Mood and Persuasion
In the studies discussed, sad participants tended to examine arguments more closely than happy participants. The source also reports that goals and explicit instructions to evaluate a message can override this mood-related tendency.
THE IDEA
Research into mood and persuasion parallels these findings. In general, a message that presents strong arguments is more persuasive than a message that presents weak arguments, provided that recipients are motivated to process the content of the message and to elaborate on the arguments. If recipients do not engage in message elaboration, the advantage of strong over weak arguments is eliminated (for reviews, see Eagly & Chaiken, 1993; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Numerous studies demonstrate that sad individuals are more likely to engage in spontaneous message elaboration than happy individuals, with individuals in a neutral mood falling in between (for a review see Schwarz, Bless, & Bohner, 1991). As a result, sad individuals are strongly influenced by compelling arguments and not influenced by weak arguments, whereas happy individuals are moderately, but equally, influenced by both. Therefore, a strong message fares better with a sad than with a happy audience, but if communicators have nothing compelling to say they better put recipients into a good mood.
More important, happy individuals’ spontaneous tendency not to think about the arguments in much detail can be overridden by other goals (e.g., Wegener, Petty, & Smith, 1995) or explicit task instructions (e.g., Bless, Bohner, Schwarz, & Strack, 1990; Martin, Ward, Achee, & Wyer 1993). What characterizes the information processing of happy individuals is not a general cognitive or motivational impairment, but a tendency to spontaneously rely on simplifying heuristics and general knowledge structures in the absence of goals that require otherwise (Bless & Schwarz, 1999).
When to use it
Evaluating whether an audience’s circumstances affect its attention to the reasons offered in a political speech.
Reviewing whether humor or music in a sales pitch draws attention away from the support for its claims.
In a classroom, explicitly asking students to assess the reasons in an argument rather than trying to create a particular mood.
Testing how mood and instructions affect responses to a message while keeping the strength of its arguments distinct from product quality.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Mood and Argument Strength
A sad person listening to a political speech with strong arguments is likely to be persuaded, whereas a happy person might not differentiate between strong and weak arguments and may be equally influenced.
Mood and Weak Arguments
A cheerful advertisement may encourage attention to pleasant cues rather than close examination of its claims. That possibility concerns how an argument is processed; it does not establish the quality of the product.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How can a communicator adjust their message based on the audience's likely mood?
How could a cheerful advertisement affect your attention to the evidence for its claims?
How does your current emotional state affect how you evaluate persuasive arguments?
References
- Eagly & Chaiken (1993) — Eagly, A. H. & Chaiken, S. (1993)
- Petty & Cacioppo (1986) — Petty, R. E. & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986)
- Schwarz, Bless, & Bohner (1991) — Schwarz, N., Bless, H., & Bohner, G. (1991)
- Wegener, Petty, & Smith (1995) — Wegener, D. T., Petty, R. E., & Smith, S. M. (1995)
- Bless, Bohner, Schwarz, & Strack (1990) — Bless, H., Bohner, G., Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1990)
- Martin, Ward, Achee, & Wyer (1993) — Martin, L. L., Ward, D. W., Achee, J. W., & Wyer, R. S. (1993)
- Bless & Schwarz (1999) — Bless, H. & Schwarz, N. (1999)
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Heuristics and Biases The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment (Thomas Gilovich, Dale Griffin, Daniel Kahneman)