Majority and minority influence: Source-position imbalance as a determinant of message scrutiny.

Two experiments addressed the issue of whether endorsement of a position by a numerical majority or a minority leads to greater scrutiny of the information presented in a persuasive message. In Exp 1, a counterattitudinal position was endorsed by a majority or a minority and was supported by strong or weak arguments. Argument quality had a larger impact on attitudes with majority than with minority endorsement. In Exp 2, a proattitudinal or a counterattitudinal message was endorsed by a majority or a minority and was supported by strong or weak arguments. When the source and message position were unexpected (i.e., majority-counter and minority-pro messages), argument quality had a larger impact on attitudes than when the source and message position were expected (i.e., majority-pro and minority-counter messages). Thus, either majority or minority endorsement can enhance message scrutiny if the source-position pairing is surprising. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overjustification, assumed consensus, and attitude change: Further investigation of the incentive-aroused ambivalence hypothesis.

We conducted two experiments to examine the influence on attitudes of an oversufficient payment for belief-consistent actions. In Experiment 1, subjects recorded a proattitudinal statement. Then the effects of attitudinal extremity, payment, and provision of a countercommunication were investigated. Dependent measures tapped attitude, assumed consensus, recall, and information processing efficiency. Attitude change was most evident among paid subjects exposed to the countercommunication. These subjects' estimates of consensus were also diminished. Covariation of the attitude and consensus measures was significant. Auxiliary analyses suggested that overpayment attenuated consensus, which heightened susceptibility to attitude change. Experiment 2 considered the effects of payment and timing of measures on attitudes, assumed consensus, and recall. Results disclosed that payment for proattitudinal advocacy attenuated consensus even before such advocacy was undertaken. Attitudes were not influenced in this condition. Consensus and attitude were diminished among paid subjects exposed to a countercommunication. Implications of these findings for the incentive-aroused ambivalence hypothesis (Crano & Sivacek, 1984) are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The time for doing is not the time for change: Effects of general action and inaction goals on attitude retrieval and attitude change.

Implicit in many informal and formal principles of psychological change is the understudied assumption that change requires either an active approach or an inactive approach. This issue was systematically investigated by comparing the effects of general action goals and general inaction goals on attitude change. As prior attitudes facilitate preparation for an upcoming persuasive message, general action goals were hypothesized to facilitate conscious retrieval of prior attitudes and therefore hinder attitude change to a greater extent than general inaction goals. Experiment 1 demonstrated that action primes (e.g., “go,” “energy”) yielded faster attitude report than inaction primes (e.g., “rest,” “still”) among participants who were forewarned of an upcoming persuasive message. Experiment 2 showed that the faster attitude report identified in Experiment 1 was localized on attitudes toward a message topic participants were prepared to receive. Experiments 3, 4, and 5 showed that, compared with inaction primes, action primes produced less attitude change and less argument scrutiny in response to a counterattitudinal message on a previously forewarned topic. Experiment 6 confirmed that the effects of the primes on attitude change were due to differential attitude retrieval. That is, when attitude expression was induced immediately after the primes, action and inaction goals produced similar amounts of attitude change. In contrast, when no attitude expression was induced after the prime, action goals produced less attitude change than inaction goals. Finally, Experiment 7 validated the assumption that these goal effects can be reduced or reversed when the goals have already been satisfied by an intervening task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Source entitativity and the elaboration of persuasive messages: The roles of perceived efficacy and message discrepancy.

Compared with nonentitative groups, entitative targets are considered to elicit more elaborative processing because of the singularity or unity they represent. However, when groups serve as sources of persuasive messages, other dynamics may operate. The current research suggests that entitativity is intrinsically linked to perceptions of a group’s efficacy related to the advocacy, and this efficacy combines with the position of the appeal to determine message elaboration. When messages are counterattitudinal, entitative (efficacious) sources should elicit greater processing than nonentitative groups because of concern that the entitative sources may be more likely to bring about the negative outcomes proposed. However, when appeals are proattitudinal, sources low in entitativity (nonefficacious) should initiate more elaboration due to concern that they may be unlikely to facilitate the positive outcomes proposed. These hypotheses were supported in a series of studies. Preliminary studies established the entitativity–efficacy relation (Studies 1A and 1B). Primary persuasion studies showed that manipulations of source entitativity (Studies 2 and 3) and source efficacy (Studies 4A and 4B) have opposite effects on processing as a function of message discrepancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-persuasion and self-presentation as mediators of anticipatory attitude change.

Three experiments with 197 undergraduates determined when anticipatory attitude change occurs via self-persuasion or self-presentation and identified the implications for attitude persistence of a shift by either process. In Exp I, Ss' thoughts and attitudes were assessed while they expected either a counterattitudinal or a proattitudinal message. Ss generated thoughts and reported attitudes consistent with the direction of the anticipated message, even though their responses were anonymous. In the final 2 experiments, the publicness of Ss' attitudes was varied to examine the impact of self-presentational concerns on thoughts and attitudes. In Exp II, Ss in the private condition spontaneously generated more thoughts relevant to the anticipated counterattitudinal message than did Ss in the public condition. In Exp III, some Ss were told that the anticipated counterattitudinal message was not forthcoming. When the message was canceled in the public condition, Ss failed to show an anticipatory shift in attitude; in the private condition, however, anticipatory attitude change was obtained. It is concluded that when self-presentation concerns are manifest, temporary changes in attitude occur in response to these concerns. In contrast, when pressures to self-present are low, anticipatory changes reflect genuine shifts in attitude resulting from an active consideration of the merits of the counterattitudinal position. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race of source effects in the Elaboration Likelihood Model.

In a series of experiments, we investigated the effect of race of source on persuasive communications in the Elaboration Likelihood Model (R. E. Petty & J. T. Cacioppo, 1981, 1986). In Exp 1, we found no evidence that White participants responded to a Black source as a simple negative cue. Exp 2 suggested the possibility that exposure to a Black source led to low-involvement message processing. In Exps 3 and 4, a distraction paradigm was used to test this possibility, and it was found that participants under low involvement were highly motivated to process a message presented by a Black source. In Exp 5, we found that attitudes toward the source's ethnic group, rather than violations of expectancies, accounted for this processing effect. Taken together, the results of these experiments are consistent with S. L. Gaertner and J. F. Dovidio's (1986) theory of aversive racism, which suggests that Whites, because of a combination of egalitarian values and underlying negative racial attitudes, are very concerned about not appearing unfavorable toward Blacks, leading them to be highly motivated to process messages presented by a source from this group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude importance and resistance to persuasion: It's not just the thought that counts.

This research examined individual differences in attitude importance (J. A. Krosnick, 1988a) as a moderator of resistance to persuasion. In 2 studies, individuals who favored allowing gay people to serve openly in the military were aurally presented with a counterattitudinal message. Participants who considered their attitude high (vs low) in personal importance were more resistant to the message. Process analyses revealed that both thought listings and self-reported affect mediated this attitude importance effect. A 2nd study, which also examined message quality, showed that both high- and low-importance individuals were more resistant to a weak (vs strong) message. This effect was explained by the fact that the weak (vs strong) message engendered more irritation and negative affective elaborations. Results highlight the role of attitude importance in motivating resistance to persuasive communications and reveal that the resistance process is both cognitive and affective. Implications for contemporary models of persuasion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On-line and memory-based modification of attitudes: Determinants of message recall-attitude change correspondence.

Experiments investigated the impact of message elaboration on attitude change–message recall correspondence when attitude change occurs in an on-line (as attitude-relevant information is received), or memory-based (on the basis of retrieved attitude-relevant information) fashion. In 2 experiments, Ss' processing goals were manipulated to increase or inhibit on-line change and message elaboration. As predicted, Ss reported postexposure attitudes more rapidly in on-line vs memory-based conditions. Decreased message elaboration increased attitude–recall correspondence, regardless of when attitude change occurred. Increased elaboration produced elaboration–attitude judgment correspondence. Results suggest that recall of message content will best predict persuasion when message content is encoded free of elaborations, regardless of when attitude change occurs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Persuasiveness of in-group and out-group political messages: The case of negative political campaigning.

Two experiments investigated the processes underlying evaluation of in-group and out-group political messages from candidates involved in a negative political campaign. The effectiveness of different types of attack messages depended on (a) the political affiliation with the source and target of an attack message and (b) the justification provided for the attack. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the content of the attack messages affected evaluations of an in-group candidate but not of an out-group candidate. Experiment 2 indicated that the use of "apparent justification" for attack messages resulted in more positive evaluations of an out-group source but diminished preference for an in-group source. The results indicate that although participants were sensitive to message content from both in-group and out-group sources, less stringent criteria were used when evaluating out-group political messages that when evaluating in-group political messages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cobalamin and folate deficiency: acquired and hereditary disorders in children

Two experiments examined the viability of several explanations for why majority group individuals process persuasive messages from stigmatized sources more than those from nonstigmatized sources. In each study, majority group participants who either were high or low in prejudice or were high or low in ambivalence toward a stigmatized source's group were exposed to a persuasive communication attributed to a stigmatized (Black, Experiment 1; homosexual, Experiment 2) or nonstigmatized (White, Experiment 1; heterosexual, Experiment 2) source. In both studies, source stigmatization increased message scrutiny only among those who were low in prejudice toward the stigmatized group. This finding is most consistent with the view that people scrutinize messages from stigmatized sources in order to guard against possibly unfair reactions by themselves or others.     

Stigmatized sources and persuasion: Prejudice as a determinant of argument scrutiny.

Two experiments examined the viability of several explanations for why majority group individuals process persuasive messages from stigmatized sources more than those from nonstigmatized sources. in each study. majority group participants who either were high or low in prejudice or were high or low in ambivalence toward a stigmatized source's group were exposed to a persuasive communication attributed to a stigmatized (Black, Experiment 1; homosexual, Experiment 2) or nonstigmatized (White, Experiment 1; heterosexual, Experiment 2) source. In both studies, source stigmatization increased message scrutiny only among those who were low in prejudice toward the stigmatized group. This finding is most consistent with the view that people scrutinize messages from stigmatized sources in order to guard against possibly unfair reactions by themselves or others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When motives clash: Issue involvement and response involvement as determinants of persuasion.

College students heard a strong or weak message after learning whether the message issue would have relevance to their personal lives outside the laboratory (high or low issue involvement) and whether they would later discuss the message issue (high or low response involvement). Judging from subjects' recall of message information, either high issue involvement or high response involvement was sufficient to instigate high levels of attention to the message. Issue-involved-only subjects, however, were most strongly influenced by message quality. They agreed more with and had more favorable thoughts about strong relative to weak messages, and they were most likely to engage in attitude-consistent behavior. Response-involved-only subjects were not affected by message quality, either on public attitude and thought measures or on a private behavioral measure. Response-and-issue-involved subjects were in between these extremes. Message quality had modest effects on their thoughts and attitudes, but not on their behavior. These results suggest that issue involvement encourages systematic processing that is sensitive to how well message arguments concur with personal standards. In contrast, response involvement encourages expression of attitudes that satisfy self-presentational needs. This expression may be mediated by message processing that is either biased toward moderation or nonintegrative, or by outward impression management, or both. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the costs of accessible attitudes: Detecting that the attitude object has changed.

The present research examined whether individuals with more accessible attitudes have more difficulty detecting that the attitude object has changed. While being repeatedly exposed to photographs of undergraduates, participants either rehearsed their attitudes toward each photo or performed a control task. They then saw these original photos and computer-generated morphs representing varying degrees of change in an original. Participants in the attitude rehearsal condition required more time to correctly identify morphs that were similar to the original as "different" (Experiment 1) and made more errors in response to such morphs (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 revealed that participants with accessible attitudes perceived relatively less change; they were less likely to view a morph as a photo of a novel person and more likely to view it as a different photo of a person seen before. The costs and benefits of accessible attitudes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color affects perceived odor intensity.

In Experiment 1, some odorous solutions (e.g., strawberry) were rated as smelling stronger when colored (e.g., red) than when colorless. Experiment 2 showed this effect to be due to a perceptual change rather than a response to experimental demand characteristics. Experiment 3 showed that the color-induced increase in odor intensity is not due to subjects' preexperimental experience with particular color–odor combinations, because the increase occurred with novel ones. We conclude that color induces a weak olfactory percept that combines with odorant-induced percepts. The effect may be due to conditioning or may be the result of residual intersensory neural connections left over from infancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social psychological factors in the genesis of posthypnotic source amnesia.

Three experiments assessed the role of social psychological variables in source amnesia. Experiment 1 found that low-hypnotizable subjects instructed to simulate partial amnesia were more likely to exhibit source amnesia than high-hypnotizable hypnotic or task-motivated subjects. Experiment 2 found equivalent rates of source amnesia in low-hypnotizable simulators and high-hypnotizable hypnotic subjects. In addition, the findings of Experiment 2 failed to support the idea that the instructions for partial amnesia given to simulators cued for the occurrence of source of amnesia as well as for the occurrence of partial amnesia. In Experiment 3, preliminary instructions that legitimated source amnesia as a role-appropriate response produced significantly more posthypnotic source amnesia than did neutral or no instructions. Together, the findings of the 3 experiments support the relation of source amnesia to experimental demands and subjects' expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forming implicit and explicit attitudes toward individuals: Social group association cues.

The authors explored how social group cues (e.g., obesity, physical attractiveness) strongly associated with valence affect the formation of attitudes toward individuals. Although explicit attitude formation has been examined in much past research (e.g., S. T. Fiske & S. L. Neuberg, 1990), in the current work, the authors considered how implicit as well as explicit attitudes toward individuals are influenced by these cues. On the basis of a systems of evaluation perspective (e.g., R. J. Rydell & A. R. McConnell, 2006; R. J. Rydell, A. R. McConnell, D. M. Mackie, & L. M. Strain, 2006), the authors anticipated and found that social group cues had a strong impact on implicit attitude formation in all cases and on explicit attitude formation when behavioral information about the target was ambiguous. These findings obtained for cues related to obesity (Experiments 1 and 4) and physical attractiveness (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, parallel findings were observed for race, and participants holding greater implicit racial prejudice against African Americans formed more negative implicit attitudes toward a novel African American target person than did participants with less implicit racial prejudice. Implications for research on attitudes, impression formation, and stigma are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of majority versus minority source status on persuasion: A self-validation analysis.

The present research proposes that sources in the numerical majority (vs. minority) can affect persuasion by influencing the confidence with which people hold their thoughts in response to the persuasive message. Participants received a persuasive message composed of either strong or weak arguments that was presented by a majority or a minority source. Consistent with the self-validation hypothesis, we predicted and found that the majority (vs. minority) status of the source increased the confidence with which recipients held their thoughts. As a consequence, majority (vs. minority) sources increased argument quality effects in persuasion when source status information followed message processing (Experiment 1). In contrast, when the information regarding source status preceded (rather than followed) the persuasive message, it validated the perception of the position advocated, reducing message processing. As a consequence of having more confidence in the position advocated before receiving the message, majority (vs. minority) sources reduced argument quality effects in persuasion (Experiment 2). Finally, Experiment 3 isolated the timing of the source status manipulation, revealing that sources in the numerical majority (vs. minority) can increase or decrease persuasion to strong arguments depending on whether source status is introduced before or after processing the message. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contextual variations in implicit evaluation.

In the present research, the authors examined contextual variations in automatic attitudes. Using 2 measures of automatic attitudes, the authors demonstrated that evaluative responses differ qualitatively as perceivers focus on different aspects of a target's social group membership (e.g., race or gender). Contextual variations in automatic attitudes were obtained when the manipulation involved overt categorization (Experiments 1-3) as well as more subtle contextual cues, such as category distinctiveness (Experiments 4-5). Furthermore, participants were shown to be unable to predict such contextual influences on automatic attitudes (Experiment 3). Taken together, these experiments support the idea of automatic attitudes being continuous, online constructions that are inherently flexible and contextually appropriate, despite being outside conscious control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance outcome feedback and attributional feedback: Interactive effects on recipient responses.

Recent models of performance appraisal have emphasized the process nature of appraisal, including the necessity of examining recipient responses to an evaluative appraisal or message. One of the major individual-level feedback models in the organizational area has been provided by D. Ilgen et al (see record 1980-28998-001). The 2 major inputs in this model are a complex feedback message and source of the feedback. The present study experimentally manipulated characteristics of both the feedback message and the source of feedback in a 2?×?3?×?2 between-Ss factorial design. How the feedback message (including both performance outcome information and attributional feedback) and perceptions of source credibility affected recipient responses to suggestions from the source as to how performance could be improved was examined among 149 undergraduates. Results show that recipient reactions to initial positive and negative performance feedback were determined by varying and discrepant explanations (i.e., attributions) between the source and recipient. Whether the source was perceived to be credible also influenced recipient responses, especially recipients' intentions to use suggestions made by the source. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is age irrelevant? Perceptions of young and old adult eyewitnesses

In Experiment 1, we videotaped elderly and younger adults (n = 69) reporting their memories of a crime video. The seniors were significantly less accurate than the younger adults. In Experiment 2, participants viewed the "testimony" videotapes and rated the elderly as less credible than the younger adults. In Experiment 3, participant-jurors (n = 302) evaluated transcribed testimonies provided by Experiment 1 participants. The ostensible age of the witnesses was manipulated. Thus, some participants read a senior's testimony believing it was provided by a younger adult and vice versa. Participants were apparently not biased by negative stereotypes of seniors' eyewitness capabilities.