title: Are anthropomorphic persuasive appeals effective? The role of the recipient's motivations.
abstract: Anthropomorphic persuasive appeals are prevalent. However, their effectiveness has not been well studied. The present research addresses this issue with two experiments in the context of environmental persuasion. It shows that anthropomorphic messages, relative to non-anthropomorphic ones, appear to motivate more conservation behaviour and elicit more favourable message responses only among recipients who have a strong need for effectance or social connection. Among recipients whose such need is weak, anthropomorphic appeals seem to backfire. These findings extend the research on motivation and persuasion and add evidence to the motivational bases of anthropomorphism. In addition, joining some recent studies, the present research highlights the implications of anthropomorphism of nature for environmental conservation efforts, and offers some practical suggestions for environmental persuasion.
authors.affiliation: Division of Social Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Kim-Pong
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Tam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D057175:Posters as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: anthropomorphism; attachment; conservation behaviour; desire for control; persuasion; pro-environmental behaviour