Motivated Reflection on Attitude-Inconsistent Information: An Exploration of the Role of Fear of Invalidity in Self-Persuasion

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2013

Abstract

The mere thought effect is defined in part by the tendency of self-reflective thought to heighten the generation of and reflection on attitude-consistent thoughts. By focusing on individuals' fears of invalidity, we explored the possibility that the mere opportunity for thought sometimes motivates reflection on attitude-inconsistent thoughts. Across three experiments, dispositional and situational fear of invalidity was shown to heighten reflection on attitude-inconsistent thoughts. This heightened reflection, in turn, interacted with individuals' thought confidence to determine whether attitude-inconsistent thoughts were assimilated or refuted and consequently whether individuals' attitudes and behavioral intentions depolarized or polarized following a sufficient opportunity for thought, respectively. These findings emphasize the impact of motivational influences on thought reflection and generation, the importance of thought confidence in the assimilation and refutation of self-generated thought, and the dynamic means by which the mere thought bias can impact self-persuasion. © 2013 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Publication Title

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Volume

39

Issue

12

First Page

1559

Last Page

1570

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1177/0146167213497983

PubMed ID

23907332

ISSN

01461672

E-ISSN

15527433

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