Swann W B, Pelham B W, Chidester T R
Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin 78712.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Feb;54(2):268-73. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.2.268.
Past research has shown that conventional strategies of persuasion tend to be ineffective against people who are highly certain of their beliefs. To change the beliefs of such individuals, we devised a paradoxical strategy that consisted of posing superattitudinal leading questions (questions that encouraged respondents to make statements that were consistent with, but more extreme than, their own viewpoints). We expected that individuals who were high in belief certainty would resist such questions and, therefore, change their beliefs in the opposite direction. To test this reasoning, we used either a conventional or a paradoxical strategy to change people's beliefs about women's roles. As suggested by earlier research, the conventional strategy was effective in changing the beliefs of targets who were low in belief certainty only. In contrast, the paradoxical strategy was effective in changing the beliefs of targets who were high in belief certainty only. A follow-up investigation replicated this effect and indicated that paradoxical injunctions change people's positions on belief dimensions rather than their perception of the dimension itself. The implications of these findings for an understanding of the interpersonal mechanisms that generate stability and change in people's beliefs are discussed.
过去的研究表明，传统的说服策略往往对那些对自己的信念高度确信的人无效。为了改变这类人的信念，我们设计了一种矛盾策略，该策略包括提出超态度引导性问题（即鼓励受访者做出与他们自己观点一致但更为极端的陈述的问题）。我们预计，信念确定性高的个体将会抵制这类问题，从而朝着相反的方向改变他们的信念。为了检验这一推理，我们使用传统策略或矛盾策略来改变人们对女性角色的信念。正如早期研究所表明的，传统策略仅在改变信念确定性低的目标对象的信念时有效。相比之下，矛盾策略仅在改变信念确定性高的目标对象的信念时有效。一项后续调查重复了这一效应，并表明矛盾性指令改变的是人们在信念维度上的立场，而非他们对该维度本身的认知。本文讨论了这些发现对于理解在人们信念中产生稳定性和变化的人际机制的意义。
