ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, we discussed how attitudes are formed, structured and
what function they serve. This chapter will present theories of persuasion. Theorists
of persuasion differ in how narrowly they define the concept. For example, Eagly
and Chaiken (1984) define persuasion narrowly as aimed at changing beliefs and
attitudes through the use of ‘relatively complex messages that consist of a position
advocated by a communicator and (usually) one or more arguments designed to
support that position’ (p. 268). Since advertisers rarely resort to complex messages
in their attempts to persuade consumers to buy their products, much of advertising
would not be considered persuasion according to this definition. We will therefore
use here the more liberal definition of the concept given by Petty and Cacioppo
(1986) in their classic monograph Communication and Persuasion. They define persuasion as any change in beliefs and attitudes ‘that results from exposure to a
communication’ (p. 5).
