Resistance to Persuasion: Inoculation Theory in a Marketing Context

Inoculation techniques from social psychological theory were opplied to a controversial issue in a marketing context. Experimental factors were type of defense, time intervol between defense and attack, and credibility of the attacker. In general, predictions from inoculation theory were confirmed: all defenses conferred resistance to attack; the refutational defense was superior to the direct supporfive defense.