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Related Experiment Videos

Change through paradox: using self-verification to alter beliefs.

W B Swann1, B W Pelham, T R Chidester

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin 78712.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|February 1, 1988
PubMed
Summary

Conventional persuasion fails with certain beliefs. A paradoxical strategy, using superattitudinal questions, effectively shifts extreme viewpoints by encouraging more extreme statements, unlike traditional methods.

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Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Attitude Change
  • Belief Systems

Background:

  • Conventional persuasion is often ineffective for individuals with high belief certainty.
  • Understanding belief stability and change is crucial in social psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate a novel paradoxical persuasion strategy for individuals with high belief certainty.
  • To compare the effectiveness of conventional versus paradoxical strategies in belief change.

Main Methods:

  • A paradoxical strategy using superattitudinal leading questions was devised.
  • Participants' beliefs about women's roles were targeted using either conventional or paradoxical methods.
  • A follow-up study examined the mechanism of belief change.

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Main Results:

  • Conventional strategies effectively changed beliefs only in individuals with low certainty.
  • The paradoxical strategy effectively changed beliefs only in individuals with high certainty.
  • Paradoxical injunctions alter positions on belief dimensions, not the perception of the dimension itself.

Conclusions:

  • A paradoxical persuasion strategy is effective for changing the beliefs of highly certain individuals.
  • This research offers insights into interpersonal mechanisms driving belief stability and change.
  • Findings have implications for understanding resistance and openness to attitude modification.