Page 115 - The Social Animal

Mass Communication, Propaganda, and Persuasion 97

ments were placed in one block and all of the con arguments were
placed in another block. The investigators varied the interval be-
tween the reading of the two arguments and between the reading of
the last argument and the announcement of the verdict. A recency
effect was obtained when there was a large interval between the first
and second arguments and a small interval between the second argu-
ment and the verdict. A primacy effect was obtained when there was
a small interval between the first and second arguments and a large
interval between the second argument and the verdict. The topic of
this experiment (a jury trial) serves to underscore the immense prac-
tical significance these two phenomena may have. Most jurisdictions
allow the prosecution to go first (opening statement and presenta-
tion of evidence) and last (closing arguments), thus giving the state
the advantage of both primacy and recency effects. Because the order
of presentation may influence a jury’s verdict of guilt or innocence, I
would recommend that our trial procedures be modified to prevent
any possible miscarriages of justice due to primacy or recency effects.

The Size of the Discrepancy Suppose you are talking to an au-
dience that strongly disagrees with your point of view. Will you be
more effective if you present your position in its most extreme form
or if you modulate your position by presenting it in such a way that
it does not seem terribly different from the audience’s position? For
example, suppose you believe people should exercise vigorously every
day to stay healthy; any physical activity would be helpful, but at least
an hour’s worth would be preferable. Your audience consists of col-
lege professors who seem to believe that turning the pages of a book
is sufficient exercise for the average person. Would you change their
opinion to a greater extent by arguing that people should begin a rig-
orous daily program of running, swimming, and calisthenics or by
suggesting a briefer, less-taxing regimen? In short, what is the most
effective level of discrepancy between the opinion of the audience
and the recommendation of the communicator? This is a vital issue
for any propagandist or educator.
Let us look at this situation from the audience’s point of view. As
I mentioned in Chapter 2, most of us have a strong desire to be cor-
rect—to have the “right” opinions and to perform reasonable actions.
When someone comes along and disagrees with us, it makes us feel
uncomfortable because it suggests our opinions or actions may be