Stage 2 Psychology

Investigation
Routes of Persuasion

Aim
To determine the most effective method of arousing a teenagers attention in relation to
persuasive advertisements.
Hypothesis
Teenagers exposed to the peripheral route of persuasion are more likely to display higher
levels of attention than those who have been exposed to the central route of persuasion.
Introduction
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacciopo, 1986), denotes two routes of
persuasion: the central route, which entails an attempt to influence cognition, and the
peripheral route, which is generally intended to provoke emotions (Spencer & Hartstone,
2007). In consumer psychology, it is believed that involvement, which refers to the degree
of information processed, is a significant component of an advertisements effectiveness
(Muncy & Hunt, 1984). Levels of attention are a key component of viewer involvement, with
higher levels of attention allowing for greater information processing (Ratneshwar, Mick, &
Reitinger, 1990).
It has not yet been shown, however, which route of persuasion results in higher levels of
attention. The Elaboration Likelihood Model, developed by Petty and Cacciopo (1986),
reasons that the most effective route of persuasion is dependent upon the willingness of
the viewer to become involved. When high involvement is likely, the central route is more
likely to arouse the viewer, whereas in cases of low involvement, the peripheral route
should be used. This is further reinforced in studies concerning the Heuristic-Systematic
model (Chaiken, 1978). It was found that the systematic approach (Chaiken, 1978), often
associated with the central route of persuasion (Petty & Cacciopo, 1986), is more commonly
selected to process persuasive information which has a high level of relevance to the
viewer.
Due to neurological factors, adolescents are also more likely to behave based on their
emotions. Such impulsive behaviour is largely due to the underdeveloped pre-frontal cortex
(Giedd, 2002), which is believed to be responsible for rational thought (Sahaikan, 2002). The
likelihood of arousal through use of the peripheral route is therefore increased (Petty &
Cacciopo, 1986).
To demonstrate this relationship, teenagers were allocated into two groups. Each group was
asked to view an advertisement which made particular use of one of the routes of
persuasion. It was made clear in a survey questioning participants in regard to smoking, that
the sample would have a low level of involvement with the subject matter, as smoking was
not considered relevant to them. Participants were then asked to complete four questions
on a continuum scale. Data was then collected as a percentage of the completed continuum
scale.

This experiment aimed to determine a correlation between the attention levels of the
viewer, and the route of persuasion used. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model
(Petty & Cacciopo, 1986), participants would be more likely to gain attention through the
peripheral route of persuasion, due to low likelihood of involvement. As such, it was
hypothesized for this experiment that an adolescents attention levels will be higher if
watching a peripheral route of persuasion advertisement, rather than an advertisement
based on the central route.


Results
Table 1: Attention Levels of Participants
Participants rated their attention levels on a 100 unit rating scale out after watching
advertisements based on each route of persuasion.

Central Route Peripheral Route
Median Attention
Levels (Rating
Scale/100)
70 33
Mean Attention Levels
(Rating Scale/100)
66 35
Standard Deviation
from Mean
25 22
Graph 1: Median Attention Levels After Viewing Advertisements

The median of the data was the most suitable measure of central tendency in this study,
due to the subjective nature of the results, and the subsequent high standard deviation. The
difference of 4/100 units in the central route data suggests that the data may be skewed.
To ensure that extreme results had less effect on the data, the median was judged the most
appropriate measure of central tendency.

Interpretation of Data
The hypothesis that viewing a peripheral route advertisement would result in higher
attention levels is not supported by the above results. Conversely, this data clearly shows
that the central route advertisement was more effective in arousing attention levels. The
difference between each group is significant, 47 units out of 100, which suggests that there
is a direct relationship between the manipulation of the independent variable, and the
dependent variable.
Evaluation of Data
The nature of each advertisement decreases the internal validity of this study. Jose &
Cabezudo (2009) theorized that, although one route may be more clearly evident, both
routes of persuasion work simultaneously. This was particularly apparent in the
advertisement displayed to the central route group. Although use of the central route was
evident, colours and pictures were implemented throughout. This is considered to be use of
the peripheral route, as such devices are used to provoke emotion (Jain, Roy, & Pant, 2013).
As such, it cannot be said that the hypothesis has been adequately addressed, as the
advertisements did not exclusively use their set route of persuasion.
Additionally, the peripheral route advertisements were not suitable for this particular
population. The advertisements used a well-known character from previously released
advertisements. This was based on the concept that the public hold celebrities in high
regard which makes them seem more credible (Friedman, 1977). However, the sample had
not seen the previous advertisements, and therefore did not find the presenter relevant to
them. This decreased the effectiveness of the advertisement, influencing the results, and, in
turn, decreasing internal validity. To overcome this limitation, multiple advertisements
which were relevant to the intended audience should have been used.
This study entailed data collected from approximately 160 participants, over a period of
three years. Although this large sample size led to increased reliability of results, each
participant was sampled from the year 12 psychology class, with all individuals aged
between 17-18 years. As such, the sample was not representative of the entire population,
teenagers, as it did not include data from teenagers outside this age bracket. This resulted in
decreased internal validity, as the hypothesis, which concerned teenagers in general, was
not directly addressed. To improve this study, the sample must be expanded to involve
teenagers of all ages, rather than simply 17-18 year olds. Furthermore, random selection
and allocation were not evident during this experiment, as the data was sourced from
Concordias psychology classes. The data is therefore less externally valid, and inferred
conclusions from the data are only applicable to Concordia students.
The datas contradiction with previous research could be attributed to various extraneous
variables. Individual differences had a key influence on the data, particularly due to the
subjective nature of the reporting system. Each individual interpreted the rating scale in a
different manner, which was evidenced through the high number of outliers in the data. If
resources were available, this could have been overcome by using an objective measure
such as observing neural activity.
Moreover, the level of involvement with the subject matter may have varied for each
individual, resulting in differing responses to each advertisement (Petty & Cacciopo, 1986).
Levels of self-esteem are another significant individual difference that may also have
impacted the data. It has been shown that individuals of low self-esteem are more
susceptible to influence through use of the peripheral route (Salander, 2013). Additionally, it
is reasoned that those considered of higher intelligence are more likely to be susceptible
to the central route (Kao, Rodriguez, Cacioppo, & Petty, 1988). Such individual differences
resulted in a large standard deviation, which resulted in decreased reliability of results.
An additional factor which may have influenced results is when each participant viewed the
advertisement. It is understood that alertness varies at different stages throughout the day
due to an endogenous regulating system located in the hypothalamus (Dongen & Dinges,
2003). This natural body clock may have resulted in different levels of alertness for
participants. As such, the subjective feeling after viewing the advertisement may have been
enhanced by their original energy levels, resulting in decreased internal validity. To improve
the reliability of the results, participants must undertake the experiment simultaneously.
This study concerning routes of persuasion ensured that all ethical issues were managed
appropriately. Each participant was well informed of the procedure to be undertaken, and,
chose to volunteer. Deception was not evident, as all participants were debriefed regarding
the nature of the experiment. Although not exercised by any individual, withdrawal rights
were also evident. Moreover, each individuals identity was kept secret, through the use of
identification numbers. This prevented subject and researcher bias, in addition to
maintaining confidentiality.
Conclusion
Although the data does not verify the hypothesis, the data collected lack both internal and
external validity. Because the sample was limited to Concordia year 12 students, the
population listed in the hypothesis was not adequately addressed. Additionally, the
advertisements were not suitable for the intended audience, which significantly influence
results.
The data did, however, show a significant variation between the two groups, suggesting a
distinct relationship between the independent and dependent variables. This was contrary
to previous research undertaken in this area, which suggested that the peripheral route
would be more likely to arouse attention levels in teenagers. As such, to properly validate
the hypothesis, more research must be conducted on this topic, whereby extraneous
variables have less influence on the validity of the results.

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