Question

How does the sleeper effect work?

Answer 1

The sleeper effect is based on the effects of source credibility on the effectiveness of the message. This sleeper effect explains the phenomenon of how the credibility of the source effects the message. At first when people are given an information about something, they give importance to the source, and if the source is reliable, then they believe the information and place value on it. But slowly as time goes on, the people forget about the source and give more importance to the message itself. The sleeper effect is explained by the 'discounting cue' which means that the message is remembered by the people but the source is forgotten. This makes the people forget the negative information about the source and its weak credibility, and makes them more attentive to the message. As a result, over time the message gains credibility, irrespective of the source.