Two experiments were conducted to examine the impact of attitude accessibility on elaboration of persuasive appeals. In Experiment 1, the accessibility of attitudes toward nuclear power was measured using response latencies. Participants were then presented with a persuasive message that contained either strong or weak arguments against the use of nuclear power. Argument quality had a greater impact on persuasion when attitudes were high in accessibility than when they were low in accessibility. In Experiment 2, the accessibility of attitudes toward vegetarianism was experimentally manipulated by varying the number of times participants expressed their attitudes toward vegetarianism. Participants then read a pro-vegetarianism persuasive message that contained either strong or weak arguments. Again, argument quality had a greater impact on persuasion when accessibility was high than when it was low. Taken together, both experiments suggest that increased message topic attitude accessibility leads to enhanced elaboration of persuasive messages on those topics.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, J. R. (1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2.
Bassili, J. N. (1993). Response latency versus certainty as indices of the strength of voting intentions in a CATI survey. Public Opinion Quarterly, 57, 54-61.
3.
Bassili, J. N. (1995). Response latency and the accessibility of voting intentions: What contributes to accessibility and how it affects vote choice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 686-695.
4.
Bassili, J. N. (1996). Metajudgmental versus operative indexes of psychological attributes: The case of measures of attitude strength. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 637-653.
5.
Bassili, J. N. , & Fletcher, J. F. (1991). Response-time measurement in survey research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 55, 331-346.
6.
Berger, I. E. , & Mitchell, A. A. (1989). The effect of advertising on attitude accessibility, attitude confidence, and the attitude-behavior relationship. Journal of Consumer Research, 16, 269-279.
7.
Blascovich, J. , Ernst, J. M., Tomaka, J., Kelsey, R. M., Salomon, K. L., & Fazio, R. H. (1993). Attitude accessibility as a moderator of autonomic reactivity during decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 165-176.
8.
Brauer, M. , Judd, C. M., & Gliner, M. D. (1995). The effects of repeated expressions on attitude polarization during group discussions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 1014-1029.
9.
Cacioppo, J. T. , & Petty, R. E. (1979). Effects of message repetition and position on cognitive responses, recall, and persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 97-109.
10.
Celsi, R. L. , & Olson, J. C. (1988). The role of involvement in attention and comprehension processes. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 210-224.
11.
Chaiken, S. (1987). The heuristic model of persuasion. In M. P. Zanna, J. M. Olson, & C. P. Herman (Eds.), Social influence: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 5). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
Chaiken, S. , Liberman, A., & Eagly, A. H. (1989). Heuristic and systematic information processing within and beyond the persuasion context. In J. S. Uleman &J. A. Bargh (Eds.), Unintended thought. New York: Guilford.
13.
Chaiken, S. , & Maheswaran, D. (1994). Heuristic processing can bias systematic processing: Effects of source credibility, argument ambiguity, and task importance on attitude judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 460-473.
14.
Downing, J. W. , Judd, C. M., & Brauer, M. (1992). Effects of repeated expressions on attitude extremity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 17-29.
15.
Fazio, R. H. (1986). How do attitudes guide behavior? In R. M. Sorrentino & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior. New York: Guilford.
16.
Fazio, R. H. (1989). On the power and functionality of attitudes: The role of attitude accessibility. In A. R. Pratkanis, S. J. Breckler, & A. G. Greenwald (Eds.), Attitude structure and function. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
17.
Fazio, R. H. (1990). A practical guide to the use of response latency in social psychological research. In C. Hendrick & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 11). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
18.
Fazio, R. H. (1992, January). On the value of knowing one's likes and dislikes. Paper presented at the Social Psychology Winter Conference, Park City, UT.
19.
Fazio, R. H. (1995). Attitudes as object-evaluation associations: Determinants, consequences, and correlates of attitude accessibility. In R. E. Petty &J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
20.
Fazio, R. H. , Blascovich, J., & Driscoll, D. M. (1992). On the functional value of attitudes: The influence of accessible attitudes upon ease and quality of decision making. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 388-401.
21.
Fazio, R. H. , Chen, J., McDonel, E. C., & Sherman, S. J. (1982). Attitude accessibility, attitude-behavior consistency, and the strength of the object-evaluation association. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 18, 339-357.
22.
Fazio, R. H. , Powell, M. C., & Williams, C. J. (1989). The role of attitude accessibility in the attitude-to-behavior process. Journal of Consumer Research, 16, 280-288.
23.
Fazio, R. H. , & Williams, C. J. (1986). Attitude accessibility as a moderator of attitude-perception and attitude-behavior relations: An investigation of the 1984 presidential election. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 505-514.
24.
Grant, M. J. , Button, C. M., & Noseworthy, J. (1994). Predicting attitude stability. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 26, 68-84.
25.
Haugtvedt, C. P. , & Wegener, D. T. (1994). Message order effects in persuasion: An attitude strength perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 205-218.
26.
Herzog, H. A., Jr. (1993). "The movement is my life": The psychology of animal rights activism. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 103-119.
27.
Hodges, S. D. , & Wilson, T. D. (1994). Effects of analyzing reasons on attitude change: The moderating role of attitude accessibility. Social Cognition, 11, 353-366.
28.
Houston, D. A. , & Fazio, R. H. (1989). Biased processing as a function of attitude accessibility. Social Cognition, 7, 51-66.
29.
Howard-Pitney, B. , Borgida, E., & Omoto, A. M. (1986). Personal involvement: An examination of processing differences. Social Cognition, 4, 39-57.
30.
Jamieson, D. W. , & Zanna, M. P. (1989). Need for structure in attitude formation and expression. In A. R. Pratkanis, S. J. Breckler, & A. G. Greenwald (Eds.), Attitude structure and function (pp. 383-406). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
31.
Judd, C. M. , & Brauer, M. (1995). Repetition and evaluative extremity. In R. E. Petty &J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
32.
Krosnick, J. A. (1989). Attitude importance and attitude accessibility. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15, 297-308.
33.
Krosnick, J. A. , Boninger, D. S., Chuang, Y. C., Berent, M. K., & Carnot, C. G. (1993). Attitude strength: One construct or many related constructs? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1132-1151.
34.
Krosnick, J. A. , & Petty, R. E. (1995). Attitude strength: An overview. In R. E. Petty &J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
35.
McQuarrie, E. F. , & Munson, J. M. (1992). A revised product involvement inventory: Improved usability and validity. Advances in Consumer Research, 19, 108-115.
36.
Petty, R. E. , & Cacioppo, J. T. (1979). Issue-involvement can increase or decrease persuasion by enhancing message-relevant cognitive responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1915-1926.
37.
Petty, R. E. , & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981). Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown.
38.
Petty, R. E. , & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986a). The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 19). New York: Academic Press.
39.
Petty, R. E. , & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986b). Communication and persuasion: Central and peripheral routes to attitude change. New York: Springer-Verlag.
40.
Petty, R. E. , & Cacioppo, J. T. (1990). Involvement and persuasion: Tradition versus integration. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 367-374.
41.
Petty, R. E. , Cacioppo, J. T., & Goldman, R. (1981). Personal involvement as a determinant of argument-based persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 847-855.
42.
Petty, R. E. , Haugtvedt, C. P., & Rennier, G. A. (1995). Elaboration as a determinant of attitude accessibility. Unpublished manuscript, Ohio State University, Columbus.
43.
Petty, R. E. , Haugtvedt, C. P., & Smith, S. M. (1995). Elaboration as a determinant of attitude strength: Creating attitudes that are persistent, resistant, and predictive of behavior. In R. E. Petty & J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
44.
Petty, R. E. , & Krosnick, J. A. (Eds.). (1995). Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
45.
Petty, R. E. , Priester, J. R., & Wegener, D. T. (1994). Cognitive processes in attitude change. In R. S. Wyer & T. K. Srull (Eds.), Handbook of social cognition (Vol. 2). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
46.
Petty, R. E. , Wegener, D. T., Fabrigar, L. R., Priester, J. R., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1993). Conceptual and methodological issues in the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion: A reply to the Michigan State critics. Communication Theory, 3, 336-362.
47.
Petty, R. E. , Wells, G. L., & Brock, T. C. (1976). Distraction can enhance or reduce yielding to propaganda: Thought disruption versus effort justification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 874-884.
48.
Richins, M. L. , Bloch, P. H., & McQuarrie, E. F. (1992). How enduring and situational involvement combine to create involvement responses. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1, 143-153.
49.
Roese, N. J. , & Olson, J. M. (1994). Attitude importance as a function of repeated attitude expression. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 39-51.
50.
Roskos-Ewoldsen, D. R. , & Fazio, R. H. (1992a). The accessibility of source likability as a determinant of persuasion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 19-25.
51.
Roskos-Ewoldsen, D. R. , & Fazio, R. H. (1992b). On the orienting value of attitudes: Attitude accessibility as a determinant of an object's attraction of visual attention. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 198-211.
52.
Sanbonmatsu, D. M. , & Fazio, R. H. (1990). The role of attitudes in memory-based decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 614-622.
53.
Schuette, R. A. , & Fazio, R. H. (1995). Attitude accessibility and motivation as determinants of biased processing: A test of the MODE model. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 704-710.
54.
Wegener, D. T. , Downing, J., Krosnick, J. A., & Petty, R. E. (1995). Measures and manipulations of strength-related properties of attitudes: Current practice and future directions. In R. E. Petty &J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
55.
Wegener, D. T. , Petty, R. E., & Smith, S. M. (1995). Positive mood can increase or decrease message scrutiny: The hedonic contingency view of mood and message processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 5-15.
56.
White, P. H. , & Harkins, S. G. (1994). Race of source effects in the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 790-807.
57.
Wood, W. (1982). The retrieval of attitude-relevant information from memory: Effects on susceptibility to persuasion and intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 798-810.
58.
Wood, W. , & Kallgren, C. A., III. (1988). Communicator attributes and persuasion: A function of access to attitude-relevant information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14, 172-182.
59.
Wood, W. , Kallgren, C. A., III., & Preisler, R. M. (1985). Access to attitude-relevant information in memory as a determinant of persuasion: The role of message attributes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 21, 73-85.
60.
Wood, W. , Rhodes, N., & Biek, M. (1995). Working knowledge and attitude strength: An information processing analysis. In R. E. Petty & J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
61.
Zaichkowsky, J. L. (1985). Measuring the involvement construct. Journal of Consumer Research, 12, 341-352.
