Simultaneous versus Exclusive Processing of Persuasive Arguments and Cues.

Two lab experiments tested whether people can engage in simultaneous processing of persuasion arguments and cues. Participants were not situationally predisposed to either systematic or heuristic processing, but rather were placed in a mildly ambiguous context. In Experiment 1 participants (N = 156) read editorials which contained arguments of varying quality attributed to different levels of source likability. In Experiment 2 participants (N = 120) read a product description which contained strong or weak claims on a varying number of attributes. Results of attitude change and cognitive response indicated exclusive processing of arguments and no support for the simultaneous processing hypothesis.

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