Brain and Behavior in Persuasion: The Role of Affective-Cognitive Matching.

Abstract

The effectiveness of persuasive messages often depends on how their affective or cognitive content aligns with recipients' predispositions for processing such information. Individual differences in the need for affect (NFA) and need for cognition (NFC) influence engagement with affective or cognitive appeals, but the interplay between intrinsic brain connectivity and these predispositions in shaping persuasive outcomes remains underexplored. This study advances understanding of the affective-cognitive matching effect by integrating intrinsic (resting-state) and extrinsic (task-based) brain-behavior relationships. Using resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigate how NFA and NFC align with intrinsic brain network properties and influence behavioral and neural responses to affective and cognitive persuasive messages. We employ intrinsic connectivity metrics, such as participation coefficient (cross-network communication) and within-module degree (within-network communication), to capture resting-state network dynamics not examined in previous studies. Our results reveal that key regions within the frontoparietal network, which is central to attention, decision-making, and executive functions, play pivotal roles in processing persuasive messages based on participants' motivational orientations. Specifically, affective-oriented individuals exhibit greater neural engagement with congruent affective messages, while cognitive-oriented individuals show intensified engagement under incongruent conditions-a novel finding extending beyond prior research. These findings expand the affective-cognitive matching effect to include intrinsic neural dimensions, highlighting how resting-state brain connectivity primes responses and modulates task engagement according to motivational predispositions. This integrative approach supports the Elaboration Likelihood Model by elucidating distinct neural pathways in persuasion and offers actionable insights for tailoring persuasive strategies to individual affective and cognitive orientations.