Author : Stephanie J Tobin
Release : 2004
Genre : Confidence
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Causal Uncertainty and Persuasion by : Stephanie J Tobin

Download or read book Causal Uncertainty and Persuasion written by Stephanie J Tobin. This book was released on 2004. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: People who think it is important to understand why events occur in the social world, but who doubt their own abilities in this domain, have a heightened need for causal understanding. In three studies, I examined how these individuals accepted the explanations of others in an attempt to improve their understanding of the social world. In Study 1, participants read a persuasive message from a high or low credibility source that contained causal or non-causal arguments against gambling. Findings revealed that participants high in both causal uncertainty (CU) and causal importance were more confident in, and more persuaded by causal vs. non-causal arguments from a high credibility source. Studies 2 and 3 examined the degree to which these individuals scrutinized arguments from a high credibility source by varying the strength of gambling's consequences (Study 2) and the explanations offered for these consequences (Study 3). Findings revealed that high CU/high importance participants were more persuaded by causal vs. non-causal arguments only when both the consequences and explanations were strong, and only when participants initially were against the position advocated in the message. Mediational analyses in Studies 2 and 3 showed that this effect was due to participants' cognitive and metacognitive responses to the message. Participants' thoughts, beliefs, and explanations predicted attitudes only when they were weighted by their reported confidence level. These findings indicate that high CU/high importance participants process causal arguments carefully, and only accept those that they can hold with confidence. Results are discussed in terms of extensions to work on causal explanations, confidence, and matching effects in persuasion, as well as the causal uncertainty model.