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.<ref name="Chaiken" /> 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.|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-1980s 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 ==

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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 (i.e., use a [[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>

The developer and main researcher of the HSM was [[Shelly Chaiken]]. Under her direction, the HSM has undergone several major revisions. As she noted in 1980 and 1987, the model specified the two modes of heuristic and systematic processing. Then, Chaiken et al. noted in 1989 that the model was extended to specify the psychological conditions for triggering the modes of processing in terms of the discrepancy between actual and desired subjective confidence. In 1986, Chaiken, and others, updated the model to include underlying motivations.<ref name="dillard">Dillard, James, and Michael Pfau. The persuasion handbook: developments in theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002. Print.</ref>

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]].

Under her direction, the HSM has undergone several major revisions. As she noted in 1980 and 1987, the model specified the two modes of heuristic and systematic processing. Then, Chaiken et al. noted in 1989 that the model was extended to specify the psychological conditions for triggering the modes of processing in terms of the discrepancy between actual and desired subjective confidence. In 1986, Chaiken, and others, updated the model to include underlying motivations.<ref name=dillard>Dillard, James, and Michael Pfau. The persuasion handbook: developments in theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002. Print.</ref>

== Heuristic processing ==