Message Comprehensibility and Persuasion: Effects of Complex Language in Counterattitudinal Appeals to Laypeople

The influence of complex language in a counterattitudinal appeal to laypeople was examined using dual process theories of persuasion. These theories propose that persuasion can result from cognitive elaboration of message arguments, or from more peripheral/heuristic strategies that do not involve argument scrutiny. One hundred four undergraduates listened to a counterattitudinal speech that varied in argument strength, wording complexity/comprehensibility, and source status. They then completed an attitude measure, a thought listing task, and an argument recall task. When arguments were easy to comprehend, attitudes were more favorable when the arguments were strong versus weak. When arguments were difficult to comprehend, attitudes were more favorable when the source was of high versus low status. Mediational analyses suggested that cognitive elaboration mediated persuasion when comprehension was easy, whereas cognitive elaboration as well as less effortful peripheral/heuristic processing mediated persuasion when comprehension was difficult.