International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

“Sleeper effect” describes a phenomenon in which messages from sources with originally low credibility cause opinion change over time. The credibility of a source as perceived by receivers of its message constitutes a central issue in the theory of persuasion, in particular with regard to its impact on attitude change (→ Attitudes). A highly credible communicator (e.g., by virtue of trust, expertise, or reliability) commands an increased probability that the receivers of a message will accept and absorb the persuasive intent of the communication (→ Persuasion). However, the effect of credibility varies during the course of persuasive effects over time. In general, the impact of a persuasive message peaks immediately after exposition and declines over time (→ Credibility Effects). The sleeper effect describes a contrary phenomenon for messages from low-credibility sources. Here, the immediate effect is overruled by the long-term effect: The sleeper effect is thus defined as the absolute increase in attitude change over time for receivers of a low-credibility message (Hovland et al. 1949).Increase in agreement for low-credibility communication in the long term might be due to the diminishing of initial skepticism over time. Generally, arguments and other content supporting a communicator's conclusion are subject to being forgotten over time. For a credible communicator, receivers ... log in or subscribe to read full text