Perceptions of counterarguing and source derogation as attitude resistance techniques

Abstract

People often remotely observe when others resist and reject persuasive messages. Two studies examined participants' perceptions of two strategies, counterarguing and source derogation that people commonly use when resisting persuasive attempts. Additionally, the target resisted a message with which the participants either agreed or disagreed (Studies 1 and 2) and one which contained either strong or weak logic (Study 2). In both studies the strategy of source derogation was evaluated more negatively than counterarguing. Additionally, participants evaluated the target more negatively when he resisted a message with which the participants agreed, even when the target resisted using counterarguing or strong logic. The implications of these different perceptions of attitude resistance techniques is discussed.