Resistance to Persuasion: Examining the Influence of Political Ideology on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Hesitancy

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the death of over 625,000 Americans and it continues to have monumental consequences worldwide for economic, social and individual life. An effective vaccine program is considered vital to securing collective immunity; yet, many Americans are still hesitant to be vaccinated. This two-part study first experimentally tests two message frames (inoculation vs control) designed to counter resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine with individuals who are initially supportive, neutral or opposed to it. Based on a key finding from Study 1 (that political ideology appears to be impacting receptiveness to the messaging), Study 2 examines response to these same two messages using either a politicized (Dr. Anthony Fauci) or neutral source to test the mediating effects of political ideology. Results contribute to existing literature by examining inoculation effects in a new context (“debunking” misinformation vs “prebunking” to bolster supportive attitudes), and demonstrate how psychological reactance is working in tandem with inoculation to influence attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine.

Think Unique: Perceptions of Uniqueness Increases Resistance to Persuasion and Attitude-Intention Relations

The present research examines whether the perceived uniqueness of one’s thoughts and salience of uniqueness motivations can influence attitude strength and resistance. Participants who rated their thoughts as relatively unique formed attitudes that showed greater correspondence with behavioral intentions to act on the attitude (Study 1). In Study 2, participants who recalled a previous purchase motivated by the desire to be unique (versus to fit in) after generating message counterarguments were less persuaded (more resistant) and reported greater willingness to act on their (negative) attitude. Moreover, attitudes mediated the effect of the purchase manipulation on intentions to act on the attitude.

Terrorism and radicalization: Social factors—a narrative review

Throughout the history of humankind, people have struggled for rights and freedom, and have used different strategies to reach their goals. Furthermore, in recent times, terrorism is overly interpreted to mean a reaction by Muslim populations against Western countries, implying the actions are driven along religious lines and seek to restore freedom. Extreme actions following perceived persecution or extreme distress are well established, not only in the form of terrorism, but also violence more generally and, at times, in the form of suicide. For example, Durkheim postulated a relationship between the degree of social integration and suicide rates. Both religious suicide bombing and apocalyptic suicide represent a final cosmic war in which violence is sanctioned to rid the world of evil forces. In this chapter we describe some the factors that may contribute to acts of violence and terrorism in groups and as lone actors. We explore the reasons why second- and third-generation migrants are much more likely to participate in such activities. These may be related to a sense of alienation, exposure to religious fundamentalism in the absence of religious literacy and connection with orthodox sources, failure to adapt, and a lack of resistance to persuasion into violence. Some preventive strategies are described. We also consider radicalism processes by which an individual or a group carries out violent actions connected to an extremist ideology, and consider modern radical groups, which are now less organized and centralized than previous hierarchical movements such as Al-Qaeda.

Can counter-advertising diminish persuasive effects of conventional and pseudo-healthy unhealthy food product advertising on parents?: an experimental study

Background To help address rising rates of obesity in children, evidence is needed concerning impacts of common forms of marketing for unhealthy child-oriented food products and the efficacy of educational interventions in counteracting any detrimental impacts of such marketing. This study aims to explore parents’ responses to advertising for unhealthy children’s food products that employ different types of persuasive appeals and test whether a counter-advertising intervention exposing industry motives and marketing strategies can bolster parents’ resistance to influence by unhealthy product advertising. Methods N = 1613 Australian parents were randomly assigned to view online either a: (A) non-food ad (control); (B) conventional confectionery ad (highlighting sensory benefits of the product); (C) pseudo-healthy confectionery ad (promoting sensory benefits and health attributes of the product); (D) conventional confectionery ad + counter-ad (employing inoculation-style messaging and narrative communication elements); (E) pseudo-healthy confectionery ad + counter-ad. Parents then viewed various snacks, including those promoted in the food ads and counter-ad. Parents nominated their preferred product, then rated the products. Results Exposure to the conventional confectionery ad increased parents’ preference for the advertised product, enhanced perceptions of the product’s healthiness and reduced sugar content and boosted brand attitude. Exposure to the pseudo-healthy confectionery ad increased parents’ preference for the advertised product, and enhanced perceptions of healthiness, fibre content and lower sugar content. The counter-ad diminished, but did not eliminate, product ad effects on parents’ purchasing preference, product perceptions and brand attitudes. The counter-ad also prompted parents to perceive processed foods as less healthy, higher in sugar and lower in fibre and may have increased support for advertising regulation. Conclusions Exposure to unhealthy product advertising promoted favourable perceptions of products and increased preferences for advertised products among parents. Counter-advertising interventions may bolster parents’ resistance to persuasion by unhealthy product advertising and empower parents to more accurately evaluate advertised food products.

Resistance to Persuasion and Memory for Attitude-Congruent and Attitude-Incongruent Information in Political Advertisements

Across three studies, we tested competing hypotheses about how individual differences in social vigilantism and need for cognition relate to levels of attitude change, intentions to resist attitude change, and memory for political advertisements concerning a highly polarized issue. In Experiments 1 and 2, we examined participants’ intentions to use resistance strategies to preserve their pre-existing attitudes about abortion, by either engaging against opposing opinions or disengaging from them. In Experiment 3, we examined participants’ memory for information about both sides of the controversy presented in political advertisements. Our results suggest higher levels of social vigilantism are related to greater intentions to counterargue and better memory for attitude incongruent information. These findings extend our understanding of individual differences in how people process and respond to controversial social and political discourse.