Response to questions
Part 1
Question one
Central route processing refers to a persuasion route that has much consideration of the arguments of the intended message (Chen et al. 2018). The arguments may be in terms of content and ideas. When a person engages in this type of processing, he actively participates in the persuasion process. It takes place when the targeted receiver has the ability and motivation to think.
On the other hand, the peripheral route processing happens if a person decides on whether to agree to what the advert says depending on strengths and weaknesses of the arguments and ideas in the messages (Chen et al. 2018). For example, some people tend to agree with a given message as they think it is from an expert. There is a lack of motivation or ability to think. The credibility of the source is a major factor in this type of processing. A person will tend to agree with a message written by a credible and reputable source. At times, a person may agree with the message because it seems knowledgeable, and lots of arguments support it. The receivers that incorporate this processing route have a higher passive level than those that incorporate central route processing.
Central route processing leads to a more enduring attitude change, unlike the peripheral route. The reason is that the central route involves thinking and motivation, which are key elements in attitude change.
Question two
The recent ad that I saw involved the black lives matter movement. The advert is in the photo below:
(“Black Lives Matter: what have advertising’s biggest agencies promised?”, 2020)
The advert has much sensitivity on both the central and peripheral processing routes. The sensitivity played a role in enhancing my message processing. I got concerned with the arguments that the advert presents. Having the ability to think and being motivated to do so, I quickly connected it to the movement that fights for the rights for the Black people. I traced back the advert to George Floyd’s death that oversaw lots of protests. Therefore, the decision to agree with the message had a strong connection with the idea that the lives of people matter regardless of race. It is worth noting that the writing is done in a black colour, which symbolizes the skin colour of the black people. The hand on the message is folded to show power and unity that is needed to help in ending the killing of blacks. It was a good show for the whites to get involved in the protests because it showed how much they value the lives of people.
Question three
The two routes co-occur in most cases. For example, the advert above had the routes concurring. On the one hand, I had to think with motivation about the message, an aspect that reflects the central processing route. On the other hand, I had to agree with the message because of the idea it carried and connecting it to the black lives movement source. This was an aspect evident in peripheral processing route. There are times that the routes dominate cognitive routes. For example, an advert done by Heineken regarding Champions League football for the upcoming season would have the peripheral route overriding the central route. The reason is that Heineken source is considered to be an expert of Champions league games and believing and processing the message becomes easy.