What’s the sleeper effect?

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The sleeper effect is a term used to describe a particular delayed persuasion process in psychology. In theory, this effect occurs when someone initially ignores a persuasive message because it doesn’t appear to be credible, and then gradually comes to believe it. This is the opposite of the normal way persuasion works because typically people tend to be less convinced by messages as time goes on and may actually need a lot of reinforcement to keep their opinions changing. Most experts think the effect occurs because people can gradually lose the sense of connection between the message they received and the circumstances of the message that initially made them distrust it.

Typically, the sleeper effect is most noticeable with propaganda, advertising, or other situations where it’s especially difficult to trust the creator of a message. If an individual receives a highly biased message from one of these sources, even though the person may feel a strong emotional pull, he or she will often still feel inclined to reject it. So, over time, the person may begin to find that the message seems more valuable than it initially was, and experts believe this is because the emotions in the message are strong enough to survive the distrust in the initial moment. the message has been received. If the person is asked about this apparent contradiction, he or she will generally still remember having a sour feeling towards the creator of the message, but the connection between those feelings and the trustworthiness of the message will often be less powerful than it was initially.

Sometimes the sleeper effect doesn’t work and laboratory tests have shown that it can only work when everything is exactly right. Basically, the message itself has to be so powerful that it can survive the initial distrust people feel about the source. Also, it’s usually best if people get the message before they realize the identity of the source. So, for example, if people saw a well-made propaganda documentary, and then eventually discover that it was created by an unscrupulous individual, the sleeper effect could potentially occur. The severity of the required circumstances necessary to produce the effect has sometimes made some scientists skeptical, and some of this skepticism still exists.

In general, the sleeper effect may be more useful in contexts where it is difficult to produce a message without letting the audience know the source. For example, there are often laws around political ads that require disclosure of the creator’s identity. Studies have shown that even though people know it’s not easy to trust the creator of some of these messages, they may still adopt attitudes based on the messages if enough time passes.

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