SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY Selective Processes Theory and its Public Relations Applications
Danielle Sampsell
Penn State University
1 SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 2 Abstract
This paper explores the selective processes communication theory and its implications on
the public relations field of study. The selective process theory is comprised of selective
exposure, selective attention, selective perception and selective retention. Selective
processes theory is considered a theory of media impact because it is concerned with the
ways that society members consume the media that they choose to consume. The theory
describes ways in which the media behaviors of people are affected by their biases,
beliefs and values. Finally, these media choices and the selective processes theory helps
public relations professionals understand what an effective message is for their
organization and which forms of media are best to use as the medium for any given
message to consumers.
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 3 Introduction
The selective processes theory, as stated in the abstract, is comprised of selective
exposure, attention, perception and retention. This paper attempts to thoroughly explain
the selective processes theory and the role in plays in the field of public relations.
Understanding how the selective processes theory affects public relations professionals
and their respected organizations is important because the theory provides insight as to
why and how consumers choose to give their time and attention to specific media and
advertisements as opposed to others. Public Relations professionals must understand how
to use the media to their advantage with clients and consumers in order to successfully
brand their products. The selective processes theory will help to explain and answer
questions about the media choices of consumers.
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 4 Description of Theory
The selective processes theory is a useful model for attempting to explain the media
choices of individuals. The selective processes theory is comprised of the four steps of
selective exposure, attention, perception and retention. The theory, overall, says that
people choose messages and media that align with their current beliefs, values and ideas
as opposed to messages and media that go against their current beliefs, values and ideas.
Through selective processes theory, individuals interpret the media in their own way and
tend to avoid messages that do not confirm their beliefs (Whitaker, Ramsey & Smith,
2012).
Selective processes theory gets its origins from cognitive dissonance theory. This theory
states that people experience mental stress or discomfort when they are confronted by
new information that contradicts their existing beliefs, values and ideas. When this
discomfort is experienced, individuals attempt to reduce it and actively seek out
information that reduces their feelings of dissonance (Stroud, 2010). Clearly, cognitive
dissonance directly relates to the selective processes theory. However, with selective
processes, an individual does not seek out information for the purpose of lowering their
dissonance level. Instead, individuals only give their time and attention to messages and
media that align with their pre-existing beliefs.
The first two steps in selective processes theory are selective exposure and selective
attention. These steps are synonymous and refer to the idea that individuals’ interests,
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 5 opinions and beliefs influence the information, media and messages that their attention is
given to. It is the nonrandom process by which people purposely choose which messages
to view and which messages to ignore completely. Because it is impossible to read, hear
and see every message available in the media, people selectively expose themselves to
messages they feel will be of interest or help to them. Along with this, people tend to
seek out viewpoints with which they expect to agree. People use the media to reinforce
existing biases, beliefs and opinions (Whitaker et al, 2012).
After an individual meticulously chooses the messages he or she wishes to be exposed
and give attention to, the next step in the selective processes theory is selective
perception. Selective perception is all about how individuals interpret the information
they have decided to give their attention to. People often interpret messages how they
want to and often choose to only hear and see the portion of the message they want to.
Individuals will alter the meaning of messages so they become consistent with their
preexisting beliefs and attitudes (Smith, 2012). Thus, one message and one set of
information may carry extremely different meanings for different people, depending on
their various backgrounds, values, attitudes, beliefs and ideas.
The final process of the selective processes theory is selective retention. This phase is all
about memory recall with the selected exposed and perceived information from various
messages. People have a tendency to remember messages that support their beliefs rather
than messages that contradict their beliefs. Also, individuals remember information for a
longer period of time when it coincides with their attitudes and beliefs as opposed to
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 6 when the information does not. Research states that along with this, people unconsciously
forget or set aside the information that opposes their preexisting beliefs (Stroud, 2010).
Throughout the various selective processes phases, it is evident that individuals both
consciously and unconsciously prefer messages that align with their preexisting beliefs as
opposed to those that do not confirm preexisting beliefs. In this regard, such tendencies
make it less likely that the media can play a sole role in changing the attitudes and
behaviors of consumers. For media consumers and individuals across the globe, messages
that reinforce the values of an individual will almost always be preferred to those that do
not.
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY Conceptual Model
7 SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 8 Public Relations Application
The selective processes theory is important for communications and public relations
professionals. The media behaviors of individuals are affected by their preexisting biases,
beliefs and opinions. Quite simply, people will only pay attention to and remember
messages that coincide with their current beliefs and attitudes. Therefore, in order for a
public relations professional to successfully reach their various publics and consumers,
the messages they develop and place in the media must be messages of which individuals
will align their beliefs and attitudes toward.
The first step in the process of ensuring the message of a company or organization is
heard and positively received is to make sure the message will capture the attention of its
viewers. Then, not only must the message be interesting and attention grabbing, but it
must also contain viewpoints that the majority of individuals whom the company wants
to attract the attention of agree with. These viewpoints and beliefs must then be properly
interpreted and favored by the audience members.
Public relations professionals must craft creative, popular messages that align with their
publics’ beliefs if they want to be successful. Understanding the selective processes
theory is important to the field of public relations, because it explains how and why some
messages are more well-perceived and remembered than others in the media. It also
explains the importance of conducting research prior to implementing a campaign, in
order to better understand the target audience and various publics of a company or
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 9 organization.
One example of a company who utilized the selective processes theory through their
implementation of a public relations campaign is AT&T. Their 2013 “Be The Fan”
campaign was a season-long partnership with NCAA College Football Game Day. It was
a social media and marketing campaign with the purpose of attracting more football fans
to watch and be a part of the college football Saturday morning Game Day experience on
ESPN. The campaign utilized comedian Eric Stonestreet to star as the “fan coach” and be
present in every commercial, contest and online video. Along with using a famous
comedian, AT&T also used comedy throughout their advertisements, language and
symbols familiar to college football fans and the use of social media to better involve
their audience (Westney, 2013).
Their campaign utilized selective processes theory because the company paid close
attention to the beliefs and attitudes of the audience they were trying to appeal to, which
was a college football fan. Through their use of comedy, football and familiar faces,
AT&T was able to successfully capture the attention of their target audience. Along with
this, their social media numbers and media impressions indicate that the majority of their
target audience perceived their messages in positive manners, aligning with their
previously held beliefs. Selective retention was also present in this campaign, as one year
after the campaign was implemented, AT&T users and college football Game Day fans
provided feedback to the company and even requested that the campaign be implemented
on an annual basis.
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 10 AT&T clearly understood their target audience and how they would best react to
messages and media uses by the company. Their campaign was voted as one of the top
ten public relations campaigns in 2014, and AT&T increased their customer satisfaction
ratings by more than 45 percent.
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 11 Conclusion
The selective processes theory is commonly used in the fields of communication and
psychology. It is comprised of four key phases, selective exposure and attention, selective
perception and selective retention. The main idea of the theory is that individuals will
choose to expose themselves to and remember best the media messages that align with
their preexisting beliefs and attitudes. On the contrary, individuals will choose to ignore
media messages that go against their core values, beliefs and attitudes. This theory holds
important implications for public relations professionals. In the realm of public relations,
one must conduct thorough research on their target audience in order to ensure that all
crafted messages will be reached, correctly perceived and remembered by that target
audience. Selective processes theory will continue to be an important communication
theory and is important to understand in order for public relations professionals to
develop successful organizational campaigns.
SELECTIVE PROCESSES THEORY 12 Reference List
Smith, Ronald. (2012). Communication Theory and Research. Journal of Media and
Communication Studies. 7(2). 5.
Stroud, Natalie. (2010). Media Uses and Political Predispositions: Revisiting the Concept
of Selective Exposure. International Journal of Communication. 4. 3-11.
Westney, Andrew. (2013). AT&T’s “Be The Fan” Campaign Courts Social Media
Audience with “Modern Family” Star. Sports Business Journal. Online ed.
Whitaker, R., Ramsey, J., & Smith, R. (2012). Media Writing: Print, Broadcast and
Public Relations. (4th ed.) Buffalo, NY: Routledge.