Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The effectiveness of a communication depends on a variety of factors. Among those concerning organization and procedure, order of presentation forms one of the major factors that influence the impact of communication on an →  audience. It is to →  Carl I. Hovland and team's credit that appropriate research questions and →  experimental designs have been developed to test and acknowledge this effect (→  Persuasion ; Media Effects ). “Order” refers to two aspects of variation: “(1) the order of presenting a series of communications, and (2) the order of presenting the various elements within a single communication” ( Hovland 1957 ; →  Media Effects, History of ). For order effects in successive communication, the issue of the most advantageous position is of pivotal concern. We need to consider on the one hand the effects of being in first position, in terms of presenting our own communication before opposing arguments have an opportunity to reach the audience, and on the other hand the effects of being in last position, i.e., having the “final say.” Lund (1925) enunciated a law of primacy , stating that the side of an issue presented first will have greater effectiveness than the side presented afterwards. In a replication of the Lund experiment by Hovland & Mandell (1952) , results indicated that only one of three groups showed a greater effectiveness for the side presented ... log in or subscribe to read full text