“Thinking Hard or Hardly Thinking?” Objective vs Subjective Elaboration and Resistance to Persuasion

Abstract

Attitudes that are formed through extensive elaboration tend to be more resistant to persuasion compared to attitudes based on less elaboration (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). However, the measures researchers use to assess elaboration can vary; for example, a given researcher may use objective measures (e.g., those that capture the actual extent of message-relevant thinking, such as thought listings) or subjective measures (e.g., those that capture self-reported perceptions of elaboration, such as rating scales). Although both approaches are used, the distinction between objective and subjective measures of elaboration is not always explicit, which may be an issue given the unique roles these different types of measures may play within a given research context. The current research sought to examine if objective and subjective elaboration represent distinct constructs that independently or jointly contribute to resistance to persuasion. Study 1 manipulated objective and subjective elaboration separately to test the ability of subjective elaboration to promote persuasive resistance in the absence of objective elaboration; the results showed no clear differences in resistance outcomes based on variation in the different types of elaboration. Study 2, which was similar to Study 1, employed a 2x2 factorial design to fully cross the objective and subjective levels of elaboration to comprehensively examine their main and interactive effects on persuasive resistance. Although subjective elaboration showed marginal effects on the attitude and intention outcomes, they were in the opposite of the predicted direction and no other meaningful effects emerged. Together, these studies do not provide clear evidence for the unique roles that objective and subjective elaboration likely play in resistance to persuasion. Several limitations are noted, such as potentially weak manipulations, as well as possible interventions to improve future studies in this line of research.