The effects of expectancy disconfirmation on depth of message processing and persuasion were investigated in two experiments on personal selling. In Exp. 1, subjects read an apocryphal sales presentation containing various arguments, one of which was either expected or unexpected in terms of claimed product superiority. Textual location of this manipulated claim was at the end of the message. Consistent with O'Brien and Myers' (1985) reprocessing effect, results indicate that expectancy disconfirmation promotes deeper levels of message analysis, accompanied by more accurate aided message recall (recognition). In addition, the extent to which postmessage attitudes rely on persuasive argumentation is shown to be greater in the case of expectancy disconfirmation. Results from Exp. 2, where disconfirming text appeared at the beginning of the persuasive message, also show a significant disconfirmation effect. Although the pattern of postmessage attitudes does not parallel exactly that found in Exp. 1, a disconfirmation effect, independent of reprocessing, is suggested by several associated cognitive measures.
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