllfiu{'IICl'

11/

('low RdOliomJIII'\

335

LIEIl, T S., &. Ihml'r.... J. \\ I IlJlJl I. Llcl'\\urk SuIHbrtl). approh;ulon. and [;\1.:1. Hllmall ("OI/lI/I/III;m/;(1I/
HI'II'W'C", I '. ~ 15 -tiO.
:Vlallalil'll,1.. (191)1)),\11 t:\alllina[lnl1 01 inll'qll'l ...onal intlul'IH:t: in CtllNllllPlioll and nnrH.'on",ulllption domain ... \dL'{II/('('\ 1/1 (""II.\UII1("/" /(("\I'flll II, :!6. IlJ6-.:!02.
~l;dl;tJil'u.I .. &. 1>Iure. (" (1l)l)X). I m\;lld.1Il umkr .. tandln!! "flhl' dltJlI.:e ollllt1ucnCl' Wltic". The Impact
01 Po\\ el At/nll/l'I'1 /1/ COli \ 11111("1 /(1'.\IWl 11. 25. ~()7 -t 14
~ lam d I. G, &. S~:hm ill. 1) R (1967 J. I )IIlII,Il ... ion .. 01 t:ol1lpJiant'e-!!'lin ing heh;!, inr' An empi rkal ;lnilly"'1" ..\fllltIll/(IIT, 3fi . .':\)0- .164
Md.'lu!!hlrn. Ii (19X3), Clilid compllanl'c 10 p;lrenwll'olllrol tcchnlquc .... Ot'l'dO/JlIII'IIWI P\\'choIOf,p, 19.
667- 673
1\ It.: ~ .lInt'c. S , L\:. Gergen. " J (1:1."'-), t 1l)l)lJ) RI 100io/ll/i rt',\/}(JII \ ",ilily. Ri',lown'l .lor ,1// I la;l/aMi' dialog/II' 'I hllu ... aml Oak ... C\ Sa!!e
i\kth. S. (2000), race ,lIld bCl\\mJ...: Ill1pilt:;!tillll'" for lhl' ... wd) 01 pl'N1nal rdatiol1 ... hlp .... In K, Dindia
&. S, Dud (Llk), ("Ollllllllllimliall fllld !'t'nfl/wl rt'ltlll(1/1\11I1H (pp. 77-l)~1. Nl'\\ y(lr~ John
\\ ilc)
I\ku .... S .. ('up.ldl. \\ FL L\: 1Ill'lhun.', T II'}I).:!). P('rn:plIl1Ih ul "l'\u,ll t:nmpliancen: .. I .. ting I1lc""age,
in thrl'c I) pc .. of lft " ... -...C\ rl'lalitHl ... hip... \\ '1'\lUII JO//I'I/(/I "I ('(lII/III/minlliol/, 56. I 17
\ldll'r. (i. Bn ... tcr. I .. Rohll!. 1\1.. (\: St.'lholJ. I), (1977J. COlllpli;lIh:l'g;unlllg IUl' ..... a!:!t.' .. trall'git.' ... : A t}polog) <lnd ""IIIC finding .. l"tllh:L'IIHn~ t.'IlL'lo:['" ol ... illl<llIol1al dlllL'rl'llt:(' .... ("fllII/lIIlI/lnll/lII/ \lollo,t:/"tIl'hs.
.J.J .17' I
i\ldler. \,-1 I) IIl)X2). \'nt:ml .. hip, po\\cr. ;jlld the languagl' of l"tJ1llplianct.'-!!'1lI11Ilg. j(Jlfl"lllll oll..llllg/mgt'
IIlldSodal PII,h(JI(/,~I', I. III 121
\jl'\\Ii.lIl. D \ . & Rurgnnll. J " (191J()), rhl' U~l' and t:on",c4Uel1l'c", til' Icrhalll1t1uClll'(, ... Irateglc ... dUring
lIHlrpl'r ...1Il1al dl ...agrl'Clllent ... , /l1II1Il/1I CIIIIIIII/llliclIll(l1l RCH'/lICIi. 16.477--518.
OIJt:r.. h,!\\. I \\;tltl'r ... (j, C. &. 11,111. D. " (1986) Cnnlrnl .. tnltl'!!il''' and nOIll.:omplianl't.' in ahu ... i\t,>
mOlhl'r-t:hlld d)iuk ,\11 nt"'l'l"\aIHlIJ;11 ... tud) (""tid /J("I"t"iOJlIllt"llI. 57. 7~~ 7J::!
Palan. K \I. L\: \\lIke .... R E. (1997), :\dolt ...cl'llIparl'nt IIHl'radinli mlamil) dl'ci ... ion maJ...1Ilg. jOllmal of
COI/IIIlI/a Rnnm h, 2-1. I'll) 169
PMpal. \1. &. \Ial"tlh). I E. f 19K"), \1.lll'rn;t! rt."p0I1 ... 1\t.'nl' ..... ;tnd ~ub ... t.'llut.'nt child t:umplwllcl'. Child
Ondll//lI/i'III, 56. 1-'26- I.t~~
POPPl:, M" 1;111 lIer Kloul. \\" & ValJ...cnhl'rg. II. (19'-)9). The implll'il ... lrLlClUrl'
innul'l1ee ... tralt.:gie ... and
"'o('ial rd;lllnn .. lup", journal oISOIialll/1(/ PUWJ1111 Relati(ll/lilipl. J6. +-I-J-----t5X.
Rnioll \1 I L\: Jani"'l'\\ ... J...i. C \ (19X91, (herCOlll1ll!! (lh... tal"ll'~ In intl'rrlCr... onalt'omplianl'(,: 1\ principk' 01 Illl''''''ilg.l' ulIl"'lructioll IIII/mlll ('1II1/I1/I1I/;nl/;(1/1 Rnj'{mlt. 16.3.':\ 61.
Ruloil. ~ I I.. Jamvt.'\\ ... kl. C :\, \h;(iritth. \1 .\. Burn .... ( S .. &. ~1anrai. LA. (19XX). Ar.:qllinng re"!HIreI.''' lrom int1lnate": Whl'lI Ilhli~;ttlllll .. uh... IIIUh.' .. for ]'lCr... ua ... ioll, "'//1u/ll (,(l/Ill11l11liclIl/O/i Re-

nr

wun-h. 1-1. 1(H .llJ6.

Sa~rl' ... tan().

I \1 .. Chri .. tl'n~cn. ;\,. & Ilt.:a\l')-. (' I !1l)lJX). SIX."ial intlul'l1cl' technique, dunng Ilwri[al
connie!. PI'fllll/al Ht,ltl/illl/l!,,/)I. 5.75 !oIt).
S;mdl'r... R. I (19M7), ('ol[lIilil I' ((l/f//fiflliu/I I fll nll( '1/1(/1('" ,ll't'I'("Ii. ('ollfmlllllg Ill1tiu,lllIliding \ i/l ('mll'erI(/Ii(ll/ 11111/1'1'1"1/11/,\1011. Alh;LIl)-. 1\)' Sl:I\Y Prl' ......
Salldl'r... R, I:. (19971. Ih(' prodllt:IHHl \11 ~)1l1h(llle ohJl'll ... " ... t'Olllponenl:- of larger wholc .... In J, O.
Grl'l'lll' (hi,), \II"\\(/,I:( /,,.,,.1//(1;/11/ \'/1(/11('1'\ ill ("(I/II1/I/Ulinlll(}llllil'Or'l (pp. 245-277). Mahwah,
~J hihallill
Sandl'r.... R I, .. &. Filt:h. t\ I (2()O I). rhe i(t:Hlal prat:til'l' 01 cmnplhtncc ...cdlng. Cmmlllmicalirm Theory,
11,26.l 2MIJ.
Sdladft.'r. JI R .. L\:: CrooJ.... C " 119}10J, Chtld l.:ompli'lIll:e <lnd maternal conlrol techll1que .... Del't'/opme,,Illi PIli'llolol.:l, 1f>.5-l--61
Sl'ark,.I. (11)76). A dl ...... ificatinn nr illlll..'lIlioll;ll) at'I"', I . wlgmlge ill SoC"il'l.\, 5, 1-23.
St'\ ton. C S .. & Periman. D. S, ( I 'lSI) ), (\Iu]lk'~' t'arct.'r orientation. gender role orienlal ion, and pcret.'i\'ed
CqUH~ ,I" dl'\crminanh 01 mantal PO\\ l'f journal (lrM(lrri(/~(' IIm/I/1l' FWII;h. 51. 9.U-l)-l1
She(,r, V (' (1995). St'lhation "'L'dll1~ prl'di"'po.. lIi(m ... and ... u. .ecpllhilil} In a . .exual partner' ... appeal ... for
l'lllldOIll U"'l' JOlin/til o/"\/)/,liol ('(111111/1111;('(1//011 Rl'H'lIIrlt, 23, ::! I ~-~29.

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COllfe:rfsjor Perslt{lJiOIl

Shepherd. G. J. (1992). Communication a~ innuence: Definitional excl usion . Communication Studies. 43.
203-219.
Shimanoff. S. B. ( 1987). Types of emotional di ...closures and request compl iance between ~pouse~. Com11I1mication Monographs, 54. 85- 100.
Sill ars. A. L. (1980). The stranger and the spouse a~ target persons for compliance-gaining strategics: A
!:iubjective expected utility model. Hilma" Communication Research, 6, 265-279.
Smith. T. E. (1983). Adolescem reactions to attempted pare ntal con trol and influe nce tec hniques. Jot/mal
of Marriage and the Family, 45. 533-542.
Steil. J. M .. & Hillman . J. L. (1993). The perceived va lue of direct and indirect influence stratcg ic,,: A
cross cultural comparison. P.~ycl/Ology of Women Quarterly, 17.457-462.
Steil. J . M .. & Weltman. K. ( 1992). Influence strategies at home and at work: A study of sixty dual-career
couples. JOllrnal of Social alld Persollal Relationships, 9. 65-88.
Todorov. T. ( 1984). Mikhail Bak!!ri,,: The dialogiC pril/ciple (W. Godzich. Trans. ). Minneapo li s: Universi ty of Minnesoia Press. (Origina l work published 1981).
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Social Psychology. 31,467-485.
Tucker. J. S .. & Mueller. J. S. (2000). Spouses' socia l control of health behaviors: Use and effec ti venes ...
of specific strategie1-.. Per.'iOlllllity lind Social P~'ycl/O logy Bulletin, 26. 1120--11 30.
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parent,'
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friend ... Hlllllall COn/mlilliauioll Re'iearch. 25.64-96.
Wilson. S. R.. Cruz. M .. Mar~hall. L.. & Rao. N. ( 1993). An allributional analysis of compliance-gaining
interactioll"'. COmllllllli('{ltioll Monographs. 60. 352-372.
Wil~on. S. R .. & Kunkel. A. W. (2000). Iden tity implications of influence goals: Similarities in perceived
f'lce threats and face work across o;,:ex and close re lationships. JOllrna l of Langllage muJ Social PsycllOloKl'. 19. 195-221.
Willemnn. H.. & Fitzpatrick. M. A. (1986). Co rnplian ce~gain in g in marital interaction: Power bases. processes. and outcomes. Communication MOllogl"llp/u, 53. 130- 143.
Wood, J. T .. Dendy , L. L.. Dordck . E.. Gerrnany. M" & Varallo. S. M. ( 1994). Dialecti c of diffe rence: A
thematic analysis of intimates' meanings for difference. In K. Carter & M. Prisnell (Eds.), Inrerprer;I'e approaches To illlerpersoflal communication (pp. 115- J 36). New York : SUNY Press.
Zvonkovic, A. M .. Schmiege. C. J . & Ha ll , L. D. ( 199-l). Influence strategies used when couples mak e
work-family decisions and their importance for marital sat isfaction. Family Relatiol/s. 43. 182-

or

188.

18
Superior-Subordinate
Influence in Organizations
Randy Y. Hirokawa and Amy E. Wagner

Social innucncc i~ an ever-present aspect of organizational life. From formal board meetings to informal employee il1tt.!raclions. individuals seek (0 contro l the opinions and activities of others in the pursuit of personal and orgallil3tional goa ls. It is not surprising. then.
that scholars from a variety of academic di..,ciplines have pursued the study of how individua ls and social units in an organizational context use verbal and nonverbal messages to
modify the cognitions. beliefs. attitudes. values. and behaviors of others (Barry & Watson,
1996), This chapter takes stock of what we know abollt superior-subordinate influence in
organizational sellings and in doing so assesses the strengths and limitations of this re\earch and \ugge ... h direction ... for future investigations.

Definitioll of Social InflueJlce

The term "social influence" ha~ been used rather loosely in the organizational literature.
Some authors treat .;;ocial influence and power more or les~ interchangeably (French &
Raven. 1959: MintLberg. 1983: Salanick & Pfeffer. 1977). Others equate social influence
with the exercise of interpersonal control (Kipnis. Schmidt. & Wilkinson. 1980). Still other ... use the term synonymou!o.ly with persuasion (Hirokawa & Miyahara. 1986). Because
writers use the terlll ,,"ocial influence in different ways. it seems prudent to begin this chapter with a clear definition of what we mean by this term.
As used in this chapler. social influence refers to the modification of elll individual's
lJel/lJvior(s) through the \erba! al/d/or 1l001\'erbaf symbolic actions of allotlier individual. "
can be thought of. and seen a..,. the communicative exercise of power and social control in
the organization (Kipni!o.. Schmidt. & Wilkinson. 1980). The essence of social influence is
belun'iural challge-that i!o.. the !-.ymbolic action(s) of the influencer (agent) causes the

337

338

Part IV

eml/('H,\ ./In' PerslIl/\ioll

inilucncee (larget) to cngage 111 bchavior(~) different from what he or !'! he wou ld ha ve oth erwise pnxluced. For example. an cmployee report s late to work on a regular basis. Hi!'!
~upcrvi~or tell . . him that he mu"t "tart co ming to work on time or she will fire him. Social
innuence b a\\umed to tal-.e pl:.lce if the supe r vi~o r' s warn in g or threat causes th e e mployec to change his behav ior and :.,tart reporting to work on time.

Strategies Versus Tactics

Social innuCllct; in organiwtions can bc differentiated on the basis of strat eg ies and tact ics
(sec. e.g .. " arper & Hirobwa. 1988; Hi rakawa. Kod ama. & Harper. 1990; Hirokawa.
Mickey, & Miura. 1991; Hirakawa & Miyahara. 1986; Kipnis, Schmidt, & Wilkinson.
19XO; Mowday. 197~; Sch il it & Locke, 1982; Yuki & Falbc, 1990). Strategies are blueprint" for goal achievement: they represent :.,ystematic plan:., that organizational members
follo"v' to influence the beha\ ior... and actions of others in the organization (Berger, 1986).
Fro ... t (1987) identifies fi\'c ...ocial influence :.,trategies that arc com mo nl y used in organi zational selling... :

I. Rell.\ollillg- the usc of facts and daw to ,uppon the development of a logica l argument (c.g .. "These charts and figures clearly indicate that X is the right thing to do").
2. Ingratiation- the use of impres"ion management. nauery. and the creat ion o f goodwill (e.g .... , know I can count o n you to do X because you' re one of o ur best employee,").
3. Assl'rlil'('I/{'.\.';'-the usc of a direct and forceful approuc h (e.g .. "Do X right away").
4. Sanctiol1s- the u"e of orga nizationall y derived rewards and punishme nb (e.g .. " If
you dOIl't do X. your promotion w ill be in jeopardy"),
5. Altrui.\I1/- appea lin g to the goodw ill of o th ers (e.g .. "For the sa ke of the company
~.II1d your colleagues. please do X").
In contra ... t. fllC1ic'I arc ... een a ... "instantiations" of strategies: that i.... they represent
the ... pccific \erbal or nomcrbal :.,ymboli c actions (messages) produced by the agent to
carry OUI hi ... or her strategy. Any strategy will have a number of differen t tactics associ
ated with it. For example, in using all "a ltrui sm" "trategy. an o rganizational member might
choO',e to u"e i.l lact ic such a ... a "favor" ("A:-. a personal favor to me. co uld you please start
corning to work on timeT) or "du ty" ("You owe it to your coworkers to report to work o n
time"). Similarl). in employing a ":-.anctions" :-.trategy, an orga nizati ona l member may
choo:.,e be(\\iccn a "promise" (" If yo u start comi ng to work on time. I will recommend you
for the prolllotion you have been asking for") and a "warn in g" {"'Unl ess you stop being
late for \\ork. your future with this company wi ll be in ~eriou~ jeopard y").

Identifying Strategies and Tactics

In vestigation ... of social influence in organ iza tions have emp loyed two con tras tin g
meth(xh- thc ... o-called det/uctil'e and inc/ucth'l' approaches.

Chapter 1X SIII'''l"i(1/' SlIlwnlil/{lIl' 11I{711t"IC!' ill Org(llli::lIrioll\

339

Dedllclh'e approach
Some re ...ean.:her... hi.l\~ dra\\n un Intapn:tiltion ... of c\i..,tlllg theoric ... of ..,ocial pO\l.er and
intcr~r ... onal relation..,hip'" to generate a priori Ii ... t" (or ill\-ellloric ... ) of inllllence-"ec~ing
bclul\ ior, ll"CU b) organizational mcmhcr.... Ba ... cd on the pioneering \\ orJ.. of Man\ ell &

Sehillilt (1967). the typical ,tudy (,cc. e.g .. AIl,ari. 1989: Mowda). 1978. 1979: Riehmom!. Da\ i..,. Saylor. & McCro"J..e). I \JX4: Vccch io & Su.., ... mi.ln. 1(89) prc..,enlcd rc ... pondenh with a prcdctennineu Ii,] of ,tratcgic bchuvior, <.Iml a..,J..ed thcm to indicatc which
one ... they typicall) cmploy in intlucllcc-"ieeJ..ing "itualion .... Rkhmond and colleague ...
(19X4). fur examp le. ll ... ed a uedUClin! approach to examine ... ubordinmt! pt!rccption ... of
their ()wn and th eir MIPCn. i,or,,' u,e of ,ocial-intlucnce tuetic ... (\vhat they c<.t ll ed 'beha\ ior
alternatiOIl technique ... or .. BAT... ). Thc panicipant ... in their'tlldy \\crc pre,cnled \\ith 18
dliTerenl Ille".. agc ... (e.g .. "Your group nect"" )OU to do it:' "If you donl. other, will tx:
hurt:' "You promi"cd to UO It") a, ...ocialcd \~Ilh 18 diffal.!nt bcha~i()r alternation techI1Ique ... (c.g .. "<.iul): "guilt: "ueht"). They wcrl.! a ... J..ed to rate on a !I\c-point ...cale ho\\
frequcntl) Ihe) u"ed each of the Illc",agc ... 10 get thcir ..,llpervi,or to change 1m. or her behavior (5;;; vcry ortcn. 4;;; often . .1 ;;; llcca ... ionally. ~;;; 'cItJOtn. I ;;; ncver). U... ing the ... al11c
I11c",age" and Ihe-point .;,ca le,. Ihe particlpan .... were then a"J..cd to indicate hO\Io,' often
Iheir "upervi ... or lI:-..ed each Illc, ... agc to change their beha~ ior. The re:-..ul .... or Richlnond and
colleaguc ... ... tuLly indicated that 'llbordinatl.!'" "eldlllll u ... e mo"t ollhe 18 BAT... in their
IIllerat.:tlon ... \~ ith ,upef\ i"or". but \~ hen the) do. the)' fi.l\Of the u'c of "expert" and ...elfc ... tccm" approachc .... Supen 1,0r... were found to u ... e me ..."age ... a ...... fx... ialcd with BAT ... 11.1bekd "cXpeI1:' ...elfe ... teem: "rc~~ aru from hdulvior:' "'eglli nwte-highcr authority:' and
"pcr'onai rc:-..pon,ibility' (p. 85).
Critic ... or the dcdllcti\c approach ha\e argllcl1 that Ihi ... Illl.!thod i, of tJlIc"'lionahle
\allll.! in idelllifying the actual inrIucncc-... ecJ..ing bdm,ior) of organi/<ltional members be
call"'C il ill\ol\c ... too much ,pcculalionllllthc pari or re,pondcnl, (Cody. McLaughlin. &
Jordan. ILJX(): Kipni, & Schmidt. ILJX.\). Specifically. they maintain that a priori liM , enablt.; )ubjec .... to ,elect sociall) appropriate ... tralc.:gic behavior ... and/or behaviors they
\',:ould not ha,c iuelltilicd on thc.:lr own (Seibolu. Cantril\. & Meyer.... 1985). For example.
an organi/allonal member Illi.l) I.lcluull) U"c.: "Ihrei.lh (e.g .. "Do it or el ...e I will fire you")
to lIlt1uencc h" or her ~l1bordinalc". But hcco.lu,e "bull) ing other~" to gel one's \vay i ... not
a 'ocli.ill) i.lcceptahle beha\ ior. that indl\ iuual may indicate that ,he or he u\c ... a morc
,ocially acceptahle bcha, ior liJ..c "c\perti ...e (e.g .. "From \...hat I ha\c lcarned. doing II
\\111 hc.:IH..'1i1 )OU") c\cl1though 'lIch"l tactic i, ne\er actually u"ed by the indi\ iUlla!.

1IIllllclive approaclz
A numbcr 01 rc ... earcher... havc argued thal a beller way to idenlify the Infillellce-!o.ccking
bell;'1\ ior... of urganiLational mcmber, i'i 10 u,c:.tn inductive methou (,cc. c.:.g .. Kipni!o. ct al..
1980: \Vi,eman & Sl:hcllcJ..-Hamlin. 19M1). Here the re ... earchcr pr..:,cnh ... ubjecb with a
h)potiletical influence ... ituation and then a,b them tn indieale \\Iwt me ...... age{ ... ) they
would producc to inllucnce the turgc.:1. The re ... earcher .,ub~equclltly analY/c", the con
,trucled mc.: ...... age ... to idenlif) the Infiuc.:llcc- ... ceJ..ing tactic ... di"iphlyed in them. For cxample. lIiroJ..i.lwu. Kodama. and lIarper (1990) prc ... ented manager ... wilh the follo'...ing
h) pothctical ,cenario:

340

Part I V

CmUt' Xl.\!Or Per.\/UI.\iOIl

One of your ,>ubortlinaw!>. ha .. been reporting 10 wor'" late on a regular ha~is. In mOM casc!>..
he is never more than 15 minute!>. late. but hi .. regular tardincss is becoming an annoyance
to other people in the ofticc. What wou ld you say to thi~ emp loyee 10 convince him 10
report 10 work on time?

The researchers analyzed the written responses of the manager!o. and identified four general types of inlluence-'-.eeking messages: "reward" strategies. involving va lued resources
or outcomes (c.g., "If you come to work 011 time. others in the office will have greater
respect for you"); "punishment" strateg ies. in vo lvi ng negative sanc ti ons or outcomes
(e.g .. " If you don't start coming to work on time. I will have no choi ce but to fire you"):
"altruism" strategies. relying on the goodwill of the manager or su bordinate (e.g .. " Please
do mc a big favor and start coming to work on time"): and "rationale" strategies. involving
the u.. e of explanation or juc.,tilication (c.g .. "You need to come to work on lime because
other .. depend on you to perform their jobs").
Although the inductive approach appear .. to be favored over lhe deductive approach.
it is not without critics. Several \Hiters havc notcd that the effectiveness of this method
depends on the inherent realism of the hypothetical scenario or si tuation presented to organiwtional members. That is. in order for respondelll ... to produce influe nce-seeking messages that arc consiste nt with their actual behaviors. th ey must be presented with scenarios
that coincide with the actua l or likely situat ioll!o. they face in th e organization (sec. e.g ..
Buric,on. Waltman. Goering. EI). & Whaley. 1988; Canary & Spitzberg. 1987; Cody &
McLaughlin, 1980). If the ...cenario i-. too far removed from the respondent'~ range of experiences. the intluence-.. ee"ing me ...... age th e respondcn t constructs i.. like ly to ha ve no
correlation \\ ith his or her actual behavior (Miller. BO;ler. Roloff. & Seibold. 1987).

Alltecedel/ts of Illfluellce Behaviors

A number of authors have notcd that the range of influence behaviors organizational
members select and use is a 'TPO thi ng:' that is, it depend ... on lime, place, and occasioll
(Cody & McLaughlin. 1980). In their comprehensive review of the lite ratu re. Barry and
Watson (1996) organi/ed situational determinants of influence allcmpts into four categori es: (I) nature of re lationship between superior and subo rdinate. (2) organizational charactcri ... tics. (3) goal(s) of the influencing age nt. and (4) individual attribut es of the
influencing agcnt. We discu .... cach of these categories in turn.

Nature of Relatiollships
Relational Closelless.

Within an orga nizatio n. degree of personal liking will in pal1 determine the "ind of influence .. trategy and tactic used by the agen t on the target regardless
of relative status. Several studi es have show n that the level or relational c lose ness (liking)
between the influencer (agent) and the person being influenced (target) affects the type of
influence behavior used by the agent (e.g .. Cody. McLaughlin. & Schneider. 1981;
FitLpatrick & Winke. 1979; Miller. Boster. Roloff & Seibold. 1977). In general. the more
the agent likes the target, the marc likely s.he or he is to use a positive strategy such as a

Chapter IR

SllperiO/~S/{b()rdillllte 11Ij7I1l!llce ill Orglllli::lItiom

341

"debt" ("I wi ll owe you big time if you do X for me") or a "favor" (,"Could you do me a
favor and do X for me?"). On the other hand. the more the agent dislikes the target. the
more like ly she or he is to lise a negative strategy such a~ a " threat" (",The next time yo u
fail to do X. I will report you to management") or a negative moral appeal"' ("Only an
irresponsible employee would fail to do X").

Relatiollal Power. The kinds of influence tactics onc uses in an organiLational setting
often depcnd on th e balance of power in the relation:-.hip. Influence attempts can occur in
three direction;: (I) upward (superior/target and subordinate/agent). (2) downward (subordinate/target and superior/agent), and (3) lateral (th e agent and target occupy the sa me
space in the organizational hierarchy). Research has shown that the perceived level of subordinate power is the primary determinant of the tactic a superior will use in downward
inlluence attempts (Tjosvold. Andrews & Struthers. 1992). For instance. a superior/agent
who Pos!\csses more power than the subordinate/target will tend to use what Kipnis (1976)
labeled directive" or power-over tactics" (e.g .. You will be fired if you do not get this
report done in time). However. when the superior and subordinate have rclatively equal
power the superior/agent will lise collaborative tactics" (e.g., Let"s work to get this report done on time") (Kanter. 1977). Upward intluence attempts are gene rall y marked by
tec hniqu es in vo lvi ng rational persuasion such a~ logical prescntations (Sch ilit & Locke.
1982) or rcason (Chacko, 1990). It is important to notc, howevcr. that other studies have
shown th at rational persuasion is the tactic of choice rcgard less of thc dircction of inlluence (Barry & Bateman. 1992: Yuk i & Falbe. 1990) and that even when differences in
directional intluence tactics are found. they tend to bc small. indicating that relational
power may not be a major determinant of strategy selection (YukI. Falbe. & Youn. 1993).
Leadership Style.

Upward inlluence attempts vary acco rdin g to the type of leadersh ip a

superior employs. Studies show that participative leaders. those who empower their employees. are the recipients of more influence aucmpts (Cobb. 1986) than their aUlhoritarian coun t crpart~ and that these intl uence attempt~ are more direct in nature (Krone. 1992).
In general. the tactics used by subordinates to influence participative leaders can be c haracterized as direct. rational. and overt (Ansari & Kapoor. 1987: Krone, 1992). Conversely.
upward influence tactics used on less participatory leaders tend to be assertive. threatening, and politically motivated (Krone. 1992). Such ncgative upward influe nce tactics can
also be expected when a leade r i ... perceived as ineffective by his or her employees
(Chacko. 1990).

Subordinate Competencies.

Little research has been done on the relationship between

subordinate communication style. performance. and downward influence attempts. The
available literature shows that superiors use assertive strategies, coalition-b uildin g strategies. appeals to higher authority. threats of sanctio ns. and reason with subordinates possessi ng an unattractive comll1unication sty lc (i nattent ive, unfriendly. and unrelaxed) but
use friendliness and reason with subordinates possessing a n attractive commun ica ti on
style (attent ive. friendly. relaxed) (Garko. 1992). As might be expec ted, superio rs use
positive influe nce tactics slich as reward and 'exchange" (e.g .. 'If you SlaY late and
work on this report I wi!! pay YOll overtime') with subordi nates who perform well bUI use

342

Pari IV

COllfexf.I.Ii)r Per.H/wjoll

negative influence tactic~ ~uch as "as~ertjon" and "~anctions" (e.g., "I do not want 10 hear
your excuses for Ilot having the report done") with poor performers (Ansari. 1989).

Target Resistallce.

The agent's tactical choice for an inlluence attempt is abo mediated

by how much re~istance is expected from the target. Wilson. Cruz. Marshall. and Ran
(1993) found that agents adapt their tactics depending on the target's reason for noncompliance. Their experimental study yielded two major findings: (I) agents are more likely to
use antisocial tactics (e.g., "warnings") when they believe that the target's reasons for
noncompliance arc within that person's control. and (2) agents are more persistent and use
tactics that take i<.,sue with the target's reason for noncompliance when the target is in COI1trol of the situation but is doing something inconsistent with what the agent wanb done.

Orgallizatiollal Characteristics
Scholars have investigated whether organizational-level constructs such a<., the size,
norms. climate. unionization. or type of institution influence how persons within the institution go about their selection and execution of influence attempts. Overwhelmingly,
these organizational-level constructs have heen shown 10 have little or no effect on influence tactic selection. a lth ough Schilit and Locke (1982) reported that results of much of
the existing research might be confounded due to researchers' lack of vigi lance in controlling for these constructs. Their analysis revealed a difference between influence tactics
used in small or private organizations and those used in large or public ones, with more
informal influence methods being used in the former than in the latter. Additionally,
Krone (1992) found that influence agents in institutions with decentraliled authority employed more open and direct tactics (e.g .. '"1 think that we ~hould develop a contingency
plan before dedicating all our resources to a single project") than those who worked in
institutions with centralized authority.
Despite the lack of evidence that situational variables have an effect on an agent's
choice of influence tactics. scholars do not unilaterally accept that these variables have no
effect. Instead, some scholars point to problems in the methodology and conceptual ization
of variables in existing studies (Burleson et aI., 1988: Cody, Greene, Marston, OHair.
Baaske & Schneider. 1986; Jackson & Backus. 1982).

Goals of the Influencillg Agent

The choice of influence tactic varies according to what the inlluencer wishes to achieve
(Dillard, 11)90). For instance. an agent whose intentions have to do with the quality orthe
relationship or interactions with another party is likely 10 li se co mpliance-gaining st rategies that remind the target of the costs of noncompliance (e.g .. ""If you don't teillhe boss
you agree with me 011 this matter. she's going to think our department is disorganiled"),
wherea~ the agent is likely to usc reason and evidence if the desired action is deemed especially imporlam (e.g .. '"Based on last year's reports, I think we should make a decision
immediately"). An agent who is trying to achieve an objective individually will use ingratiation tactics, but agents who have organizational objectives in mind will use a multitude
of tactics- including upward appeals. blocking, and rational persuasion (Ansari &

Chapter 18 Superior-Suhordinate Influence ill

Orglllli';lIfiolls

343

Kapoor, 1987). Furthermore, studies have co nsi stently fOllnd that agent~ wishing to promote new ideas and precipitate change employ intluence strategies of reason and coal ition
building (Howell & Higgins. 1990: Schmidt & Kipni s. 198-1) but re ly on ingratiation and
assertiveness when they want (0 change the behavior of the larget (Schmidt & Kipni :-..
1984).

Individual Attributes oj the Illfluencillg Agellt

Sex.

Evidence regarding whether the sex of the agent affects the type.., of influence
strategies likely to be used is mixed. Thus, it is uncl ea r whether men and women employ
different intluence tactics. Yet consideration of any suc h differences is important in ordc.:r
to understand superior-subordinate interaction in organizational sett ings. The 1110\t con"i\tent finding in support of sex differe nces indicates that mal es choose inlluence tuclics that
are direct and involve power. whereas females choose tactics that arc indirect and collaborative (Gruber & White. 1986: Offerman & Schrier. 1985 ). Add itionally . the goal of the
agent and the reaction of his or her target may differentially impact whe n men and wome n
choose to reward the targe t (White, 1988). Harper and Hirokawa (1988) found that mal e
managers reported using more punishment-oriented ~ trategie ~ , whe rea!-! their female counterparts used more rational and altruistic methods. Specifically, 64 percent of th e male but
only 37 percent of the female managers surveyed in th e stud y indicated that they would
rely on puni!'.hment-based tactics such as "ultimatum" (",Shape up or find your\elf another
job"). "warning" (" If you don ' t ~ hapc up, you won't be with thi ~ com pan y very much
longer"). "threat" ("The next time you show up late, I will start dock in g your pay") and
"negative esteem" ("Unless you are punctual. others will not view you as crc.:d ible and
tru stworthy"). In comparison. 30 percent of the women but only IJ percent of the men
indicated that they would rely on altruistic tactics such as "counsel" (" Is there anything I
can do to help youT) and "duty" (.. It is your obligation to report on time for work"). The
remainder of the female manager ... reported that they would rely on rationale-based strategies like "direct request" ("I would like you to make a special effort 10 start co ming to
work on time") and "explanation" ("You need to report to work on time because ... ")
(p. 164).
Notably, however. a comparable amount of empirical research suggests that th ere
are no significant sex differences when it co mes to the target 's choice of innuence ~tra t egy
(Vecchio & Suss mann. 1991: Yuki & Falbe. 1990). Researchers have arg ued that the \e,
d ifferences that have been found co uld be better explained by si tuati onal and individual
difference factors such a:-. the legitimacy o f the request (Hirakawa, Mickey & Miura,
1991). personal power of the individual (Hirakawa. Kodama & Harper. 1990). or the
power associated with one's position (Howard. Blumstein & Schwart/. 1986, Mainicro.
1986).

Culture. Research shows that cultural differences affect the selection of intluence tactics depending upon the va lues of the cuhure and the kind of rcqu c\t being j ... sucd. Fitch
(1994) conducted an analysis of pre vious studies and found that the likelihood of a target
using directive tactics was contingent upon whether directness was valued by that t argc t '~
culture. Other resea rch notes a relationship between how effective an inlluencc tactic i\

344

Part IV COlllexrs for Persuasion

perceived to be and the appropriateness of that tactic in a particular culture (Kim & Wilson, 1994). Hirokawa and Miyahara's (1986) comparison of American and Japanese managers revealed that when a request is obligatory (c.g .. pcrforming onc's assigned tasks),
Americans employ punishment-based strategies. whereas Japanese employ altruism or rationale. Conversely, when a request is not obligatory (e.g .. staying at work late) Amcrican
managers prefer rationale or reward strategies. but Japanese managers prefer altruism.
Overall it appears that reason-oriented strategies are used most often in American. British.
Australian (Kipnis & Schmidt, 1983), and Japanese (Sullivan & Taylor. 1991) culLures
when attempting to influence a subordinate. Hirokawa and Miyahara (1986) accounted for
these findings in terms of three cultural imperatives that differentiate Japanese and American managers.
I. Japanese and American I1w/wgcrs share difJtrenr as.'l//II/IJliolls regardillg rhe mosr eF
feclil'l~ way 10 influellce others hI the orgal1i:;.orioll. In Japane~e organizations, manag-

ers appear to believe that the most effective way to influence employees is to take into
account the circumstances involved and appeal to the personal motivations of the elllployee. American managers, on the other hand, appear to operate under the assumption
that rhe most effective way to influence an employee is to lise one's ability to mediate
or control rewards and puni . . hlllents for that individual.
2. Japanese alld American managers rely on d~fferelll JJOI\'er hases 10 if~/7I1ell('e their employees. In Japanese organizations, managers generally rely on organiLational identification to hring about changes in emp loyees' behavior. whereas American managers
rely on their ability to control or mediate organizational resources to influence their
employees. That is, the intluence tactics used by Japanese managers depend on the fact
that Japanese organiLationai members have embraced the goals and values of their organization. The intluence tactics used by American managers. in contrast, do not reflect
this fundamental assumption. Rather. they are based on the belief that employees' behaviors are tied directly to organitational resources and that manipulating those re. . ources can therefore bring abOUI changes in behavior.
3. Japanese mal/agers place a greater emphasis Oil ('OI/,ol'([le IIlliry Iltall Allleric(l1I I1lOfIagel'S do. Japanese managers place a greater emphasis on corporate participation and
cooperation than their American counterparts. Whereas Japanese managers attempt to
bring about change by getting their employees to view their role within the general
scheme of the organization, American managers typically do not attempt to foster this
corporate identification. Simply stated. Japanese managers appear to deal with employees in a "holistic" way (i.e .. as part of the organization as a whole), whereas American
managers tend to treat employees as individuals within the organization. (pp. 262- 263)

Persollality Variables.

Scholars have sought to understand whether certain aspects of

an individual's personality will help to predict the kind of innuencc tactic that individual
is likely to use. The personality variables that have received notable research attention include ambition. Machiavellianism, self-monitoring, locus of control. verbal aggressiveness, and dogmarism. Each of these will be considered in turn.
The ambition variable as it is defined here generally refers to an individual"s combined desire for power and achievement. Highly ambitious individuals have been shown
to be largely effective in their influence attempts. especially where upward influence is
involved (Schilit, 1986). They tend to exercise influence attempts frequently and use in-

Chapter 18 Superior-SII/JordillllTe Influence ill Orgal/i::ariof/s

345

nuence tactics of reason and coalition building (Chacko. 1990) and manipulation and persuasion (Mowday, 1979).
A person who is said to be Machiavelliall is willing to use power and deceptive or
manipulative methods to achieve his or her goals (Christie & Gei~, 1970). Findings regarding Machiavellianism and innuence tactic selection have been mixed. O' Hair and
Cody (1987) attribute this to the fact that the trait most likely represents more than one
construct.
High self-monitors are concerned with how others perceive them and modify their
behavior to the dictates of a given situation (Snyder, 1994). Studies reveal that high selfmonitors tend to be more expressive when trying to persuade a target about an issue that is
emotional or relational and use more ingratiation tactics overall (Farmer, Fedor, Goodman
& Maslyn, 1993). In addition, high-self-monitoring males reported using significantly
more compromise. emotional appeals, coercion. and referent influence than did their lowself-monitoring male counterparts (Smith, Cody, Lovette & Canary, 1990).
Locus oj control can be defined as the extent to which individuals feel they control
events in their environment. "Internals" believe they are responsible for the events that
happen to them (e.g .. "I get promoted at my job because I work hard"). whereas "externals" believe events that happen are outside their control (e.g., "( can't get promoted because this organization doesn't recognize hard work") (Rotter, 1966). Internal influencers
have been found to rely on rationality, the manipulation of positive feelings, and relational
ties in order to gain their target's compliance (Canary. Cody & Marston, 1986). Conversely, external agents avoid rational persuasion and rely on soft strategies such as requests (Farmer et aI., 1993). Research has neglected to address locus of control possessed
by the target: however, Wheeless. Barraclough, and Stewart (1983) hypothesize that external targets will respond more favorably to influence auempts that involve relational appeals than will internals, since the fOrlner group has a greater need for belonging.
Verbal aggressiveness (also see chapter 7) is the willingness to engage in communication that attacks or injures the self-concept of another. Agents who are highly verbally
aggressive use innuence tactics that include teasing, swearing, attacking the other's competence, and nonverbal expressions. Interestingly, aggressive communicators believe their
behaviors are less hurtful than those of nonaggressive communicators. One study suggested that verbal aggressiveness might be a response chosen after a target has displayed
unfriendly resistance to the initial innuence attempt (Lim, 1990).

Tactical COllsideratiolls
In addition to the personality variables addressed above. scholars have also examined innuence tactics to determine how effective they are, in what combination they are likely to
be used, and what outcomes they yield. Research has shown that the effectiveness of an
influence attempt depends on the nature of the relationship between the agent and target.
For instance, in lateral dyads (two people belonging to the same place in an organizational
hierarchy) rational tactics are effective (Barry & Bateman. 1992). Ingratiation and exchange tactics have proved successful when influence attempts are lateral or downward,
yet these same strategies have been ineffective for upward innuence attempts. Strategies
that have been seen to be effective regardless of the direction of the innuence include

346

Part IV COl1lexts!or Persuasioll

"consultation" (e.g., "We should screen the clients together before admitting them"), "inspirational appeals" (e.g., "This is the best idea I've had in years and it is sure to increase
our profit margin"), and "rational persuasion" (e.g., "Based on the merits of the case we
should sue" (Yuki & Tracey, 1992). On the other hand, "repetition" and "exaggeration"
are ineffective in all directions (Barry & Bateman. 1992). Barry and Watson (1996) noted
that the existing research on influence effectiveness is far from comprehensive and is limited in part due to methodological problems such as the difficulty of executing experimental manipulations and obtaining data from both the agent and target.
A complex question that has received recent research attention is how the order and
combination of influence tactics affect the compliance-seeking encounter. Research shows
that strategies such as "legitimizing" (validating the target's point of view), consultation
(asking for the target's point of view), "ingratiation" (purposely getting into the target's
good graces), and "inspirational appeals" (persuading through enthusiasm) tend to be used
in combination with one another, but rational persuasion is used alone as often as it is in
combination with other strategies (Yuki et ai., 1993). Maslyn, Fedor, and Farmer (1994)
found that the influence tactics chosen in initial and subsequent influence attempts vary
with the personality of the agent and elements of the situation. In a similar vein, Kipnis
and Schmidt (1988) developed a typology of agents and their associated inlluence strategies. The four types are (l) "shotgun" agents, who use a variety of tactics; (2) "ingratiators," who primarily rely on friendliness; (3) "tacticians," who favor rational persuasion;
and (4) "bystanders," who engage in little influence-seeking behavior. Earlier work by
Perreault and Miles (1978) also demonstrated that certain personalities are more likely to
choose particular influence tactics. The five types they identified based on strategy use are
(I) noninlluencers, (2) expert inlluencers. (3) referent influencers, (4) multiple strategy
intluencers, and (5) position power wielders.
The preceding discussion of research findings on the tactics superiors and subordinates use to gain compliance would not be complete without consideration of the outcomes these tactics yield. Job satisfaction has been found to be affected by influence tactic
selection. Specifically, Vecchio and Sussmann's (1989) study revealed that subordinates
are dissatisfied and have a lower quality relationship with their superior when the
superior's choice of influence tactics does not match the subordinate's preference. Conversely, superiors who use coercive techniques tend to view their subordinates more negatively than those who use rational techniques. leading the scholars who conducted the
study to conclude that employers may devalue employees they can easily control (O'Neal,
Kipnis, & Craig. 1994). Research has shown that the influencer's strategy choice is also
related to the target's job satisfaction (Roach, 1991) and satisfaction with supervision
(Richmond. McCroskey, & Davis. 1986), as well as how the target evaluates the agent's
communication competence (Johnson, 1992).
Other real-world outcomes are associated with influence tactic selection. For instance. Judge and Brentz (1994) found that subordinates who employed tactics with the
objective of getting Lheir supervisor to like them more were more satisfied with their jobs
and received more promotions. Conversely, subordinates who used influence tactics
aimed at getting their supervisors to view them as competent were less satisfied and received fewer job-related benefits. Dreher, Dougherty, and Whitely's (1989) analysis of
M.B.A. salaries revealed a positive correlation between use of upward influence strategies

Chapter I g SlIl'erior-Suhortiillllll' Itl}711f!1ICt! ill ()rglllli~atium

347

and pay. This finding is sOlllewhat at odds with research by Kipnis and Schmidt (1988),
\\ hich concluded that male . . ubordinate . . who adopted a shotgun influence ... Iyle (characterized by frequent usage or a variety of influence tactics) had lower incomes and were
viewed Ie ... !'! favorably by . . upervisor!'! than were !'!ubordinate~ who adopted the tactician
~tyle (emphasi/ing rational persuasion).

COl/clusion
Nearly four decades of research on :..upcrior-Mlbordinate communication in organizational
settings have yielded con:..idcrable insights into the kind:.. of messages used by superiors
and subordinaws to influence and persuade one another. a ... well as the factors that affect
their selection of persuasive messages.
These accomplishmcnts notwithstanding. three problem ... exist conccrning our under:..landing or superior-~ubordinate influence in organizational contexts. First. few studies
of superior-subordinate influence have actually studied the cOlllmunication belmvior of superiors and subordinates in organizational context ..... Virtually all of the studies we rcvicwed in thi:.. chaptcr identify the influence tactics of superiors and subordinates in one of
two way!'!: (I) asking the subject:.. (Q select from a predetermined list the behaviors they
typically employ in influence-seeking situations or (2) presenting a hypOlhetical
compliance-gaining situation to the subjects and asking them to indicate how thcy would
attempt to influence the person in the scenario. Notably absent are ~tudies that examine
how superior. . and ~ubordinatcs aClually attcmpt to influence one another in real organizational . . ituatinns. Naturalistic studies of this kind are crucial in the future. because there is
good reason to believe that the way we attempt to gain the compliance of sOllleone in a
hypothetical situation could differ greatly from how we actually attempt do so ill a real
situation. Likewise. the influence tactics we think we would use in an organizational context Illay differ greatly from the Lactics we actually use in that context or situation.
A second problem with current superior-MJbordin~lte influence research is that it has
generally overlooked the interactive nature of social innucllce in the organizational context. Rarely, if ever. does social inlluence occur through the lise of a single message tactic.
To the contrary. we often encounter resistance to our initial in/luence attempts, and we
must rc\pond to that resistancc with an alternative influence lactic. To date, very few studie~ haye examined how superiors and subordinates adjust or adapt their influence tactics to
the re:..istallce they encounter from those they arc trying to influence. Future superiorsubordinate in/luence studies need to look more closely at the interactive nature of socialintlucnce proce~ses in the orguninllional context.
A third problem with ~uperior-sllbordinate influence studies concerns our under:..tanding of the effeclivenes ... of various t)pes of tactic') and strategies. In large pan because we have neglect cd to cxamine actual influence processes and have failed to take into
account the interactive nature of those processes, we currently do not know much about
what really works. For example. we do not know whether "hard'" tactics like "threats" or
'warnings" achieve compliance more effectively than "soft" tactics like "reasoning' or
ingratiation:' Future rc\carch \hould thus pay closer attention to the so-called bottom
line, that is. which tactics actually . . uccccd in bringing about desired intluence.

348

Pan IV Context.flor PerJllmioll

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19
Social Influence in
Selling Contexts
John S. Seiter and Michael J. Cody

Successfu l influence often email ... knowing how

(0 <ldapllO

your audience. Some influence

agents may routinely try to be "Iikable:' while others try to be expert.' These people
probably lend to be more influential than those who seem unlikable or who are lacking in
expertise. However. there is evidence that adapting to one's audience pays the best dividends. This point was vividly discussed in Ciald inis (2001. pp. 198- 199) observations of
"VinccllI:' it waiter at an upscale restaurant who made the most in lips. When serving a

family, Vincent was clever, friendly. even clownish with children. keeping everyone
happy. When serving a couplc. he would become more formal, recolllmending expensive

items. acting even slightly "impcriou\." When "erving an older married couple, he retained formality. acted less \upe rior, and showed respect. When serving a large dinner
parry. he recommended what was best prepared that evening. and he was an expert in
wines. Vincent knew whar hi\ various types of ci iems valued, and he gave them all what
the) wanted; he knew how to ensure that he would either increase the amount of the bill
(on which the tip was calculated) or increase th e amou nt tipped--or both.
This chapter sllggesl~ that such an :.Ibil ity to adapt to particular audiences is a key
:.I"pect of 'illcces,ful inlluence attempts. in restaurant settings and beyond. Specifically, it
focuses on adaptation and other factors that lead to success in one of the most common of
<111 persuasive encounters: the buying and selling of merchandise in retail stores. In doing
so, the chapter draws upon work in a number of disciplines, including psychology, business. marJ..:eting. cOIllJ11unication. and personal sell ing. Considering that volumes have
been written on this topic. we must narrow our focus to a few key issues. We begin by
exploring the nature of goals and how they affect selling encounters. Second, we examine
the type!'. of resources retail salespeople need in order to interact with customers successfully. Finally, we discuss the resuits of two of our own studies illustrating the implementa
tion and effectivcnc~s of several influence tactics used by different types of salesclerks in
re tail stores.

353

354

Part IV CO/l/('xHjor PerW(lS;OIl

Multiple Goals ill Sellillg EnCollllters

Chapter II in this volume presents a detailed account of cOlllmunication as a goal-directed
activity. When producing a message. goals lead peoplc to make plans aimcd al achieving
those goals, and the plans in turn are used to selcct and guide behaviors ror carrying them
out (see also Dillard & Solomon. 2000: Greene. 2000). Selling merchandise. like most
communication encounters, invol ves the same proce:..s; ... ale:-.people forlllularc plans for
making sales. and these plans innuence the strategies, tactics. and message,", that they then
communicate to custolllers.
Although at tirst glance. thi s process Illay seem simple. it is not. People often pursue
multiple goals (see chapter II). and their goals may change during the course of an interaction (Greene. 2000). For Ihal reason, we suggesl that effective salespeople arc those who
have the ability to juggle multiple goals. For exan1ple. Spitzberg and Cupach (1989) suggested that competent communicators are both effective and appropriate. We believe the
sa me can be said of salespeople. To be effective. salesclerks must meet their instrumental
goals by making sales. but if they U"iC inappropriate or unethical tactic ~ slIch as deception
or intimidation. they may not succeed in cultivating "return" cu . . tomcrs or may be perceived as manipulative. In short. . . alesc lerks must walk a thin line between goals that have
the potential of competing with one another.
Prev ious research has sugges ted that people pursue three general type" of goals
through communication : instrumental. self-pre . . entation. and relational (Clark & Delia.
1979: Dillard, 1990: O'Keefe & McCornack, 1987: Tracy. Craig, Smith, & Spisak, 1984:
Wilson, 1990). First we turn to a discussion of self-presentation and relational goals in
selling contexts. Later in the chaptcr we di sc uss salcspersons' instrumental goa].., and tactics for achieving them.

Self-Preselltatioll Goals ill Sales Illteractiolls

According to Impression Manage ment Theory. most people want to be percei\ed in a
positive light and therefore communicate in order to create desired impres ... ions of themselves (see Goffman, 1959). This i~ also true of salcspeople. According to Leathers
(1988). because impression management focuses all how people sell themselves, it is not
surprising that impression managcment skills are especially important to salespcople. Previous litcrature has suggcsted that sales training is now a big business and that a large
number of training courses focus on teaching salespeople how to project positive images
(Leather;, 1988 ).
Jones and Pittman (1981) di scus . . tive common self-presentation styles (sec also Canary, Cod). & Manusov, 2000). First. the illgraliaJor \.\ants to be liked and therefore engages in behaviors such us praise and appearing friendly. kind, helpful. and positive.
Second. the il/limit/afOl" desires to be seen as dangerous and tough and may use strategies
such as threats and displays of <:Inger. Third. the selj~prol1lO1er wants to be perceived as
competent. effective. and successful and therefore may try to boost his or her credibility
by attempting to appear smart or talented. Foullh. the exelllplijier tries to appear dedicated,
committed. and self-sacrificing. Finally, the slipplicalor wants to be perceived as helpless.
unfortunate, and in need of nurturing.

Chapler 19 Socia/Influence in Seiling Contexts

355

Clearly. not all of the,e ,ell~prc,cntational "yles will benefit salespeople who want
to be effecti,;e. What cu",wmer. for example. wants a helpless salesclerk assisting him or
her? Moreover. it is hard to imagine that threatening tactics would work well with too
many customers. Having ..,aid that. we need to determine what images are most important
for a salesperson to project. Though previous literature ha ... identified a large number of
characteristic!-. de ... irable for ..,ulc!-.pcP'Ions (e.g .. a-.!-.eniveness. attractiveness. interestingncss). perhaps the most important and well documented are credibility and likability. We
discus.., these next.

Credibility.

According to Gass and Seiter (2003), although credibility may be made up

of ..,everal dimcn ... ions. scholars generally agree that competence and trustworthiness are
the two th:1I are almo ... t alway ... rele,"anl to the evaluation of sources (see also chapter 6).
Research and theory on personal selling have confirmed that these dimensions are important for customers intcracting with salespeople. For example. previolls research has shown
that experti,e is beneficial both for establishing cu;tolller trust (Busch & Wilson. 1976)
and for producing the intended behi]\ ioral re ... ponse in the customer (Bu~ch & Wilson.
1976: Jones. Moore. Stanaland. & Wyatt. 199H). Comstock and Higgins (1997) reported
that tru..,' ilnd rapport are unequivocally the moq important lheme!-. during the sales proce,,~ and that cu~toll1er ... prefer salel"peoplc who arc trust\l"orthy oyer those who are similar
to thcm. Other re ...carch has I"hown that when cll"tomers tru\! salespeople. they are more
likely to engage in open and free-Ilowing communication (Chow & Holden. 1997). are
more loyal to the company for which the salesperson work' (Chow & Holden. 1997:
Garbarino & John!-.on. 1999). and are more cooperative with the salesclerk (Schurr. &
a/anne. 1985). Finally. in a mctu-analysi!-.. Swun. Bower". and Richardson (1999) concluded that although trust ha" a moderate influence on the development of cu ... tol11er 3uitude~. intentions and behavior..,. its influence is beneficial.
Givenlhi..,. what characteriMic .. lead to perceptions of expertise and trustworthinc~s?
Retail ... alcsperson.., might demonMrate experti..,e by claiming personal experience of a
product or by being kno\\ kdgeablc about fashions. designers. material~. care. and so
forth. Trustworthine ... s might be establi..,hed through non1l1anipulutive tactics or by pointing out po ...... ible drawbad.s to cenain products. Nonverbally. salespeople might project a
credible image by appearing relaxed. u"ing appropriate eye contact and vocal cues. smiling at appropriate times. and speaking nuently (Leathers. 1988). Finally. a study by
Ramsey and Sohi (1997) found that when customers perceived that ..,ale"'peoplc were listening carefully (i.c .. \cn ... ing. evaluating. and rc\ponding to what they ... aid). they not only
trusted the I"ale\people. they expected future interaction.

Likability.

In addition to projecting a credible image. effective "ale ... cJerks tend to be

likable. Sales clerk' may bolster their likability in ,everal ways. First. people tend to reciprocate liking. A" "'lIch. ~alc\people who demonstrate liking for their customers by being
friendly or by doing favor ... arc more liJ...cd them..,elvcs. According to Leathers (1988). likable ... alespeople tend to ... mile more. u\e a lot of eye contact. engage in affirmative head
nodding. and establi ... h an open body position. Moreover. clerks who demonstrate such
positive emotion ... may be more persua ... ive. For example. Sharma (1999) found that when
... alc!-.pcople dCll1on..,tratcd po ... itive emotions toward their customers. their cu ... tomers

356

Part IV COllfexrsfor P('r~lIaS;OIl

listened (Q sales pitches more carefully and were more easily persuaded. Jones et al.
(1998) also found that salesperson likability positively influenced customers' purchases.
Second. customers respond more positively to salesclerks when they perceive them
as similar to themselves (e.g., Boles, Johnson. & Barksdale, 20(0). Among other things,
clerks can appear more similar by matching their customer's nonverbal behaviors (Leath-

ers, 1988) Hnd by conforming opinions (e.g., "I Hgree, that blouse looks great on you.")
(Cody & Seiter, 200 I). Studies have shown that cu>tomers tend to trust, be more cooperative with. follow the advice given by, and buy more from salespeople with \\'hom they
perceive they share demographics, experiences. appearances, attitudes, communication

styles, and personality traits (e.g., Busch & Wilson. 1976; Dion, Easterling, & Miller.
1995; Evans. 1963; Fine & Gardial. 1990; Gadel. 1964).
Finally, salesclerks who praise their customers may be liked more than those who
do nol. An analysis of several studies by Gordon (1996) suggested that ingratiation is an
effective tactic. But what if the ingratiator's ulterior motives are transparent? For example.
what if customers suspect that salespeople are praising them just to make a sale? According 10 Burgoon (1994), ingratiation is most effective when the ingratiator's motives are

concealed. Even so, Cialdini (200 I) noted that false flattery leads to almost as much liking
for the ingratiator as sincere flattery does. Not surprisingly. then, research suggests that

salesclerks who praise Ihcir cuslOmers are more effective then Ihose who do not. though
Strutton. Pelton and Lumpkin (1995) suggested that if salespeople use ingratiat ion. they
~hould

do

M)

only to a moderate degree to reduce the risk of mistrust on the part of

cuSlOmer~.

Relatiollal Goals ill Sales Illteractiolls

White salespeople pursue instrumental (making sales) and self-presentational (creating a

credible and likable image) goals. they also must consider relational goals. Traditionally.
building a relationship with customers has not been seen as an important goal for retail
salespeople. whose interactions with customers have traditionally been characterized as
one-lime-only and brief. The past decade. however. has witnessed a major change in
theory and practice related to personal selling and marketing. For example. Wortuba

(1991) and Weitz and Bradford (1999) suggested that the nature of personal selling has
evolved through four "eras"-production, sales, marketing, and partnering-and that only
the last era stresses the importance of interpersonal communication and of building and
maintaining long-term relationships with customers.
Nowadays. buyer-seller relationships are acknowledged as potentially important in
alllYpes of selling conrexts. Indeed, recent work, including the Commitment-Trust Theory

of relationship marketing (Morgan & Hunt. 1994). has suggested that although some customers have low relational orientations and are simply interested in satisfaction with a
product or service, other customers have high relational orientations and as such are
strongly intluenced by the amount of trust or commitment they have in a company and its

salespeople (see Dwyer. Schurr, & 011, 1987; Garbarino & Johnson, 1999). For these
people, salespersons are often expected to play the role of "relationship managers"

(Crosby, Evans, & Cowles, 1990) between themselves and customers. Nordstrom's. for
example. emphasizes not only customer-salesperson relationships but suggests that the

Chapter 19 Socia/lnfluellce ill Selling ComeXfS

357

pcr"ionali7cd "icrvice that charactcri/c"i thel.,e interactionl., helps to build customer-company

relation .... In \hort. rcgardlc ... :-. of the \clIing COIllCXL. developing buyer-scller relationships
can be important. Leigh and McGraw (1989) found that in industrial sales, successful
salespeople reported thm their "iecond. third. and fourth 1110st frequent goals in initial sales
calls were related to rclatiol1",hip dc\-e lopmcnt.
Reynold"i and Beatty (1999a) deli ned a l:u ... tol1lcr-sa le ... per",on rclationllhip as existing "when there i... an ongoing ...erie"i of interal:tion"i bctwecn a "ialer..person and a customer
and the pi.ll1it::-. know each other"(p. 12). Previolls literaturc indicated that such relationships Gill have nUl1lerou~ advantagc"i for l:ustol1lcrs. Thcl.,c advantage, include functional
benefit"i (c.g .. :-.:1\ ing timc. convcniclll:c. fashion advice. beller purchase deci ... ions) and social benelit"i (e.g .. enjoying another pcr"ion'\ company. enjoying time SpCIlI with a salespCNHl) (Beatty. Mayer. Coleman. Reynolds. & Lee. 1996: Gwinner. Gremler. & Bitner.
1998: Reynold ... & Beall}, 1999a). In addition. I.,uch relatiol1"ihip ... can have advantages for
bu ... ine ... "ie .... Such advantage ... include cu ... (Omcr "iati ... faction with ..,ale"'per...olll., and companiel.,. cu..,tomer loyalty. fa\orablc \\ord of mouth. and increa~ed pUrcl1<l ... e ... (Berry &
ParasuT"aman. 1991: Grirfin. 1995: Reynolds & BeallY. 1999a. 199%). Finally. salespcople may also benefit from developing ... atisfactory relationship.., with client ....
Considering this. what can ... alesclerks do to build ",ul:cessful buyer-seller relationship..,'! According to a study by An ... elmi and Zemanek (1997). buyer"i arc more satisfied
when they have known the ... alc..,per"ion for a long period of lime and when ...ellers have
effective intcrper\onal I.,kill .... inten"iity. per ... islence. and cnthusia..,m. Dion and colleagues
(1995) reported that tru ... l and pcrct.:in::d ..,imilarity between buyers and "ieller!' (see above)
arc po,iti\cly related 10 relation ... hip qU<llity. Comstock and Higgim. (1997) found that
buyer ... like ... eller ... whosc relational I11cs ... age", are tru ... twonhy and C()fllpo"icd. Finally.
Leuthes ... er (1997) reported thaI initiating a rclation~hip. self-di"iclosurc. and frequent interaction lead to quality relationships betwecn buyers and ... cII er"i.

Differellt Types of Clerks Based Oil Differellt Goals PlIrslled

As \\'c have already di"icu ......ed. "ialc"iclt.:rb have instrumental. ",elf-prc"ienlational. and relalIonal goal "i. Thi.., is not to ..,ugge ... t that all <.:Ierk"i pur!'>ue all of these goals. For example.
though Ford (1999) noted that many ... ale ... people de\elop a combination of service styles
that include courteous. per... onali/l!d. and manipulative communication behaviors. previau ... rC"'L'~In: h ha ...... uggested that "iOllle salcl.,people \tick to one ~tyle of selling. Different
..,alescler\... ... may thu", be charactcri/cd by different configurations of goab-.. npproaching
buyer-seller interaction::. in a \'aricty of way .... A good deal of previous re~earch has attempted to l:U1cgoriLc ",ale ... peoplc bu!>.ed on their approaches to selling (e.g .. see Busch &
Wilson. 1976: E""" 1963: Williallls & Spiro. 1985), One or our ;lUdies (Cody & Seiter.
100 I ) idcnt ified four different ... alc"'pcrsoll style ... based on ob\crvation~ of buyer-seller interaction"i in rl!tail "itore .... Many of thc..,c I.,{} les correspond to the !o.elf-presentational styles
we di"icu"'''ied earlier in thi ... chapter.
Fir"it. ingmliarioll-sly/i' clcrk ... \'vcrc characterized by a reliance on tactics that helped
them culti\ate an image that wn ... lil-..ablc and fricndl}. Second. wsk-oriellled clerks focll"ied on inl.,lrumental goal\ and tactic!>. aimed primarily at "making lhe sale," efficiency,
and controlling the l:uslOmer. Third. dil'llI-oril l1Il'd clerks u\ed a variety of tactic .... tried to
J

358

Pari IV COlllexlsjor Per.HllIsioll

understand customers' needs, and adapted accordingly. Finally, passil'e-illactive c lerks

were characterized as apathetic. lIsing few selling tactics. approaching customers infrequently, and performing "mechanical" tasks (e.g .. running the cash regbter). As might be
expected. each of these styles influenced the outcomes in sales interactions. We examine
these resulLs later in this chapter. Now. however, we turn to a discussion of salesperson
resources.

Resources and Selling

Comstock and Higgins (1997) argued that effective salespeople are competent comm uni cators. But what makes a communicator competent? Past literature has suggested thai
competclll communicators have the knowledge. motivation. and skills necessary to be
effective and appropriate in a given context (Spitzberg & Cupach, 1989). How do salespeople come by such resources'?
One approach argues that certain trails characterize successful salespeople. For example. in a review of literature. Anselmi and Zemanek (1999) noted that no one personality profile exists for the perfect sa lesperson but that slIccessful salespeople tend to be we ll
mannered. verbally skilled. punctual. enthusiastic. social, and competi ti ve. However1 research attempting to identify universally effective sellin g traits has also been inconsistent
and equivocal (Sprowl. Cmveth, & Senk. 1994; Weitz. 1978). Perhaps this is because se iling encounter~ are interactive and thereby influenced by bOlh buyer and sell er characteristics (Sprowl et aI., 1994). For example, Fine and Schuman n (1992) found that the
personality of both the salesperson and the CuMomer influenced the outcome of sales encounters. Therefore, when specific salesperson traits influence successfu l sales, it may be
because the trait~ fos ter involvement and interaction with customers (Boorom. Goolsby. &
Ramsey, 19~8).
Though we believe traits may playa ro le in effective sales, our position is that successful selling is primarily the result of learning. This notion is consisten t with theories of
message production and cognitive selling paradigms. which foclIs on linkin g behaviors
(e.g .. smiling wh ile showing merchandise) to underlying knowledge that indi vid ual s learn
with experience (see Dillard, 1990: Gengler, Howard, & Zolner, 1995: Greene, 2000:
Leigh & McGraw, 1989: Macintosh. Anglin, Szymanski, & Gentry, 1992: Meyer. 2000:
Weitz. Sujan. & Sujan, 1986). The general idea is that to maximize career effectiveness,
over time sale ... people abandon ullsuccessful approaches while developing. refining. and
remembering successful ones (Weitz et al.. 1986). Meyer (2000) suggested that thi s process occurs unconscious ly as the result of imp li cit learning. perhaps because of fa ilures.
For example. upon starting a job as a suit salesperson. a clerk might deal with each customer using the same approach-a simple "may I help youT-that may often lead to
watching the cuMomer for a few minutes. commenting on the quality of the merchandise,
and then waving goodbye without a sale. Eventually. though, that salespe rson is likely to
learn that certain customers like to be left a lone and that hovering too much causes that
type of customer to leave the store quickly. By experimenting with different approaches,
the salesperson then learns to recognize other types of shoppers and to develop a repertoire of strategies for selling to them.

Chapter 19 Soci(ll II/fluence in Selling Contexts

359

Previous research supports the view that selling skills are learned over time. For instance. a study of automobile salespeople by Gengler and colleagues (1995) found that.
compared to tess experienced salespeople. those with more experience used more adaptive
behaviors and differentiated morc between customers. VandeWalle. Brown. Cron. and
Slocum (1999) found that salespeople with a learning goal orielltation (i.e .. those who
would presumably seek to develop more detailed knowledge structures) were more successfulthan salespeople with a peiformallce goa/ orientalioll (i.e .. those who viewed challenging tasks as a threat and therefore failed to adapt) (see also Sujan. Weitz & Kumar.
1994). Thus. retailers shou ld expect new salespeople to improve their performance over
time. To facilitate this process, retailers should motivate and help salespeople develop detailed knowledge structures about important features in selling encounters, With that in
mind. what types of knowledge are necessary for successful selling?
Previous research and theory (e.g . Sujan. Sujan. & Bellman. 1988: Weitz et aI.,
1986) suggests that to be successful salespeople need two types of information--declaralive and procedural knowledge. Sujan and colleagues (1988) explained:
Declarative knowledge is the set of facts used to describe the category. whert.!<l!-. procedural
knowledge consists of the strategies or heuri~tic:-. lIsed to guide behavior. ... The genera l
finding is that declarative knowledge increases with skill. For salespeople. all important
a">pect of declarative knowledge is knowledge of traits. motives. and behaviors of the different types of clistolller~ encountered .... For sale ... people. procedural knowledge corresponds to knowledge of sales strategies to be used with each type of Cll!-.lOlllcr. (p. 82)

In other words, to be effective. salespeople require knowledge not only of the selling
strategies but also of the various types of customers. We discuss these issues next.

Types of ClIstomers
Weilz ( 1978) argued that the process of adaptive selling occurs through several stages.
First. the salesperson forms an impression of a customer. Second, the salesperson selects a
goal and plans a message to achieve that goal. Third. the salesperson communicates the
message. Next. the salesperson evaluates the effectiveness of the message. Finally, either
the goal is achieved or the first three stages are adjusted and the process starts again.
Through a ll of this, it is clear thut forming an impression of the customer is crucial to the
process of selling. To be sure. Weitl and his colleagues (Weitz, 1978, 1981; Weitz. Sujan,
& Sujan, 1986) suggested that adaptive selling depends on salespeople's ability to organize their knowledge of and expcrience~ with customers. Specifically. through experience,
salespeople develop "scripts" or stereo types about what typically unfolds during a selling
cncounter. These scripts contain knowledge about different types of customcrs. As such.
thcse scripts or knowlcdgc structures guide their behaviors in intcractions. Morcover. the
morc accurate and detailed these sc ript s. the more successful salespeop le are. For example. research has found that the accuracy with which a salespcrson perceives customers
and th e number of ways in which a salesperson differentiatcs customers arc related to that
salesperson's effectivenes!>. (Lambert. Marmornstein. & Shanna. 1990: Sujan ct al.. 1988).
Not surprbingly, then. in an efforl to help sale;people under;tand the types or customers

360

Pan IV COlllexlljor Penllwion

they might encounter, a considerable amount of research has focused on developing different typologies of customers.
The Illost basic typologies are based on demographic characteristic:... For example.

Goff. Bcllenger. and Stojack ( 1994) round that shoppe'" age. ge nder. and whet her or not
they u,ed a "purchase pal" (a shopping companion) innuenced the degree to which they
were per>uaded by salespeople. Specifically. males were ""ceptible to salespeople who
used relational message~. older customer ... were ,usceptible to informational and relational
messages. and customers who used a purcha\c pal were moM ,usceptible to recommenda-

tional wategies (Goff et al.. 1994).

One of the fi"t typologies of reta il customers was developed by Stone (1954). who
identified four categories of shoppers. Ecol/omic cOl/sumer.\ arc cautious shoppers, paying
close attention to the quality and price of merchandise. Per.wm{lli~illg cOllsumers are intereqed in establishing relationships with ... alespeople. Ethical CIl_flOmers place moral va lu e ...
above economic ones (e.g .. they would rather help the "little guy" lhan save money in a
big department store). Finally. the

aparheric ('(m.wlIler doc:..n'( enjoy shopping and does it

only out of necessity.

Like Stone's (1954) typology. most of those that followed cmegoriLed custome" on
the basi' or their motivation ror shopping (e.g" see Dawson. Bloch. & Ridgway. 1990:
Gorr & Walters. 1995). According 10 Oa" son and colleagues (1990). all of these motivation ... can be classified into one of three general categorielo: product-oriented. experiential.
or a combinarion of both product and experiential.
In the fir~t case. a .,tore vi .. it i~ Illotivilled by purcha ...c need .. or the desire to acqllire prod
uct information. For in~tance. a COn\llll1Cr'S necd to find an anniversary gift within the next
two hours wi ll produce ... trong product Illotivc. The second class of moti,e" in the typology
ha., a hedonic or recrcillional orientation . ... Here. the attention is on store or mail vi ... ilS
made for the plC<.ISllre inherent in the vi ... it itself. ... The last motive category combine ..
product and expericntial elements, and occurs when the store visitor seeks to sa tisfy a purcha .. e need as well as have a pleasurable recreational experience in the oUllet. For example,
a pen.,on Illay visit an outdoor equipmenllotore in order to purchase hiking gear. but also to
panicipate in enjoyable conver.,ation ::Ibout hiking experiences with a ... ale ... pcr,on or other
patron . (p. 410)
Clearly. each of these motives affcch the ways shopper... respond to salespersons
and innuence tactics. For instance. Goff and Walters ( 1995) found that recrea tional shop
pen., arc especially su,ceptible to salc..,per"oll influence, and Dawson and co lleagues

(1990) found that shopper> with product motives were signilicantly more likely to make a
purcha ...c.

While each or the above-ment ioned typologies was developed by observi ng shoppers or asking shoppers about themselves. we find a final typology offered by Sharma and
Levy (1995) especially interesting . because it was developed by going straight to the
salc speople. These researchers asked 229 retail sa le speopl e to describe the dimensions

rh ey use to catego ri ze shoppers. Their responc"es fell into eig ht categories: (I) price!
promotion-conscious shoppers (shoppers interested in buying products on sale). (2) need!
product-based shoppers (who buy products for their own use and may need assistance),

(3) gift buyers. (4) browsers (shoppers who are "just locking" and do not want to be dis-

Chapter 19 Socia/lnflLlence ill Selling Co/HeXf.\'

361

turbed by salespeople). (5) shoppers who need and seek sales help. (6) negatively labeled
shoppers (a category that contains negative customer descriptions). (7) knowledgeable
shoppers (who know what they want and don't need help). and (8) decision-style shoppers
(who have their own way of making decisions).

Kllowledge oj Influellce Tactics

In addition to developing a thorough knowledge of different types of customers. effective
salespeople also have a large repertoire of influence tactics they can use to persuade their
customers. The study of compliance gaining focuses on strategies and tactics aimed at getting others to do something or to act in a particular way. Traditional research in this area

sought 10 develop typologie> of compliance-gaining strategies (e.g .. threat. promise. deception. and so forth) by relying on theory (French & Raven. 1959), or by asking research
participants to describe the tactics they might use in a variety of situations. Whatever the
method. an enorlllouo;, number of tactics and typologies have been developed . Kellerman

and Cole (1994). for example, identified 74 typologies of compliance-gaining messages

that they integrated into a "super" typology of 64 distinct strategies
We have argued elsewhere that an alternative to this approach b to observe influence tactics that are used in actual encounters involving face-to-face interactions and to
c~ltegorize the tactics on the basis of a finite set of po;,ychological principle ... underlying

why people comply with requests (see Cody & Seiter. 200 I). One viable set of processes
was presented by Cialdini (200 I: \Oe also chapter 12 in this volume). Many of these processes were aJ...o covered earlier in this chapter. particularty the importance of credibility
and likabi lilY. which can be established by creating images of tru<.,t and experti~e and w'Iing
tactics such as appearing friendly or similar to the Cll!o.tomer, conforming opinion~. praio;,ing [he customer, and rendering favors. In addition to these processe<.,. this section brieny
di<.,cus\es five others: (jcarcity. social proof. contrast. commitment. and reciprocity .

Scarcity.

People are often surpri!o.cd to learn that merchandise shortages are sometimes
planned by retail storcs. Indeed, retailers know what research has shown for a long time:
Scarce object~ are typically perceived a~ more de<.,irable or unique. and as a result people

are willing to p"y higher prices for thel11 (sec Lynn, 1991; Verh.llen & Robben, 1995).
Moreover. if a product is percei\'ed a... scarce (e.g.. "II's the last one in your ~ile.'). people
may be more eager to buy it for fear of not having the freedom to do so in the future .
Cialdini (2001) refers to this as the prillciple o/scarcity.
In addition to shortages. the principle of scarcity can be used in other ways. For examplc. retailers often use restrictions that can assume several forms, which include limited
time offers. limits on the quantity of a product that may be purchased. or a store purchafote
of a certain minimulll dollar amountlO qualify for a good price (Inman, Peter, & Raghubir,

1997). Whatever the case. when confronted with the principle of scarcity, people may perceive the product more favorably and/or purchase it in an effort to relieve" themselves of
the restriction ... placed upon them. Previous research sugge~led that scarcity is an effective
sales tactic. For example. Inman and colleagues (1997. study 1) found that sales were
twice as high when a restriction was in place than when it was not.

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Part IY

CmUCXIJ'/or Per.Hi{lS;OI/

When people are trying 10 decide what clothes they ~ hould wear or, for
that matter. what behaviors are appropri ate. they often look at what o th er people are doing
or weari ng. C ia ldin i (200 I ) labe led this form of innuence social proof"

Social Proof.

The tcndency 10 see an action a . . more appropriate when ot hers arc doing it normally
works quite wel l. As a rule. we will make fewer mistakes by acting in accord wi th social
evidence than cont rary to it. Usually whc n a lot of people are doing :-.omethin g. it is the
right thing to do. This feature of the principle of soc ial proof is si nlllitan eollsly its major
strength und its major weakness. Like the other weapons of influence. it provides a conve
nicnt shortcut for determining how to behave. but. at the same time. makes one who uses
the ... hortclit vu ln erable to the attacks of profiteers who li e in wai t along its path. (p. 1(0)
In selli ng contex ts, social proof b a commo n intluence tactic. "Best-sellers" and
"top ten" lists are examples of ways in w hi ch rctailers try to se ll products by showing that
other pcople arc also using them. Some salespeople are tra ined to let c ustome rs know
whe n a particular product is "the season'~ hottest color," "what everyo ne is buy ing:' or
"the most popular. In sho rt, social proof s.e ll s me rchandi se by claiming that whatever is
popular is good. so custo mers should buy what's popular.

COlltrast.

Chapter 12 of this book discusses sequential influe nce tacti cs that include the
contrasT effect. We briefly rev isit the concept here to talk about how thi s e ffect operates in
sell ing COJltext~. The basic idea behind this e ffect is that when people are ex posed to so me
standard amount of violence. beauty. prices o n co mmoditi es. temperature. happiness. and
so forth. they become adjusted o r adapted to that "standard"' level. After this level is establi:-.hed. a con tra ~t effec t occ urs whe n something is judged again!>.1 th e sta ndard. For example. a lukewarm swimming poo l mi ght feel cold to someo ne who has just come from a
hOI Jacu.lZi but hot to so meo ne e lse who had just stepped out of a snows torm.
The co ntras t e ffect can be implemented in selling cont ex ts in a coupl e of ways. One
approach. known as the door-;II-rhe-/ace tactic, involves makin g a large request and fol low ing it w ith a smalle r requ c!>.t. or course. the small er request is what the persuader
wa nted all along. For example. a salespc r~on may know that a particular c ustome r wou ld
never conside r buying a $ 1.000 eve ning gown. Even so. th e sa l e~ p e rso n might beg in by
showi ng th e clistomer such a gown and as king if she woul d like to purchase it. Whe n the
customer declines. th e salespe rson ca n the n sho w a 5500 gow n and ask for a sale.
A second approach i~ know n a~ the top-dowll .m /n tactic (Donoho & Swenson.
1996). The idea is th e same as before. on ly thb time requests are not mad e. Instead. salespeople begin by ~ h ow in g the top-of-t he-l in e or highest-pri ced items as a reference point
and then proceed by stepping down \0 lower- and lower-priced items. Regardle ss of the
approac h lIsed, the contra st effect is th e underlying princ iple; $500-dollar items see m
much less expensive when compared to $1.000 items. Compared to $ 1OO-dollar items,
however. they may seem expens ive.
The effect iveness o f these con trast tacti cs has been well documented o utside sales
co ntexts, though according to Donoho and Swenson ( 1996), 1110" support for the effectiveness of the top-down approac h w ith in sales contexts is anccdotal. In thei r study. how-

Chapter 19 Social h!/ll1(!IICe

itl

Selling

CoruXlS

363

ever, Donoho and Swenson found that the top-down sales tactic was more effective than
the bottom-up sales tactic (discussed below).
The commitment principle sllggest~ thaI the more a person is com mitted
to a group. cam,e. or idea. the more likely he or she is 10 stick with it. For example, once a
couple make a commitment to gel married, buy an engagement ring. and send out wedding
invitations. it becomes difficult for them to change their minds about gelting married-too
much cognitive dissonuncc. The same is true in selling contexts. Once customers become
com milled to the idea of making a purchm,c. it is difficult for thel11 to back out.
Two commonly researched strategies that rely on the commitment principle are the
!oot;,,the-t!oor taNic (a person agrees to a small reque ... t. which creatcs a comm itment 10
an idea. and then i" more likely to <.Igrec to a second. larger re(luc ... t) and the 1()I\'-/}1I11 taer;e
(u per... on ugrees to a reque ... t or commits to a decision and Imer learns there were hidden
costs involved in making such a decision) (for more on these tactics, scc chapter 12).
We have suggested cl ...e\.\here that in selling context ... commitment call work in a
variety of other ways (Cody & Seiter. 200 I). For eX3mple. once a cu ... tomer becomes committed to the ide<.l of buying a product. he or ,he can be shown more and more expensive
items. Donoho and Swen,on (1996) called thi-. the holtom-llp sales tactic. Second. once a
customer becomes committed to buying a product, the salcspcr,on might innuence that
cus tome r 10 "complctc" th e purchasc with add-on itcms. For example. a shopper who
originally came to purchase a "iuil might be pero;uaded to complete thc ensemble with the
proper 'hirt', tie .... shoes, and so fOrlh.

Comlllitmellt.

Reciprocity.
the principle

The expre ... sion "You scratch my back. and I'll scratch yours" epitomi7es
reciprocity. Stated simply. this principle suggests that "we ... hould try to
repay. in kind. what another PCN'II has provided u'(Cialdilli. 200 I. p. 20). In other
word .... if someone docs a faH)r or gi\cs a gift. the beneficiary feels indebted to him or her.
As such. the beneficiary is morc likely to comply with the gift giver's requests, This principle i... at work when "free stuff' i\ given to L'u<.;t0111crs. For example. Hickory Farms and
Sec's Candies frequentl) give customers samples of their products. Cosmetic departments
allow cu'-.tomcrs to test perfumes and often hire cmployees to administer the sample for
added pre;sure. Whatever the gift. such behavior may make shoppers feel indebted.
Greenberg (1980) argued that the,e feelings make people feel uncomfortable by threatening their sense of independence. A ... a resuit, they become motivated to repay the debt.
(~r

Adaptillg Tactics to Cllstomers

A study by Sprowl and colleague, (1994) found that none of the four compliance gaining
strategies reportedly used by real estate salesl>cople (denigration. aggrandizement, intimidation. and nnional appeal) led to ... ales sllcce~s. The researchers suggested that a possible
explana ti on for thi ... is that successful salespeople not only know about different strategies
but also how to adapt their strategy choice to different situations. Indeed, so far we ha ve
argued that successful ,ales people have detailed knowledge structures regarding types of

364

Part IV

CO/ltCX1J for Per.m(Jsiol/

shoppers and the types of strategies they mighl use to influence them. However. much
research argues that detailed knowledge about customers and strategies may not be the
only information necessary to be a successful salesperson. For instance WeitL and colleagues ( 1986) noted:
We suggest thut, to practice adaptive se lling effectively, salespeop le need an elabonlle
knowledge stru ctu re or sales silUations. sales behaviors. and contingencies that link specific behaviors to situations. To utilize thi s knowledge. sa lespeople need to be skillrul in
collecting information about (:ustol11ers so that they ('an relate knowledge acquired in pre vious sales situations to the interaction in which they are c urrently e ngaged. (p. 176)

In other words, successful salespeople must be able to join knowledge about customers
and strategies in order to adapt to specific selling situations (S ujan et 31.. 1988). For this
reason, sc holars have argued that communication is essential to the selling process (e.g ..
Sprowl et aI.. 1994: Williams & Spiro, 1985). Through comillunication, salespeople are
not only able to develop the types of knowledge di sc ussed earlier, they are able to elicit
the needs and wants of specific customers and adapt accordingly. A large body of research
and theory supports the idea that successful sa lespeople are those who are able to recognize different types of customers and change their behaviors to match the situation (e.g.,
Levy & Sharma, 1994: Sharma & Levy. 1995; Sujan et aI., 1988: Weitz et aI., 1986: Will iams & Spiro. 1985). In light of thi s, a useful approach to understanding successful selling
in retail con texts would be to examine the types of influence tactics that are effective for
particular Iypes of customers. In the next section, we revi ew two studies that examine thi s
and other i ss u e~.

Bringing It All Together: A Review of Two Studies

In order to develop a better understanding of influence processes, Cialdini (1980) advocared a strategy called '"full-cycle socia l psychology." A central concern of this strategy is
the identification of inlluencc methods used by everyday practitioners who are undoubtedly motivated to develop and refine intluence tactics in order to maximize career success.
With this in mind, we published two studics (Cody & Seiter. 2001; Cody. Seiter, &
Montagn e-Miller, 1995) based on observations of "real life" encounters between 416
shoppers and 416 commission sa lesc lerks in retail department stores. BOlh of the studies
examined the use and effectiveness of Cialdini's principles of compliance discussed earlier (i.e., liking, credibility. reciprocity, cOlllmitment, contrast. social proof. and scarcity).
We review these studie s here because they illustratc and extend many of the issues already
discllssed in this chapter.

Study Olle
As already noted, effective salespeople not only need to know about different types of
customers and the different Iypes of inJlucllce tactics they might use but also about what
types of tactics work best on which customers. Our first study (Cody et al., 1995) examined

Chapter 19 SOcillllllflllellce ill Sellillg COIl/('UJ

365

this issue by having trained students observe and record the "itrategic~ salcsclerb used and
how these strategies influenced different types of shoppers (for more detail on methodology. see Cody et al.. 1995). Shoppers were categorized in two ways. Fir\!. we examined
whether malc.\ and females were influenced differently. Second. we looked at whether a
customer's moti ve for shopping influenced thc way he or she responded to salesclcrks. The
three types of shoppers we included were focI/sed shoppe" (who knew what they wanted
to buy), recreational shoppers (who were "just browsing"). and gift buyer.\.
Table 19.1 illustrates how various tactics influenced males and female\. The results
compare purchase amounts depending on whether each tactic was used or not. As can bc
:-.ecn, males spent more than females but were significantly influenccd by fewer tactics.
Although women spent significantly more in re~ponse to virtually all of the tactic~. mcn
were most influenced by reciprocity. commitment. and ingratiation tactics.
Table 19.2 illustrates how various tactics influence recreational \hoppers. focused
shoppers. and gift buyers. A~ can be seen. focused shoppers spent the mO!o.t money. fol lowed by gift buyers and then recreational shoppers. Moreover, although recrcalional
~ h oppers werc influenced by almost all the tactics, focused shoppcr\ were not significantly
influenced by opinion conformity. similarity, helpfulnes~. contraM. and scarcity tactics.
Gift buyers were significantly influenced only by opinion conformity and social proof.
In general. the~e results indicate that the most effective tactics are tho..,e that mcet
cus tomcrs' goals. For example. the typical male wants to buy objects as quickly and efficien tl y as possible. so the best approach is simply to Ill'lp him lind the desired object.
praise his selection, and then recommend an accessory that goc!o. with his choice. On the
other hand. gift buyers want to find an object that !o.omeone besides themselves will likc.

TABLE 19.1 A.'erage Amoullt (Dollars) Spellt by Male and Female Shoppers
When Tactics Were and Were Not Used

Male Shoppers
Tactics
Li k i ng/i ngrat i'lt ion
Prai-..e
Opinion conformity
Render favors
Fricndline~ ..
Similarity
Credibility
Helping/reci procity
Commitment
Contrast
Social proof
Scarcity
' Indicate~

SO/lree:

Female Shoppers

Not Used

Used

Not Used

Used

63.85
58.56
85.14
81.82
72.67
93.77
68.62
64 .09
74.05
96.64
81.80
90.55

127.32
156.84
141.32
127.35
122.83
117.34
116.70
132.49'
161.67'
113.89
139.21
139.04

45.95
44.71
65.23
58.70
57.82
65.24
45.82
45 .67
51.98
66.47
56.02
64.51

107.39'
122.34
109.70'
t07.83
86.35
110.77'
10.1.16'
91.82
m .32'
115.71
110.53
105.55'

that the tactic was significantl), related to increased ,ales.

Adapted from Cody. Seller. & Montagne-Miller. 1995.

366

Pan IV COl/texIS for PerJ/{{Hio"

Average Amolllll (Dollars) Spellt by Differellt Types of Shoppers
Wlren Tactics Were and Were Not Used

TABLE 19.2

Tactics

Recreational
Shoppers
(N=105)

Focused
Shoppers
(N=256)

Gift
Buyers
(N=54)

Not
Used

Used

Not
Used

Used

Not
Used

Used

9.21
18.14
19.06
16.68
22.92

109.42
I 32.s:1
101.96
42.37
106.43

62.46

141.~9

92.26
84.18
73.76
89.65

114.~6

121.46'
125.45
137.24

75.47
67.98
74.96
76.46
87.13

91.75
135.01
87.92
81.82
57.73

19.95
26.73

73.34
96.27'

76.35
87,77

115.90
140,25

69.07
70,70

91.79
108,97

4.40
6,92
19,04
26,78
17,60
19,71

31.28
78,91
124.75
95.29"t99,81'
103.69'

98,82
7503
73.38

96,25
143,76
16 UX)
133,17
121.83
122,87

75.43

79,69
94,51
101.26
75,36
113.33
83.22

Li ki ng/i ngratiat ion

Praise
Opinion conformity
Render faVOf\
Friendlinc\~

Similarity
Crcdihility
Expertise
Trust
Hel pi ng/rec iprocit y

Helpfulness
Leading help
Commitment

Contra",
Social proof
Scarcity

92.12
84.43
90,60

6X.62

68.10
79,97
60.68
78,57

Indicate ... that the tactic .... as .. ignificantly rt.'!latl,!d In increa . . ed .. ale . . _
Source: Adapted from Cody. Seiler. & MOlllagnc-Miller. 1995.

Thus, the two tactics thai indicate a product is liked by others (opinion conformity and
social proof) seem to be the mOM effective for thi~ type of cuMomer.

Study Two
While our first study focused on types of customer:. and larategies. it said nothing about
the ways in which different types of salesclerks affect buyer-seller interactions. Our second ;Judy (Cody & Seiter. 200 I) examined this i"lIc,
Recall that earlier in thi~ chapter we described the four different styles of salesperson identified in this second study: ingratiation-style clerks. task-oriented clerks. clientoriented clerks. and passive-inactive derks. Once again. based on observations of real
interactions between commission sale..,people and their customers. we sought to identify
the types of strategies used by clerks and how effective each clerk was. Table 19.3 illustrates our results. As can be seen. reciprocity tactics were used 1ll0~t often by all types of
salesclerks. followed by liking or ingratiation attempt ....
The table also shows that client-oriented clerh used significantly more tactics than
the other clerks and that ingratiation-oriented clerk, were characterized primarily by the

367

Chapter 19 SOcilll l ll/llll'lIce ill Sdlillg COlllt'.\!'

TABLE 19.3

Sales Tactics Usel/ by Four Types oJ Clerks

Tactics
Li kinglingr:.ttiat ion
Crcdibilit)
Helping/reci procil)'
COlllmitment
Contra ...
Social proof
Scarcity
PurCh:hC ,!lnounl
SO/mI'

Clie"tOriellted
(N=20)
8.45
3.70
10.35
1.05
.lJ2
1.(Xl
.45
$21.1.82

Illgratiator
(N=68)
3AR

1.38
5 . 9~

.46
.13
AI)

.28
51~1.07

TaskOriellted
(N=167)

Passive/
Illactive
(N=161)

1.96
.90
3.40

.66
.28
1.81
.09
.03

.~9

.13
.34
.14
588.86

. 12

.10
$2058

Adapted from Cod} & Seill'r. 10()1

use of friendly and helpful tactics. Intereqing ly. these IWO active ..,ty les of sellin g. which
a1 ... 0 resulted in the large..,t purchase amounts, made up only about 21 percent of all
th e buyt!r-~eller imeraclion.., we ob..,erved (5 percent c lient-oriented and 16 percenl
ingrmiation-oriented). Task-oriented clerks. who relied on high levels of helping tactics
and moderate level ... of liking tactics. made up 40 percent of our ~ample: passive-inactive
clerk .... who u.:;ed minimal helping tactic ... and no Olher I) pe of tactic. made up 39 percent of
our ... ample. A:.. might be expected. ciienl-orienlcd clerk ...... old significantly more
Illerchantli ... c than ingratialion-oriented c lerb-. ingratiarion-oriented clerks ... o ld ~ignifi
cantly morc merchandise lhan task-oriented c lcrk:-" and ta ... k-oricnted clerks sold ~ig
nificalllly more merchandi~e than pas~ive-inactive c1l!rk .....

Implications
Whal arc the implicalion:.. of the ... e studic ... ? For tho\e intere\lcd in impro\'ing sales, our
project ... \ugge"tthal ... ucces ... ful ... elling depends on clerks' ability to help shoppers achieve
their goaI:-.. adapt to shoppers' I1l.!cds, and foslcr an image of likability. If a customer is
:..hopping for a gift. the be~1 <.ipproach is 10 use ~ocial proof and opi ni o n conformity tactics
to make a ... ale. If the c ustomer i... a focused or recreational shopper. the best advice is 10 be
custol1lcf-orienlcd. u . . ing a wide variety of tactics in order 10 adapt to the customer's needs
(Cody & Seiter. 200 I).

Con elusion
The pril11~lry theme in thi ... rcvie\\ of socia l innuence and retail sa les is lhat in order 10 be
effective .... ale:..people musl be competent communicators who are able to adapl to a variety of ... clling ... ituations. To this end ... ale~people must learn to juggle an assonment of
goal .... which range frol11 making the . . ale in an appropriate manner to cretlt ing a c red ible
and likahlc image. 10 building relation ... hip ... with cu ... tomers. We have sugge ... led Ihal much

368

Part IV COf/tex(sjvr Persuasion

of thi~ ability is learned with experience over time and that with training. ~alesclerks benefit from enhanced knowledge struclures. These structures contain information about different innuence strategies and Iypcs of cllstomers that salespeople encounter. A key
ingredient of effective sales is knowing which of these strategies work best with which
type of customer. We concluded this chapter with a description of our own studies that
have helped to address this issue.
Although we have covered many topics here. we freely admit Ihal we have merely
scratched the surface of the body of literature on selling. For example, most of Ihe selling
tactics we discussed (e.g .. scarcity, liking, ~ocial proof) operate heuristically. innucncing
customers without causing them to think Illuch about things like product quality or arguments regarding why they should or shouldn't purchase a product. Stafford (1996) suggested that many of the taclies discussed in this chapter are cffective but do not represent
the full range of effects that can take place in response to sale..,clerk< selling attempts. For
example. the scarcity tactic may have a negative effect if used on shoppers with a high
need for cognition (i.e .. people who need 10 think things through carefully) (see Inman et
al.. 1997). Moreover, Whittier (1994) ... ugge~ted that if customer ... interpret these lacties as
manipUlative seiling ploys, negative effects may occur. and Stafford (1996) argued that
when a buyer becomes aware that these taclies arc being used, it may cause him or her to
scrutinile the salesclerk's messages. Whatever the case, such research highlights the importance of ethical and appropriate behavior on the part of salesclerks and. once again. the
necessity of adaptability on the part of salespeople. Indeed. effective salespeople should
be able to adapt to all types of customers. even those who do not base lheir purchase decisions on simple heuristics.

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Slafforll. T . F. ( 1996 I. (\l11"(;iou,,, and unc(lIl ... cinu~ proce~ ... ing of pri mi ng ('ue'" in ~e II ing cncounter~. joltr11(/1 ()( PI'/"WJlw! Sf'flillg (llId Snit's M(II/(/~elllelll. Ifl. J7-t--l-

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Author Index
Abe, J. A. A ...11 S. 324
Abend. T. A.,
Adam ... S .. 290
Adam." W. c.. "267
Afin. W.o 249. "252. 258.
260.261
Aho. L. In
Aida. Y.. 321. 3D
Aiken. L. S .. 295
Aj/en. L 33. -t6. 47. 53. oX.

79.117.296.297
Albarracin. D.. 50..1
Albert. S .. 173. 174, J06
Aleman. c., 19 I. 32lJ
Allegrante. J. P .. 277

Allen. M.. 3K 226. 295

Altemeyer. R. A .. l.JS
Allman. D. G .. 297
Alvaro, E .. 159
Amir.Y .. 49
Am ..el. A .. 305
Analol. K. W. E.. 267
Ander .. , S. L.. 322
Andl'r~en. J. F.o 170. In.

.len
Ander1'oen. J.W .. 4~
Ander~en. K .. 95
Ander ..en. P.A .. 13.26. 116.
165.166.167. 16S. 172.

Ander<;on. C. M .. 125

A nder ..on. J .. 268

Ander-.on. L. R.o 268. 276

Ander<,on. R.. 331

Ander.,on. R. B.. 34
Anderson. R. 1.. 291
AnJrev...,. I. R.o 341
Andrews. J. C .. g 1,99
Anglin. K, A .. 358
Angras. W. S .. 297
Ansari. M. A .. 339. ;\42
Anselmi. K.. ;\57. 35~
Ansolabehere. S .. 273
Apple. W .. 169. 176
Applegate. J. L.. 3~9. 330
Areni. C. S .. 39. 79
Argyle, M . 6
Aristotle, 4. 65. 95
Aron. A .. 330
Aron, E .. 330

372

Arom.on. E.. 3. 103. 152

Aron~on. J.. 50. 52
A~canli. K .. 21M
A ... h. A .. 307
A,hcr, T .. 216
A .. ~ca1. H .. 270. 276
J.W .. 116
Aune. R. K .. 169. 175. 176.
Atkin~on.

239.

247.2~8.~49.260

Au~tin.

L 102
Au,tin. J. T. 189
A\<ant~.

A vtgi~.

S. K .. 325
T.A .. I 15. 124

Baa~ke.

K. T .. 342
Babbitt. P.. 35
Bachman. J. G .. 297
Backu\. 0 .. 3~2
Badger. E.E .. 124. 125. 127
Baer. P. E .. 279
Baker. L 277
Baker. S .. 292
Baker. W. E .. 49
Bakhtlll. M. M .. 330. 331
Ballard-Reisch. D. S.. 289
Banduril, A .. 19. 33. 271.
295
B;trb.dale. H. C .. 356
Barnicott. E.. 21,19
Barraclough. R .. 3~5
Barrett. D.W .. 50
Barron. K.E .. 52
Barry. B .. 337. 340. 341.

J-I5. J-I6
B,,\eheart. J. R.. 92
Ba\il. M .. 35
Ba~\ett. R.. 210, 218
B'I'.\ili. J. N .. 32
Bateman. T S .. 341. 345.
346
Ilauku\. R.A .. IIR. lit)
Ba\'eJa~. J. B.. 13. 24K 251
Baxter. L. A .. 327. 330, 33 I
Beaber. R.. 169
Beach. B .. 158
Beach. R. I.. 154
Beach. W. A .. 13
Beaman. A. L.. 213
Bearden. L.. 21. 123. 124
Beany, MJ .. 115.267

Be.my, S. E .. 357
Beaubien, R. A .. 291
Be.lUvai .... F.. 279
Bcau\<oi<;. J.L. 51. 52
Becker. L. B.. 223
Bed.er. M. H .. 232. 2M9.
290.291. 292. 293. 295.
297
Bedman. L 1.. 322. 332
Bec.:klold. M.G .. 226
Bej~ecker. A. E.. 306. 307
Bej~cker. T 0 .. 306. 307
Be[l. D. W .. 74
Bell. R. R.. 300
Bcllenger. D. N .. 360

Scm. D. 1.. 68
Benoit. W. L.. 95. 99.100.
101. I ().I. 105. 106

Berg. J., 290

Bergen. A. . 158
Berger. A. A .. 6
Berger, C. R .. 45. 185, 189.
192. 194. 196.299.331'1
Berger. J.. \35. 136. 138
Bcrkowill. 1. M .. 226. 231.
233, 235
BerkowitL. N. N .. 95
Berlo, D. K .. 223
Bcrn~tein. D. A.. 277
Berry. L. L.. 357
Ber<;chcid. E .. 95
Be~t, D. L.. 134. 136
Be<;t, J. A .. 277
BctlJnghau!.. E. P.. [4. 19
BCllman. J. R .. 359
Beutler. L. E.. 229
Bewley. B. R .. 277
Be/jian-Avery. A .. ~O
Bhatia. S .. 40
Bi(:kman. L.. 172
Biernat, M .. 135
Biglan. A.. 277, 296
Binik. Y .. 54
Bird ...ell. D, S .. 39
Bir"- '1'.. 141. 157. 158. 169,
]70. 291. 294

81"'3117. G.L.186
Bither. S. W .. 275
Bitner. M. J .. 357
Biter. G. Y.. 67. 83s

Black. A .. 25 I
Blair, 1. A .. 39
Blake, J. B.. 272
Bland. J. M .. 277
Blank. A . 193
Ble"'. H ..

Bloch. P. H.. 360

Block. C,J .. 134
Bloom. N.. '298
Blum-Kulka. S .. 192
BIUlmtein. P.. 343
Bock. D .. 102
Bochner, $ .. 102. 103

Bodaken, E. M .. 267
Bohm. D.. 331
Bohner. G., 72
Bob, J. S.. .156
Bond. G. G .. 295
Boorom. M. L .. 358
Booth-Butterfield. $ .. 58
Borcher<.. T. A.. 6. 14
Borgida. E.. 134. 137
Borland, R.. 157.235
Born ... tein. R.E. 48. 49
Sorrie. R. A .. 268
O()\ter. F. 1.. 16. 17. 57. 59.
77,79. 1[3.120.122,
123.177.227.228.300.
J 19. 320. 340
Bo\trom. R. N .. 14,21.92
Oot\'in. G. L 277
Bnwen. S. L.. 158
Bower. G .. 74
Bowc~.

J. W.. 328. 329.

.130

Bowers. M. R .. 355
Bo)'d ... tol1.1.. 273
Boynton, G. R.. 39
Braddock. C. H., 307
Bradford, K. D .. 356
Bmdlcy, P. 1-1 .. 134. [39
Brady. R. M .. 175
Bra ... her .... D. E.. 38
Bratman. M. E.. 192
Breda. C .. 139
Brehm. J. W .. 229. 230. 266.

278. 279
Brehm, S. $ .. 229
Brekke. N .. 74
Brentl, R. 0 .. 346

Author Index
Brickman. P.. 49
Brifiol. P.. 73. 8~

Bu:-.~.

Brock. 1'.

Butler. D.. 136

Butle r. L 267
Butner. 1.. 50
Buttne r. E. H.. 139
Byrne, D .. 235

c.. 67. 73. 8 1. 96.

98.99. 101
Brockner. L 170
Brockricde. W.. 5
Broka w. c.. 274
Bromer. P.. 32
Brommcl. B. J .. 321
Broned. K .. 159
Brook,. R. D .. 150
Broverll1an. D. M.. 13-'
Brovernw n, I. K .. I ~4. 136
Brown, C. E.. 141
Brown. J. B.. 307
Brown . L. K., 293
Brown, P .. 188, 190. 199,
325.328.329
Brown. S. P.. 359
Brownlow, S., 6
Buber. M .. 331
Buddebcrg-Fischc r. B.. 133
Bui. K. T .. 320
Bukov:lc. J. L.,-l0
Bull, R., 167
Buller. D. B.. 20, 157.158.

169.173.17.1.175.176.
235. 239. 2-l0. 242. 245.
246. 247. 248. 249. 250.
251.252. 253. 255. 256.
258.259.260,261.299
Buller. M . K .. 158.299
Bulten ... G .. 232
Burger. J. M .. 21 1. 214. 215.

216.220
Burgc,s. D.. I ~7
Burgoon. J. K.. 20. 56. 166,

167.169.170. 173. 174,

175. 176.239.240. 2.1 2,
245,246. 2-l7. 248, 249,
250. 25 1. 252. 253, 254.
256. 258. 259, 260. 261,
267.29 1. 298, 299, 303.
322. 323. 332. 356
Burgoon, M.. 2, 6.14. 16.

19.20.36,45,56.122.
139.141. 149. 150. 15 1.
152. 153. 155. 157. 15S.
159, 163.235.265.267.
268, 272. 274. 277, 29 1,
29.1 , 299. 300, 303. 305
Bur]..c. K.. 16
BurIC'lon. B. R.. )40, 342
Bur", . C. S .. 11}3. 319
Burri " c.T.. 52
Burrough<;. N.F., 2 1
Busch. P .. 355. 356. 357

Bu shman. B. L 173. 230

Bu slig. A. L. S .. 248. 250.
252.258.260.26 1

D. M .. 3 18. 3 19. 320.

322

Cabm. 1.. 67
Cacioppo, J.. 15. 19.36.57.

58.66.68.70.73.74.76.
77. 7S. 79. SU2. 83. 95.
96.97.98.99.100. 10 1.
103. IW. 121. 175. 176,
177,210,2 18.270.273
CaL D .. 306
Caine. B .. 267
Calder. B .. 40. 66
Caldwell. D. F. 2 14
Calli<;tcr. M. A .. 156
Cameron. K. A .. 226
Camcron. L .. 293
Cmnp lin. G.. IR8
Canary, DJ .. 123. 12-l. 186.

340.345.354
Cantril!. J. G .. 188.339
Carbon ari. J. P.. 292
Carli. L. L.. 134. 135. 136.

137.138. 139. "0. 141 .

142.143
Carl smith. J. M.. 51, 52. 68,

103
Carlson. J. G.. 81. 29 I
C ruso. C .. 54
Carveth. R.. 358
Ca . . ey. M. K .. 22~
Ca . . ey. S .. 70
Cashi n. J. R.. 33
Cataldi. A. E.. 319
Cegala. D.L 14. 19,21
Cejk:l. M . A .. 137
Cerko ney. K .. 298
Chacko. H. E.. 341. 345
Chaike n. S .. 32. 46, 57. 58,

66. 6~. 71. 74. 76. 8 1. 85.

95.96. 100. 10 1. 104.
134.172. 227. 265. 269.
270.273
I
Chano .... liz. B.. 193
C hase. L. 1.. 150, lSI. 152.
267
Chebat. J-C .. 104
Chen. S .. 58. 59
Chesebro, 1. W.. 273
Chesney. M. A .. 303

Cho. H.. 229. 230. 232

Choo. T.. 103
Chovi l. N.. 25 1
C how. S .. 355
Chri slensen. A .. 322

Christie, R .. 345
Christopher, F. S .. 319. 32 1
Cialdini. R. B.. 5. 33. 5 I.

141. 166. 177.207. 208.

210.211. 215. 2 16. 217.
2 18.220.353. 356. 36 1.
362.363.364
Ciarella. 1.. 54
Cicero. 95
C i ~'na.

K. N.. 33 1

Clark . R. A.. 354

Clarkson. F. E .. 134
Clevenger. T.. 13.95
C lo re. G. L.. 72. 75
Clufr. L E.. 290
Clu'ls. P. A.. 298
Cobb. A. T .. 34 1
Cochmn . S.D .. 54
Cody. M. LI4 . 19.21. 123.
124.186. 187.191.318.

3 19.339.3' 0.342.345.
354.356.357.36 1. 363.
364.365.366.367
Cohen. A. R.. 266
Cohen. C. E.. 188
Cohen. G .. 50
Cohen. M .. 267
Coker. D. A .. 166.299
Coker. R. A.. 166.29 1. 299
Cole, C. M .. 213
Cole. T.. 181. 318. 3 19. 321.

36 1
Cole man. J, E.. 357
Comlldcna, M. E.. 240
Compton. R.L 49
Comstock, 1.. 248, 255, 26.
355, 357. 358
Congalton, K. J . 18
Conley. T. M.. 31
Conno r, J. M .. 137
Connors. M . M .. 234

Cook. E. W.. 303

Cook. K .. 138
Cook. T. D.. 101
Coomb.... w. T.. 276
Cooper. L 50, 51. 52, 172
Cooper. M .. 14, 19.2 1. 93
Cooper. M. D.. 16
Copeland. C. L.. 141
Copeland, G. A .. 273

Corbett . E. P.L 2
Corbett . K.. 277
Corby, N. 1-1 .. 35
Corli<;s. R.. 55
Corlle liu.'). T .. 211
Cornell. K. R.. 49
C()~ta. P.T .. 11 5
Co,tello. S .. 172
Cotton. J.L .. 52
Coupland, J.. 199

373

Coupland. N .. 189, 199

Cousins. N .. 294
Cowan, G. 318. 320. 325
Cowles, D., 356
Co,;, K. C . 39
Craig. K. M.. 346
Craig. R. 1'.. 329, 330, 354
Crandall, R. 49
Crane, E. 267
Cretin. D., 289
Crocker. J. 305
Cron. W. L. . 359
Cronen, V. E., 267
Cronkhite, G.. 13
Crook, C. K .. 324
Cro~by, L. A., 356
Cru!'Co, A. H .. 168
Cruz. M. G .. 199.3 19.326,

342
Cummi ngs. K. M. , 297
Cunningham, E.M., 124
Cupach. W. R.. 5, 3 18.354,

358
Cup.lch. w. D .. 167
Currie. 1.. 188
Currier. L 54
Dabb~,J.M .. 173, 174.227
Dabu!. A. J.. 141
Dallinger, J. M .. 120, 121.
197
Dance. F.E.X .. 13, 16
Danckert, 1.. 188
Danielson. K.. I 17
Darley. J. M .. 172
Da\cnny, J. E.. 279
d'Avemas. R. J. 277
Da "i~. L. M.. 339, 346
Dawson, E .. 6
Dawson. E.J . 13, 19
Dawf\on. S .. 360
Dean. R.. 102
Deault. K .. 134, 136, 305
Debono, K . G .. 95
DeCesare. K .. 220
DcGooyer. D. H.. 33 1
Dejong. W .. 2 13
Delia. J.. 35-l
Demaine. L. J.. 216
Dendy. L. L.. 330
Denning, V.. 149. 150. 155
Denton, R. E .. 6. 16. 19
DePaulo, B. M . 248. 258
DerJega, V. J . 172
Dc!lhaies. P. 54
DeStena, D., 7 \. 72. 8 1
deTurk. M . A., 299. 300.

325.326
Devine. P.G .. 52
DeVries. H .. 293

374

Author h,de.\

Dholakia. R .. 66.100.102
DIBcranJini-;. J.. 138
Dir.:bon. P. R .. 40
DiCkll1ellle. C. C .. 35. 231,
292,293
Djjk~tra, J. L-IO
Dljk... ml, M .. 293
Dillard, J. P., 13. 16. 19.20,
21.46,1-'1. 157.185,
186. 187. 1~8, IM9, 190.
191. 192, 194. 196, 197.
19K 199.201,203.223.
300. 322, 323. 330. 342,
354.358
Dillehay, R.C .. 47
Dillman, L.. 239. 256, 260
DiMaueo, M. R.. 171,294
Dion. K. K .. 140
Dion. I>. 356. 357
Di-.chler. L 290
Dobo-;, J.A .. 115
Dolich. I. L 275
Domenech-Rodrigue/. M
M.,279
Domino. G .. 229
DOIlOhcw, L.. 230
Donoho. C. L.. 362, 363
Doran. N., 157,300
Doran, N. E .. 141
DordeL E.. 330
Dorne'>, B .. 105
Dougherty, T. W .. 346
Duvidio, J. F, 141
Dowd. E. T.. 229
Doylc. A .. 140
Dreher. G. F .. 346
Drew. S .. 105
Dri-;kcll.J. E .. 134. 141
Driver, J.. 188
Dri\er. R. E .. 248
Dube, C. E.. 290. 297
Duffy, M., 289
Dunbar, J. M .. 290, 297
Dunbar, N. E .. 245, 246
Dunn, D .. 6
Dunn. K. F.. 31 H. 320
DUllning. E. 1.. 190
Dupont. L.. 6
Dwyer. K .. 290
Dwyer. R. R .. 356
Dziokon~ki. W .. 227. 128
Eag\y. A. H . 32. 46. 57, 58,
81.96,9R, 134, 135, 116.
137,138, 142,143.265,
269, 270, 273
Easterling. D .. 356
Ebesu. A .. 246. 250. 256.
261
Edgar. T., 231,321
Edward~, J. D. ISO. 152

Ehn:nhalt. A.. 174

Ei,>cnberg. S .. 277
Ekman. P.. 240. 247. 248
Elder, J. P., 277. 279
Ellt,r. M .. 23 I
Elliot. A.J .. 52
Elly~on. S. L.. 141
Elman. \-1., 140
Elny.S. V .. 169
Ely. T. K .. 140
Enll110n~. C A.. 231
Ende, J.. 307
Ender. R. A, ]J7
Endler, N.S .. 116
Eng~lrom. C. 167
Ephraim. R.. 292
Ep'>tein. L H., 298
Ep... lein. S .. 116
Eraker, S. A" 289
Ericbon. B .. 134
bhleman. S .. 23 I
E"'>e ... , V. M .. 74
E\'an,. D. A" 185
E\'an~. F .. 196.357
E .... an~. K. R .. 356
E\'an". L. Moo 68
E\'an'. R. L. 277
Fabrigar. L. R" 46, 72. 79.

RI,85
Fagol. B. L 142
Falbe, eM .. 338, 3-11. 343
Falbo,T" 138, 139.319,
322,323
Farmer, S. M .. 345. 346
Faure, C, 320
F:llio, R.H" 48. 51
Fedor. D. 8.. 3-15. 346
Fcclc). TH .. 18
l~cing()ld. A .. 172
Fcldm:lIl. C. 249. 258, 260
Feldman. P. H ..
Feldman-Summer.... $" 139
I:cnnell. M. L. 136
Fe<,hbach. S., 154, 229
Fc"tinger, L., 3. 5 I, 52. 6~,
306
Fether'itonhaugh. D . 70
Figueiras. Moo 40
Fign. S. D .. 307
Filiatrauh, P" I ~
Fine, L. Moo 358
Fine. S. H" 356
Fink, E. 1... 321
Fink. S" 276
Finnegan. J. R" 292
Finucane. Moo 115
Fire'tone, I. 1.. 167
Fi-;ck. M. H" 135
Fi ... hbein, M .. 33, 46. 47, 5:1,
54.68.79,117,296

Fi ... hcr, D" 81. 177

Fisher, R, J" 47
Fi~ke, S. T, 134. 136, 305
Filch, K. L.. 194.325,327,
328,330.343
Fil.lpatrick. M. A" 300, 321.
3:!:!. 323. 340
Flay, B. R" 277. 278, 296
Fleck-Kandath, C, 293
Fleming, D .. 39
Fletcher. R. H" 289
Flint. L. 3 18
Flora, J. A" 34
Floyd. D. L. 293
Floyd. K .. 245, 24(i, 25:1,
258.259. 261
Foan. A. E .. 277. 278
Ford. R. S .. 135, 138
Ford, T. W" 135. 138
Ford, W. S. Z .. 357
Forga.... , J. p" 74
Fo,>chi, M" 135
Fos~. S. K.. 2, D 1
Foxcroft. D. R" 271.)
Fragoso, A" 229
Frandsen. M. M .. 319. 321
Frank, C , 159
Frank, S. 1.. 229
Franklin. K. M .. 292
Fra<ier. S. C .. 213
Freeborn. V" 277
Freedman. J. L. 2 13. 269
Freimuth, V. S .. 231, 321
French, J. R. P" 296. 337.
361
Frcund. T.. 73
Friedman. H. S .. 171
Friedman. L S.. 277, 296
Friedrich. L 70
FrieM!ll, W. V" 247
Frieze, L H .. 321
Fro~t. P. L 338
Fruin. D" 232
Fulmer. T. T., 291
Fung, S. S. K" 320
Furnham. A.. 48
GadeL M. S .. 356
Galanter, E., 185
Gallagher, D., 70
Galloi<i. C, 297
Galvin. K. M . 32 1
Garbarino, E., 355, 356
Gardial. S. F.. 356
Gardner, G .. 227
Gardner. M " 275
Garko, M. Goo 341
Garn. G. L 277
Garramone, G. M" 35
Ga....... R. H., 4. 6. 14, 18, 19.

93.168.117.155

Ga.'ltil. L 54
Geis. F. L . 136, 345
Gengler, C. E., 358, 359
Gentry, J. W .. 358
Gerbner. G.. 13, 16
Gergen. K. 1.. 331
Germany, 1\1" 330
Gerrard. M" 139
Gewirtz. H .. 279
Giacalone, R. A . 141
Gibbon .... F. X . 139
Gib.<.oll-Robill',on. E" 167
Giles, H .. 175. 199
G ill ig, P. Moo 101
Givens. V.K" 226
Gla ... gow. R.. 277
Godbold. L. C .. 268, 272,
279.280
Godin. G .. 54
Goering, E. M., 3W

Goff. B. G.. 160

Goffman. E., 325, 328. 354
Goldberg, M. E., 277
Golden. B .. 152
Goldman. M .. 168
Goldman. R" 76, HI. 98.
I ()(). 10 I. I {).l
Gold ... tein. M. 1.. 227, 228,

235
Gomes, M., 3 19
Goodman. C. 3 J
Goodman, J. S .. 3-15
Goolsby, J. R.. 358
Gorassini. D. R" 213
Gorden. W. I., 125. 126
Gordon , J. R.. 293
Gordon, R. A., 356
Gomik-Duro-;e, M., 50
Gottlieb. N .. 277
Gouilloux, F.. 212
Gouldner, A. W., 217
GraL P., 306
Graham, J. W .. 279
Granberg, 0., 54
Grandpre, J.. 159, 245. 26 1
Green, J.. 72
Greenbaum. P. E.. 303
Greenberg, B. S" 100
Greenberg. J" 19
Greenberg. M . S., 363
Greene, J. 0 .. 103. 342, 354,

158
Greene. K.. 54
Greene, R.T .. 54
Greenfield. S .. 294
Greenwald, A. C. 268
Greenwald, A G" 50, 66.
67.96, 10 1.106
Gremler, D. D., ~57
Grether. L 167
Griffin. C L.. 2, 331

Author Index

Grillin. J .. 357
Gruarl..e, I ... J9

GroJner. M.. 2Y2

Gronbed... B. E.. 273
Gru".. , A. M .. 297. 298
Gruhcr, K. J.. J..JJ
Guadagno. R. E.. 21 .... 216
Guerin. B.o 319
Guerrero. L. K . 2-W. 25M.
260. 261

Gumenil.. W. E.. 2.1:\

Gulklll. T. B.. lt
Guy. L 101
Gwinner. K. P.. 357
lIacka. W .. 187
Iladdod.. G .. 3S
Iialer, C L.. 73
Ilagan. R" 142
Hagen. K. M .. 34
H.une,. M .. 3.'\
1Ii11e, J.1... 54,122.16(-,.
22.'\.299. 303
Hak. J, S .. 18
J-I;tlc. S. I ... 3H
lIaleta, L. L .. 92
Iiall. C.. 159
Ililll, D. K.. .'\2 I
H,tll, J. A.. 143.289.294
Hilll,J. R.. 141. 157. 158
1t.11I. L. 0 .. .'\22
Hamburg. D. A" 277
Hamid. P.f' .. 49
lI ami[lOn. M.A .. 57.163
Hamill, H .. 167
I lammonLl. S. L.. 23 I ..'\21
Hample. D .. 120, 121. 197
H,In,cn, R. A .. 216
Han,cn, W. B.. 227. 279
1I.III,on. R W .. 294
Har..lI. H .. 219
Hardeman. W .. 229
Harden. L [9. 20
1I 'lnJcn. J. M .. INH
Il arkCIl. L. S .. 277
Il arkll". S. G .. 73. 99
lI arkne ..... C. D .. [99
Hilrmon-Jonc~. Eo, 3. 51. 52.
53.74
Hanmh. R.. 95
Harper. :-J. L. 33H. .U9, 343
H.IITC. R .. 299
IlJrriman. S .. 172
I larri,. AM .. [35
11arri,. M. B .. 172
I larri'on. A. A .. 49
lI art. L., 298
lIanhcuck. A .. 105
Hartman. P. E.. 295
Hartwick. 1.. 53
IIM\(!}.1.. 100

375

lI arvey. S. M .. 322
Ha.,." R. G.. 95. 101
lI allield. E.. 190
Haugtvcdt. C. p" 57. 67. 76.
7H.HI.H3

Howell. J. M., 343

Huesmann, L. R. 298
Hughes. S. 0., 141, 292
Hunsacker, F.G., 19

Johnson, H. H.. 100. 101.

HUfl'laker. F.. 14. 158.245.

Hau .. I..ncchl, D .. 77

260
Hunt. H. K .. 267. 275
Hunt. S. D . 356
Hunler. J. E .. 47.53,57.

Johnson, R.T .. 124

Johnson-Cartee, K. S., 273

HawJ..in\. K. W.o 136

lIaye .... J. A .. 293
Hale!. H. 14
H,I/chon, V .. 167
H'llen. fl.!. D.. 13M. 139
l leath. R. L.. 27Cl
Heather. ~ .. 29.'\
Ileavey. C. L.. 322
Hedge .... L. V...'\~
lI ee~ackcr. M. H .. 77
Hciby. E. M .. 291
Heider. F.. SO
Heilrn'lIl. M.E.. 1.'\4
lIei ..cl. A.D.. liS
IIci ...cr, R,A .. 52
lIehJrnan. C. 35
lIel1er. T .. 136
Ikller. W., 49
lIelman. C. G .. 23J
lI eh\eg-Lar~en, M .. RI
lIen<,1cy. W.E.. 117
lIen .. nn. R. H.. 2H9
lIenwuod, K.. 199
lIerington, A. D .. 125
Ilertog. J. K .. 292. 293
Ile,lin. R.. 267.27.'\
IIc ....c. F. \\ .. 39
IIcwgill. M.A .. 154, [55
lIeyLluk. R. G .. 49
Iliggin ... C. A .. 343
lIigglll'. D. S .. 319
lIigglll". G .. 355. 357, J5N
11111. D .. 227
Jtillman. J L..319.J20
lIimlllelfarb. S .. 66
lIiroka\\a. R. Y.. 337. 3.~8.
339.343.344
Hoh!"h. J. R .. J 85
lI oihcrg. E.. 232
Iiolbert. R. L.. 269. 272
I/oldcn. R .. 355
Iiolmberg. S .. 54
lIoltgra\e\. T., 134
lIomer. P. M . 95
Honcycutl. J. M. 18H
Iloobler. G .. 239
lIoro\-\-it7. I. A .. 233
Horvath. c.L.. I [9. 124
lIo .. ey, K.. 219
IloughlOl1. G .. I H8
HO\land. C. L. 31. 65. M,
76.91. 223. 233
Ilo\-\-ard. D. 1.. 35M
Ho"ard. J. A .. :\20, :\43
Hlmcl1. C .. 81

122.163

102.103

Johnson. 1. T.. 356

Johnson, M. S., 355. 356

Johnston. O. D. 14. 2 1
Johnston. L. 0 .. 297

Jones. A.. 290

Jones. D. c., 319

Hurd. P. D .. 277
Hu<,ek. T. R.. 100
Hyde. M.K .. 226
Hyman. R. B .. 292

Jones. E .. 354. 355. 356

JO"es. J. A., 289. 290. 306
Jones. J. L., 293
Jones. K.. 138
Jones, S. B., 139. 152. 153.

Iacobucci. D" 40
Ifert. D. E.. 21. 123. 194.
318
Ilardi. B. C, 136
Im:lhori. T. T . Jig
Infante. D. A .. 10. 113, 114.
IIS.116.117.IIH.119.
[20. 124. 125. 126. 127
Inman. J. J .. 36 1. 36R
Inr.ko. CA.. 66. 102. IOJ,
270
"Ier. L .. J25
lsocrate,. 95
huane. P .. 292
Iyengar. S .. 273
Izard,C. E.. 271. 3IM . .'\24
Ino, J .. 126

173
lonsen. A. R .. 307

Jacklin. C. N .. 138. 140

Jad\on, 5 .. 37. 3R. 342
JachonWalkcr. S .. 229
Jacobo;. D. R.. 277
Jawbs. 5 .. 37
Jacob}. LL. 49
Jahn. D. L.. 229
Jamico;on. K. H.. 133. 273
Jamner, M. S .. 35
Jrum. I. L. 3 I. 65. 91. 154.
223.229.266,306
Jani .. Lcw .. ki. C. A" [93,
.119.330
J:UlL, N. K.. 291. 293
Jarrell, R.. 226
Janis. W. B. G .. 68
J:I\'omi<;ky, G .. JJ9
Jen..cn. A.D .. 172
Jcp<,on. C .. 227
Je .. <,or. R.. 277
Jc .. ~or. 5. L. 277
Ji:mg. J. 1.. 40
John. D. R" 325
Johnson. B. C .. 134
Johnson. 8. T. 54. 98, 143
Johnson. C. A . 277
Johnson. D.W . 124
Johnson. G. M .. 346

Jordan, F.F.. 125. 126

Jordan, J. M .. 320
Jordan. W. L 339
Jorgen<,en, C .. 167. 169
Jo-.eph. J. G .. 231. 232
Joule, R. V .. 51. 52. 212
Judge. T. A .. 346
Ju ... t. M .. 273
Kable. J.. 15
Kahle. L. R .. 95
Kahncman. D.. 78. 177
Kaid. L. L .. 273
Kale. A. R., 49
Kalichman. S. C .. 229
Kallgrcn. C. A .. 33, 37. 73.
81.134
KamlO ... M. A .. 270. 276
Kang, G. 1.. 13
Kang. 1. G .. 268
Kanter. R. M .. 34 I
Kanwi .. her. N.. 188
Kao. c.. 76
Kao, F. C .. 12 1
Kaplan, R. M .. 100.279.
294.306
Kapoor, A .. 343
Karau. S. J . 136
Karoly. P.. 289
Karlen. 5. 1.. 135, 136
Kashi ma. Y .. 297
Kasmer. J. A .. 78
Kasmcr, J.E .. 57
Kasprz) k, 0 .. 139
Kas<'irer, J. P .. 306
Kaufman. 0 .. 167
Kazeolas. D" 2 1. 123, 124
Kazi<,. L.. 307
Kearney. P.. 2 1
Keascy, C. B .. 172
Keffer. M. A .. 293
Keller, J., 167
Kellerman. K . 5. 181, 1M9.
190.318.319.321.361

376

Allfhor Illdex

Kelley. C. M_. 49
Kelley,H_1I.31.65.91.
223. J 17
Ke ll y. G.A .. 152
Ke ll y. J. A.. 229
Ke ll y. P.. 188

Kol.. G_. 293

Kelman . H.C.. 47. 69. 296

Krapfc1. R. E .. 173
Krau"". R. M .. 169
Krau ... ~. S. J .. 47
Krcutlcr, K. J .. 279
Kroll. T.. 289
Kronc. K. J .. 34 1. 342
Kron ... hcrg. S .. 142
Kro~nick. J. A .. 32
Kruglan<.,ki. A. W., 59. 73.
78.1':1.82
Kumar, N.. 359
Kunkel. A. W .. 329
Kynga .... B.. 289. 290. 297

Ken nedy. K. A .. 101. 104

K en~ki. 1-1 .
11 36. 267.
268. 27~. 274
Kern. M .. 273
Ker>eli. M. w .. 277
Ke<isler. R C. 2~ I. 232
Kieslcr. C A.. M
Kill en. J. D.. 277
Kill en. M .. 141
Kim. H. J . 246
Kim . J K.. 125

c..

Kim . M.. 344

Kim. M. S .. 47. 53. 306. 307
Kim. MS .. 190
King. A.

c.. 297

King. B. T .. 306
King. L. B.. 267
Kinne). T. A.. 115. 122.
192.198, 199. )30

Kipni!.. D. 187. 199,320.

337. ))8. ))9. ).1. )43.
344.346,)47
Kirch lcr. E.. 322. 323
Kirk . L. M_. 291
Kirkcndol. S_ E.. 258
Kirkland, S. L.. 19
Ki rM:hl. J. P., 23 1. 232, 289,
297

Ki shorc. S .. 142
Kitc.M .. 134,136
Kiyohara.O .. 168
Klapper. J. T .. 232
Kle in. D_ J . 71
Klein, G .. 40
Klein. L.. 277
Kleinke, C L.. 166, 167.
170.172
Kleinol. M C. 229
Klinger. E.. 185
KHng1c. R. S .. 56. 158.289.
290.293.298.2~).300.

303. 304. 305. )06. 307

Klahn. L. 5 .. 292
Klonsky. B. G .. U8. 142

Klopovich. PM .. 290
Knapp. M. L .. 240
Knower. F. H .. 31
Kobrynowicl, D.. 135
Kock. C .. 167
Kodama, R . A . 338. 339.

343
Koerner. A. F.. 268
Kohn. M .. 186

Koper. R. 300
Ko~berg. R. L.. 115. 118,
119.124

Kouabenan. D. R.. 229

Koulad. D.. 102

Lachendro. E . 292
LaclIliak. C. 81
LaAeur. S. J .. 137. 100m. 141.
143
Lake. R. A .. 39
Lamb. C. W . 276
Lambcn. D. M .. 359
Lambkin. D .. 188
Langer. E. J . 18. 193
Larouche. M .. I~
Lar-.on. C. U . 14.21. 92. 93
LaNIIl. C. E.. 13
La ... ky. B.. 134
Lau. R. R.. 35
Lauterbach. K .. 319
Lave. L. B.. 292
Lay. K. L.. 124
I.e Poirc. B. A .. 169. 2lJ8.
299
Leap. C.J .. 117
Leatham. G .. 191. 329
Lcathe ..... D. G. 354. 355.
)56
Leanlt. C.. 66. 100. 102
Lee. A Y .. 49
Lee. C .. 54
Lee. J . 357
Lec. WOo. 268. 269. 271
Leech. G .. 199
Lcfcoe. N. M .. 277
LcFcHe. R.. 168
LcFleur. G .. 267
le ich lite r. J. 5 . 33
Leigh. T. W.. 357. 358
Leighty. G .. 329. J30
Lcinb:lch. M. D.. 142
Lenihan. M. G .. 168
Lculhe~se r . L.. 357
Le\cn~lein. J. H .. 307
Le\cnlhal. H .. 154.227.293

Le\-m. N W .. 297
Lt'\mc. N . 158
Lninc. TR .. 54. 120. 123.
124.125.127
LC\lnger. G.. 298
Lev in ...on. 5 .. 188.190. 199.
)~5. )28
Lcvin<.,on. W . 307
I n itl . 5 .. 138

Levy. M.. 360. 36-1

Le .... i .... l .. L.. 305
I.e). P.. 294
Li. H .40

Lil"lcrman. A .. 58. 81
Lich,tclll. K .. 229
Lichlcn"'lein. E.. 277. 296
Llebrand . W. B. G .. 40
Lim , T .. 117. 125. 326. 32S.
329. HO. 345
LIIl , W.-K_. 269. 275
Lind. E. A.. 134
Lmden. f\'1.. 291
LmlJqul\I. B.. 158
Linimon. D.. 138. 139
LlIlkey. H. E.. 167
Li ....... B_. 167. 169
Li \tcr-Sharp. D .. 279
Lill . M D.. 298
LlI1 lcJohn . S. W .. 10.95
Lockc. E. A.. 338. 341. 342
LuckhcelJ. M. E.. 135. 13H
Locher. C
137. 140.
142.143
I.ong, M.. 267

c..

Loop. K.. 229

Lurch. I: . P.. 230
Lord . K. R., 40
Love, c., 279
LO\c, R. I: .. 268
I _m-ette. 5 .. 345
Lov.e. G_. 279
LOMc)". T M .. 81
Lucpl.cr. R. V .. 277
1_umpkin. J. R. 356
Lum ...daine. A. A. 65. 266
Lund . F. H .. 3 1
LUll . R. J . 79

Lynn. M. 361
Macaui:IY. J R..268
M:lccoby. E. E.. 13K 140.
l24
Mac(.oby. N .. 277
Machado. L.. 188

Macbl cr. E.. 187

Macinto~h.

G., 358

Mad.ie. D.M .. 58. 59

Mad" lchlan. J., 169. 176
MacNeill. L.. 172
Magnu ......on. D .. 116

Mahe.,v.aran. D .. 58. W. 76,

104
Mahoney. J. M .. 168
~laibach. E .. 34
Maiman. L. A .. 290. 291
Mainiero. L.. 343
Maio. G. R.. 74
Makhijani. M. G .. I.lR. 142
Mallalicu. L. 3 19, .n o
Mallon. D.. 54
Malone. K.. 169
Malotte. K .. 227
Mandel. J. E.. 267
Manlre. S. H.. 141
Mani ... M .. 272
Mann . T. E .. 273
Manneui. L.. 229
Manrai. L. A .. 193. J II)
Manuso .... Y .. 166,354
Marin. B. Y .. 233
Marin. G .. 233
Marks. M.. 229
Marlatt. G. A .. 293
Mamlom~tein. H_. 359
Marshall. A. A .. 307
Marshall. L.. 3 19. 326. 342
Man-ton. P. J .. 342. 345
Marleau. T. M .. 40
Manell. D.. 223
Mancil. R. 134
Manlll. L. L. 72
Martin. M. M .. 125
Maruer. P.. 188
Maruyama. G.. 134. 169
Man.~ eJI. G .. 181. 320. 321,

339
Mas lyn. J. M .. 345. 346
Massey. J. E.. 3K
Mal'iChiner. M .. 140
Mattson. M .. 292. 21)4
Mayer. M. L.. 357
May'i. Y.M .. 54
Manuca. S.A .. 297

McAli.,lCr. A. K.. 277

McCami-.h. M .. 297
McCaul. K. D.. J5. 277
McCornack. S. A .. 246. 354
McCracken. E. (' .. 307
McCrae. R. R .. 11 5
McCro~key.

J. C ..

~.

96.

115,124.267. 3W. 346

McCro~ke). L.L., 124
McDonald. D. A .. 32 J
McEnall). M.. 139
McGi nley. A. 16H
McGi nley. H .. 16K
McGinni cs. E.. 100. 10J
McGrath. M. A.. 193.319
McGralh. M. P.. 141
McGra\\. P. F.. 357. "~5K

Aurhor Index

McGuire. W. J.. 165. 266,

268. 270, 272. 276. 277
McHugh. M. C .. 32 1
Mc Kclvey. R. S .. 279
McKeon. J. K.. 216
McLaugh lin. B .. 324
McLaughlin. M. L.. 3 18.

))9. )40
McLeod. D. M .. 141
McLeod. J. M.. 223
McMahan. S .. 226
McMahon. A. M.. 136
McNamee. S .. 33 I
McPeek. R. W .. 150. [52
McWhinney. I.. 307
Meeker. B. F.. 136. 137
Mehamed. B. G.
Mehrabi:lII. A .. [68.299
Meilman. P. W .. 33
Mei<;chke. H., 190
Melamed. B. G .. 303
Melcher. C. 158
Mcri<;ca. R .. 289
Mertz. T .J .. 171
Meryn. S .. 290
Me ....~ari'i. P.. 39
Mel;, S .. 3 1R. 329
MClLler. A.. 10 1
Mewborn. C. R .. 229
Meyer, G .. 213
Meyer. J.. 226
Meyer. J. A .. 189. 194
Meyer, J. R.. 358
Meyers. R. A .. 339
Meyrowitz. J .. 273
Mickey. J.. 3:'17. 343
Mtle~. R. H.. 346
Milgram. S. 173
Miller. A .. 54
Miller. c.. 159
Miller. D. T.. 33
Miller.G.R .. 2.6. 13. 15.
22.92.93.100. 113. 149.

[50. [54. [55. [H2. [85.

255.165.267.272.277.
299.3 19.325.340
Miller. J. A .. 2 10. 218
Milkr. M .. 267. 297
Miller. M. 0 .. 320
Miller. N .. 169. 176
Miller. S. J . 356
Miller. T. Q .. 296
Millm:m. R. B .. 277
Milb. J.. 3. 51. 52. 53. 74.
[ ()()

Milne. A.A .. 9
Milne. C. R .. 229
Mineo. P.. 166
Miniard. P. W .. 40
MintLberg. fl .. 337

Mitchell. A. 275.176
Mittlemark. M. B.. 277
Miura. S .. 338. 343
Miyahara. A .. 337. 33R. 344
Mladinic. A .. 134. 136. 137
Moadel. A.. 292
Mohr. D .. 219
Monahan. J. L.. 231
Mongcau. C .. 54
Mongeau. P.A .. 15.57.59.
79. 121. 122. 177.227.

22H
Munin. B.. :B
MontagneMiller. Y .. 364.

365.366.367
Montano. D. E .. 139
Montgomery. B. M .. 330
Montgomery. C. L. 267
Montgomery. R. P. G .. 292
Montgomery. S. B.. 231.
232.232.297
Moon. Y .. 40. 17 1
Moo re. D. L.. 77
Moore. J. N .. 355
MonHl . P. 167
Moreland. R.L.. 48
Moreno, H. 229
Morgan. M .. 229
Morgan. R. M .. 356
Morrill. J.. 268
Morri~. D .. 168
Morri~. K. 1.. 73. 81
Morri~on. J.. 40
Morri~on, K.. 227. 22~. 231.
234
Mo~kowil/. M. A .. 307
Motley. M.T .. 1J
Mowd .. y. R. T .. 338. 339.

.145
Moyer. R. J.. 95
Mueller. J. S .. 322. 323
Muellerleile. P.A .. 54
Mullen. B .. 171
Mullett. J . 25 I
Mura ... hima. F.. 102
Murnen. S. K.. 140
Murphy. K.. 279
Murphy. S.G .. 49
Mycr~. D. G .. 134
Naigles. I.. R. 141
N<l il. P.R .. 50
Nathansun. A. 1.. 141
Nay lor. P. J.. 35
Nebergall. R. E.. 54
Neer. M. R.. 21
Neimeyer. G. J.. 101
Nell. E. B.. 275
Nel,on. J. S .. 39
Nemccff. W. P.. 1J5

Newcomb. T.M .. 50
Newel l. S.E .. 187
Newhagen. J. E .. 273
Newsom.J. T .. 2 15
Newton. D. A.. 322. 323.

332
Nicotera. A.M .. 124
Niles. P .. 154
Nitl. M .. 6. 13.36.268
Noe lle-Neumann. E.. 274
Norcro!o.~. J. c.. 231
Nordstrom. B.. 189
Norell. S. E .. 290. 305
Norman. R.. 66
Norman. R. Z .. 135
Norri .... E. L .. 268. 274.276
Nonon. R. W .. 125
Noth~tine. W. L.. 14. 19.21.

93
Novack. D. H.. 290

OBarr. W. M .. 134
OBrian. K., 2J I
O' Byrne. D. 1.. 277
OConnell. E.J .. 49
O'Donnel. J. F., 290
OHair. D. J .. 21. 345
OHair. H. D .. 21. 342
O' Keefe. B. 1.. 189,354
O'Keefe, D. J.. IS, 17. 19.

21.36.37.38.79.81. [00
O'Malley. P. M .. 297

ONe'l. E.

c.. 277. 346

O;ltS. R. G., 34
Obenynski. M. A .. 73
ODonne li . V .. IS
Oe'>termeier. U.. 39
Offerm .. n. L. R .. 343
Oh. S .. 356
Older-.haw. L.. 32 1
Olrn-Shipm:lI1. C .. 136. 142.

[43
Olm:o.tead. B.. 134
Ohon. J. M .. 2 13
Olson. K .. 229
Onyekwere. E.O .. 11 6. 11 8
Ornstein. N. J.. 273
O' Rourke. A. H.. 277
O R ou r~e. T. W .. 277
O~g()("ld. C.E .. 50. 102
O:-.hikawa. S .. 228
Oskamp. S .. 49
Osterhouse. R. A .. 98
O~lrom. T. M .. 67
O~ lru W. D. G .. 231. 232
Otero-Sabogal. R.. 233
Otto. S .. 137
Owen. N .. 54. 232
Oianne. J. L.. 355

377

Palan. K. M.. 325

Palmer. M. T .. 198
Pahncr-Shevlin. N., 290
P:llmgreen. P.. 230
Papageorgi~. 0 .. 266. 269.
270. 276
Par",>uraman. A .. 357
Park . H. S .. 54. 306
Park. K. A .. 324
Park~. M. R.. 246
Parp.. 1. M .. 324
Parrott. R .. 158.29 1, 299
Pa:.ha. N. H .. 269
P<ltry, A. L .. 54
Patterson. M. L. , 168
Pauj<.,on. G. D..
Pearlman. R. A.. 30;
Pe:mOIl. J. C .. 124. 318
Peay. M.Y . 54
Pechacek. T.. 277
Peder'lon. L. L.. 277
Pelletier. L.G .. 54
Pelton. L. E.. 356
Penaloza. L. J.. 268
Pendleton. D .. 294
Peplau. L. A .. 319. 322
Perez-Stable. E. J.. 233
Perkins. H. W .. 33
Perlman. D .. 49
Perlman. D. S .. 322. 323
Perlofr. L. S .. 292
Perloff. R.M .. 15. 19.96.
[O[

Perot. R.. 15.21

Perreault. W. D .. 346
Perrien. J . 104
277
Perry.
Persc. E. M .. 141
Peter. A. C .. 361
Pe terson. P. D., 102
Peterson. T.R .. 226
Petraitis. J.. 296. 297
Petty. R. E .. 15. 19.32.36.

c..

37. 46.57.58.66.67.68.
69.7 1. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76.
77. 77. 78. 79. 80. 8 1. 82.
83.84.85.95.96.97.98.
99. [00. [01. [03. [04.
[21. [75. [76.177. 2[ I.
270.273
Pfannenstei1. D. A .. 168
Pfau. M .. 13, 15.2 1,36.

158. [69. [70.265.267.

268.269.270.275.276.
277.278. 279. 280
Pfeffer, J.. 337
Phillip. J.. 292
Phillip:.. D .. 172
Phillips. G. M.. 289. 290.

306

378

Author /ndex

Pickering. B , A .. 39
Pie rro. A .. 229
Pilkoni.!., P. A.. 66
Pill, R. , 290
Pinkleton. B. E.. 273
Pillman. T. S.. 354
Pius. M .. 289
Plato. 2
Plax. T.G .. 21
Pletcher. B. A .. 276
Plugge. CD .. 226
Podshadley. A. G .. 297
Poppe. M .. 3 18
Popper. T .. 325
POller. J .. 292
Powe ll. F.A .. 154
Powell. J. L.. 168
Power. T. G .. 141
Pratt. c., 232
Prei sler. R. M .. 37. 73. 81
Prei ss. R. W .. 38
Prentice. D. A. . 33
Prentice-Dunn. S., 293
Presley, C. A .. 33
Press, 5 .. 229
Pressman. B ., 170
PresIo n, M.. 213
Pribram, K . H., 185
Price, H., 40
Pride. W . M ., 276
Priester. J. R .. 73. 79, 8 1
Prince, L. M .. 294
Prochaska, J. 0 .. 35. 231.
232
Propp. K. M .. 138
Pryor. B. , 266, 267,17 1
Puckett. J . 81. 177
Pugh. M. D .. 139
Pyszczynski. To, 19
Quinlan. K. B .. 35
Raden, D .. 32
Raghubir. P.. 361
Raia. J. J.. 290
Raines. B. E.. 277
Rajecki. D. W.. 49
Ramage. K., 138
Ramesh, C. N .. 246
Ramirez, A. , 245
Ramsey, R. P.. 355, 358
Raneer, A. S., 10. 11 3, 114.
115.116.11 8.1 19.1 20.
124, 125.1 26
Rao, N., 326, 342
Rauner, S., 220
Raven, B, H.t 296, 320, 337.
361
Raymond. B . J., 172

Reardon. R .. 319
Redfield. J.. 49
Reed. M .. 220

Ro~enthaL R.. 38
Roser. C. 9&
Ro<;kos-Ewoldsen. D. R.. 32
RO'ino\\. R. L.. 3'20
RO'i"itt~r. C. M.. 91
ROIcr. D. L.. 189. 290. 291

Reed. Y.. 133

Reeves. B .. 35. 273

Rothert. M. L.. 305

Rothman. A. J.. 35

Re ic hert. T .. 156
Reno. R. R.. 33

Rotter. J. B .. 345
Rouncr. D., 279
RO/c ll e. R. M. , 277

Razran. G . H. S .. 72
Reardon. K. Ko, 15. 19.92.

123

Rey nold~. K. E .. 73. 357

Rey nolds. L. A .. 293
Reynolds. R.A., 123
Rhi ne, R. J.. 100. 103
Rhoades. M. J. R.. 140
Rhode. D. L. 133
R ic h a rd ~on. L D.. 355
Richman . S. A .. 72
Richmond. V. P.. 12"'.339.
346
Riddle . B.L. 119
Riddoch. c.. 35
Ridgeway, C. L , 1J6. 138.
139. 142
Ridgway, N . M .. 360
Riess, M .. 267
Riordan. C. A .. 141
Rippetoe. P. A .. 293
Roach. K . D .. 116. 117. 118.
346
Robben. H. S. J.. 361
Robberson. M. R.. 294
Roberto. AJ .. 115
Roberts. L. 149. 150. 155
Robinson. L. M .. 2 16
Rockwell. P.. 246. 25 1, 256.
261
Rodri guez. J. I.. 3 19
Rodriguez. R .. 76. 12 1
Rogers. R. W.. 66. 223. 229.
292.293.294
Rohrbach. L. A .. 277
Rohrbaugh. M .. 229
Roiger. J. F.. 248. 250. 260.
261
Rokeach. M .. 277
Rolnick. S .. 292
Roloff. M. E.. 15. 18.21. 93.
113.193,194.199.299.
305.319.32 1. 327, 330.
340
Rompa. D.. 229
Roni<;. D. L. . 50. 66
Rooney. B., 292
Roper. R. E .. 296
Ro rbeck. L.. 167
Rosenberg. M.. 277
Rosenkrantz. P. S .. 134
Rosen<;lock. I. , 292. 297

R O/ili~.

J.. 220

Ru bin. D ,L .. 54
Rubin. J.Z .. 121
Ruom. R.B .. 116. 118
Ruble . T. L.. 134. 136
Rucker. D. D .. 7 1. 72. 84
Rudd . J.E .. 115
Rudman. L. A .. 141
Ruiqing. D .. 18
Rule. B. G .. 186. 187
Rump. B. S.. 277
RlI ~c h er. J. B .. 134. 136
Ryan. K. B. , 277

Sabato, L. 1.. 273

Sahugal. F.. 233
Sacki. M .. 189
Sagre~[an(l, L M .. 321
Saine. T .. 102
Sa iyadain. M .. 102
Salan ic k. G. R.. :n7
Sala'i. E.. 134. l-t 1
Salomon. G .. 273. 277
Salovey. p .. 298
Samp. J.A .. 190. 193
San d er~. 0 .. 229
Sandcr'i. J. A .. 18
Sanden. R. E., 194. 325.

327.330
Satrc. S. J.. 322
Sawyer. A. G .. 267. 275
Sa) lor. K .. 339
S(haefrcr. II. R.. 324
Schafer. E.. 2.n
Schafer. R. B.. 132
Schand. R. C. 31
Schein. V. E.. 134. 138
Sd lCn<.:k- Harnlin . W. J.. 192.

339
Scher. S.J .. 50. 51
Schili!. W. K .. 338. 34\.

342. 344
Schmidt. S. M.. 187.3:\7
338. 339.343. 3-1-1. 34().
347
Schmiege. C J.. 322
Schmitl. D.R .. 181 ..
321. 3:'9

no.

Schm iu . N .. 134
St:hnc ider. D. E .. 291
Schneider. J.. 138
Schneider. M .. 292
Schneider. M. J .. 318. 34f),
342
Schocnbachkr. D. D.. 227
SdlOo lcr. C. 35
Schrader. D. c.. 188. 190.
191.199.200.201.203
Schrier. P. E.. 343
Schumann. D. W .. 71. 72.
7H.98. 100. 103. 104. 358
Schurr. P. 1-1 . 355. 356
S(hw<Jrt/. P...~4J
Schwar/. N .. 72. 75. 83
Sch .... ar.lwa ld. J.. 320
Sd' .... ciklc. E. S .. 297
Scilcppi . J. A .. 100. 101.
10.1
Scott. L. M .. 39
Scott. M. D.. 267
Se;Ir1c. J.. 326
Scars. D.O .. 269
Sedikitlc'i. C .. 72
Seed~. DE. I 17
Segrin.
6.19.20. 122.
165.166.167. 168. 169.
lB. 174. 176. 177. 188
Se ine !. C. A.. 229
Seibuk1. D. R.. IIJ. 296.
339.340
Seller. J. S .. 4. 6. 14. 18.19.
93 . 168. 3 17. 355. 356.
357. 361. 363. 36-1. 365.
.~ 66. 3(,7
Sen L M .. 358
Scow. A .. 229
Serbin. L.. 137. 140
Severance. L. J .. 103
Sc'(ton. C. 5 .. 322. 323
Sh'lckelfurd. S .. 135. 139.

c..

141
Sharkey. W. F.. 54. 306
Sharma. A .. 355. 359. ]60.
.164
Shavitt. S .. 81
Shechter. D .. 59
Sheer. V. C .. 321
Shcflie ld . F. D .. 65
Shepherd. G. J.. 13. 2(l. 189.

201.223.331
Shepherd. P.E.. 117
Sheppard. H.H .. 53
Sherif. C. W . 54
Sheri f. M .. 54
Sherrel l. D. L 96. 102
Shimanofr. S. B .. 323
Sh imp. T . A .. 81. 99

379

Author Illdex
Slcgcl. J.T.. 158
Sigelm,m. L.. 6, 35
Sillar-.. A L.. 322
Sil\'e~tri. V.N. 114
Simmond ... G .. 35
Simon ... H. W .. 2. 6.15.17.

95
Singer. D. A.. 166
Siamccka. N. J.. 306
Sim, .... L..]]3
Shller. M. D.. 279
Slocum. J. W.. 359
Siovic. P. 177
Smalec. J. L.. 226. 292. 293
Smi l o~ III. M .. 124
Smith. D. H .. 306
Smi th. E.R .. 48
Smith. S. M.. 67. 72. 74. 76.
~I

Smith. S. W .. 123. 186.345

Smith. T E.. 325
Sn)der. M .. 47.167. 345
Sohl. R. S .. 355
Soley. L. C. 37.
Solomon. D. H.. 188. 190.

193.354
Somcn-illc. S. C. 295
Son. L.. 134
SorclNIIl. J .. 11 ..l6. 26M
Spear. S F.. 33
Spector. S .. 29.l
Spiegel. S.. 59
Spiro. R. L.. 357. 364
Spi~al<... 1< 329. 154
SpitLbcrg. B.. 5. 340. 354.

358

c..

Spraf"l.lI1.
14()
Sprowl. J. P.. 35M. 363. 3M
Staab.. A. W .. 6(1. 68
Staat.... C K.. 66. 68
Slad .... D. W.. 17.l. 174. 177
Staclin. R.. 275
Stafford. T.......l68
Stang. D. J.. 49
St'lIlland. A. J S ..l55
Stcad. B. A .. 1n
Steele. CM .. 52
Steen. D.M .. 54
Stencn. V. 1.. 1:\7
Steffian. G .. 33
Steil. J M.. 319.
322
Stcin. R T .. 136
Stein, S.. 140
Stein, Y .. 277
Steiner, V .. 187
Steinfml. T. M.. 266, 267.
272
Step. M.M .. 124
Stephen. R .. 16M

no.

Stephen ...on. M.T.. 226

Stem, L. A .. 239
Stern. R. A .. 277
Sternthal. B.. 66. 76. 100.

102
Steward. M. A .. 306
Stewan. D .. 139. 152. 153
Stcwan. M .. 307
Stewan. R.. 345
Stewan. R. A. 116, 117. 11M
Stcwan. R. B.. 290
Stiff, J. B.. 15, HI. 19.22.
57.59.77.78.79. 80. ~I.
10 1. 102.177. IH2. 232.
246,255.300
Stinnett. W. D .. 267
Stnj:tel<... C. 360
Stok.n l ~. D.. 292
Stone. G. P.. 360
Stone. 1.. 52
Stone. V A . 269
Strathm:lIl. A. J.. 72. 81
Str:mgh'lII. P. 1'.. 229
Street. R L.. 175. 299. 3()7
Streeter. L. A .. 169
Struther.. J. T.. 341
Slrul1on. D.. 356
Strt)l..eW ... k.I. K. 0 .. 245.
248. 255. 260
SlUtman. R. K .. [87
Sm:hman, E. A .. 228
Sue!. GJ .. 50
Sueda. K .. 18
Suedrcld, P.. 268
Suja n. II. . 358. 359.164
Sujan. M . 358. 359
Sulli\an.1. 344
Su .... man. M .. 339 ..l43. J~6
Sutton. S. R.. 35. 227. 2l)2
S, arrhtad. B.. 289
Swan. J. E.. 355
S",an. S .. 81
S",ap. W.C. 121
S"'en"on. M. J .. 36'1. 363
Sv.-im.1.. [34
S/abo. E. A .. 268. 269. 27\.
178
S,ybiIJo. G. 1.. 267. 275
S,yman,l<..i. D. M . 358
Tannenbaum. P. H .. 50. [DO.
102.268.272.274.176
Taranta. A.. 294
Tarpley. W.R" 52
Tarrance, V. L.. 273
Tate. E" 267
Tauer. J.M., 52
Taylor. A. M .. 15!,!
Tay lor. S .. JW

Taylor. S. E.. 305 . 306

Tedc'>Co. L. A.. 293. 297
TeJlelbaum, M. A .. 300
Tennen. H .. 229
Te\cn. J. 1.. 96
Thamodaran. K.. 77
1lIOmp>;on. E. P.. 5lJ, 78, 8 [.

X2
Thomp ..on, \1.. 9H
Thrueworth). R. C .. 290
Thurman. Q. C .. 292
Timko, C .. 297
Timminga. E.. 40
Tinkham. S. F.. 273
Tipper. S. P.. 188
Tju... , old. I) .. 34 [
Tnblt:r. N. S. 279
Tlxld. J.D .. 226
Tlxlnro\. 1'.. 330
Tnllllirholl-Kca ..ey. (' . 172
ToneaUo. 1 . 54
Tori .. , D.. 24H
Tnnnal:l. / L .. H3
Tmce}. J. B .. 346
Tracy. K.. 18H. 1~9 ..l~9.

354
Tracy. S. 1.. INS
Trafilllo\\,. I)., 54
Traupm;ulII. J .. 190
Trebing. JI), 117
Trenholm. S .. 16
Trope. Y., 57. 85
Tro'l. HR .. 171. 207.215
Tudcr, J. 5 .. 322, .l23
Tumlin. S.A. . I 19
TUlicalp. S .. 277
Turbl:l". A A .. J~
Turk. D. C.. 2lJ8

Turner. C ..'03
Turner. J. A .. 103
Tul1oll. P...l5
Tu,ing. K. L 192.268.330
r\Cf\k.). A.. 177
T",engc. J. M. 13K
Vllman. \\0 R.. 167
lnger. R K .. 172
Llnn:lva. HR .. 40
Lltne. M. K .. I90

V:llencil. K.M. 115

Valentinc. ~1. E.. 167
Valkcnhcrg, I I., 318
Vall:rbhan, S.. 226
Val[erand, RJ., 54
Van Bocl<..crn. $ .. 13, 26H.
272. 277. 278
\an der Kloo!. W .. JI8
V;1!1

Egcrcn. L. A.. 119

Van Leuven. J. 279

Vance. K .. 52
Vancou\er. J. B.. 189
VandeWalle. D., 359
Vamllo. S. M.. 330
Vaughn. D . 267
Vecchio. R. P.. 339, 343.
t

346
Vedder. R. G.. 40
Veliclllan. G .. 35
Verhallen. T. M. M .. 361
Ve\ca.1. L .. 38
Vi~wanath. K .. 292
Vogel. D .. 4()
Vogel. S. R.. 134!.
von Cranach. M.. [87
Vrij. A.. [8,22

Wagener. J J .. 306
Waggen ... p.. tL B.M. [17
Wagner. B., 1.'9
W:t/lncr. D. 29()
Wagner. D G., US. 138
\\ahmlan. R. 139
Waldron. V R.. [89. 194.
.:!()[
\\all<..cr. H A .. 136
W,,[l<..cr. M. [67. [71
Wallo.cr. ~1. A.. 322
Wall. C.H .. 117
W'IIt;Llk. L.. 277
Walthnmn.1 . .:!29
'" al ... tcr. E.. 95
Wa[ter.... D. I .. 360
Wa[ther.J.. 256. 260
W,,[ullan. ~ 1 S .. 340
W:II1, H. H .. 168. 276. 277
Wanke. M .. 81
Ward. CD .. 100. 103
Ward. S.. 325
Ware. J. E.. 294
\\aro.hav.. P R .. 53
Waler... E.. 321. 324
Wat ...on. C. 104
Wahon. ~1. R.. :n7 ..l40.

346
Wall .... W .. \02
Wca\cr. S .. [8S
We:l\er. R \1.26
WCil\"cr-L.. ri~c). R A .. 273
Webb. J. A .. 179
Webh. P. A.. 191. 297
Weber. F.. 212
Weber. S. J.. 227. 228
Wegellcr. D. T .. 37, 46. 68,
71.72,73.74.75.78.79.

81. 85
Weimann. O. [40

380

Allthor J"dex

Weinaein. N, 0 .. 35, 227.

231 , 290. 292
Weisman, C. 5 .. 300
Wei!.s. W . 65. 66. 76
Wei!.!.C. C. S .. 34
Weitl. S , A .. 356. 358. 359.

364
Weitzel -ONe ll. P. A .. 136.

137<;
Well~ . G. L.. 73. 98
Wells. W. T .. 105
Weltman. K., 322
We!>t, L.. 330
WCMon. W. W .. 307
Wetzel. C. G .. 168
Whaley. B. B .. 340
Wheatley. J. 1.. 228
Wheeler, S. C .. 67. 83
Whecles<;. L. R.. 345
Whetstone-Dian, R.. 141
Whicker. M. L. 6
White. c.. 250. 252. 254.

256.258.261
White. J. 8..297
White. J. W .. 343
White. K. 0 .. 318

White. L. 229
White, P.. 74
Whitccap. V.G .. 115
Whitely. W .. 346
Whitney. D. J .. 34
Whinier. T. E.. 227. 368
Wicker. A.W .. 47
Wiemann, J. M . 299. 307
Wigley. C. 1.. 115. 117
Wilke~. R. E.. 325
Wilkinson. I.. 187.337.338
William!>. J. E.. 134. 136
357. 364
Williams. K.
Williams. K.D .. 74
Williams. M. R, 16
Williamson, S .. 49
Willi!>. F.. 167
Wilson. B., 172
Wilson, C. P .. 34
Wilson. D. T. 355. 356. 357
Wilson. E. 1.. 96. 102
Wihon. E. V .. 188. 196. 197
Wilson. J. T .. 290
Wil<.on. S. R .. 16. 189. 190.
191 ,192. 19-t. 203. 326.
329. 330. 342. 344. 354

c..

Wilson. T. D. 74
Wibon-Davi ... K.. 277
Winke.J.. 300. 340
Wi!.e. S. L.. 229
Wi')cman. R. L.. 18. 192.

339
Witte. K .. 13.223. 224. 226.

227.228.229.231.234.
292.293.294.295.296
Wiuem:Hl, H .. 321. 322. 323
Wolibki. R. 1.. 35
Wolken stein. B. H .. 277
Womack. D. F.. 10. 113
Wood. J. T. 330
Wood. W .. 37, 46. 73. 74.
81.134.135.136.139.

141
Woodall. W. G.. 174. 176.

239
Woodward. G. C.. 6. 16. 19
Worchel. 5 .. 135.139.141
Wortman. C. B.. 231
WOrluba. T. 356
Wosinska. W .. 51. 141
Wyatt. R. A. J .. 355

Wygand. A.W .. 52
Yandell. B.. 66
Yang. V. 5 .. 268
Ye!>eno!>ky. J. M .. 229
Yoder. 1.. 172
Youn. J. Y., 341
Young. M .. 306. 307
Young. M.J .. 18
Young. T 1.. 267
YukI. G .. 338. 341.343.346
Zajonc. R. B .. 47. 48
Zanna. M. P.. 35. 48. 66
Zarate, M.A .. 48
Zelditch. M .. 135
Zemanek. J. E .. 357. 358
Zigur!>, I.. 188. 196. 197
Zinkhan. G. M .. 173
Zolner. K . 358
Zubric.J.. 268. 269
Zuckerman. M. 230. 248
Z'onko\'ic. A. M .. 322. 323
Zweigenhafl. R. L.. 167

Subject Index
abili ty 10 proce!->~. and elaboration likelihood model.
pp. 67. 70.%-98
accidental persuasion, pp. 19- 2 1. 23
active p,tradigm. and Lang uage Expectancy Theory.

p. 150
additivity hypothesis. and He uri<"lic-Syslcmal ic
Model. pp. 58-59
adolesccllIs, p. 325
affirming sty le. and arguing, pp. 125- 126
agenlic qualities of mal e~. pp. 134
anchor point. und Social Judgment Theory. p. 55
antagoni .. m. and arguing. p. 119

appearance clle~. pp. 171- 173

argumen t quality versus qu an tit y. pp. 70. 79

argumentativeness. see eh. 7 gene rall y. pp. 92

asse rti veness. and arguing. pp. 11.f
assimilation effect, and Social Judgment Theory. p. S6

attack ads. p. 35
attenuation hypothesis. and Heuristic-Systematic
Model. p. 59

allilUde. pp. 32.

~6--l 7.

72.

83-8~

and La nguage Expectancy Theory. p. 153

allilUde-bchavior relationship. p. 47
altitud e ~trength postulate. and Elaboration Like lihood

Mode l. pp. 75-76

commi tment. pp. 209. 363

Commitmcn t-trust Theory. p. 356
communa l behuvior. and fcmale pcr'iuadcrs. pp. 1..1 1-

143
Co mmun il.:.Hi on Accolllmodation Theory (CAT). PI'.

175- 176
communic~Hion

competence. Pl'. 199-200

competenct! (cxpcI1i'ic). p. 95
and gcndt.!r. pp. 139- 141
co mpli ance gaining
and com puter mediated communication (C MCl. pp.

39-40
deductive "'lrHtcgie!o.. p. 339
definition or. pp. 20-21
a nd erfect<., emphasis. p. 21
and fal11ilic .... pp.
inductive 'itrategies. Pl'. 339- 340
and intim ates. pp. 319-321
rC'iearch .tbou!. PI'. 16-17
Congru ity Theory. p. 5 1
Consistency Theory. pp. 50-53. 209
contrast erfect
and ... ales. p. 362
and Social Judgme nt Theory. p. 55
correctnt!ss postu late. and E laboration Likelihood

Model. pp. 68-69

bait and sw itch tactic. pp. 207. 2 10. 2 11-212
belief dillconfirmation. and cogni ti ve dissonance. p. 52
bias hypothesis. and H curi~ ti c-Sy'itcmatic Model.

p.5Y
biased processing. and Elabora ti on Likelihood Model.

pp.7+-75.84
body language (see kinesics)
borderline persuasion. pp. 17- 1H
central route. p. 67. 96. 176-177
classical conditioning. pp . 47-4R. 68. 72
client-oricllIed ba lespeopJc. p. 357
clothing (!-ice appearance cues)
Cognitive Disllonance Theory (COT). pp. 3. 7n. 5 1-53
cognitive edi ting of arguments. p. 121

counterargui ng. p. 270

credibi lity ....ce Ch. 6 genera ll y, pp. 76-77. 92
and appeara nces. pp. 171-173
and deception. pp. 257-259
and Language Expectancy Theory. pp. 154-1:'i5
repair or restoration of. pp. 104-107
and rctail sa les. p. 355
cultivat ion. and arguing. p. 119

cultural fac lors. pp. 18. 158. 233- 234. 32~. 327- 328.
343- 344
c ultura l trlli~ms. and inoculation. pp. 266-267
c ustomer t ypc~. pp. 359- 360. 365- 367
danger control. and fear appeal .... PI'. 224--2.25. 295
decept ion. sec C h. 14 generally. pp. 182- 183

381

382

SlIhjecr Illdill

deception (('(JIlfjIllWd)
and credibility. pp. 257-259
definition of. p. 2m
and Interpcr..onal Deccption Theory (IDT )...ec
Ch.8
as a form of pcr .. uasion, p. 22
deci .. ion rules. p. 58
descriptive gender stereotypc .... p. 137
dialogic perspective. pp. 3 18. 330-33 1
diffu\e stalU ... characteristic. and gender. p. 135
Direct Effect.., Model of Immed iacy. p. 166
directive specch acl. p. 326
discrepancy. PI'. 102- 103
distraction. pp. 174-175
door in the facc ... trmcgy (DlTf). pp. 38. 217- 219. 362
dual.proces .. theories. pp. 57-59
effech cri terion. pp. 2 1 -:~2
effort justification paradigm. and cognilive di .....o
nance.pp.52-53
elabormion continuum . pp. 67. 70
Elaboration Lil..elihood Mode l (ELM). \CC Ch . .5
gcnera ll ). PI'. 36-37. 57-59. 96- 100. 176-177
ethic .... and persuasion. pp. 1-7
etho....... ce Ch. 6 gencrally. pp. 65-66
e"idcnce
and argumcntativcness. p. 12J
and Uni modc l of per .. ua\ion, p. 82
Expectancy Vu) lations Theory (EVT). pp. 56. In.
173- 174
experti"e. p. 95
Extended Oarallcl Process Model (EEPM) ...ec Ch. 8
generall y. pp. 294-295
eyecontac t.pp.141. 166-167. 170. 17'"
facework. pp. 325. 328-330
fear appeals. "ce Ch. 13 generally. pp. 154---155. 156157
and age. p. 227
and anxicty leve l. pp. 227-228
and fatalism. pp. 228-229
and reactance. pp. 229-230
and sensation ~eking. pp. 230-23 1
fear control, pp. 225-226. 295
fluency. and mere exposure. p. 49
food servers, pp. 168. 353
foot in the door strategy (FITD ). pp. 210. 212-216
forced compliance (see induced compliance)
forewarning. p. 74 (see also, Inocu lation Theory)
free choice paradigm. and cogni tive dissonance. p. 52

fullcydc "ncial p:-y<..' hology. p. 364

gaLe.pp. 166-167. 170
gcnder differencc\ ...ec Cil. H genera ll y
agentic <'Iualiti es of male persuader... pp. 134- 135
cOTllmu nal qualities of female persuaders. pp. 13613K. 141 - 143
a" a diffu'ie stalu .. characteristic. p. 135
.Uld Language Expec tancy Theory. pp. 153- 154
and phy .. ician-patient influcnce. \cc Ch. 16
gcncrally
and organizational inlluence. p. 343
and .. tatus difference:-. PI'. 135- 136
and "",COI)pes. PI'. 13-1-135. 136-138
Gml1 \- Pl arl'..Act ion (G PA ) model of imerper<;onal
intlucncc. sec eh. II generall y
goa l struct ure co mpl ex ity. pp. 190-1 92. 199-200
goal>. pro 186-192. 354
Goldberg paradigm. p. 134
hnloeffcct.pp.171 - 172
haptic:-. pp. 167- 168. 170
Ilea lth Be li ef Modcl. pp. 2<)0. 291 -294
heuri.<,tic cues. p. 58
hcuri ... tic proces!-.ing, p. 58
II curiqic-Systematlc Model (IISM). pp. 58-59
ho... tility. and argui ng, pp. 11 5- 116
idcntity goals. p. I HR
image repair. pp. 104- 107
Illllllctlr;'IC)'. pp. 166. 169. 170-171. 299
incremcnta l intcractl\.:e approac h. p. 325
induced co mpli ance. anti cog niti ve di ... so nancc, p. 52
in tluencc. p. 20
Inoculation Theory ...ee Ch. 15 genera ll y. p. 36
and political cnmpa ign .... pp. 273-27 5
ingratiation. pp. 345. p. 357
intent critcrion. pp. 19-2 1. nn
Int ent ion, and Theory of Reasoned Action, p. 53
interac tionist pefl.pcctivc. pp. 116-11 8
Intcrper...ona l Deception Theory (IDT) ....ee C h. I'"
gencmlly. p. 20
intimatc'i. 'tee Ch. 17 generally
involvcmcnt
and cn.:di bility , pp. 101 - 103
and the Elabonllion Likelihood Model. 'oee Ch . 8
generally
and inoculation. pp. 270-27 1
kincsics. pp. 168- 169

SlIhjecT Index

language and persua'\ion. p. 91

Language Expectancy Theory (LET) . .,ee Ch. \l
gcncrall)
latitude of acceptance. Pl'. 55- 56
latitude of noncornmitmcnl. pp. 55-56
latitude of rejection. Pl'. 55- 56
Lay Epistcmic Theory (LET). p. Xl
leadership :-.tyle. p. 3..J.I
Icgilirni;.o;ing :-.tratcgy. p. .146
liking. p. :t;;S-356
logm. Pl'. 65- 66
low-hall tactic. pp. 20t)-21 0
Machiavellianisill. p. 345
medical comp liancc gaining. "ee Ch. 16 generally
medium of communication. pp. 172- 27.1
merc expmure (ME). Pl'. 47-50
rneta-analy"is. pp. 38.167
moderating \ariable\. Pl'. 36. l) I
mood
and Elaboration Likelihood Model. p. 72
and Inoculation Theory. pp. 171-272
motivation. and In oculation Theory. pp. 267
motivation to comply. and Theory of Reasoned
Action. p. 54
motivation to process. and Elaboration Likelihood
Mudel. PI'. 67. 70. 96- 98
multiple me'\sagc ..,wdies. p. JR
multiple role" postulate. and Elaboration Likelihood
Model. PI'. 7 1- 73. n. so
need for cognition. p. 121
negative incentive effect. p. 51
nonallirming ..,tyle. and arguing, pp. 125- 126
nonstrategic hehaviors. and deception. l'. 241
nOIl\erbal inlluence. see Ch. 10 generally
<lnd deception. pp. 247- 255
norm uf reciprocity. pp. 217. 220-221
nonnativc hclict-.... and Theory of Reasoned Action.
p.54
nonnative con~idcrati()n:-.. p . .13
objective proce~sing poswbte. and the Elaboration
Likelihood Model. pp. 73-74
oculesic~ (<;ee eye contact)
organizational innucncc. ~ee eh. 18 generally
parallel procc<;sing. and the Elahoration Likelihood
M()del. pp. 57-OX. 77-7R
parent-child inlluence. pp. 324- 325

383

pathn-.. pp. 65- 66

perceived efficacy. and fear appeals, pp. 224-225
perceived thrcat. and fear appeab-. pp. 224-225
peripheral route. p. 67. 96. 99-100.176-177
pcrsi"tcncc of persuasion. pp. 67.75- 76.272
personality factor~. pp. 34..J..-.345
per"uasion
borderline per\ua<;ion. pp. 17-IS. 23
definition of- scc Ch. 3 in gene ral. pp. 92-93
ethic" and. pp. 4-5
fcminist per~pective of. pp. 2. 7n
negative connotation" of. pp. 1- 2
cOlllmunication competence and. p. 5
inllucncc versus. p. 20
linear view of. pp. 20. 22
pervasivcnc ... " of. PI'. 6. 31
proce ... " vcr... m outcome. p. 11
pure persuasion. pp. 17-18.23
phy~ician-patienl compliance gaini ng. see eh. 16
generally
pluns. pp. 192- I95
Politeness Theory. p. 219
preference forcon:-.i"tency. pp. 215- 216
prescriptive gender "tereotypcs. pp. 137. 142
primary goal". pp. 187- 190.201-202
pSYChological reactance. pp. 229- 230
public ..,ervice announccment" (PSA:-.), Pl'. 156--159.

277-2HO
pure per"u<lsion. pp. 17- 18
reactance. pp. 229- 230
rebuff phenomenon. pp. 197- 198
reciprocity. pp. 2 17. 220-221. p. 363
refutalionallrealmcnt. and Inoculat ion Thcory. pp.
265,267-268
Reinforcemcnt Expectancy Theory (RET). pp. 56.
297-306
relational closenc~s. pp. 34()""34 I
relational familiarity. and deception. Pl'. 246--247
relational goals. pp. 356--357
relational power. p. 34 1
relational valence. and deception. p. 247
rcsi~lance 10 persuasion. see Ch. 15 generally. pp.
181 - 183
and argumentativeness. pp. 124-125
and commitment and consistency, pp. 216-217
and organilation influence. p. 342
sales and "clling. :-.ee Ch. 19 generall y
scarcity tactic. pp. 208, 361
secondary goals. pp. IS8- ISO, 197.201 - 202

384

Suhj{>ct hu/e.l'

selective expo~ure. p. 52
self-efficacy. pp. 33~34, 271. 292. 295
self~l1loniloring. pp. 48. 345
Self Perception Theory, and foot in the door. pp. 2 13215
self-validation processes, and the Elaboration
Likelihood Model. pp. 83-84
sen~alion seeking. and fear appea ls. 230
"icqllcntial influence <;tralegie~. see Ch. 12 generally,
pp. 303~306
sex differencc"i. ~ee Ch. 8 generally
simu ltaneous proce~sing. pp. 57-58
sing l e~process model of per~uasion (Unimodel). pp.
81-82
smiling. p. 169
social desirability bia!:'. p. 48
soc ial influence, pp. 20-21. 27n
definition of. p. 337
gender differences. pp. 13R-141
Social Ju dgment Theory. pp. 54-56
social meaning pcrspwive. pp. 166,318.325-330
socia l proof. p. 362
stage lJlodel~ of persua!:'ion. p. 35
stereotypes
and gender. pp. 134-135
!:, lIbject ive norms, and the Theory of Reasoned Action.
p.54
sufficiency principle. and Heuristic~SyMematic Model.
p.58

superior~subordinate

influence. see Ch. 18 generally

suspicion. and deception. pp. 255-257
systematic processing. p. 58
that's not all technique, pp. 219-220
theory. definition of. p. 10
Theory of Planned Behavior. pp. 296-297
Theory of Reasoned Action (TRAJ. pp. 33.53-54.
I 17-1 18, 290. 296-297
IOp~down sales tactic, p. 362
touch. pp. 167- 168, 170
trad e~off postulate. and the Elaboration Like lihood
Model. p. 75
traditional perspective. and close relationships. pp.
3 17~319

transact ional perspective. p. 120

and deception. pp. 240, 244
Transtheoretical Model. p. 35
tru'itworthiness. pp. 95. 103
Unimodel of persuasion. pp. 8 1-82
unintended reccivers. pp. 19-20
verbal aggressivene~~. see Ch. 7. gene rally. pp. 92.
345
visua l persuasion, pp. 39-40
vocal cues. pp. 169. 25 1-252