Assimilation and Contrast
Sometimes people perceive a message that falls within their latitude of rejection as farther from their anchor than they really are. This is called Contrast. The opposite of Contrast is Assimilation, and that is a perceptual error whereby people judge messages that fall within their latitude of acceptance as less discrepant from their anchor than they really are. These latitudes dictate the likelihood of assimilation and contrast. When a discrepant viewpoint is expressed in a communication message within the person's latitude of acceptance, the message is more likely to be assimilated or viewed as being closer to person's anchor, or own viewpoint, than it actually is. When the message is perceived as being very different from one's anchor and thus falling within the latitude of rejection, persuasion is unlikely due to a contrast effect. The contrast effect is what happens when the message is viewed as being further away than it actually is from the anchor. Messages falling within the latitude of noncommitment, however, are the ones most likely to achieve the desired attitude change. Therefore, the more extreme stand an individual has, the greater his/her latitude of rejection and thus the harder he/she is to persuade.
Read more about this topic: Social Judgment Theory
Famous quotes containing the word contrast:
“At this age [9–12], in contrast to adolescence, girls still want to know their parents and hear what they think. You are the influential ones if you want to be. Girls, now, want to hear your point of view and find out how you got to be what you are and what you are doing. They like their fathers and mothers to be interested in what they’re doing and planning. They like to know what you think of their thoughts.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)