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The Sleeper Effect

Despite its impact on an audience's receptivity, credibility does not appear to have a sustained influence on persuasion. Earlier we mentioned a study in which a speech favoring a lenient attitude toward juvenile delinquency produced maximum attitude change when presented by a high-credibility source. This influence was greatest immediately after the speech was delivered. Differences resulting from the speaker's credibility tended to diminish over time so that the attitude change produced by the high-credibility source decreased and the message from the low-credibility source gained ground, producing more attitude change. This trend is sometimes called the sleeper effect.

The sleeper effect seems to result from the listener's tendency to dissociate the source and the message—presumably because he forgets who the source is. In experiments during which the listener was reminded of the source of the message, the high-credibility source regained his significantly greater influence on attitude change over the low-credibility source (Pratkanis et al., 1988). Apparently the sleeper effect can be overcome if audience members are reminded of the source of the message. President Bush often uses this tactic in press conferences when he answers questions by referring to speeches he has made in the past.

We have tried to isolate two important aspects of public communication that relate primarily to the speaker: source credibility and delivery. Although over time, the influence of the source of the message seems to decline and the impact of the message itself gains ground, the ultimate effectiveness of any speech is deter­mined by its appropriateness to the particular audience. So before considering how best to construct the message, let us turn our attention to the audience.


Date: 2015-02-16; view: 966


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