Involvement and persuasion: Tradition versus integration.

In a recent meta-analysis, B. Johnson and A. H. Eagly (see record 1990-01215-001) questioned our conceptualization of and evidence for the effects of involvement on persuasion (R. E. Petty and J. T. Cacioppo [see PA, Vol 65:1285; 1986]). In particular, they concluded that (a) what we had termed issue involvement represented two distinct types of involvement (outcome- versus value-relevant), (b) each type of involvement had unique effects on persuasion, and (c) outcome involvement effects may be obtained only by 1 group of researchers. We argue that although 2 distinct research traditions of involvement have emerged, our original position that the 2 categories of involvement induce similar processes in persuasion situations remains viable. Evidence from Johnson and Eagly's meta-analysis shows that as both types of involvement increase, argument quality becomes a more important determinant of attitudes. The greater message rejection found with involvement in value as compared with outcome studies can be explained in terms of confounding factors. Finally, we note that the outcome involvement effects that we reported initially have been replicated by other investigators, including Johnson and Eagly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Involvement and persuasion: Evidence for different types of involvement.

Tested the hypothesis that outcome-relevant involvement (ORI) and value-relevant involvement (VRI) have different effects on persuasion. The extent that 303 undergraduates experienced VRI instead of ORI was manipulated with respect to the implementation of comprehensive exams (CEs). Ss read either weak or strong arguments in favor of the implementation of CEs. Ss were placed in a low or high involvement condition by telling them either that the CEs may be implemented next year (high involvement) or that the CEs may be implemented in 5 yrs (low involvement). Ss then indicated their attitude toward the CEs. When analyses were limited to those Ss who considered outcomes or values to be important (88% of the sample), the 3-way interaction between type of involvement, level of involvement, and argument strength was significant. This interaction supports the importance of distinguishing between ORI and VRI. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Societal-psychological constructionism: Societies, selves, traditions, and fusions.

Frequently cited problems of dualism, as it pertains to the relation of psychological mind to sociocultural world, arise from assumptions of fixed societal and psychological ontologies. If, instead, societal and psychological ontologies are understood to be both emergent and mutable, as a consequence of their dynamic relation, many of the metaphysical and epistemological difficulties encountered by classic psychological-sociocultural dualism are avoided. To this end, an ontological and epistemological position, called societal-psychological constructionism, is presented. The merits of this position relative to postmodern textualist and social constructionist alternatives to classic psychological-sociocultural dualism are discussed. The major advantages of societal-psychological constructionism stem from its metaphysical claim that the psychological derives largely from the sociocultural, but is not reducible to the sociocultural, and in the epistemological implications of this claim. These advantages are particularly significant when contrasted with postmodern textualist and social constructionist accounts that mistakenly conflate the origins of psychological phenomena with psychological experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Warning and persuasion.

Reviewed studies dealing with the effects on audience opinions of (1) advance information about the topics and the direction of argument of forthcoming communications (warning), and (2) instructions that describe the experiment as a study of opinion change (persuasion context). Conclusions include: (1) warning and persuasion context are not separate manipulations; (2) their effects on postcommunication opinion change are not clear; and (3) warning and persuasion context probably cause precommunication opinion change. It is suggested that neither warning nor persuasion context, by themselves, are crucial variables in postcommunication opinion change. In some instances persuasion may begin prior to actual exposure to persuasive communications. (32 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anatomy of a persuasion schema: Targets, goals, and strategies.

Three studies examined R. Schank and R. Abelson's (1977) assumptions about a persuasion schema, conceptualized as a standard set of methods and a related set of goals for influencing a target individual. The data support the general form but not the specific content of their assumptions. In Study 1, 64 undergraduates reported whom they persuaded, who persuaded them in their everyday lives, and what kinds of things people persuaded others to do. Although goals associated with the persuasion schema constituted a small finite set, that set was larger than that suggested by Schank and Abelson. Moreover, both the nature and frequency of the goals generated by Ss were similar for all targets, although the data suggest that people do not normally persuade enemies. In Study 2, 74 Ss listed all the ways in which people can persuade others to achieve each of 9 goals generated in Study 1. Again, although a standard set of methods was identified, methods additional to those suggested by Schank and Abelson were generated. In Study 3, 120 Ss rank-ordered the list of methods identified in Study 2 in terms of their sequence of use. As expected, the rank ordering proceeded from asking, self-oriented methods, dyad-oriented methods, appeal to principles, and negative tactics. The order of use proposed by Schank and Abelson was not upheld. Findings are discussed in terms of the need to characterize knowledge relevant to everyday social interactions. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensory deprivation, attitude change, and defense against persuasion.

Used frequent toothbrushing as the target attitude with 120 college students in a study with the following independent variables: (a) sensory deprivation or nonconfinement for 12 hrs before an inoculation message and before a counterattitudinal message, and (b) the kind of inoculation (refutational, supportive, or none). Results show that refutational inoculation was most effective, was recalled best, and led to reduced recall of the subsequent attack. Postinoculation tests reduced later persuasibility, and in the supportive inoculation condition led to a more extreme adherence to the S's original position. Sensory deprivation before the inoculation message increased belief instability; before the counterattitudinal message, it increased persuasibility. Sensory deprivation functions as a cognitive disorganizer, whose effects on persuasibility are probably mediated by impaired processing of complex information and consequent belief instability. (French summary) (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communicator physical attractiveness and persuasion.

In a field setting, each of 68 physically attractive or unattractive male and female communicator Ss (undergraduates) delivered a persuasive message to 2 undergraduate target Ss of each sex. Results indicate that attractive (vs unattractive) communicators induced significantly greater persuasion on both a verbal and behavioral measure of target agreement. In addition, female targets indicated greater agreement than male targets. Data gathered from communicator Ss during an earlier laboratory session indicate that physically attractive and unattractive communicators differed with respect to several communication skills and other attributes relevant to communicator persuasiveness, including GPA, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, and several measures of self-evaluation. These findings suggest that attractive individuals may be more persuasive than unattractive persons partly because they possess characteristics that dispose them to be more effective communicators. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In search of reliable persuasion effects: II. Associative interference and persistence of persuasion in a message-dense environment.

Conducted 3 experiments, with a total of 272 Ss, to test an associative learning model. Fictitious consumer-product brands were used as stimuli and brand evaluations as responses. In each experiment, Ss received messages concerning up to 54 brands drawn from up to 12 product categories. Exp I demonstrated associative interference—messages advocating diverse evaluations of similar products led to rapid decay of persuasion. Exp II demonstrated reduction of associative interference—messages advocating similar evaluative responses to similar products facilitated associative learning and attenuated decay of persuasion. Exp III demonstrated the correlation between learning of brand-evaluation associations and persuasion. Results suggest that associative learning theory can provide a useful tool for analyzing the persisting impacts of persuasive messages in message-dense environments. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overt head movements and persuasion: A self-validation analysis.

The authors report 3 experiments that examine a new mechanism by which overt head movements can affect attitude change. In each experiment, participants were induced to either nod or to shake their heads while listening to a persuasive message. When the message arguments were strong, nodding produced more persuasion than shaking. When the arguments were weak, the reverse occurred. These effects were most pronounced when elaboration was high. These findings are consistent with the "self-validation" hypothesis that postulates that head movements either enhance (nodding) or undermine (shaking) confidence in one's thoughts about the message. In a 4th experiment, the authors extended this result to another overt behavior (writing with the dominant or nondominant hand) and a different attitude domain (self-esteem). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical orientation in psychology and the traditions of Freud, Jung, and Adler.

I hypothesized that the theoretical views of psychoanalysts, Jungian analysts, and Adlerian counselors would differ in ways corresponding to recognized differences in the views of Freud, Jung, and Adler. Copies of the Theoretical Orientation Survey were sent to members of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the International Association for Analytical Psychology, and the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology. Mailing was continued until 30 completed forms were obtained from each of these societies. Of the three groups, the Jungians proved to be the most subjectivistic and the Freudians the most objectivistic, though all three groups were more subjectivistic on the average than psychologists in general. The three groups differed more markedly on the dimension of endogenism versus exogenism; the Jungians were most endogenist and the Adlerians were most exogenist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Science and persuasion in the psychological test report.

Psychological test reports are different from traditional medical reports. Rather than solely technical or scientific documents, they are political, diplomatic, strategic persuasions functioning in a complex sociopsychological context. Some principles of writing test reports from this viewpoint are included. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between distraction and persuasion.

Reviews research findings that distracting Ss while they are exposed to a persuasive message increases persuasive impact in certain situations. Various explanations for this phenomenon and the conceptual issues involved are discussed. It is concluded that (a) the distraction effect has empirical validity across many experimental contexts; (b) despite this generality, distraction is not useful as a persuasion technique in most settings; (c) results which indicate that distraction reduces persuasive impact do not necessarily invalidate the distraction effect; (d) whether pleasant distractions are more or less effective in increasing persuasion depends upon whether Ss can easily ignore the distraction; and (e) both disruption of the counterarguing process and the need to justify effort expenditure are equally promising interpretations of the data. (48 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived choice and resistance to persuasion.

An experiment was conducted to test the prediction that the greater the perceived choice in taking a position, the more resistant to influence the position would be. The Ss were shown summaries of an application for admittance to graduate school in psychology, and were asked to rate the candidate. The ratings were made under conditions of either high or low choice. All Ss were then presented with a strong countercommunication and final ratings were made. The results indicate that high choice in the initial decision increased resistance to influence by the countercommunication. It further appears that, at least in this case, this resistance is manifested primarily by an increased tendency to reject the communication and the communicator rather than in any distortions in memory or ratings of the relevant information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of involvement on persuasion: A meta-analysis.

Defines involvement as a motivational state induced by an association between an activated attitude and the self-concept. Integration of the available research suggests that the effects of involvement on attitude change depended on the aspect of message recipients' self-concept that was activated to create involvement: (a) their enduring values (value-relevant involvement), (b) their ability to attain desirable outcomes (outcome-relevant involvement), or (c) the impression they make on others (impression-relevant involvement). Findings showed that (a) with value-relevant involvement, high-involvement subjects were less persuaded than low-involvement subjects; (b) with outcome-relevant involvement, high-involvement subjects were more persuaded than low-involvement subjects by strong arguments and (somewhat inconsistently) less persuaded by weak arguments; and (c) with impression-relevant involvement, high-involvement subjects were slightly less persuaded than low-involvement subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supervisor-subordinate similarity: Types, effects, and mechanisms.

Three types of supervisor–subordinate similarity were identified: (a) perceived similarity, perceptions of how similar the supervisor and subordinate are; (b) perceptual congruence, similarity of perceptions about behaviors important in receiving a high merit pay raise; and (c) actual similarity of individual characteristics. The relation(s) among the types of similarity and of each type with various employee outcomes were examined. Results supported the distinctions among types. Each type was related to subordinate performance. Results were less consistent for job satisfaction and pay ratings. Perceived similarity yielded the strongest relation with the dependent variables. The findings also suggest that similarity affects evaluations not only through bias, but also partly because of differences in supervisor–subordinate interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Involvement, discrepancy, and change.

Ss took a position under high or low involvement; were subsequently exposed to information which was slightly, moderately, or extremely discrepant from the initial position; and the amount of change in their positions was measured. Under low involvement, there was more change with greater discrepancy; under high involvement, the relationship was nonmonotonic, with maximum change occurring at moderate discrepancy. The situation is analyzed in terms of the relative difficulty of position change and rejection of the information as alternative modes of resolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward theories of persuasion and belief change.

Reviews research trends on the effects of persuasive messages on attitude change. It is concluded that new orientations to this area are required, and 2 general directions for theories of persuasion are proposed: (a) a theory of the acceptance of assertions and (b) a theory of the acceptance of complex messages. 270 female college students participated in an empirical investigation on the former, which supported the viability of the proposed approach. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of message repetition and position on cognitive response, recall, and persuasion.

Although the mere exposure effect has been researched widely, surprisingly little is known about the attitudinal and cognitive effects of message repetition. It was hypothesized that the sequence of topic-relevant thoughts generated in response to a (repeated) persuasive message would parallel attitude change. To test this prediction, 2 experiments were conducted. In Exp I, 133 undergraduates heard a communication either 0 (control), 1, 3, or 5 times in succession, rated their agreement with the advocated position, and listed the message arguments they could recall. In Exp II, 193 undergraduates heard a communication either 1, 3, or 5 times, rated their agreement, listed their thoughts, and listed the message arguments they could recall. In both experiments, agreement first increased, then decreased as exposure frequency increased (regardless of the position advocated), but agreement was unrelated to the recall of the message arguments. In Exp II, analyses of the listed thoughts revealed that counterargumentation decreased, then increased, whereas topic-irrelevant thinking increased as exposure frequency increased; as expected, only topic-relevant thoughts were related to agreement. Results are interpreted in terms of an attitude-modification model in which repetition and content of a persuasive advocacy affect the type and number of thoughts generated; these thoughts, in turn, affect the attitudinal reaction to the advocacy. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of need for cognition on message evaluation, recall, and persuasion.

Studied the relation among need for cognition (NFC), message processing, and persuasion. 57 pairs of undergraduates holding approximately the same attitude toward instituting senior comprehensive exams but differing widely in their scores on a NFC scale participated in Exp I. Ss read a set of either strong or weak arguments supporting the recommendation that senior comprehensive exams be instituted. Results reveal that argument quality had a greater impact on the message evaluations and source impressions provided by Ss high than by those low in NFC and that Ss high in NFC reported expending more cognitive effort and recalled more message arguments regardless of argument quality. The findings from Exp I were replicated in Exp II (110 female undergraduates) with a different topic (i.e., raising student tuition) and cover story. The inclusion of a postcommunication attitude measure revealed that the attitudes of Ss high in NFC were more affected by argument quality than those of Ss low in NFC. These studies document a reliable difference among individuals in their tendency to derive information from and elaborate on externally provided message arguments. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)