Strategies for Influencing Attitude

The study examines application of communication in influencing attitude which turn habitual and therefore difficult to change. It tests the effectiveness of appeals based on information processing theory vis-à-vis educative appeals. Storage and Retrieval, two basic elements of information processing are operationalised to achieve the desired response. The basic exercise consists of using conditioning to reorient irrational food aversion or reverse undesirable food preferences. In the process it examines the context under which conditioning may occur and the process of conditioning. Respondents grouped according to their orientations are exposed to appropriate stimuli (for conditioning) and their responses noted. Findings indicate that affective conditioning may be difficult to achieve in a high involving situation (such as food habits) unless support of source and strong association is available. Conditioning may be initiated by both affective and cognitive processes. Hypotheses for further testing suggested.