Heuristic-systematic model of information processing

The heuristic-systematic model of information processing (HSM) is a widely recognized model by Shelly Chaiken that attempts to explain how people receive and process persuasive messages.

The model states that individuals can process messages in one of two ways: heuristically or systematically. Systematic processing entails careful and deliberative processing of a message, while 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.

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.

History

Early research investigating how people process persuasive messaging focused mainly on cognitive theories and the way the mind processed each element 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 and affective consequences.

In 1953, Hovland, 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."

Another concept that contributed to the HSM was the sufficiency principle.