Problem-solution Structures in Persuasive Texts: Effects on Attention, Comprehension, and Yielding

Abstract

This study addresses the question of how problem-solution structures influence the processing of persuasive texts. In Experiment 7, 48 students read ads containing problem, solution, and company information on a computer. The position of the company information was varied: It came either before the problem and solution, between these two parts, or after them. Ads starting with problem information received more attention than adsMuch effort is devoted to studying the question of which text characteristics make readers yield to a text's claims. That readers have to pay attention to the text first, is usually taken for granted. However, as the number of persuasive texts heavily outnumbers the number of texts being read, the question of why some texts succeed in capturing the readers' attention whereas others fail to do so, is an important one. Still, little is known about what makes people read a text (cf. Chaiken & Stangor, 1987:597-598; Eagly & Chaiken, 1993:278-280).In this article, two experiments are presented. The first experiment is devoted to the question of whether a popular text structure, the problem-solution structure, is capable of capturing the readers' attention. Attention is, however, no guarantee for persuasion. According to McGuire's (1972) information-processing paradigm, the attention process has to be followed by comprehension and yielding processes. Comprehension and yielding can both be influenced by the problem-solution structure as well. Whether it does, was studied in the second experiment. Hoeken Reading as a kind of exploratory behaviorReading a text can be regarded as a kind of exploratory behavior. The reader explores an object, that is, the text. Berlyne (1960) distinguishes two types of exploratory behavior: specific exploration and diversive exploration. Specific exploration is caused by uncertainty on the part of the reader. For instance, someone knows that the previous evening an important baseball game has been played but does not know the result. The uncertainty about the result leads to curiosity. To satisfy this curiosity, the reader searches actively for information about the result. Specific exploration is, thus, aimed at satisfying curiosity through the active search for relevant information.Diversive exploration, on the other hand, is the result of boredom. When people are deprived of stimuli, they search for entertainment. For instance, with only the paper at hand, one may eventually find oneself reading the stock market reports on a long journey by train. Frijda (1986:346-348) gives the following account of this behavior. When an organism is healthy and free of worries, it has an extra capacity to cognitively assimilate new or unexpected stimuli. When this capacity is not used for some time (e.g f , due to sensory deprivation), the organism will actively search for such stimulation. Successful cognitive assimilation of the new stimulus is a pleasant experience, unsuccessful assimilation is an unpleasant one. According to Frijda, the goal of this operation is t...