Implicit Ambivalence as a Motivational Factor in the Process of How Attitude Inoculation Induces Resistance to Persuasion
The present study examined the role of the accessibility of three attitude components (pro-attitudinal evaluations, counter-attitudinal evaluations and false tags of counter-attitudinal evaluations) in the resistance-conferring process of attitude inoculation, and proposed to introduce a new element, implicit ambivalence, into the underlying mechanism of inoculation. Specifically, the hypotheses of this study predict that the coexistence of accessible pro-attitudinal evaluations and accessible though explicitly refuted counter-attitudinal evaluations created by an inoculation treatment represents a status of implicit ambivalence, which motivates recipients’ counter-arguing effort thereby contributing to their resistance to attitude attacks. Data were collected from 85 undergraduate students in an experiment carried out in three phases. Results of the experiment failed to support the hypotheses. However, several findings may shed light on inoculation scholarship, including the impact of Phase 2 measurements on the outcome of inoculation at Phase 3 and the influence of the valence of people’s initial attitudes on their resistance to attitude attacks. This study is also the first to measure the accessibility of various attitude components and to operationalize implicit ambivalence, laying a foundation for future improvements of these two endeavors.
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