Persuasion and Message-style: How Element Creates Amplification and Attenuation
Open Access
- Author:
- Seo, Ki Won
- Graduate Program:
- Communication Arts and Sciences
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 03, 2014
- Committee Members:
- James Dillard, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Denise Haunani Solomon, Committee Member
Fuyuan Shen, Committee Member
Mary Beth Oliver, Committee Member - Keywords:
- persuasion
message style
message framing
visual image
emotion - Abstract:
- This dissertation investigates a persuasion process of message stylistic features. First, it is assumed that when reading a persuasive message, readers first use primitive, direct appraisal of the message as it pertains to them. This appraisal leads to the secondary, more detailed assessment of cognitive and emotional reactions to the message. Finally, as long as the cognitive and emotional responses are relevant to the message, they are expected to promote a general judgment on message persuasiveness. Second, this dissertation adopts the conceptualization that message elements are classified to content, style, and structure. With this classification, this dissertation tests matching effects of message styles, gain-loss framing and visual image. Specifically, it examines how these two are matched with each other through valence or motivation. Chapter 1 introduces these ideas of the appraisal model of persuasion process, message elements, and style elements’ effects. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss theoretical accounts, empirical findings, and current issues associated with two styles. In Chapter 2, research on gain-loss framing is reviewed. Prospect theory is first reviewed as origin of framing research. Other theories, such as detection-prevention framework, negativity bias, and fear appeal, are also discussed. In the section of empirical evidence, meta-analyses that found no meaningful difference between gain- and loss-framed messages are presented. Based on the theories and evidence, I suggest three issues to reconsider framing effects and to direct ways to overcome current problems in framing research. Research questions and hypotheses are presented next. Chapter 3 centers on another stylistic feature, visual image. This chapter defines visual image as well as reviews empirical findings and theories. The empirical findings are summarized with four categories; attention, memorability, emotion, and persuasion. Dual coding theory and exemplification theory are reviewed to account for why visual image may affect message outcomes. Same as the review on framing effects, current issues associated with visual image are discussed next. The issues include facial expressions of emotion, emotional contagion, and verbal-visual consistency. With this review, research questions are formed. Chapter 4 reports the research method, results, discussion, and limitation of Study 1. With an experiment (N = 455), Study 1 tested the framing-image matching effects with valence. Specifically, the consistent messages were the combinations of gain-positive face image and loss-negative face image. The combinations of the inconsistent message were reversed; gain-negative face image and loss-positive face image. Also, no image condition was employed to set a comparison point. Two topics of free travel to Puerto Rico and free tablet PC were manipulated for this test. The findings confirmed the persuasion process: Message styles affect persuasion via perceived framing, emotion, and dominant cognition. The result further showed that the effect of consistency matching was not different from that of no-image message, but the inconsistency matching produced a significant difference. Study 2 (N = 424) in Chapter 5 examines another matching effect; motivation matching between framing and image. Further it compares the direction and valence models that differently predict persuasion directions of emotion. With the same free travel topic, visual images were manipulated to match motivational depictions of framing, such as gain-happy face and loss-sad face. In the mismatch condition, gain-contented face and loss-angry face were used. The result found that visual image alone was not effective to arouse target emotions, but framing and image together evoked discrete emotions. These emotions showed individual effect on persuasion, which was consistent with the direction model. Chapter 5 presents a general discussion and conclusion. The findings from two studies are summarized and implications of this dissertation are discussed. Specifically, this chapter briefly details the ways in which this dissertation may inform future research on message style effects communication and persuasion process.