Conservation Education Curriculum
Leveraging on Psychological Theory
Additionally, Robert stands to gain from the elaboration likelihood model as a public figure. This model explains that there are two persuasive communications method that can result in an attitude change. The two ways are central and peripheral route to persuasion. Petty and Cacioppo (1981) suggests that if people process messages carefully, they will pay attention to the facts and quality of argument. This is known as the central route to persuasion. On the other hand, if people are not motivated to pay attention to the messages conveyed to them, they will only notice the surface characteristics of the message, such as the duration and phrasing of the message as well as who the messenger is.
In the event where the audience is less motivated to pay attention to the content of the program, they will still be persuaded by Robert to have an attitude change, although temporarily, as he is a well-known wildlife expert and conservationist with a certain degree of influence. Based on this theory, an influential figure like Robert would be able to convince his audience of the severity and importance of conservation and ignite an attitude change, regardless of whether they adopt the central or peripheral route to persuasion.