Heuristic-systematic model of information processing: Difference between revisions

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{{technical|date = December 2010}}

The '''heuristic-systematic model of information processing''', or '''HSM''', is a widely recognized [[communication]] model by [[Shelly Chaiken]] that attempts to explain how people receive and process [[Persuasion|persuasive]] messages. The model states that individuals can process messages in one of two ways: [[heuristics in judgment and decision making|heuristically]] or systematically. Whereas systematic processing entails careful and deliberative processing of a message, heuristic processing entails the use of simplifying decision rules or ‘heuristics’ to quickly assess the message content. The guiding belief with this model is that individuals are more apt to minimize their use of cognitive resources (i.e., to rely on heuristics), thus affecting the intake and processing of messages.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chaiken, S., Liberman, A., & Eagly, A.|first=|last2=|date=1989|title=Heuristic and systematic processing within and beyond the persuasion context|url=|journal=In J. S. Veleman & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), Unintended thought|publisher=New York: Guilford|volume=|pages=212–252|via=}}</ref> HSM predicts that processing type will influence the extent to which a person is persuaded or exhibits lasting attitude change. HSM is quite similar to the [[elaboration likelihood model]], or ELM. Both models were predominantly developed in the early to mid-1980's1980s and share many of the same concepts and ideas.<ref name =alba>Albarracin, D., Johnson, B. T., & Zanna, M. P. (2005). The handbook of attitudes. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.</ref>

== History ==

Early research investigating how people process persuasive messaging focused mainly on cognitive theories and the way the mind processed individualeach inputselement of a message. One of the early guiding principles of underlying motivations of persuasive communications came from [[Leon Festinger]]’s (1950) statement that incorrect or improper attitudes are generally maladaptive and can have deleterious behavioral, affective, and affective consequences.

In 1953, [[Carl Hovland|Hovland]], [[Irving Janis|Janis]], and Kelley noted that a sense of "rightness" accompanies holding opinions similar to the opinions of others. In 1987, Holtz and Miller reaffirmed this line of thought by noting, "When other people are perceived to hold similar attitudes, one's confidence in the validity of one's own attitude is increased."<ref name =Petty>Petty, R.E. & Cacioppo, J.T. (1986), Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change. New York; Springer-Verlag</ref>

Another concept that contributed to the HSM was the [[sufficiency principle]]. This principle reflected widespread notions that people use limited [[Cognition|cognitive]] resources, or use an "economy-minded" approach to [[information processing]] when presented with persuasive information. Based on this thought, early assumptions said people were at least partially guided by the "[[principle of least effort]]". This principle stated that in the interest of economy, the mind would often process with the least amount of effort ([[heuristic]]), and for more detailed information processing would use more effortful processing (systematic). This was the major difference when compared with the ELM, which described the two different ways information was processed, through central and/or peripheral processing.<ref name=chaiken2>Chaiken, S., & Trope, Y. (1999). Dual-process theories in social psychology . New York: Guilford Press.</ref>

Ideas contributing to the development of both [[persuasion]] models continue to be refined, "Although people want to hold correct attitudes, the amount and nature of issue-relevant elaboration in which they are willing or able to engage to evaluate a message vary with individual and situational factors."<ref name =Petty/>

The developer and main researcher of the HSM was [[Shelly Chaiken]], a now-retired social psychologist. She first received her BS from the [[University of Maryland, College Park]] in 1971 for mathematics. She later earned her MS in 1975 and her PhD in 1978 at the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] in [[social psychology]]. In her last position before retiring, Chaiken worked as a professor of psychology at [[New York University]].

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== Heuristic processing ==

[[Heuristic]] processing uses judgmental rules known as knowledge structures that are learned and stored in memory.<ref name=Chen /> The heuristic approach offers an economic advantage by requiring minimal [[cognitive]] effort on the part of the recipient.<ref name =Chaiken>Chaiken, S. (1980). Heuristic Versus Systematic Information Processing and the Use of Source Versus Message Cues in Persuasion. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 39(5), 752-766. Retrieved from SocINDEX database.</ref> Heuristic processing is related to the concept of "[[satisficing]]."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Simon|first=Herbert A.|date=1955-2|title=A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice|url=https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-lookup/doi/10.2307/1884852|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=69|issue=1|pages=99|doi=10.2307/1884852}}</ref>

Heuristic processing is governed by availability, accessibility, and applicability. Availability refers to the knowledge structure, or heuristic, being stored in memory for future use. Accessibility of the heuristic applies to the ability to retrieve the memory for use. Applicability of the heuristic refers to the relevancy of the memory to the judgmental task.<ref name="Chen">Chen, S., Duckworth, K., & Chaiken, S. (1999). Motivated Heuristic and Systematic Processing. Psychological Inquiry, 10(1), 44. Retrieved from SocINDEX database</ref> Due to the use of knowledge structures, a person using heuristic information processorsprocessing areis likely to agree with messages delivered by experts, or messages that are endorsed by others, without fully processing the semantic content of the message.<ref name="Eagly">Eagly, A.H. & Chaiken, S. (1993). Process theories of attitude formation and change: The elaboration likelihood and heuristic-systematic models. In A.H. Eagly & S. Chaiken, (Eds.), The psychology of attitudes. Orlando: Harcourt Brace: pp. 303-350.</ref> In comparison to systematic processorsprocessing, heuristic processorsprocessing entails judgejudging the [[Validity (logic)|validity]] of messages by relying more on accessible context information, such as the identity of the source or other non-content cues, which are more [[persuasive]] to them than the. messageThus, characteristics. Heuristicheuristic views de-emphasize detailed information processingevaluation and focusesfocus on the role of simple rules or cognitive heuristics in mediating persuasion.<ref name="Chaiken" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gigerenzer|first=Gerd|last2=Gaissmaier|first2=Wolfgang|date=2011-01-10|title=Heuristic Decision Making|url=http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-psych-120709-145346|journal=Annual Review of Psychology|language=en|volume=62|issue=1|pages=451–482|doi=10.1146/annurev-psych-120709-145346|issn=0066-4308}}</ref>

Individuals may be more likely to use heuristic processing when an issue is less personally important to them (they have low “issue involvement”) or when they believe their judgment will not have significant impacts on themselves (low “response involvement”).<ref name="Chaiken" />

== Systematic processing ==

Systematic processing involves comprehensive and analytic, cognitive processing of judgment-relevant information.<ref name=Chen /> The systematic approach values source [[Reliability (statistics)|reliability]] and message content, which may exert stronger impact on persuasion, when determining message validity.<ref name=Chaiken /> Judgments developed from systematic processing rely heavily on in-depth treatment of judgment-relevant information and respond accordingly to the semantic content of the message.<ref name=Chen /> Recipients developing attitudes from a systematic basis exert considerable cognitive effort and actively attempt to comprehend and evaluate the message's arguments. SystematicWhen processing systematically, recipients also attempt to assess their validity as it relates to the message’s conclusion. Systematic views of persuasion emphasize detailed processing of message content and the role of message-based cognitions in mediating opinion change. While recipients utilizing systematic processing rely heavily on message content, source characteristics and other non-content may supplement the recipients’ assessment of validity in the persuasionpersuasive message.<ref name=Chaiken />

== Choosing systematic or heuristic processing ==

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Both heuristic and systematic processes may occur independently. It is also possible for both to occur simultaneously in an additive fashion or in a way that the judgmental implications of one process lend a bias nature to the other.<ref name=Chen /> The heuristic-systematic model includes the hypothesis that attitudes developed or changed by utilizing heuristic processing alone will likely be less stable, less resistant to counterarguments, and will be less predictive of subsequent behavior than attitudes developed or changed utilizing systematic processing.<ref name=Chaiken />

RecipientsMessage recipients using heuristic processing may sometimes choose to accept message conclusions they mightwould otherwise have correctly rejected, or vice versa, had they properly invested themore time and effort needed to receive and scrutinize the message.<ref name=Chaiken />

When the recipient views the argumentation judgment as being inconsequential, the recipient will likely place greater value on economical concerns than reliability concerns.

Source credibility affects persuasion under conditions of low, but not high, issue-involvement and response-involvement.<ref name="Chaiken" />

When economic concerns are predominant, the recipient will likely employ heuristic processing when formulating argumentation judgment. Reliability concerns are influenced by the level of the recipient's issue-involvement or response-involvement.

When reliabilityeconomic concerns are predominant, the recipient will likely employuse systematicheuristic processing whento formulatingform argumentationa judgment about the persuasive argument. WhenConversely, when reliability concerns are predominant (i.e., recipients perceive significant importance in formulatingaccurately highlyjudging accuratean argumentation judgmentargument), the recipientthey will likely employuse a systematic processing strategy. SourceReliability credibilityconcerns affectsare persuasioninfluenced underby conditionsthe level of low,the but not high,recipient's issue-involvement andor response-involvement.<ref name=ChaikenWhen />the recipient views their judgment as being less consequential, they will likely place greater value on economic concerns than reliability concerns.

== Practical application ==

TheResearch modelinto isinformation alsoprocessing, especially in persuasive messaging, has a natural application in advertising. For instance, HSM has been used in Internet webpage considerations. In a 2002 study by Wathen & Burkell, they proposed a theory that separated the evaluation process into distinct segments. In the theory, the process began with low-effort examinations of peripheral cues (e.g., appearance, design, organization, and source reputation) then continued to a more high-effort analysis of the content of the information source. The proposed research also drew on social psychological theories of dual-processing, which stated that information processing outcomes were the result of interaction between a fast, associative information-processing mode based on low-effort heuristics, and a slow, rule-based information processing mode based on high-effort systematic reasoning. Wathen and Burkell proposed (but did not test) that if an individual determines that an online source does not meet an appropriate level of credibility at any one stage, then he or she will leave the site without further evaluation. They theorized that this “easy to discard” behavior was indicative of information-rich environments, where the assumption is that many other potential sources of information exist, and spending too much time on any one source is potentially wasteful.<ref name="wathen">Wathen, C. N., & Burkell, J. (2002). Believe it or not: Factors influencing credibility on the Web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(2), 134–144</ref>

Research into information processing, especially in persuasive messaging, has a natural application in advertising, specifically medical awareness. A 2004 study by Suzanne K. Steginga, PhD, and Stefano Occhipinti, PhD, [[Queensland Cancer Fund]] and the School of Applied Psychology, [[Griffith University]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], investigated the utility of the heuristic-systematic processing model as a framework for the investigation of patient decision making. A total of 111 men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer were assessed using [[verbal protocol analysis]] and self-report measures. The results showed: "Most men (68%) preferred that decision making be shared equally between them and their doctor. Men's use of the expert opinion heuristic was related to men's verbal reports of decisional uncertainty and having a positive orientation to their doctor and medical care; a desire for greater involvement in decision making was predicted by a high internal locus of health control. Trends were observed for systematic information processing to increase when the heuristic strategy used was negatively [[affect (psychology)|affect]]-laden and when men were uncertain about the probabilities for cure and side effects. There was a trend for decreased systematic processing when the expert opinion heuristic was used. Findings were consistent with the heuristic-systematic processing model and suggest that this model has utility for future research in applied decision making about health issues.<ref name =app>{{cite journal|authors=Steginga, Suzanne K.; Occhipinti, Stefano|url=http://mdm.sagepub.com/content/24/6/573.short|title=The Application of the Heuristic-Systematic Processing Model to Treatment Decision Making about Prostate Cancer|journal=Med Decis Making|year= 2004|volume=24|number=6|pages=573–583|doi=10.1177/0272989X04271044|pmid=15534339}}</ref>

ResearchThe into information processing, especially in persuasive messaging,HSM has aalso naturalbeen applicationapplied in advertising,medical specificallydecision-making medical awarenesscontexts. A 2004 study by Suzanne K. Steginga, PhD, and Stefano Occhipinti, PhD, [[Queensland Cancer Fund]] and the School of Applied Psychology, [[Griffith University]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], investigated the utility of the heuristic-systematic processing model as a framework for the investigation of patient decision making. A total of 111 men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer were assessed using [[verbal protocol analysis]] and self-report measures. The results showed: "Most men (68%) preferred that decision making be shared equally between them and their doctor. Men's use of the expert opinion heuristic was related to men's verbal reports of decisional uncertainty and having a positive orientation to their doctor and medical care; a desire for greater involvement in decision making was predicted by a high internal locus of health control. Trends were observed for systematic information processing to increase when the heuristic strategy used was negatively [[affect (psychology)|affect]]-laden and when men were uncertain about the probabilities for cure and side effects. There was a trend for decreased systematic processing when the expert opinion heuristic was used. Findings were consistent with the heuristic-systematic processing model and suggest that this model has utility for future research in applied decision making about health issues.<ref name ="app">{{cite journal|authors=Steginga, Suzanne K.; Occhipinti, Stefano|url=http://mdm.sagepub.com/content/24/6/573.short|title=The Application of the Heuristic-Systematic Processing Model to Treatment Decision Making about Prostate Cancer|journal=Med Decis Making|year= 2004|volume=24|number=6|pages=573–583|doi=10.1177/0272989X04271044|pmid=15534339}}</ref>

The model is also used in Internet webpage considerations. In a 2002 study by Wathen & Burkell, they proposed a theory that separated the evaluation process into distinct segments. In the theory, the process began with low-effort examinations of peripheral cues (e.g., appearance, design, organization, and source reputation) then continued to a more high-effort analysis of the content of the information source. The proposed research also drew on social psychological theories of dual-processing, which stated that information processing outcomes were the result of interaction between a fast, associative information-processing mode based on low-effort heuristics, and a slow, rule-based information processing mode based on high-effort systematic reasoning. Wathen and Burkell proposed (but did not test) that if an individual determines that an online source does not meet an appropriate level of credibility at any one stage, then he or she will leave the site without further evaluation. They theorized that this “easy to discard” behavior was indicative of information-rich environments, where the assumption is that many other potential sources of information exist, and spending too much time on any one source is potentially wasteful.<ref name=wathen>Wathen, C. N., & Burkell, J. (2002). Believe it or not: Factors influencing credibility on the Web. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53(2), 134–144</ref>

== Direction of future research ==

Originally the heuristic-systematic model was developed to apply to "validity seeking" [[persuasion]] settingcontexts in which peoples' primary motivational concernmotivation is to attain accurate attitudes that squarealign with relevant facts.<ref name=Chaiken /><ref name=Eagly /> Chaiken assumes that the primary processing goal of accuracy-motivated recipients is to assess the validity of persuasive messages, and that both heuristic and systematic processing can serve this objective.<ref name=Eagly /> Other motives beyond the validity-seeking persuasion context were identified by Chaiken and colleagues (1989) who proposed an expanded model that posits two additional motives that heuristic and systematic processing can serve;: defense–motivationdefense-motivation and impression-motivation.

* Defense-motivation is the desire to form or defend particular attitudinal positions.

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== Criticisms ==

A major criticism of HSM is that the model closely relates to [[Elaboration likelihood model|ELM]], which is also a dual-processing model discussing two main paths to [[persuasion]]. The mainELM similarity betweendiscusses the two modelsroutes isas that"central" theyroute bothprocessing discussand two"peripheral" routesroute ofprocessing. persuasion,ELM's whichcentral eitherprocessing examineshas centralbeen orlikened to systematic processing in particular. The differences between HSM, andwhile ELM are that ELM discusses two main routes of persuasionperipheral processing: centralis routesimilar processingto andHSM's peripheral routeheuristic processing unlike HSM. These two routes of processing define related theories behind attitude change. The

In ELM, the central route is reflective and requires a willingness to process and think about the message. The peripheral route occurs when attitudes are formed without extensive thought, but more from mental shortcuts, credibility, and appearance cues. The route of persuasion processing depends on the level of involvement in the topic or issue. High involvement or elaboration increases central route processing especially when motivation and ability in the message exists. Therefore, low involvement increases peripheral route processing when motivation and ability conditions of persuasion do not exist. However, if the topic or idea is irrelevant to the individual, then the message takes the peripheral route.<ref name ="grif">Griffin, E. A. (2006). A first look at communication theory (6th ed.) Boston, MA; McGraw Hill</ref>

HSM specifically examines "validity seeking" persuasion settings concerning people's motivations within the social environment (p.&nbsp;326).<ref name="Eagly" /> The limitation of HSM exists in the inability to define the specific motivations of persuasion, which is why Chaiken expanded HSM to illustrate that heuristic and systematic processing can "serve defense-motivation, the desire to form or defend particular attitudinal positions, and impression- motivation, the desire to form or hold socially acceptable attitudinal positions" (p.&nbsp;326).<ref name="Eagly" />

Major assumptions exist with both HSM and ELM, which is why both models have generated debate and are often misconstrued. Systematic processing assumes that persuasion has beenoccurred "mediated byvia the recipientsrecipient's understanding and cognitive elaboration of the persuasive argumentation" (p.&nbsp;327)argument.<ref name="Eagly" /> In addition, researchers hypothesize that systematic processing actually requires and "consumesuses cognitive capacity, whereaswhile heuristic processing makes fewlow capacitycognitive demands" (p.&nbsp;328).<ref name="Eagly" /> Furthermore, both HSM and ELM assume that "capacity and motivation are important determinants of systematic process" which results in biased modes of processing (p.&nbsp;327).<ref name="Eagly" /> With heuristic processing, there is less need to process information and cognitively in comparison to systematic processing. Heuristic processing occurs when people simply form immediate decisions and conclusions based on the information available versus analytical processing of information given that obviously requires more cognition. Heuristic processing as defined by HSM, illustrates that people can formulate decisions utilizing basic rules such as "experts' statements can be trusted" and "consensus implies correctness" to establish validity within messages (p.&nbsp;327).<ref name="Eagly" /> Therefore, individuals who process messages through heuristic processing routes of persuasion, likely formulate decisions based on experts’ opinion and what the consensus believes opposed to fully processing the message in its entirety.

This leads to another similarity between HSM and ELM, as attitudes and opinions developed through heuristic processing will tend to be "less stable, less resistant to counter-propaganda, and less predictive of behavior" in comparison to attitudes and opinions formed through detailed information within systematic processing (p.&nbsp;327).<ref name=Eagly />

The main assumption is that HSM postulates that heuristic and systematic processing can each influence both "independent" and "interdependent" effects on decision making by occurring simultaneously (p.&nbsp;328).<ref name=Eagly /> Unlike HSM, ELM does not postulate whether central route processing and peripheral route processing can co-occur or not. Another assumption by Chaiken and her colleagues is that systematic processing does in fact provide people with more "judgment relevant information" in comparison to heuristic processing of information, which does not account for any weaknesses in expert subject matter material, which can exist (p.&nbsp;328).<ref name=Eagly /> Therefore, while systematic processing may be prevalent within many social environments, HSM, unlike its model counterpart ELM, does illustrate "the possibility that heuristic processing can exert a significant and independent influence on persuasion" (p 329).<ref name=Eagly />

== See also ==