Two Routes to Persuasion

Two Routes to Persuasion

There are two routes leading to persuasion: Central Route and Peripherial Route.

1. Central Route occurs when the attitude of an audience is changed because of
thoughtful consideration of the message. The central route to persuasion is sought
when the receiver has high-involvement information processing—whether the person
ponders the content and logic of message. It involves a more logical, thought-out process
and generates a number of cognitive responses to the communication. It leads
to more enduring attitudinal change.
• If the argument is compelling à persuasion à accept job
• If not compelling à persuasion won’t occur à stay with the job you have

2. Peripheral Route involves persuasion via incidental cues — e.g. speaker’s attractiveness,
expertise, pictures, sounds, etc. It tends to appeal to emotions rather than
cognitions. It triggers temporary liking or acceptance and works best for audiences
who are neither analytical nor involved with the issue. The peripheral route to persuasion
is used when the receiver has low-involvement information processing — persuasion
depends on non-message factors; for example, if the message-receiver thinks:
“That speech has a lot of statistics in it, so I have positive feelings about the message.”
Whether the person uses the central or peripheral route depends on a large variety of
factors. Here, five factors have been mentioned:

a. An individual receiving the message (viewing/hearing the message) must be able
to understand the message to use the central route. Comprehension of the message
would include being familiar with all of the terms used in the message (for example,
high tech terminology), being able to learn new concepts that are presented, and being able to relate experiences and knowledge gathered in the past to the new information
being presented.

b. Another factor that affects the central route to persuasion is the personality of the
audience member. Is the person willing to think about the message in detail? Some
people enjoy engaging in complex cognitive activities, and other people are less willing
or able to contemplate the message. And, is the information presented relevant
enough to the people that they would engage in critical thinking?

For example, a person who does not wear contact lenses is not likely to waste his or
her time thinking thoroughly about a message for contact lens solution and a person
who does not want a new car might not think deeply about the merits of a new model of
car.

c. The peripheral route is affected by whether or not the message falls into a person’s
latitude of acceptance or rejection (whether or not the person has already made up his
or her mind on the subject).

For example, a public service message advocating a pro-choice view on the use of
ultrasonography method primarily for determing the position and health of a foetus
rather than sex-determination which leads to abortion of female fetuses/ or the Act that
was passed in Goa regarding the HIVtest compulsorily to be taken by the bride and
the bridegroom before marriage would not create an attitude shift; it also would not
create a change in the views of the individual who already agrees with the pro-choice
position. If message receivers are stable in their conceptions, they will not need to
analyze the new messages thoroughly.

d. Other factors that can influence peripheral processing of an audience are basic
cues, such as food or pain, in the message. For example, an individual with a headache
might see an ad for Anacin (Zandu balm), and just go buy it without critically
evaluating the message content. Message-recipients are also peripherally affected
by the source of the message. Is the speaker attractive? Is the speaker credible?

e. In situations in which an audience uses the peripheral route in attitude change, it
may not matter whether or not any actual information is provided.
Now having analysed the factors that leads one to take a central or peripheral route,
let us find the “tactics” that are adopted in the process. And the following chapter unfolds
the “tactics” and its complexities in detail.