Emotional Cues and Thought Confidence in Persuasion: Attitudinal and Behavioral Outcomes

• In Event: Persuasion, Compliance, and Attitude Change

Abstract

Substantial work has examined persuasion using the Elaboration Likelihood Model which examines the dual routes. Recent revisions of the model suggest that thought confidence can serve as a mediator for persuasion by affecting attitude change. The present study sought to replicate and expand the previous work done on thought confidence by looking at thought confidence’s effect on behavioral intention. Participants were exposed to brief strong or weak ads advocating donations to animal shelters accompanied by happy or sad music and photos. Replicating prior research, thought confidence mediated attitude change. In addition, thought confidence was also found to mediate the relationship between posttest attitudes and behavioral intention. Furthermore, the emotional frame manipulation replicated past work finding that the happy condition led to increased thought confidence. Finally, analysis of message bias showed an effect of emotional frame such that sad-framed messages were seen as more biased which led to decreased posttest attitudes.

Authors

• Morgan Schunn, Ohio State U

• Nancy Rhodes, Ohio State University