Year: 1972
Type: article
Abstract: Purpose and ScopeThe basic purpose of this dissertation is to provide a foundation of knowledge concerning persuasive mass communications that may serve as a basis for its understanding, practical application, and systematic research.No attempt is made to elaborate a general theory of mass communications; gaps in current knowledge negate such an undertaking.Moreover, this dissertation is not intended to be a compendium of all that is known about persuasive mass communications.In fact, the communication literature is rather selectively reviewed.In certain areas too little is known to present meaningful insights or to integrate extant data; in others, the evidence available is not directly relevant to understanding or practical application.However, the presentation of contradictory findings is not avoided.Such findings reflect the on going refinement in the body of communication knowledge and suggests those substantive areas where research is needed to resolve equivocal findings.This dissertation is addressed specifically to two audiences: practitioners and researchers.For the practitioner interested in up dating his knowledge concerning mass communication phenomena, this review provides a current treatment.'*'Though the perspective is that of a marketer, the evidence reviewed is presented in a sufficiently general manner to be informative to psychologists, political scientists, and students of speech.For the researcher, whose goal is to advance ■*The reader who is interested in previous reviews of the mass communication literature should consult Berio (1960), Hovland, Janis, and Kelley (1953), Klapper (1960), and McGuire (1969). 3Correlational paradigms refer to the marketing approaches to persuasive mass communication research described in the previous section.
Author: Brian Sternthal
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W588241627