Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical - ETR Associates

psychological state of the individual at the time ofthe message (e.g., his/her sense of responsibility forthe behaviors related to the arguments); the characteristicsof the message (e.g., its relevance to theindividual, the newness of the arguments and theability of the individual to process the message); andthe environment (e.g., the extent to which it encourageslearning).Peripheral route. Although thoughtful considerationof the arguments in a message often producesthe greatest amount of attitude change, attitudes canbe changed or reinforced in a variety of ways withoutsuch thoughtful consideration. For example, theadvertising and marketing of innumerable productsoften do not try to get people to think carefullyabout the advertised product. Instead, these adssimply try to get people to associate unconsciouslythe products with various desirable qualities (e.g.,being sexy, attractive, fun or powerful). In addition,persuasion methods employing classical conditioningget people to associate certain products orevents with desirable feelings without ever gettingthe people involved to think about the products orevents. For example, if people commonly engage insome behavior (meeting with colleagues) while theyare doing something else that they like (e.g., eatingfood they like), then they will tend to have positiveattitudes toward the first behavior. This is why manybusiness deals are conducted over lunch or dinner.Other methods of persuasion lie somewherebetween the two ends of the “central-peripheral”continuum. For example, statements from “experts”or “role models” may produce acceptance of someidea, product or behavior and require some awarenessof the message, but not require critical thinkingabout the message. If a sports hero or popularperson in a school encourages a particular behavior,that encouragement may effectively change attitudesand behavior, even if the endorsement is processedthrough a more peripheral route without carefulexamination.Sometimes endorsements from celebrity figures maybe effective, even if the arguments are weak, if thearguments are processed through a more peripheralroute and if they are not well examined. However,celebrity endorsements may not be effective if thearguments are weak and they are examined criticallythrough the central route and are rejected.Although celebrities may get youths’ attention, theirlifestyles are usually so removed from those of mostteens’ realities that their endorsements of ideas mayhave less lasting impact on attitudes than endorsementsfrom people with whom youth can identifymore closely, such as peers, parents or role models intheir own communities.Interventions sometimes give multiple reasons toengage or not engage in a behavior. When multiplereasons are given, people are sometimes persuadedsimply by the number of arguments rather than thestrength of each argument.Strength of arguments. When arguments areprocessed through the central route, the stronger orhigher quality the message, the greater the impact itwill have on the related attitude. According to Pettyand Wegner (1998), five characteristics determinethe quality and impact of arguments:1) Likelihood and desirability of outcome: If anargument for a behavior makes a case that a particularoutcome is likely and desirable, then it willbe stronger than if the outcome is not as likely ordesirable.2) Causality: If an argument for a behavior demonstratesa causal impact on some outcome, then theoutcome is considered more likely.3) Familiarity: If an argument is consistent withthe way people view the world, it will be moreconvincing.4) Importance: If an argument demonstrates thata behavior will have relevant and importantoutcomes, it will be scrutinized more carefullyand may have a greater impact on attitudes andbehavior.5) Newness: If an argument is new and different,it will have a greater impact on changing anattitude than an argument that has already beenheard multiple times and incorporated into anexisting attitude.58 Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical Guide for Developing and Adapting Curriculum-Based Programs