| Understanding determinants of attitude change and persuasion has been a cornerstone of social psychological research. Although one might expect a vividly presented communication to be more persuasive than a similar message presented in a pallid format, previous research has not consistently supported such a view.; The present study examined one set of boundary conditions that may limit the occurrence of the vividness effect. This study hypothesized that vividly presented information impacts persuasion by increasing the strength of a message. Consistent with research showing that messages of high argument quality are only more influential under conditions of high personal relevance, it was predicted that vivid messages would be more influential than pallid messages only in the high relevance condition.; This study examined the effects of vivid information, personal relevance, and argument quality on persuasion, affect, behavioral intentions and memory for the message. College students (N = 266) read one of eight messages (2(Relevance) x 2(Vividness) x 2(Argument Quality)) advocating the use of condoms to reduce the risk of AIDS. Relevance was manipulated by varying the identity of the communicator (college student vs. drug user); vivid messages were more concrete, image-provoking, and emotionally engaging than pallid messages; and strong arguments were more convincing than weak arguments.; Consistent with the hypotheses, vivid messages were found to increase fear, risk estimates, and persuasion more than pallid messages. Personal relevance was also evaluated as a function of subjects' gender and previous sexual history. Among subjects for whom the essay was especially relevant (i.e., males and sexually active subjects), vivid essays were more persuasive than pallid ones. Among males, vivid messages, as compared to pallid messages, led to greater fear of AIDS, higher perceptions of their personal risk for AIDS, and greater desire for more information about AIDS. Among sexually active subjects, vivid essays led to greater intentions for future condom use than did pallid essays.; This is the first study to provide evidence for a model that explains contradictory findings in the vividness literature, specifically, that the effects of vividness on persuasion are largely dependent upon the relevance of the message to the recipient. |
