S Christian Wheeler
Biographic Data
| ID | 5382173 |
|---|---|
| NAME | S Christian Wheeler |
| GIVEN NAMES | S Christian |
| FAMILY NAME | Wheeler |
| SIGNATURE | WHEELER S C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stanford University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 35 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 284 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 35 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 10 |
Party-Defiance Ads
In the United States, spending on political campaigns has surged dramatically. This paper introduces and examines “party-defiance ads,” a novel and increasingly common type of political advertisement in which candidates criticize their own party and take a position typically associated with the opposing party. Given the importance of party loyalty, defiance ads appear counterintuitive and risky. Why would candidates air ads in which they criticiz…
Why do people choose extreme candidates? The role of identity relevance
How Do Consumers React to Ads That Meddle in Out-Party Primaries
In 2022, Democrats spent $53 million on ads helping far-right candidates win Republican primaries. Paying for ads that support far-right candidates, the reasoning went, could help Democrats win in the general elections because it is easier to beat extreme than moderate candidates. In the current research, we ask: how do consumers react to the use of 'meddle ads'? On the one hand, because of rising levels of polarization, consumers might be accept…
On the pursuit of desired attitudes: Wanting a different attitude affects information processing and behavior
Self-Expression Cues in Product Rating Distributions: When People Prefer Polarizing Products
Previous research has shown that material goods can help people self-express, either because the products are themselves self-expressive (e.g., a band T-shirt) or because the products are associated with a desired group. This article examines a new signal of self-expressiveness: whether the product is polarizing—that is, whether some people strongly like the product and other people strongly dislike the product. Eight studies examine how polariza…
Belief in the immutability of attitudes both increases and decreases advocacy
People with an entity theory of attitudes (i.e., the belief that attitudes are relatively unchanging) are more certain of their attitudes than are people with an incremental theory (i.e., the belief that attitudes are relatively malleable), and people with greater attitude certainty are generally more willing to try to persuade others. Combined, these findings suggest that an entity theory should foster greater advocacy. Yet, people with entity t…
The good and bad of ambivalence: Desiring ambivalence under outcome uncertainty
Decades of past research point to the downside of evaluative inconsistency (i.e., ambivalence), suggesting that it is an unpleasant state that can result in negative affect. Consequently, people are often motivated to resolve their ambivalence in various ways. We propose that people sometimes desire to be ambivalent as a means of strategic self-protection. Across employment, educational and consumer choice settings, we demonstrate that when peopl…
Wanting other attitudes: Actual–desired attitude discrepancies predict feelings of ambivalence and ambivalence consequences
The experience of attitudinal ambivalence (subjective ambivalence) is important because it predicts key consequences of attitudes (e.g., attitude–behavior correspondence, attitude stability). However, the field's understanding of the antecedents of subjective ambivalence is still developing. We explore an unexamined antecedent of subjective ambivalence. Specifically, we examined discrepancies between participants' actual attitudes and their desir…
Persuasion and Attitude Change
Attitudes refer to people's general evaluations. Attitudes vary in whether they have a primarily affective or cognitive basis, and whether they come to mind automatically or only with some degree of reflection. After articulating these features of attitudes, we present an organizing framework for understanding the processes responsible for persuasion. These processes are divided into those that emphasize effortful thinking about the merits of the…
Not All Selves Feel the Same Uncertainty: Assimilation to Primes Among Individualists and Collectivists
Three experiments and a pilot study demonstrated that uncertainty about the self is uncomfortable (Pilot Study) and causes people to change their self-concepts in response to primes (Experiments 1–3), depending on both the nature of the uncertainty and how the self is defined. In Experiment 1, Asian Americans assimilated to a stereotype prime when made to feel uncertain about their collective selves, whereas European Americans assimilated to the …
Compensatory nonconformity: Self-uncertainty and low implicit self-esteem increase adoption and expression of minority opinions
We Are Not the Same as You and I: Causal Effects of Minor Language Variations on Consumers' Attitudes toward Brands
Can subtle wording changes in marketing communications, such as saying “you and [the brand]” as opposed to “we,” affect people's evaluations of real-world brands? Despite their importance in interpersonal communication, the effects of such variations in relationship-implying language on consumers' perceptions of brands have received little research attention. Four experiments demonstrate that closeness-implying pronouns (e.g., saying “we” rather …
Coming Out, Coming Home: Helping Families Adjust to a Gay or Lesbian Child by Michael LaSala
While it may be encouraging to envision Western society as increasingly accepting of homosexuality, the necessity of the “coming out” process and the potential turmoil that may result serve as self
Visual perspective influences the use of metacognitive information in temporal comparisons
Four studies test the proposition that when people look back to past selves as a means of gauging current status, the visual perspective they assume determines the kind of information that they consider in making their judgments of change. In this way, visual perspective, coupled with the kind of change for which people are looking, determines how much change is perceived. The studies demonstrate that in the first-person perspective, experiential…
Culture modifies the operation of prime-to-behavior effects
The role of interpersonal perceptions in the prime-to-behavior pathway
The present research suggests that biased interpersonal perceptions can mediate prime-to-behavior effects and introduces a new moderator for when such mediation will occur. Across 5 experiments, the authors provide evidence that priming effects on behavior in interpersonal contexts are mediated by social perceptions, but only when participants are focused on the other person. These effects occur when other-focus is primed (Experiment 1), when oth…
"The "Shaken Self: Product Choices as a Means of Restoring Self-View Confidence
The present research shows that when a confidently held self-view (e.g., “I am an exciting person”) is temporarily cast in doubt, individuals are motivated to choose products that bolster their original self-view (e.g., choosing brands with exciting brand personalities). The findings across three studies suggest that subtle manipulations can temporarily “shake” one's self-view confidence, resulting in an increased propensity of choosing self-view…
Contextual priming: Where people vote affects how they vote
American voters are assigned to vote at a particular polling location (e.g., a church, school, etc.). We show these assigned polling locations can influence how people vote. Analysis of a recent general election demonstrates that people who were assigned to vote in schools were more likely to support a school funding initiative. This effect persisted even when controlling for voters' political views, demographics, and unobservable characteristics…
A match made in the laboratory: Persuasion and matches to primed traits and stereotypes
Does attitude certainty beget self-certainty
Understanding the Role of the Self in Prime-to-Behavior Effects: The Active-Self Account
In this article, the authors review research showing the different roles that the self-concept can play in affecting prime-to-behavior effects. As an organizing framework, an Active-Self account of stereotype, trait, and exemplar prime-to-behavior effects is presented. According to this view, such primes can influence people's behavior by creating changes in the active self-concept, either by invoking a biased subset of chronic self-content or by…
Does self-consciousness increase or decrease priming effects? It depends
The situated person: Effects of construct accessibility on situation construals and interpersonal perception
When the Same Prime Leads to Different Effects
Research on priming effects has shown that primes with widely shared associations (i.e., stereotypes) affect the subsequent behavior of people in consistent ways (i.e., acting stereotypically). In this article, we present two experiments that show that the same primed construct can have different effects on the subsequent choices of different groups of people. These differences in effects are attributable to the groups having different prime asso…
Resistance to persuasion as self-regulation: Ego-depletion and its effects on attitude change processes
"The "Shaken Self: Product Choices as a Means of Restoring Self-View Confidence
The present research shows that when a confidently held self-view (e.g., “I am an exciting person”) is temporarily cast in doubt, individuals are motivated to choose products that bolster their original self-view (e.g., choosing brands with exciting brand personalities). The findings across three studies suggest that subtle manipulations can temporarily “shake” one's self-view confidence, resulting in an increased propensity of choosing self-view…
Think Unto Others: The Self-Destructive Impact of Negative Racial Stereotypes
Priming a New Identity: Self-Monitoring Moderates the Effects of Nonself Primes on Self-Judgments and Behavior
When a construct is primed, people often act in construct-consistent ways. Several accounts for this effect have been offered, including ideomotor theory and a social functional perspective. The authors tested an additional perspective, the Active-Self account, whereby primes can temporarily alter self-perceptions. In Study 1, non-African American participants reported feeling more aggressive on an implicit measure following an African American p…
Self-Schema Matching and Attitude Change: Situational and Dispositional Determinants of Message Elaboration
Research indicates that messages or products matching individuals' self-schemata are viewed more favorably, but little is known about how or when such effects occur. Experiment 1 indicates that messages matched to participants' level of extroversion lead to larger argument quality effects on attitudes than do mismatched messages. In experiment 2, these effects are replicated with the self-schema of need for cognition. Across studies, matching mes…
Discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-concepts: Consequences for information processing
Individuals with discrepancies among their explicit beliefs often engage in greater elaboration of discrepancy-related information in a presumed attempt to reduce the discrepancy. The authors predicted that individuals with discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-conceptions might similarly be motivated to engage in processing of discrepancy-related information, even though they might not be aware of the discrepancy. Four studies were co…
Resistance to persuasion as self-regulation: Ego-depletion and its effects on attitude change processes
When the Same Prime Leads to Different Effects
Research on priming effects has shown that primes with widely shared associations (i.e., stereotypes) affect the subsequent behavior of people in consistent ways (i.e., acting stereotypically). In this article, we present two experiments that show that the same primed construct can have different effects on the subsequent choices of different groups of people. These differences in effects are attributable to the groups having different prime asso…
Wanting other attitudes: Actual–desired attitude discrepancies predict feelings of ambivalence and ambivalence consequences
The experience of attitudinal ambivalence (subjective ambivalence) is important because it predicts key consequences of attitudes (e.g., attitude–behavior correspondence, attitude stability). However, the field's understanding of the antecedents of subjective ambivalence is still developing. We explore an unexamined antecedent of subjective ambivalence. Specifically, we examined discrepancies between participants' actual attitudes and their desir…
The good and bad of ambivalence: Desiring ambivalence under outcome uncertainty
Decades of past research point to the downside of evaluative inconsistency (i.e., ambivalence), suggesting that it is an unpleasant state that can result in negative affect. Consequently, people are often motivated to resolve their ambivalence in various ways. We propose that people sometimes desire to be ambivalent as a means of strategic self-protection. Across employment, educational and consumer choice settings, we demonstrate that when peopl…
We Are Not the Same as You and I: Causal Effects of Minor Language Variations on Consumers' Attitudes toward Brands
Can subtle wording changes in marketing communications, such as saying “you and [the brand]” as opposed to “we,” affect people's evaluations of real-world brands? Despite their importance in interpersonal communication, the effects of such variations in relationship-implying language on consumers' perceptions of brands have received little research attention. Four experiments demonstrate that closeness-implying pronouns (e.g., saying “we” rather …
Does self-consciousness increase or decrease priming effects? It depends
Self-Expression Cues in Product Rating Distributions: When People Prefer Polarizing Products
Previous research has shown that material goods can help people self-express, either because the products are themselves self-expressive (e.g., a band T-shirt) or because the products are associated with a desired group. This article examines a new signal of self-expressiveness: whether the product is polarizing—that is, whether some people strongly like the product and other people strongly dislike the product. Eight studies examine how polariza…
Compensatory nonconformity: Self-uncertainty and low implicit self-esteem increase adoption and expression of minority opinions
Belief in the immutability of attitudes both increases and decreases advocacy
People with an entity theory of attitudes (i.e., the belief that attitudes are relatively unchanging) are more certain of their attitudes than are people with an incremental theory (i.e., the belief that attitudes are relatively malleable), and people with greater attitude certainty are generally more willing to try to persuade others. Combined, these findings suggest that an entity theory should foster greater advocacy. Yet, people with entity t…
The role of interpersonal perceptions in the prime-to-behavior pathway
The present research suggests that biased interpersonal perceptions can mediate prime-to-behavior effects and introduces a new moderator for when such mediation will occur. Across 5 experiments, the authors provide evidence that priming effects on behavior in interpersonal contexts are mediated by social perceptions, but only when participants are focused on the other person. These effects occur when other-focus is primed (Experiment 1), when oth…
Does attitude certainty beget self-certainty
A match made in the laboratory: Persuasion and matches to primed traits and stereotypes
The situated person: Effects of construct accessibility on situation construals and interpersonal perception
On the pursuit of desired attitudes: Wanting a different attitude affects information processing and behavior
Why do people choose extreme candidates? The role of identity relevance
How Do Consumers React to Ads That Meddle in Out-Party Primaries
In 2022, Democrats spent $53 million on ads helping far-right candidates win Republican primaries. Paying for ads that support far-right candidates, the reasoning went, could help Democrats win in the general elections because it is easier to beat extreme than moderate candidates. In the current research, we ask: how do consumers react to the use of 'meddle ads'? On the one hand, because of rising levels of polarization, consumers might be accept…
Social psychology and changing technologies: Reality versus caricature
Social psychology and changing technologies: Reality versus caricature
The effects of stereotype activation on behavior: A review of possible mechanisms
Considerable recent research has examined the effects that activated stereotypes have on behavior. Research on both self-stereotype activation and other-stereotype activation has tended to show that people behave in ways consistent with the stereotype (e.g., walking more slowly if the elderly stereotype is activated). Interestingly, however, the dominant account for the behavioral effects of self-stereotype activation involves a hot motivational …
The effects of stereotype activation on behavior: A review of possible mechanisms
Think Unto Others: The Self-Destructive Impact of Negative Racial Stereotypes
Material priming: The influence of mundane physical objects on situational construal and competitive behavioral choice
The Impact of Personality on Cognitive, Behavioral, and Affective Political Processes: The Effects of Need to Evaluate
Need to evaluate (NE) is a personality trait that reflects a person's proclivity to create and hold attitudes; people high in NE are especially likely to form attitudes toward all sorts of objects. Using data from the 1998 National Election Survey Pilot and the 2000 National Election Survey, NE was shown to predict a variety of important attitude‐relevant cognitive, behavioral, and affective political processes beyond simply holding attitudes: NE…
Priming a New Identity: Self-Monitoring Moderates the Effects of Nonself Primes on Self-Judgments and Behavior
When a construct is primed, people often act in construct-consistent ways. Several accounts for this effect have been offered, including ideomotor theory and a social functional perspective. The authors tested an additional perspective, the Active-Self account, whereby primes can temporarily alter self-perceptions. In Study 1, non-African American participants reported feeling more aggressive on an implicit measure following an African American p…
Self-Schema Matching and Attitude Change: Situational and Dispositional Determinants of Message Elaboration
Research indicates that messages or products matching individuals' self-schemata are viewed more favorably, but little is known about how or when such effects occur. Experiment 1 indicates that messages matched to participants' level of extroversion lead to larger argument quality effects on attitudes than do mismatched messages. In experiment 2, these effects are replicated with the self-schema of need for cognition. Across studies, matching mes…
Resistance to persuasion as self-regulation: Ego-depletion and its effects on attitude change processes
Discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-concepts: Consequences for information processing
Individuals with discrepancies among their explicit beliefs often engage in greater elaboration of discrepancy-related information in a presumed attempt to reduce the discrepancy. The authors predicted that individuals with discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-conceptions might similarly be motivated to engage in processing of discrepancy-related information, even though they might not be aware of the discrepancy. Four studies were co…
Understanding the Role of the Self in Prime-to-Behavior Effects: The Active-Self Account
In this article, the authors review research showing the different roles that the self-concept can play in affecting prime-to-behavior effects. As an organizing framework, an Active-Self account of stereotype, trait, and exemplar prime-to-behavior effects is presented. According to this view, such primes can influence people's behavior by creating changes in the active self-concept, either by invoking a biased subset of chronic self-content or by…
Does self-consciousness increase or decrease priming effects? It depends
The situated person: Effects of construct accessibility on situation construals and interpersonal perception
When the Same Prime Leads to Different Effects
Research on priming effects has shown that primes with widely shared associations (i.e., stereotypes) affect the subsequent behavior of people in consistent ways (i.e., acting stereotypically). In this article, we present two experiments that show that the same primed construct can have different effects on the subsequent choices of different groups of people. These differences in effects are attributable to the groups having different prime asso…
Contextual priming: Where people vote affects how they vote
American voters are assigned to vote at a particular polling location (e.g., a church, school, etc.). We show these assigned polling locations can influence how people vote. Analysis of a recent general election demonstrates that people who were assigned to vote in schools were more likely to support a school funding initiative. This effect persisted even when controlling for voters' political views, demographics, and unobservable characteristics…
A match made in the laboratory: Persuasion and matches to primed traits and stereotypes
Does attitude certainty beget self-certainty
The role of interpersonal perceptions in the prime-to-behavior pathway
The present research suggests that biased interpersonal perceptions can mediate prime-to-behavior effects and introduces a new moderator for when such mediation will occur. Across 5 experiments, the authors provide evidence that priming effects on behavior in interpersonal contexts are mediated by social perceptions, but only when participants are focused on the other person. These effects occur when other-focus is primed (Experiment 1), when oth…
"The "Shaken Self: Product Choices as a Means of Restoring Self-View Confidence
The present research shows that when a confidently held self-view (e.g., “I am an exciting person”) is temporarily cast in doubt, individuals are motivated to choose products that bolster their original self-view (e.g., choosing brands with exciting brand personalities). The findings across three studies suggest that subtle manipulations can temporarily “shake” one's self-view confidence, resulting in an increased propensity of choosing self-view…
Coming Out, Coming Home: Helping Families Adjust to a Gay or Lesbian Child by Michael LaSala
While it may be encouraging to envision Western society as increasingly accepting of homosexuality, the necessity of the “coming out” process and the potential turmoil that may result serve as self
Visual perspective influences the use of metacognitive information in temporal comparisons
Four studies test the proposition that when people look back to past selves as a means of gauging current status, the visual perspective they assume determines the kind of information that they consider in making their judgments of change. In this way, visual perspective, coupled with the kind of change for which people are looking, determines how much change is perceived. The studies demonstrate that in the first-person perspective, experiential…
Culture modifies the operation of prime-to-behavior effects
Persuasion and Attitude Change
Attitudes refer to people's general evaluations. Attitudes vary in whether they have a primarily affective or cognitive basis, and whether they come to mind automatically or only with some degree of reflection. After articulating these features of attitudes, we present an organizing framework for understanding the processes responsible for persuasion. These processes are divided into those that emphasize effortful thinking about the merits of the…
Not All Selves Feel the Same Uncertainty: Assimilation to Primes Among Individualists and Collectivists
Three experiments and a pilot study demonstrated that uncertainty about the self is uncomfortable (Pilot Study) and causes people to change their self-concepts in response to primes (Experiments 1–3), depending on both the nature of the uncertainty and how the self is defined. In Experiment 1, Asian Americans assimilated to a stereotype prime when made to feel uncertain about their collective selves, whereas European Americans assimilated to the …
Psychology (34 works) · Social Psychology (31 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (25 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (17 works) · Social Psychology (16 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (15 works) · Cognitive psychology (13 works) · Cognition (6 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification (6 works)