Opening the mind before it closes: Considering a message in light of important values increases message processing and later resistance to change
Abstract
Past research showed that considering a persuasive message in light of important rather than unimportant values creates attitudes that resist later attack (Ostrom & Brock, 1969). The traditional explanation is that the attitudes come to express the value or that the basing of the attitude on the value enhances resistance. However, the current research showed that another explanation is plausible. Like other sources of involvement, considering important rather than unimportant values increase processing of the message, even when people do not identify the resulting attitudes as representing their core values (Study 1B). The increase in processing occurs both when the values are identified as normatively high or low in importance (Studies 1A, 1B, 3-6) and when the perceived importance differs across participants for the same value (Studies 2A & 2B). This increase in processing creates resistance to later attacks (Studies 3 & 4). Unlike past studies, the current research uses individual-level measures of initial amount of processing to mediate value importance effects on later resistance to change (Study 4). Important values motivate processing because they make the attitude issue itself seem more important (Studies 5A & 5B). Studies 1A–5B use a traditional value-linking task to prompt participants to consider the values in relation to the message, but simply activating important rather than unimportant values prior to reading a message (Study 6) has similar effects on elaboration of the message and on perception of the issue as importance. Implications for future basic and applied research are discussed.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Wegener, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Social psychology
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