The Different Mechanisms of Majority/Minority Influences on Product Judgments with Different Involvement Levels: The Multiple Role Perspective
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Chiu, Yu-Yeh
Abstract
Appling the perspective of multiple roles of persuasion variables, two studies investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects of source status (majority vs. minority) on product attitudes under different involvement levels (high vs. moderate vs. low). Specifically, Experiment 1 examines the persuasive process of source status when participants have no prior attitudes, whereas Experiment 2 examines this process when participants receive majority- or minority-advocated messages consistent or inconsistent with their prior attitudes. When participants have no prior attitudes toward the target product, source status influences high-involvement participants’ attitudes by serving as a central argument and by biasing processing only when the source offers high credibility. When involvement is low, source status directly influences participants’ attitudes by serving as a peripheral cue, regardless of credibility. When involvement is moderate, the majority source prompts greater message scrutiny than the minority source. Among participants with prior attitudes, exposed only to high-credibility sources; the effects of source status remain the same for high and low involvement. However, with moderate involvement, either a majority or a minority source can enhance message scrutiny. The minority source induces greater message scrutiny than the majority source in the congruent condition, whereas the opposite is true in the incongruent condition.
Subjects
Involvement
Majority/minority source
Multiple roles for persuasion variables
Source credibility
Prior attitudes
Type
thesis
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