Relationship Between Attitude Properties and Psychological Commitment

Don't judge a book by its author: Central and peripheral processing in narrative persuasion

“…Another important factor that influences the degree of elaborative processing message consumers use is the degree of personal importance of the attitude object for the consumers. Individuals who consider an attitude object to be part of their identities are more likely to engage in behaviors that express those attitudes, thoughtfully consider messages relevant to the attitude objects, and form consistent beliefs that do not vary over time (Ha, Han, & Strigas, 2011). Personal importance (also called ego involvement; Sherif & Cantril, 1947) is such an important determinant of elaborative cognition that messages which do not have any personal relevance to readers will often not differentially persuade even highly engaged readers, regardless of argument strength (Petty et al, 1986).…”