Campaigns to End Violence against Women and Girls - Virtual ...

5. The diffusion of innovations theory traces the process by which a new idea or
practice is communicated in society, and which factors influence people’s thoughts
and activities in view of adopting new ideas (Ryan and Gross, 1943).
6. The input/output persuasion model emphasizes the hierarchy of communication
effects and considers how certain aspects, e.g. message design, source and
channel, as well as audience characteristics, influence behavioural outcomes of the
communication (McGuire, 1969).
7. Social influence, social comparison, and convergence theories state that one’s
perception and behaviour are influenced by the opinions and behaviour of others,
especially when a situation is uncertain (Festinger, 1954; Kincaid, 1987, 1988;
Latane, 1981; Moscovici, 1976; Rogers and Kincaid, 1981; Suls, 1977).
8. Emotional response theories suggest that messages which provoke an emotional
response have better chances to prompt behaviour change than those low in
emotional content (Clark, 1992; Zajonc, 1984; Zajonc, Murphy, and Inglehart, 1989).
Adapted from Coffman, 2002. Public Communication Campaign Evaluation, and
O’Sullivan et al., 2003. A Field Guide to Designing a Health Communication Strategy.
The advantage of following one of these theories (or combining more than one) in
designing a campaign is that one can build the strategy on an established body of
research. However, applying these theories is no guarantee for success, as many
factors influencing human behaviour are beyond the campaigners’ control. Hence,
regular monitoring of the reactions to and outcomes of the campaign is of key
importance.
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Campaigns December 2011