ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the communicative aspects of persuasion and different models of persuasion. Miller and Burgoon said that much persuasive communication aims to reinforce currently held convictions and to make them more resistant to change. Most religious messages, a political speech at a rally, or other speeches given to audiences typically reinforce current beliefs, values, and attitudes. Cognitive dissonance theory explains the relationship between attitude and behaviour. When developing this theory, Festinger was interested in how people seek consistency with their behaviours and attitudes. Inoculation theory is a theory that examines the processes through which individuals resist attempts at attitude change brought forth through different means of communication. Petty and Cacioppo developed a model to help explain the process individuals go through when processing persuasive messages. This model, known as the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) describes the ways individuals process messages; identifies and explains the different modes of processing; and discusses the results of these different processes on attitudinal change.
