Personality reactions to persuasion methods: The Big Five Personality Model and Quintilian approach

Persuasion is one of the fundamental concepts in the fields of communication and social psychology, referring to the deliberate process of attempting to change the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of audiences through the transmission of targeted messages. In the contemporary world, where individuals are constantly exposed to media and advertising messages, understanding the mechanisms of persuasion and the factors influencing the acceptance or rejection of messages has gained particular significance. One of the prominent approaches in the analysis of persuasion is Quintilian’s classical perspective, which regards persuasion as more than a linguistic skill and associates it with the moral virtue of the speaker. According to this view, three primary elements play a central role in persuasion: the credibility and character of the speaker, the logic and reasoning of the message, and the arousal of the audience’s emotions .However, audience responses to persuasive messages are not uniform, and individual differences play a crucial role in this regard. The present study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. To provide a scientific explanation for these differences, the Five-Factor Model of personality was employed, which categorizes human personality into five principal dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Furthermore, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) was utilized to explain how persuasive messages are processed. This model posits that individuals process persuasive messages through two primary routes: the central route, which is based on logical analysis and careful evaluation of arguments, and the peripheral route, which relies on superficial cues such as source attractiveness, emotions, and social signals .The findings indicate that personality traits can influence the selection of the message-processing route. For instance, individuals high in openness to experience and conscientiousness tend to favor the central route and pay closer attention to logical arguments, whereas individuals who are extraverted, agreeable, or high in neuroticism are more likely to be influenced by peripheral and emotional cues. Moreover, in the field of media, the strategic integration of logical and emotional elements can enhance the effectiveness of persuasive messages.