This investigation dealt with the role and impact of affect in the process of resistance. A total of 597 participants took part in the study in 4 phases spanning 6 weeks. Initial results indicated that the cognitive, affective-anger, and affective-happiness inoculation treatments all conferred resistance to persuasive attacks. Structural equation analyses were conducted on the cognitive, affective-anger, and affective-happiness experimental inoculation conditions in order to examine the process of resistance. The results across all 3 conditions revealed a direct path in which inoculation treatments directly induced resistance to persuasive attacks. However, indirect paths to resistance varied across the 3 experimental conditions. Cognitive inoculation treatments contributed to receiver threat and counterarguing output, which, in turn, enhanced resistance. Thus, the cognitive inoculation treatments triggered a process that is consistent with McGuire's theoretical explanation for resistance. By contrast, both affective-anger and affective-happiness inoculation treatments relied more heavily on elicited emotional responses. Finally, the results indicated that greater receiver involvement was positively associated with experienced anger and, therefore, indirectly contributed to resistance, whereas greater receiver self-efficacy tended to dampen resistance. T he inoculation approach to promoting resistance to attitude change has been the focus of considerable theoretical and applied interest. However, many questions about inoculation remain unresolved and "deserve renewed study in the context of contemporary theory and Michael Pfau (Ph.D., University of Arizona, 1987) is professor and director of graduate studies in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Erin
The effectiveness of tailored communication in persuading people to adopt healthier behaviors has received much attention in the health communication field recently. However, the exact mechanism responsible for the tailoring effect is unknown. This study proposes that resonance could be an underlying mechanism that accounts for the tailoring effect. To investigate that possibility, resonance, operationalized as involving both cognitive and emotional components, is examined in an experiment to see how it might impact attitude formation and behavioral intention. The results of the investigation revealed that resonance is indeed a strong factor in influencing attitude and behavioral disposition. Future studies should further examine the concept of resonance and its role in explaining persuasive message effects in order to advance our knowledge in human communication.Recent research on risk communication has emphasized the importance of addressing public concerns (Frewer, 2004) or personal needs. Research on risk communication in health as it applies to the prevention of risky behaviors has focused on how tailored communication may enhance the effect of messages in persuading people to take action. Tailored communication refers to the customized, personally relevant information that is designed to target recipients' needs, interests, and considerations (Kreuter, Farrell, Olevitch, & Brennan, 2000). The theoretical reasoning for the generation of tailored communication was that individuals actively participate in the communication process, and they are more likely to be mobilized by information that fits their personal beliefs, or which addresses their personal needs, rather than by generic content produced for a mass audience. However, the question arises as to why messages fulfilling personal expectations or desires at the cognitive level would lead to behavioral changes? The underlying mechanisms that may account for the
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