Individualized guidance of mass behavior

critical observations on studies in personalized persuasion

Abstract

The optimization of persuasive strategies through the adaptation of messages to the individual characteristics of recipients constitutes a central paradigm in contemporary communication studies. This review analyzes the work The handbook of personalized persuasion: theory and application (Routledge, 2025), edited by Petty, Luttrell, and Teeny, which reviews the literature on the subject. The review delves into the collection, pointing out the definition of personalized persuasion and distinguishing it from audience segmentation. It explores the various attributes of the recipient for communication matching, from affective-cognitive bases to social and cultural identities. Furthermore, it discusses the applications of individualized messages in different domains of human activity, highlighting the potential of artificial intelligence. However, it is noted that the handbook does not significantly invest in a critical and discursive reflection on the causal and consequential aspects of this mass language phenomenon.