Persuasion, pitch and presentation: The effects of information style on individual decision making

Abstract

The four experiments examined five issues relating to the use of information by decision makers. The first was time; second was descriptive words instead of university letter grades; third was the information source's credibility; fourth was persuasion technique; and fifth was type of appeal. Time available was variously combined with letter grades, evaluative words, and differentially credible information sources. The first two experiments showed that time and evaluative words affect decisions, and that evaluative words were more effective when time was short. The third experiment showed that credible sources strongly influence a decision, but, when time is short, the effect of a credible source weakens. The fourth experiment aimed to ascertain if one appeal type was more effective than another when used in conjunction with one of two persuasion techniques. Modified versions of the persuasion techniques Foot In The Door (FITD), and Door In The Face (DITF), were crossed with two types of appeal common to public television, Mission and Transaction. Mission appeals discuss quality; Transaction appeals offer a return. The FITD and the DITF manipulated the magnitude of the initial donation request, with subjects then responding to either a Mission or a Transaction appeal. There were no significant effects for pitch, or for persuasion technique. Significant interactions between pitch and sex, and pitch, persuasion, and sex were found. Males gave most when Transaction pitches were used with the DITF and least to Mission appeals with the DITF. Females by contrast responded most to Mission pitches used with the DITF persuasion technique. The results of experiment four have practical implications for public broadcasting fundraising.