Attitudes and Persuasion

Attitudes and Persuasion: How do attitudes form and change, and what strategies are effective in persuading individuals to adopt new attitudes or behaviors? What role do cognitive dissonance and self-perception theory play in understanding attitude change, and how do they differ in their explanations of how attitudes are modified? Furthermore, what factors influence the persuasiveness of persuasive messages, such as source credibility, message content, and audience characteristics? How do dual-process models of persuasion elucidate the interplay between central and peripheral routes to persuasion, and under what conditions is each route more likely to be effective? Additionally, what ethical considerations should be taken into account when attempting to influence attitudes or behaviors through persuasion techniques?