Attitude accessibility as an alternative explanation for how inoculation confers resistance

Michael Pfau, David Roskos-Ewoldsen, Michelle Wood, Suya Yin, Jaeho Cho, Kerr Hsin Lu, Lijiang Shen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

The investigation examined attitude accessibility as an alternative to the accepted explanation, which is based on threat and counterarguing, for the way that inoculation confers resistance to influence. A total of 333 participants took part in the study in three phases spanning 36 days. The results of multivariate and correlational analyses indicated that inoculation treatments confer resistance, in part, by promoting attitude accessibility. Inoculation treatments immediately elicit attitude accessibility, which enhances attitude strength. Attitude strength, in time, contributes to resistance to the influence of counterattitudinal attacks. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)39-51
Number of pages13
JournalCommunication Monographs
Volume70
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2003

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Communication

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Attitude accessibility as an alternative explanation for how inoculation confers resistance'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this