Complex Two-Sided Message (Central Route Processing)

This article is a great example of a complex two-sided message that clearly illustrates central route processing. Central route processing comes into play when three things are prevelant including relevance, expertise and attentiveness. The person in this article does a great job at explaining why they believe obesity has sky rocketed; "high levels of competition, stress, and inequality in American and British society contribute to compulsive, mindless, or otherwise unhealthy eating."

http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2007/03/recognizing_an.html

Peripheral Route Processing

I believe a few of this messages make the viewer make quick decisions. I think they grab your attention effectively. They use your peripheral route processing because they are simple messages that get the point across quickly.

Fear Message

This is a primal example that exemplifies an effective fear inducing message to the public. It is very graphic in nature and shows the extremity of obesity as well as the reprocussions of it. This message is effective because it clearly illustrates that there is a negative effect to being obese. It also describes how these highly obese people got to this stage by adopting dangerous behaviors such as over eating and having no exercise. This message possesses a vividness as well which is described as a message that touches our emotional interests and due to the graphic nature of this message I don't know how it couldn't produce some type of strong emotion. Overall I find this message to be an effective fear-inducing message.

Credible Communicator

Another credible communicator is Kirsty Alley who advocates weight loss through Jenny Craig. She relates to her audience because she has similar struggles with her weight much like that of other over weight individuals. She also appeals to the audience due to her celebrity status. These reasons are why she can be considered a credible communicator and thus influential in the fight against obesity.

Credible Communicator

Temple Professor Gary Foster is the President of the Obesity Society. He is committed to the research, advocacy and education of obesity. Due to his extensive passion and committment to the cause of obesity, he is a credible communicator because he encompasses expertise and trustworthiness. He advocates the importance of educating people about obesity and believes it to be the "most pressing public health problem of our time, and the Obesity Society is ideally poised to make a difference in understanding, preventing and treating obesity and advocating for those who suffer from it" (http://temple-news.com/2008/02/11/medical-prof-president-of-obesity-society/).

Subliminal Message

Subliminal messages are probably the least effective messages in terms of being able to change behavior. Usually subliminal messages are used to exascerbate the problem of obesity rather than diminish it. We see various ads everyday that promote eating; usually something that isn't healthy for us. For example, McDonalds will post a commercial that will show you a juicy hamburger, and like the PowerPoint stated, this subliminal message works when you are hungry. So when this commercial appears and the individual is hungry, they are most likely to stop at the fast food restaurant.

Reptition/Intensity and Classical Conditioning

Repetition: Here is a link to an ad which pairs Shrek characters as a way to motivate young children to get out and play rather than stay inside and remain inactive. As we have learned, the more frequently we see an ad pairing a product with something positive the stronger the pairing is. Since this is a commerical it would be played several times during the day, and the more the viewer sees the positive message, the more opt they are to follow the behavior.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-zEDbl04NY


Intensity: The following video displays intensity because it is more perceptually intense which heightens the strength of the message.