Whether the communicator elicits a conclusion or overtly states the argument they are trying to make is another significant effect to discuss. Leaving the conclusion for the audiences inductive reasoning poses the danger of a different conclusion drawn than that which was intended. However, overtly stating the obvious could dissuade some audience members and decisions are considered more potent when arrived upon on one's own.
A study by Hovland and Mandell led to favor of explicit statement of the conclusion. By presenting college students with a message called "Education for Americans," one group heard the explicit conclusion and the other was allowed to draw its own conclusion.
|
Conclusion not drawn by Communicator
(%)
|
Conclusion drawn by Communicator
(%)
|
|
| Positive |
30.7
|
51.2
|
| No Change |
57.9
|
45.5
|
| Negative |
11.4
|
3.3
|
| Net Change |
19.3
|
47.9
|
In this study, a "positive" respondent would change in favor of the argument in the message whereas a "negative" respondent would change to oppose the message.
The general agreement on this topic lies in the make-up of the audience and of the communicator. A more highly educated audience will be more likely to draw the intended response than those less intelligent receivers. And a communicator who is unbiased and who has nothing to gain by having his opinion accepted is more likely to be persuasive.
Finally, the complexity of the message may require that a conclusion be drawn if the audience is to understand what opinion they are being asked to adopt. Yet, personal matters may be best left up to the audience to determine.