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Order
effects in one-sided and two-sided communications can be largely attributed
to communicative aspects; this differs from primacy and
recency effects, which are attributed to cognitive processes.
Individuals are said to hold expectations about the order in which arguments
are presented within the context of a message. This is based on conversational
norms. “Depending on these expectations, arguments presented
first or last will be highly influential,” and will be most influential
when presented in the location that the individual expects the most important
argument to be placed (Igou 91-99).
Individuals also hold different ideas about where arguments will be placed
with in a message in reference to one-sided versus two-sided arguments.
This placement expectation results in different order
effects. “In one-sided communications recipients are
confronted with either pro or con arguments. In two-sided communications,
arguments both for and against a position are presented” (Igou 91-99).
It is argued that when individuals are presented with two-sided
communications, it is assumed that the communicator will favor the argument
presented at the end. This is based on considerations
of everyday conversations in which a conversation operates on a cooperative
principle that favors contributions that are “relevant, informative,
and avoid wordiness” (Igou 91-99).
It is also argued that when individuals are presented with one-sided
communications, they expect that the important information should be presented
at the beginning, again per cooperative conversational
rules. “The strategy to present the most important information at
the beginning would allow recipients to rapidly build a representation
of the target, and therefore ensure not only an effective but also an
efficient conversation” (Igou 91-99)
However, it is important to note that conversational order effects can
be influenced by other variables, such as if the receiver
is made aware that there is no particular order to a piece of communication.
Also, potential moderator and mediator variables need to be taken into
consideration (Igou 91-99). These variables necessitate further research
on the design of one-sided and two-sided communication models.
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