A politician is considering whether or not to incorporate humor into a speech she will give at a town hall meeting to persuade local residents to support a new ordinance

A politician is considering whether or not to incorporate humor into a speech she will give at a town hall meeting to persuade local residents to support a new ordinance. Polling results suggest that most residents oppose the ordinance, and thus would likely be critical of the politician’s message. Given our discussion about humor and persuasion, do you think humor would make the politician’s speech more or less persuasive to her audience? From the framework of Petty and Cacioppo’s (1986) Elaboration Likelihood Model, what is the underlying mechanism or process by which humor would affect the persuasiveness of the politician’s speech?