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Information
Integration Theory
Information
Integration Theory
Suggestions
for Changing Attitudes
Evaluation
Glossary
References
Self-Test
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Suggestions
for Changing Attitudes
Information Integration theory offers
several options for those who want to create (or encourage)
attitude change. Remember that an attitude can be made up of
favorable and unfavorable information and that each piece of
information has both weight and value. Also, a person’s
attitude is only (or primarily) shaped by the information that
is salient, or that they remember). This means that if they
knew a piece of information but forgot it, we may be able to
persuade them by reminding them this idea. Ordinarily, we
would not have to convince them that we are right about
this piece of information, because it is something they once
accepted. It can often be easier to remind them of an idea
than to persuade them to accept a new idea. Of course, you
have to remind them of something that supports the new
attitude you want them to accept. (There is also some risk
that if they haven’t forgotten this idea, they will find
your message repetitive and boring.)
With these factors in mind, Information Integration theory
declares that there are six basic options for changing a
person’s attitude:
-increase the favorability (value) of a piece of existing
information that supports the desired attitude
-increase the weight of a piece of existing information that
supports the desired attitude
-decrease the favorability (value) of a piece of existing
information that opposes the desired attitude
-decrease the weight of a piece of existing information that
opposes the desired attitude
-offer a new piece of favorable information
-remind the audience about a forgotten piece of favorable
information
For example, suppose that Jon has a unfavorable attitude
toward a local restaurant called “Eats” and that this
attitude is based on the following pieces of information
(mostly unfavorable, but some favorable):
I1. Eats is too expensive.
I2. The food at Eats is pretty good.
I3. The waiters at Eats are snotty.
I4. My friends don’t go to Eats very often.
You could try to make change Jon’s attitude in six ways.
First, you could say that the food at Eats isn’t just good,
it is fabulous (increasing the evaluation, or value, of an
existing favorable piece of information, I1). Second, you
could suggest that the most important thing about a restaurant
is the taste of the food (increasing the weight of an existing
favorable piece of information, I1). A third option would be
to try to persuade Jon that the waiters weren’t really that
snotty (decreasing the unfavorability, or value, of an
existing piece of unfavorable information, I3). Fourth, you
could tell Jon that you really don’t talk to waiters very
much. Most discussion over dinner is with dinner companions,
so it doesn’t matter how snotty the waiters are (decrease
the weight of an existing unfavorable piece of information,
I3). Another option would be to tell Jon that they have a
redecorated Eats, making it a much nicer place to dine
(creating a new, favorable piece of information, I5). Finally,
you could mention to Jon something he has forgotten, that Eats
is very convenient (reminding him of a favorable piece of
forgotten information, I6).
Furthermore, each of these options could spark more than one
idea. You could give him other new information about the
restaurant (e.g., new menu items) or remind him of other
favorable things he has forgotten (e.g., that they have a
big-screen TV for sporting events). You would not need to use
all six options to persuade someone, but this theory can help
you think of a variety of ways to persuade your audience.
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