PS270 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Mind Control, Peer Pressure
Document Summary
To understand an assertion is to believe it, at least temporarily, until one actively undoes the initial, automatic acceptance. If a distracting event prevents the undoing, the acceptance lingers. You can resist persuasion by making a public commitment to your position. One way to stimulate people to commit themselves is to mildy attack their position. Mild attack strong enough to cause reaction but not so strong as to overwhelm them causes them to defend behaviours more. Another reason a mild attack might build resistance is that even weak arguments will prompt counterarguments, which are then available for stronger attack. Combines a poison (strong counter arguments) with a parasite (retrieval cues that bring those arguments to mind when seeing the opponent"s ads) A way to bring counter arguments to mind in response to an opponent"s ads. These students were half as likely to smoke as uninoculated students at another high school w identical parental smoking rate.
