ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the influence of the Yale Communication and Attitude Change Program and their message-learning approach to the study of attitudes and persuasion. In sum, according to the message-learning approach, persuasive contexts question a recipient's initial attitude, recommend the adoption of a new attitude, and provide incentives for attending to, understanding, yielding to, and retaining the new rather than the initial attitude. Contrary to the message-learning approach, however, later research has shown that high-credibility sources are not always more persuasive than moderate or low-credibility sources. In sum, according to the message-learning approach, source factors influence the incentives people have for attending to, comprehending, yielding to, and retaining the recommendations made in a persuasive message. Effective messages, according to the message-learning approach, provide incentives for learning and accepting the advocated attitudinal position. The chapter considers investigations inspired by the message-learning approach that look at the effects of message factors even further removed from the message content.
