The Effect of Visual Distraction Upon Recall and Attitude Change

TLDR: This paper showed that even though comprehension may be reduced by distracting stimuli, this distraction can actually aid persuasion, and showed that the distracting stimuli produced a significant reduction in recall of information, while also producing a significant opinion shift.

Abstract: Attitude formation has been thought to require the characteristics of acquiring and accepting new information. However, some evidence exists to suggest that even though comprehension may be reduced by distracting stimuli, this distraction can actually aid persuasion. In order to test such a hypothesis, two experimental groups were tested under different conditions. Group A listened to an emotional message about segregation, and was tested for comprehension and attitude change. Group B was also exposed to the same persuasive message, but during the message presentation, subjects were shown 35mm color slides containing visual stimuli irrelevant to the message. Results indicated that the distracting stimuli produced a significant reduction in recall of information, while also producing a significant opinion shift. Keywords: Driver distraction