Rich Petty is a psychology professor at Ohio State University, known for co-developing the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion. Pablo Briñol, from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, contributes to the self-validation hypothesis. They discuss the evolution of persuasion research from chaotic beginnings to a structured theory. Personal anecdotes reveal the impact of WWII propaganda on their theories. The importance of motivation and message quality in persuasion processes is emphasized, alongside the challenges of academic journeys that shaped their groundbreaking work.