COMMUNICATION, MEDIA, AND AUDIENCE EFFECTS UPON ATTITUDE CHANGE WITH REGARD TO AUTOMOBILE SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY

IN A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT OF ATTITUDE CHANGE COMPARING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF COMMUNICATION CONTENT TYPE OF MEDIA AND DISTRIBUTION OF MEDIA TO ATTITUDE CHANGE REGARDING CAR SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY, IT WAS FOUND THAT NO STRONG MEDIA EFFECTS WERE OBSERVED WHEN THE MEDIA ACTED AS A FORUM FOR OPINIONS RATHER TAKING CONTENT RESPONSIBILITY. COMMUNICATION CONTENT HAD A VERY STRONG EFFECT, WHILE A CONSIDERABLE PORTION OF THE ATTITITUDE CHANGE EXHIBITED WAS A FUNCTION OF THE SUBJECTS PREDISPOSITION TO PERSUASIBILITY AND THE OPINION CHANGE CORRELATED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH AUTHORITARIANISM AND NEED FOR SOCIAL APPROVAL. WHEN A CORRECTION FOR AUTHORITARIANISM WAS CARRIED OUT, SIGNIFICANT MEDIA EFFECTS WERE REVEALED. RETENTION OF FACTUAL INFORMATION IN THE COMMUNICATIONS WAS FOUND TO BE MARKEDLY SUPERIOR FOR PRESS RATHER THAN RADIO ALTHOUGH MEDIA PRESTIGE (NATIONAL VERSUS LOCAL DISTRIBUTION) WAS NOT INFLUENTIAL HERE. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 1, No 3, PP 155-171
• Authors:
  • WILLIAMS, R A
  • Cousins, L S
  • Wilde, G J
• Publication Date: 0

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Behavioral Research in Highway Safety
  • Publisher: Behavioral Publications

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Automobiles; Communications; Highway safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Change; Responsibilities
• Old TRIS Terms: Media
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221412
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 29 1971 12:00AM