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Attitudinal Responses To Mixed Evidence: The Role Of Attitude Extremity And Political Ideology In Effecting Change Versus Resistance, Jessica Barber
Attitudinal Responses To Mixed Evidence: The Role Of Attitude Extremity And Political Ideology In Effecting Change Versus Resistance, Jessica Barber
Theses and Dissertations
Four studies investigated the effects of attitude extremity and political ideology on the degree and direction of changes in issue attitudes following the presentation of mixed evidence. Based upon previous work, it was predicted that those holding relatively more extreme attitudes would resist changing those views when presented with a mixture of supporting and opposing statements and would potentially adopt more extreme evaluative positions – a phenomenon known as attitude polarization (Lord, Ross, & Lepper, 1979). Evaluative entrenchment or intensification was also expected among more politically conservative participants, based upon prior work describing cognitive rigidity and resistance to change as …