SLEEPER EFFECT-When people are exposed normally to a persuasive message (such

as an engaging or persuasive television advertisement), their attitudes toward the

advocacy of the message display a significant increase.
Over time, however, their newly formed attitudes seem to gravitate back toward the
opinion held prior to receiving the message, almost as if they were never exposed to the
communication. This pattern of normal decay in attitudes has been documented as the
most frequently observed longitudinal pattern of persuasion research (Eagly & Chaiken,
1993).
In contrast, some messages are often accompanied with a discounting cue (e.g., a
message disclaimer, a low-credibility source) that would arouse a recipients suspicion
of the validity of the message and suppress any attitude change that might occur by
exposure to the message alone. Furthermore, when people are exposed to a
persuasive message followed by a discounting cue, people tend to be more persuaded
over time; this is referred to as the sleeper effect (Hovland & Weiss, 1951; Cook & Flay,
1978).
For example, in political campaigns during important elections, undecided voters often
see negative advertisements about a party or candidate for office. At the end of the
advertisement, they also might notice that the opposing candidate paid for the
advertisement. Presumably, this would make voters question the truthfulness of the
advertisement, and consequently, they may not be persuaded initially. However, even
though the source of the advertisement lacked credibility, voters will be more likely to be
persuaded later (and ultimately, vote against the candidate disfavored by the
advertisement).
This pattern of attitude change has puzzled social psychologists for nearly half a
century, primarily due to its counter-intuitive nature and for its potential to aid in
understanding attitude processes (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). It has been a very widely
studied phenomenon of persuasion research (Kumkale & Albarracn, 2004; see also
Cook & Flay, 1978). Despite a long history, the sleeper effect has been notoriously
difficult to obtain or to replicate, with the exception of a pair of studies by Gruder et al.
(1978).

source Credibility is "a term commonly used to imply a communicator's positive

characteristics that affect the receiver's acceptance of a message." [1] Academic studies
of this topic began in the 20th century and were given a special emphasis during World
War II, when the US government sought to use propaganda to influence public opinion
in support of the war effort. Psychologist Carl Hovland and his colleagues worked at the
War Department upon this during the 1940s and then continued experimental studies
at Yale University. They built upon the work of researchers in the first half of the 20th
century

who

had

developed

a Source-Message-Channel-Receiver model

of

communication and, with Muzafer Sherif, developed this as part of their theories of
persuasion and social judgement.
Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result. When something is
deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a
deep, vivid impression.

The communication

process is

successfully communicate.

the

steps

Components

we
of

take

in

order

to

the communication

process include a sender, encoding of a message, selecting of a channel

ofcommunication, receipt of the message by the receiver and decoding of
the message.