Emotional Responses to Televised PSAs and Their Influence on Persuasion: An Investigation of the Moderating Role of Faith in Intuition

Abstract

This research examines the influence of message recipients' emotional responses to televised PSAs on their attitudes toward the advocated issues. Integrating the affect-as-information paradigm and Epstein's cognitive-experiential self-theory, this research hypothesizes that message-induced emotions will have a greater influence on persuasion for individuals who have a strong faith in intuition than for those who have a weak faith in intuition. Overall, the main hypothesis was partially supported. There is some indication that faith in intuition moderates the influence of message-induced emotions on persuasion such that people with a stronger faith in intuition tend to rely more on experienced emotions when making judgments. The moderating effects of faith in intuition, however, appear to be confined to specific PSAs and discrete emotions.