Resisting persuasion by the skin of one's teeth

The hidden success of resisted persuasive messages

Bibliographic Data

ID6205846
AuthorsZakary L Tormala (Indiana University Bloomington), Joshua J Clarkson (0000-0002-0574-7897, Indiana University Bloomington), Richard E Petty (0000-0002-2870-8575, The Ohio State University)
Year2006
Volume91
Issue3
Pages423-435
Publication date2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/0022-3514.91.3.423
PMID16938028
OpenAlexW2042944974
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited39

Recent research has suggested that when people resist persuasion they can perceive this resistance and, under specifiable conditions, become more certain of their initial attitudes (e.g., Z. L. Tormala & R. E. Petty, 2002). Within the same metacognitive framework, the present research provides evidence for the opposite phenomenon--that is, when people resist persuasion, they sometimes become less certain of their initial attitudes. Four experiments demonstrate that when people perceive that they have done a poor job resisting persuasion (e.g., they believe they generated weak arguments against a persuasive message), they lose attitude certainty, show reduced attitude-behavioral intention correspondence, and become more vulnerable to subsequent persuasive attacks. These findings suggest that resisted persuasive attacks can sometimes have a hidden yet important success by reducing the strength of the target attitude

Attitude change · Certainty · Epistemology · Persuasion · Persuasive communication · Resistance (ecology) · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Cultural Differences and Values · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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