Humor in Persuasion

    When watching television, almost every commercial advertising a product contains some sort of humor. Cell phones, clothing, food commercials all tend to keep our attention with humor. The commercials that do not contain humor may get ignored unless they use emotional appeal such as donation commercials, some car insurance commercials, or drug commercials. Humor might be effective in persuasion is by increasing liking for the source. In particular, the choice of humor might illustrate a shared sense of humor that hints at a similar set of underlying values (Meyer, 1997). Research suggests that humor may induce distraction (Duncan, 1979; Sternthal & Craig, 1973). Affective responses elicited by humor may divert a consumer from counter arguing against a discrepant message. Reduced counter arguing, in turn, may allow for greater yielding to the persuasive message. “Persuasion is the coproduction of meaning that results when an individual or group of individuals uses language strategies and/or visual images to make audiences identify with that individual or group (Borchers, T. A. 2002).”

    Sometimes, to break the ice with meeting new people, we crack a joke and gauge the other person's reaction. And most of the time the ice breaker can work to give a sort of trustworthy appearance of the messenger who is trying to persuade. A survey of successful U.S. advertising practitioners revealed that 94% believed humor was effective in gaining attention, and 38% felt humor increased comprehension (Madden & Weinberger, 1984). “Persuasion is intended communication that affects how others think, feel, and/or act toward some object, person, group or idea (Cegala, D. J. 1987)." Humor can soften a blow when it comes to the persuasive process. Many times, someone does not know they are being persuaded because they have adopted the humor and become opened to the idea. One way that humor might be effective in persuasion is by creating positive affect (Kuiper, McKenzie, & Belanger, 1995). According to persuasion theory, people who are in a good mood are less likely to disagree with a persuasive message (Freedman, Sears, & Carlsmith, 1978) and more likely to rely on heuristic/peripheral cues (Bless & Schwarz, 1999). Another way that humor might be effective in persuasion is by increasing liking for the source. In particular, the choice of humor might illustrate a shared sense of humor that hints at a similar set of underlying values (Meyer, 1997). Students have been shown to have a preference for cartoon humor (Burns, 1999), and cartoons in textbooks have been linked to a relaxed learning environment (Carpenter, 1997). It has been suggested that moods during a persuasive message might be attributed to the source (Sinclair, Mark, & Clore, 1994).

    “Persuasion takes place when a motivator is able to either change or confirm an existing attitude in the minds of listeners (Hazel, H. 1998)." Humor might be effective in persuasion is to block systematic/central processing by distracting receivers from constructing counterarguments (Osterhouse & Brock, 1970). This effect has been confirmed repeatedly (e.g., Romero, Agnew, & Insko, 1996) and has even been observed using "zany films" as the distraction (Festinger & Maccoby, 1964). The effect may be even stronger when ironic humor is used. To understand irony, one must process not only the surface meaning of a statement but also its ironic meaning (Giora & Fein, 1999). Humor can definitely help with a persuasive message, but it can also distract from the message too.

    With advertising, if the humor is unrelated to the claims (incidental humor), however, it may encourage heuristic processing. Thus, to the extent that enhanced processing of a humorous ad encourages evaluation of the central arguments of the communication, strong (vs. weak) arguments may be more persuasive. On the other hand, if enhanced processing of a humorous ad encourages consideration of only the humor, strong arguments may be no more effective than weaker ones. This article focuses on the case of incidental humor. Smith (1993) suggests that a humorous ad may increase attention while at the same time disrupt processing. The increased attention may focus consumers on the humorous part of the ad and simultaneously divert them from the ad claims (Cline, T.W., & Kellaris, J.J. 1999).  Someone could also begin not to even take the message seriously since there is humor being involved. They may look at the message as a joke itself… better yet have a clear understanding that there is a message that is being obviously conveyed to them. Depending on the message, humor can take credibility away from the messenger.



REFERENCES:

Lyttle, J. (2001). The effectiveness of humor in persuasion: The case of business ethics training. The Journal of General Psychology, 128(2), 206-16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213644389?accountid=32521

Cline, T. W., & Kellaris, J. J. (1999). The joint impact of humor and argument strength in a print advertising context: A case for weaker arguments. Psychology & Marketing, 16(1), 69-69. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/227758276?accountid=32521

Seiter. Perspectives on Persuasion, Social Influence, and Compliance Gaining. Pearson Learning Solutions.