Publications

Publication details [#1940]

Ashley, Aaron L. 2004. Figurative language effects on the processing of persuasive discourse. Memphis, Tenn.. 202 pp.
Publication type
Ph.D dissertation
Publication language
English

Abstract

Previous research examining the effects of figurative language use in persuasive discourse have found certain tropes elicit greater attitude change than equivalent literal statements. This research has, however, focused only on a general or overall attitude. Attitude researchers have described different ways that attitudes can be expressed. These different attitudinal response classes have traditionally focused on affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses. The present research represents an extension of previous figurative language research by examining the effect of figurative language use on the separate classes of attitudinal responses. Participants read a series of six editorials advocating changes in policy on academic, political, and social issues. The editorials differed in having either a literal or figurative (metaphor or rhetorical question) title (Experiment 1) or whether a literal or figurative statement appeared in either an introductory or summary position (Experiment 2). Participants provided message quality and source credibility ratings for each editorial and completed an attitude questionnaire assessing affective, behavior, and cognitive responses for each of the editorial topics. Recall and recognition memory for the editorial titles (Experiment 1) and recognition memory for the critical statements (Experiment 2) were also assessed. Results showed that participants in both experiments had significantly more positive attitudes toward the editorial topics than baseline attitude measures. There were, however, no significant differences in attitudinal responses between individuals exposed to literal titles and figurative titles (Experiment 1) or literal or figurative statements occurring in either an introductory or summary location (Experiment 2). In addition, there were no significant differences in the message quality or source credibility ratings between individuals exposed to either literal or figurative titles (Experiment 1) or literal or figurative statements in either an introductory or summary position (Experiment 2). Memory measures showed that there were no differences in recall and recognition of literal or figurative titles (Experiment 1), but there were significant differences in recognition of the literal and figurative statements in introductory and summary positions (Experiment 2). (Aaron Ashley)