THE MODERATING EFFECT OF NEED FOR AFFECT AND COGNITION ON THE RELATION BETWEEN PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION ABOUT LOCKDOWN AND ATTITUDES TOWARD IT

The matching effect in persuasive communication about lockdown

Scientific literature about persuasion has shown that the effectiveness of persuasive communication may depend on the match between the affective or cognitive contents of the message and the affective (Need for Affect) or cognitive (Need for Cognition) orientation of the recipient. The present work aims to contribute to studying this effect by considering the context of health-related communication during the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Specifically, we aim to demonstrate that, when the message is characterized by affective and cognitive contents having the same (congruent message) or different valence (incongruent message), the attitude towards the target (i.e., a new lockdown) will be guided by…

When Affective (But Not Cognitive) Ambivalence Predicts Discrimination Toward a Minority Group

Individuals often hold ambivalent attitudes (i.e., positive and negative attitudes at the same time) toward groups and social categories. The aim of the present research was to examine the differential effects of affective and cognitive dimensions of ambivalence on the (amplification of) responses towards a minority group. We asked 188 students from the University of Perugia to read a short description of a fictitious group of immigrants. After expressing their affective and cognitive attitudes toward the target group, participants received positive, negative, or no supplementary information about this group. Discrimination was assessed by asking participants to allocate to the target group…