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Race of source effects in the elaboration likelihood model
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|November 1, 1994
Summary
White participants process messages from Black sources more carefully due to aversive racism. This motivation stems from a desire to avoid appearing prejudiced, influencing message elaboration.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Communication Studies
- Intergroup Relations
Background:
- The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) posits two routes to persuasion: central and peripheral.
- Previous research has not fully explored how the race of the source influences message processing within the ELM framework.
- Aversive racism theory suggests that White individuals may process information from Black sources differently due to underlying biases and egalitarian values.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of the source's race on persuasive communication within the Elaboration Likelihood Model.
- To determine if White participants exhibit differential message processing when the source is Black.
- To test the role of aversive racism in explaining observed effects of source race on persuasion.
Main Methods:
- A series of five experiments were conducted.
- Participants' responses to persuasive messages from sources of different races were assessed.
- A distraction paradigm was employed in experiments 3 and 4 to manipulate involvement levels.
- Attitudes toward the source's ethnic group and expectancy violations were measured in experiment 5.
Main Results:
- No evidence was found that White participants treated Black sources as simple negative cues.
- Exposure to a Black source was associated with increased motivation for message processing, particularly under low involvement conditions.
- Attitudes toward the source's ethnic group, rather than expectancy violations, significantly predicted this heightened processing.
- Results align with aversive racism theory, indicating a motivation to avoid appearing unfavorable towards Black individuals.
Conclusions:
- White participants are motivated to carefully process messages from Black sources, driven by a desire to avoid prejudice.
- This motivation is explained by aversive racism, where egalitarian values conflict with underlying negative racial attitudes.
- Findings contribute to understanding intergroup dynamics in persuasion and the complexities of racial bias.