Explores whether response scale ambiguity determines the relative impact of persuasive arguments and social comparison processes. Describes two experiments which demonstrate that response scale ambiguity influences the interpretation of choice shift processes. (MM)

Reveals the adversarial nature of joint participation in courtroom cross-examinations through analyzing methods for presenting and preserving alternative versions of past events. Examines three methods employed by witnesses and lawyers: "I don't know" and "I don't remember"; prior testimony to induce a witness to change an…

Investigates two models (the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Heuristic-Systematic Model) of the cognitive processing of fear-arousing messages in undergraduate students. Finds in three of the four conditions (low fear, high fear, high trait anxiety) that cognitive processing appears to be antagonistic. Finds some evidence of concurrent…

Finds that (1) for neutral ads, people estimated themselves to be more resistant than others, but for emotional ads, more yielding to influence than others; (2) for public service announcements, there were no differences in perceived self and other influence; and (3) judgments of persuasive influence on self and others were markedly overestimated.…

Proposes a synthesis based on persuasive argument theories but including a revised social comparison component to account for group polarization. Indicates that group members first lean toward risk or caution based on the proportion of arguments on "both sides" but henceforth argue for the "correct side" using their…

Examines the impact of mood on the production of persuasive arguments by college students. Shows that happy subjects rated their own essays as more persuasive than sad subjects did but that external ratings judged happy subjects' essays more persuasive when they were counterattiudinal but not when proattitudinal. Finds no mood effects on various…

Tests three models of the door-in-the-face (DITF) compliance strategy--reciprocal concessions, perceptual contrast, and self-presentation. Finds that concession labeling led to stronger feelings of obligation to donate but did not affect compliance; and facilitated charity when interaction with the solicitor was anticipated but backfired when…

Finds that request forms that addressed an obstacle were perceived to be more conventional and more polite than were request forms that did not specify an obstacle. Shows refusers generated more unstable obstacles when no time was proposed, and conversely, that time-ambiguous requests were met with more stable obstacles than were time-specific…

Examines the relative persuasiveness of statistical evidence versus report evidence while controlling for the effect of vividness. Finds that, when report evidence takes the form of a story, statistical evidence is more persuasive after a two-day delay and, when bolstered by vividness, after a one-week delay. (SR)

Examines the strategies people employ to deal with the face- and interaction-threatening implications of argumentative behavior. Explores the joint influence of individual differences in perceivers' interpersonal construct systems and message producers' communication strategies on the content and structure of impressions of message producers. (MS)

Finds that base-rate information (general statements about the range or importance of a problem) had little impact whereas exemplars (less valid but more vivid individual cases) had a strong effect on the perceived distribution of public opinion about news story problems, and also had a moderate impact on undergraduate students' personal opinions…

Studies persuasion processes in a value-relevant context. Tests effects of the presence/absence of anecdotal evidence, crossed across three base messages regarding different alcohol use issues. Suggests that a variant of central processing was used: involvement predicted greater message-relevant responses only when the message was congruent with…

Studies the effect of involvement in responses to persuasive appeals. Explains that mass communication students, grouped by high and low ability and motivation levels, were given pretests and then listened to health information. Reveals correlations among attentiveness, ability, and recall of irrelevant words. Indicates that motivation…

Finds support for eight theoretically derived hypotheses concerning how highly misanthropic individuals respond differently to influence attempts, and concerning the positive relationship between misanthropy and the avoidance of health care. Shows that respondents high in misanthropy report higher actual incidence of stress-related diseases. (SR)

Present a graphical multivariate approach to the analysis and reporting of presidential poll results when more than two candidates command a significant percentage of the vote. Advocates a methodology based on joint statistical inference. Applies this methodology to polls prior to the 1992 presidential election. (HB)