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The benefits of generative AI tools come with the risk of misleading users and radicalizing existing societal biases. This study examined the effects of inoculation treatment on users' attitudes and behaviors by testing a misinformation inoculation model. Based on inoculation theory, it discusses the cognitive mechanisms underpinning the effects of inoculation messages presented by AI chatbots by addressing how users construe inoculation messages and how they influence users' resistance against misinformation. This study renders theoretical rationales and empirical evidence for cognitive immunity by clarifying how the theory can be extended to misinformation and how the framework can be practically implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study details the development and results of an information literacy game in which undergraduate students evaluated fictional sources to learn how to recognize a werewolf on campus. The game relied on inoculation theory and fiction to teach students to identify indicators of mis and disinformation outside of any real-world examples that might affect their learning experience. The game showed promise as students were far more engaged and demonstrated better retention later in the semester than students who received a more traditional lecture about disinformation and source evaluation. However, the game would likely be more effective if it were expanded beyond the one-shot model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misinformation about mRNA vaccination is a barrier in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, authorities often rely on text-based refutations as a countermeasure. In two experiments (N = 2,444), text-based refutations effectively reduced the belief in misinformation and immunized participants against the impact of a misleading social media post. However, a follow-up (N = 817) questions the longevity of these debunking and prebunking effects. Moreover, the studies reveal potential pitfalls by showing a row of unintended effects of the refutations (lacking effect on intentions, backfire-effects among religious groups, and biased judgments when omitting information about vaccine side effects). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online experiment among a nationally representative YouGov sample of unvaccinated U.S. adults (N = 540) leverages inoculation theory as a preliminary step in uniting the prebunking and debunking literature. By testing how prior attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines interact with varying message interventions, the study finds that specific inoculation messages protect against misinformation, but only among those with preexisting healthy attitudes. Generic inoculation messages have wider application, offering both prophylactic and therapeutic benefits. However, the therapeutic benefits of generic inoculations disappear when debunking messages are present. Nonetheless, generic inoculations do not appear to have detrimental effects on those infected with unhealthy attitudes, unlike specific inoculation messages. Whether the messages are truly a form of inoculation by generating threat merits further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustained attention has been devoted to studying the factors that support (or thwart) individuals' enjoyment of, interest in, and value judgments regarding their exercise activities. We employed a resistance-inducing (i.e., inoculation theory) messaging technique with the aim of protecting these desirable perceptions in the face of environmental conditions designed to undermine one's positive exercise experiences. Autonomously motivated exercisers (N = 146, Mage = 20.57, SD = 4.02) performed a 25-min, group-based, instructor-led exercise circuit, in which the activities were deliberately monotonous, and during which the confederate instructor acted in a disinterested, unsupportive, and critical manner. Shortly before the session, participants received either a control message containing general information about the exercise class or an inoculation message containing a forewarning about potential challenges to participants' enjoyment/interest/value perceptions during the class, as well as information about how participants might maintain positive perceptions in the face of these challenges. Despite there being no between-conditions differences in presession mood or general exercise motives, inoculated (relative to control) participants reported greater interest/enjoyment in the exercise session and higher perceptions of need support from the instructor. Perceptions of need support mediated the relationship between message condition and interest/enjoyment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effectiveness of inoculation and self-affirmation interventions in neutralizing effects of health misinformation. Women (N =854) recruited via Prolific were randomly assigned to self-affirm (or not) and read an inoculation (versus control) message detailing five common attributes of misinformation. All participants read an article with misinformation about breast cancer screening and reported their reactions to the article. The inoculation (vs control) message reduced the negative effects of misinformation, as assessed by resistance-related measures, attitudes, and intentions. Experimentally induced self-affirmation did not show protective effects against misinformation, but the inoculation intervention was stronger among participants higher in self-reported spontaneous self-affirmation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which analyzes health communication on the subject of immunization on the children's television (TV) program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Topics discussed include the inoculation theory of resistance observed in the rhetorical framing of the show, the recognition earned by the program in the field of children's entertainment, and the episode which addressed the health impact of immunization.

The objective was to test whether precrisis inoculation‐stimulated conversations can positively impact key beliefs vital to the prosperity of a nation following an act of terrorism. The experiment introduced a precrisis inoculation message about the Department of Homeland Security prior to a simulated crisis portraying the downing of an aircraft. Results affirmed: that, compared to individuals in the control condition, inoculated individuals were less likely to believe that past failures of acts of terrorism resulted from terrorist incompetence; inoculated individuals indicated greater belief that the politically motivated acts of violence will not limit their future opportunities; and that interpersonal talk about such acts and the government's ability to effectively handle them were inversely associated with the likelihood of postponing air travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation explored three issues relevant to inoculation theory's function. First, the stamina of inoculation-generated resistance was examined at 2-, 4-, and 6-week time intervals between treatment and persuasive attack. Second, inoculation and attack messages as booster treatments were compared. Finally, this study tested the ability of inoculation-generated resistance to withstand three persuasive attacks. Results from a 230-participant five-phase experiment indicate erosion of generated resistance with a longer time delay. However, booster treatments in the form of a second inoculation message demonstrate potential to lengthen the inoculation effect. In addition, generated resistance remained after three persuasive attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined the efficacy of inoculation as a strategy to mitigate psychological reactance based on the level of threat communicated in the forewarning and subsequent persuasive health appeal. Two 2 (inoculation) × 2 (freedom-threatening language) experiments were conducted. The first (N = 181) used elaborated inoculation designed to enhance the threat of impending reactance to a message advocating for responsible alcohol consumption. The second (N = 159) used limited inoculation designed to minimize the threat of impending reactance to a message advocating for responsible soft drink consumption. Results showed that elaborated inoculation increased reactance, whereas limited inoculation decreased reactance but only when the subsequent appeal used less freedom-threatening language. These findings suggest that inoculation has the potential to facilitate or buffer reactance depending on the level of threat communicated in inoculation forewarnings and in subsequent persuasive health appeals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study questions the traditional conceptualization of the threat component of inoculation and compares it to an alternative operationalization that was hypothesized to better capture the psychological function of threat according to inoculation theory, focusing less on an apprehensive response in favor of how inoculation treatments cognitively function to motivate resistance. Two measures of threat were contrasted by examining resistance to 9/11 Truth conspiracy propaganda. The results revealed motivational threat was conceptually distinct from the traditional threat measure, better predicted by inoculation treatments, less related to fear, more predictive of resistance to attitude change, and more supportive of inoculation theory when mediating the relationship between inoculation and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothesis of metal defense as a substitute for a defective biotic stress signaling system in metal hyperaccumulators was tested using the pathosystem Alternaria brassicicola-Noccaea caerulescens under low (2 µ M), medium (12 µ M) and high (102 µ M) Zn supply. Regardless the Zn supply, N. caerulescens responded to fungal attack with the activation of both HMA4 coding for a Zn transporter, and biotic stress signaling pathways. Salicylate, jasmonate, abscisic acid and indoleacetic acid concentrations, as well as biotic stress marker genes (PDF1.2, CHIB, LOX2, PR1 and BGL2) were activated 24 h upon inoculation. Based on the activation of defense genes 24 h after the inoculation an incompatible fungal-plant interaction could be predicted. Nonetheless, in the longer term (7 days) no effective protection against A. brassicicola was achieved in plants exposed to low and medium Zn supply. After 1 week the biotic stress markers were even further increased in these plants, and this compatible interaction was apparently not caused by a failure in the signaling of the fungal attack, but due to the lack of specificity in the type of the activated defense mechanisms. Only plants receiving high Zn exhibited an incompatible fungal interaction. High Zn accumulation in these plants, possibly in cooperation with high glucosinolate concentrations, substituted for the ineffective defense system and the interaction turned into incompatible. In a threshold-type response, these joint effects efficiently hampered fungal spread and, consequently decreased the biotic stress signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that—among individuals who hold an attitude toward a topic—inoculation messages can help promote resistance to counterattitudinal attacks. Yet, the utility of inoculation theory for communication campaigns may ultimately depend upon the effects inoculation messages have on individuals who are initially opposed or neutral regarding the topic. A three-phase experiment (N = 282) was conducted to examine the effects of inoculation and supportive messages among individuals with neutral and opposing attitudes. The results revealed that, compared to the control groups, inoculation and supportive messages moved neutral and opposing attitudes in the message-advocated direction. Moreover, inoculation and supportive messages protected these attitudinal gains from attack-message-induced slippage. Since inoculation messages outperformed supportive messages, inoculation has potential utility for communication campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This investigation tested the effectiveness of inoculation as a pre-crisis strategy in combating the effects of politically motivated violent acts. A four-phase experiment was conducted involving 355 national consumer panel participants. The findings indicate that inoculation can be an effective pre-crisis message strategy as it was successful in enhancing public beliefs in the ability of government agencies to prevent, and minimize the effects of, violent acts. This strategy also created a ‘blanket of protection’ that extended beyond the focal politically motivated attack event as it enhanced the confidence in government agencies to manage national crises in general. Inoculation was also effective in lowering the intensity of experienced fear evoked by the threat of violent attacks and it enhanced the ability of individuals to cope with the aftermath of a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social networks are collaboration of individual entities where propagation of information, disease or ideas could take place because of the interaction between the entities. In such type of networks, it is often observed that propagation starts from a few unknown nodes and spreads through the whole network. However, propagation of a malicious information or a disease is often not desired and tried to be restricted to as few nodes as possible, using some external interventions. Inoculation is one such strategy, where few nodes are barred from further communication in order to restrict the spread. Such inoculations are costly, as they could require actions such as vaccination or disruption of normal operation of a node. Hence, we have minimization objective on both the parameters the final number of affected nodes and the number of inoculations. For such purpose, centrality measures, that rank the nodes according to some importance, are often used in identifying the nodes to be inoculated. Such measures mostly require the topology of the whole network in order to compute the centrality of the nodes. We propose a new centrality measure that requires information only on the neighboring nodes and can work in a distributed fashion depending upon the local information, but can also be used in centralized global inoculations. We empirically show that the centrality outperforms the existing ones in minimizing the spread in both the strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on peace which can be achieved by means of culture and art and literature are ingredients of such programs. Topics discussed include culture and art can be seen as a form of inoculation against wrongdoings, scholar Patrick Leigh Fermor is one of those who have present art as inoculation, reasons to believe that Italian language in music schools are lessons in making Italian-sounding noises and Leigh Fermor does not interact with his English comrades despite sharing customs.

Although the effectiveness of inoculation as a strategy for promoting resistance to attitude change is fairly well established, the potential of inoculation messages to offer cross-protection for related, but untreated, attitudes warrants additional attention from scholars. The reported study tested the “blanket of protection” conferred by inoculation. Participants (N = 118) were randomly assigned to read an inoculation message addressing a target topic and subsequently had their attitudes toward three related, but untreated, topics attacked. The results offer some evidence that inoculation messages can confer cross-protection for related attitudes. Participants in the inoculation condition reported greater perceptions of threat, greater counterarguing, and less attitude change in response to attacks than participants in the control condition for two of the three untreated topics. Counterarguing in response to attacks on untreated attitudes appears to be primarily responsible for cross-protection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article combines insights from competitive framing and persuasion research by comparing the impact of inoculation and narrative messages on support for policies designed to reduce obesity, cigarette use, and prescription painkiller addiction. A two-wave randomized experiment ( n = 5,007 at time 1, t1, n = 3,901 at time 2, t2) tests whether inoculation and/or narrative messages offset the impact of industry anti-policy messages delivered both concurrently (t1) and with a 1 week delay (t2). We find that narrative messages outperformed inoculation messages at t1, although both increased support for health policy relative to the control group. At t2, the inoculation message provided resistance to the persuasive industry anti-policy message, whereas narrative message effects decayed but remained significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation examined the possibility of decreasing psychological reactance to health campaigns through the use of inoculation messages. It was hypothesized that an inoculation message, which forewarned of the potential of subsequent reactance, would decrease participants’ likelihood of reacting negatively to a freedom-threatening message aimed to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. Participants (N= 275) who were inoculated against potential reactance felt less threatened and experienced less reactance compared to those who did not read an inoculation message. Structural equation modeling showed that inoculation indirectly predicted lower intention to drink alcohol via the theorized mediated reactance process. This research suggests that it is possible to inoculate against self-generated cognitions that might otherwise lead toward negative health behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For much of inoculation theory's 50-year history, research has focused on intrapersonal processes of resistance such as threat and subvocal counterarguing. More recently, attention has shifted to interpersonal processes of inoculation-conferred resistance, specifically, postinoculation talk (PIT). This study examined the substance of PIT, and how people may talk to one another for reassurance and advocacy following an inoculation. Findings indicate advocacy attempts were significantly greater within the inoculation condition. Those inoculated were more likely to a) pass along material included in the inoculation treatment, b) share issue-relevant novel material, c) talk about topics related to the target issue, and d) be challenged by conversational partners when attempting advocacy. Results help explain what inoculated individuals talk about following an inoculation treatment, and how PIT may spread the process of resistance along social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed increased scholarly attention to the competitive and dynamic nature of message framing in shaping public opinion. The current study extends our understanding of competitive framing in the context of public opinion about taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) using insights from communication research on inoculation theory. We report on a two-wave longitudinal framing experiment (N = 3,118), testing effects of eight different experimental conditions, to examine the impact of exposure to several combinations of pro-tax frames, anti-tax frames, and inoculation as a counterframing strategy, relative to a no-exposure control group. Respondents exposed to an inoculation message that illuminated source motives and preemptively refuted soda company arguments elicited more favorable opinions of SSB taxes immediately after exposure compared with those not exposed to any message. Immediate effects of the inoculation message on policy opinions occurred via two complementary psychological mechanisms: a persuasion effect via changes in beliefs about soda companies (the source of the attitudinal threat described in the inoculation message) and an applicability effect via changes in the salience of beliefs about soda companies in shaping tax support. Inoculation did not, however, produce sustained resistance to subsequent strong anti-tax frame exposure in an asymmetric competitive framing context. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research for future work on competitive framing in a US policy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examine the proactive crisis communication strategy of inoculation. [•] We analyze the role of preexisting identification with the criticized company. [•] Results show that disidentifiers’ attitudes are protected by inoculation. [•] Identifiers’ attitudes are not further protected by inoculation. [•] We challenge the notion that inoculation works best in a supportive environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation examined the boundaries of inoculation theory by examining how inoculation can be applied to conspiracy theory propaganda as well as inoculation itself (called metainoculation). A 3-phase experiment with 312 participants compared 3 main groups: no-treatment control, inoculation, and metainoculation. Research questions explored how inoculation and metainoculation effects differ based on the argument structure of inoculation messages (fact- vs. logic-based). The attack message was a 40-minute chapter from the 9/11 Truth conspiracy theory film, Loose Change: Final Cut. The results indicated that both the inoculation treatments induced more resistance than the control message, with the fact-based treatment being the most effective. The results also revealed that metainoculation treatments reduced the efficacy of the inoculation treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy of inoculation theory has been confirmed by decades of empirical research, yet optimizing its effectiveness remains a vibrant line of investigation. The present research turns to psychological reactance theory for a means of enhancing the core mechanisms of inoculation-threat and refutational preemption. Findings from a multisite study indicate reactance enhances key resistance outcomes, including: threat, anger at attack message source, negative cognitions, negative affect, anticipated threat to freedom, anticipated attack message source derogation, perceived threat to freedom, perceived attack message source derogation, and counterarguing. Most importantly, reactance-enhanced inoculations result in lesser attitude change-the ultimate measure of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Without improved water resource management, it is predicted that water shortages will affect two-thirds of humanity by 2025. One solution that has traditionally faced fierce public resistance is recycled waste water. This study investigates the extent to which public communication strategies can influence community acceptance of recycled water, using the framework of Inoculation Theory. A four-phase experimental design was conducted. Participants completed an initial questionnaire and were then randomly assigned to a control group, a manipulation check group or a treatment group. A final follow-up survey measured changes in the dependent variable: stated likelihood of using recycled water for different uses. Results indicate that communication strategies based on Inoculation Theory are limited in their effectiveness for this product category. Findings do, however, identify a clear recency effect, indicating that continuous public communications are key to ensuring that community scare campaigns do not prevent implementation of water augmentation projects. This study differs from previous applications of Inoculation Theory because of the challenges associated with marketing a monopoly commodity, which is a necessity to support life. This empirical study uses fictional marketing stimuli to test the theory in a context, which is growing in global importance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, potential benefits of early memory testing were examined in terms of "inoculating" eyewitness memory against forgetting. As predicted by fuzzy trace theory (e.g., Reyna & Titcomb, 1997), a larger testing advantage in the delayed recall of event details was expected after immediate testing than after delayed testing because of the decline in accessibility of verbatim traces over time. However, memory for only the gist of these details was expected to be relatively stable over time, resulting in a smaller (if any) effect of the timing of interpolated testing. After viewing a target event, participants were questioned about event items immediately, after a 24-hr delay, or after a 48-hr delay and were free to respond at either the gist or the verbatim level. Verbatim memory for event details was tested 72 hr after the event. As expected, immediate interpolated testing improved verbatim memory performance on the final test more than delayed testing did, yielding a larger testing effect. Furthermore, the effect of the timing of interpolated testing on the magnitude of the testing effect was mediated by verbatim accessibility at interpolated testing. In contrast, memory for only the gist of event details was unaffected by the timing of interpolated testing, both on the interpolated test and on the final test. The findings highlight the role of declining verbatim memory over time in accounting for the advantage of immediate over delayed interpolated testing in inoculating eyewitness memory against forgetting of detailed information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary inoculation scholarship has focused on the process of resistance to persuasion, and recently begun to examine various incidental effects that may accompany inoculation treatments. This study considers how talk fits within both of these areas, not only as a byproduct of inoculation, but also as a potentially important contributor to the process of resistance. Results indicate inoculation not only enhances talk about the target issue, but such talk appears to bolsters resistance to subsequent counterattitudinal messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological resilience appears to provide a degree of inoculation against some of the most difficult mental health issues currently plaguing the U.S. military. However, the mechanisms which fuel resilience are relatively unexplored This study explored the hypothesis that perceived psychological resilience mediates the relationship between various sport- related psychological skills and indicators of PTSD. The sample was 351 Stryker Brigade soldiers who had at least one previous combat deployment. Results showed that perceived psychological resilience fully mediates the relationship between three sport-related psychological skill factors and indicators of PTSD. These results suggest that sport-related psychological skills may play a role in the development of perceived psychological resilience, which in turn, influences PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threat plays a pivotal role in many theoretical explanations for how inoculation confers resistance, but some empirical data raise questions about threat's role in inoculation. Our study explores some of the unresolved dimensions of threat in inoculation theory. Results indicate that an explicit forewarning included in an inoculation treatment message generates threat, as does the presence of counterarguments and their refutations. Follow-up tests suggest that the forewarning component may be most responsible for generated threat in inoculation, and that a prompt to consider experienced threat may lead to enhanced resistance to subsequent attack messages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the use of inoculation theory in emergency training for underground coal miners. It states the theory can be used to help people react quickly and effectively to emergencies by preparing their responses in advance. It reports on the use of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) training module to demonstrate how the theory may be applied in a training context to prepare workers psychologically for emergencies in underground coal mines.

Individuals’ choice to pursue one academic or professional path over another may feel like a free choice but is often constrained by subtle cues in achievement environments that signal who naturally belongs there and who does not. People gravitate toward achievement domains that feel like a comfortable fit because they are in sync with ingroup stereotypes and away from other domains that feel like an uncomfortable fit because they deviate too far from ingroup stereotypes. Even individuals who are high performers may lack confidence in their ability and withdraw from certain achievement domains—performance and self-efficacy do not always go hand in hand. What factors might release these constraints and enhance individuals’ freedom to pursue academic and professional paths despite stereotypes to the contrary? The present article addresses this question using a new theoretical lens—the stereotype inoculation model—that reveals how ingroup members (experts and peers in high-achievement settings) function as “social vaccines” who increase social belonging and inoculate fellow group members’ self-concept against stereotypes. The model integrates insights from several literatures in social psychology and organizational behavior to articulate predictions accompanied by supporting evidence about when ingroup experts and peers serve as social vaccines and the underlying psychological mechanisms. The article concludes by identifying directions for future research, possible interventions, and policy implications of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented in which the author responds on several commentaries regarding the stereotype inoculation model she proposed in her study in this issue. It identifies common themes in the commentaries such as the link of the model to related theories and evidence, and uses these themes to expand the proposed model. It also addresses concerns regarding the model's boundary conditions, the relation between self-concept and performance, and effects of ingroup identification.

The authors discuss some of the premises underlying the stereotype inoculation model (SIM) proposed by Nilanjana Dasgupta and its relation to research on ingroup role models. The authors argue whether SIM provides a new theoretical lens and on the treatment of ingroup peers and experts as two social vaccines that can increase women's sense of belonging and self-concept in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They also note the link between self-efficacy and performance.

The authors discuss the study by Nilanjana Dasgupta which presented the stereotype inoculation model (SIM) to explain subtle cues that could impede individual's career choices. The authors cite the five hypotheses regarding the effects of exposure to ingroup experts and peers in a high achievement context on career choices and subsequent success, particularly in women. The authors note the importance of establishing boundary conditions to SIM and understanding how SIM relates to stereotypes.

The authors discuss several theoretical perspectives which they consider to inform and strengthen the argument of Nilanjana Dasgupta and colleagues in their article on the role of ingroup members to the self -concepts development of stigmatized group members. They say that the outcomes of stereotype inoculation model are consistent with self-categorization theory which is related to social identity theory. They add that social comparison theory outcomes might be demoralizing to other people.

In his now-classic research on inoculation theory, ) demonstrated that exposing people to an initial weak counterattitudinal message could lead to enhanced resistance to a subsequent stronger counterattitudinal message. More recently, research on the valence-framing effect () demonstrated an alternative way to make attitudes more resistant. Simply framing a person's attitude negatively (i.e., in terms of a rejected position such as anti-Democrat) led to more resistance to an attack on that attitude than did framing the same attitude positively (i.e., in terms of a preferred position such as pro-Republican). Using an election context, the current research tested whether valence framing influences attitude resistance specifically or attitude strength more generally, providing insight into the effect's mechanism and generalizability. In two experiments, attitude valence was manipulated by framing a position either negatively or positively. Experiment 1 showed that negatively framed attitudes were held with more certainty than were positively framed attitudes. In Experiment 2, conducted among a representative sample of residents of two U.S. states during political campaigns, negatively framed attitudes demonstrated higher levels of attitude certainty and attitude-consistent behavioral intentions than did attitudes that were framed positively. Furthermore, the effect of valence framing on behavioral intentions was mediated by attitude certainty. Valence framing thus appears to be a relatively low-effort way to impact multiple features associated with strong attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three studies tested a stereotype inoculation model, which proposed that contact with same-sex experts (advanced peers, professionals, professors) in academic environments involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enhances women's self-concept in STEM, attitudes toward STEM, and motivation to pursue STEM careers. Two cross-sectional controlled experiments and 1 longitudinal naturalistic study in a calculus class revealed that exposure to female STEM experts promoted positive implicit attitudes and stronger implicit identification with STEM (Studies 1-3), greater self-efficacy in STEM (Study 3), and more effort on STEM tests (Study 1). Studies 2 and 3 suggested that the benefit of seeing same-sex experts is driven by greater subjective identification and connectedness with these individuals, which in turn predicts enhanced self-efficacy, domain identification, and commitment to pursue STEM careers. Importantly, women's own self-concept benefited from contact with female experts even though negative stereotypes about their gender and STEM remained active. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A meta-analysis of 54 cases testing the effectiveness of inoculation theory at conferring resistance and examining the mechanisms of the theory was conducted. The analyses revealed inoculation messages to be superior to both supportive messages and no-treatment controls at conferring resistance. Additionally, the results revealed refutational same and refutational different preemptions to be equally effective at reducing attitude change. However, the data were not consistent with some predictions made in narrative reviews of inoculation. No significant increase in resistance as a function of threat or involvement was found. Further, instead of a curvilinear effect for delay on resistance, the point estimates from our meta-analysis revealed equivalent resistance between immediate and moderate delays between inoculation and attack, with a decay in resistance after two weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relative impact of outcome-relevant (OR), value-relevant (VR), and impression-relevant (IR) involvement on resistance to influence and whether it is possible to enhance elicited threat levels and, if so, to what effect on resistance to counterattitudinal attacks. An experiment was conducted featuring 281 participants. Results indicated that both OR and VR involvement functioned similarly. They both bypassed threat and counterarguing, instead exerting direct impacts on elicited anger, attitude strength, and resistance. There were no statistically significant results for IR involvement. Results concerning standard and enhanced threat revealed that both manipulations functioned similarly: They enhanced elicited threat, boosted the number and strength of cognitive responses to counterarguments, increased elicited anger, enhanced attitude strength, and contributed to resistance. However, the only booster effect for enhanced threat involved greater attitude certainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To provide a brief overview of 15 selected persuasion theories and models, and to present examples of their use in health communication research. Results: The theories are categorized as message effects models, attitude–behavior approaches, cognitive processing theories and models, consistency theories, inoculation theory, and functional approaches. Conclusions: As it is often the intent of a practitioner to shape, reinforce, or change a patient’s behavior, familiarity with theories of persuasion may lead to the development of novel communication approaches with existing patients. Practice Implications: This article serves as an introductory primer to theories of persuasion with applications to health communication research. Understanding key constructs and general formulations of persuasive theories may allow practitioners to employ useful theoretical frameworks when interacting with patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This investigation introduced the attitude base (cognitive or affective) as a moderator in the resistance domain and effectively partitioned the role of affect from cognition by properly delineating its function. A three-phase experiment was conducted involving 290 participants. The results confirmed the role of the original elements in the process of resistance introduced by McGuire: threat and counterarguing output. Furthermore, the results indicated that inoculation messages were most effective when their content matched the attitude base. Cognitive inoculation messages generated greater resistance to counterattitudinal attacks when presented to individuals whose attitude base was primarily cognitive, rather than affective, in nature. The reverse was also found to be true as affective inoculation messages generated greater resistance to counterattitudinal attacks when presented to individuals whose attitude base was primarily affective, rather than cognitive, in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the role and impact of affect in resistance. A three-phase experiment was conducted. The results indicated that inoculation treatments conferred resistance and exerted nuanced outcomes involving cognitive and affective responses to counterarguments and affect. The investigation also compared the effectiveness of cognitive, affective-positive, and affective-negative treatments. The results revealed that affective-negative messages were superior in eliciting threat, issue involvement, and cognitive counterarguing output and in enhancing the cognitive content of associative networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past twenty years, gang prevalence, the number of gang members nationwide, and the seriousness of their impact on society, particularly schools, have increased significantly. The purpose of this article is to analyze Inoculation Theory, a process by which attitude transformation can be resisted during social interactions that involve persuasive messages designed to change existing attitudes, and to promote its application as a solid method for preventing youths from joining gangs in and nearby schools. This analysis is original and unique in that Inoculation Theory has not yet been applied in the reduction of violence and crime in youths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper undertakes a comparative review of the development and implementation of media education in four Asian societies. The comparison focuses on the following issues: the general pedagogical transition from inoculation to empowerment; the roles of government policy and educational reform in facilitating the development of media education; and the strength of partnerships between educationists, local media and religious organizations. Specific topics such as contextual adaptation, the impact of technology, and the need for collaborative efforts are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student plagiarism continues to threaten academic integrity. This investigation assessed whether an inoculation message strategy could combat university plagiarism by protecting student attitudes against pro-plagiarism justification arguments. Additionally, we sought theoretical confirmation of previous findings on involvement and accessibility in inoculation, examined the effects on vested interest, and evaluated matching and mismatching strategies in terms of affect- and rationality-based inoculation treatment messages and subsequent attack messages. A total of 225 students participated in three sessions spanning six weeks. Results indicated that none of the inoculation treatments conferred resistance as measured in attitude toward plagiarism, but all treatments enhanced involvement and attitude accessibility, and the fear- and rationality-based treatments enhanced vested interest. Additionally, fear-based treatments derogated the source of the message. Results also suggest that a matching strategy is superior with both affect- and rationality-based attack messages, such that inoculation treatments are most effective when using the same argument bases (e.g., affective or rational) as the attack message. These results offer guidance for crafting communication campaign strategies to reduce the occurrence of student plagiarism offenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws upon insights from discursive and rhetorical psychology, and studies that take seriously the notion that visual materials contain arguments, to explore the rhetorical construction of a set of posters used by the British Countryside Alliance in their unsuccessful campaign against the ban upon hunting with dogs. It examines how versions of opposing arguments are constructed and countered through forms of stake inoculation, which are linked to the Bakhtinian conception of heteroglossic engagement. Specifically, it focuses upon the ways in which the posters juxtapose discursive and visual elements to argue that those in favor of hunting are not who their opponents think they aresomething pursued by setting up and then undermining a characterization of opposing accounts. This regularity of practice, along with the organization's claim that hunt supporters are a minority of ordinary people, is related to other literature that attends to the rhetorical significance of ordinariness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having observed the proliferation of corporate stealth campaigns employing parody videos on YouTube, we attempted to examine the effectiveness of refutational preemption in providing viewers with ability to detect unduly manipulative intent and in conferring viewer resistance to the influence of the campaign. We also compared the relative efficacy of the inoculation pretreatment to post-hoc refutation. Results showed that subjects who received a preemptive inoculation message were better able to detect unduly manipulative intent in a parody video, were more resistant to altering their original attitudes toward the issue, and demonstrated less favorable attitudes toward the sponsor of the parody video than did their counterparts in the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inoculation messages employed in past studies have been consistently preventative. Yet, if inoculation strategies are to be used in mass media campaigns, researchers need to know what the effects will be on all audience members—not just those known to support a message sponsor’s position. A 3-phase experiment was conducted involving 558 participants. Linear regression analyses identified that initially supportive, neutral, and opposed subjects exposed to the inoculation message reported significantly more positive attitudes toward the study topic of agricultural biotechnology following an attack message than did their respective controls. The inoculation message contributed to significantly increased threat levels among initially neutral and opposed subjects and marginally increased counterarguing output among initially supportive and neutral subjects. Additionally, counterarguing partially mediated final attitudes for inoculated supportive subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationships between inoculation and the spiral of silence theories. Inoculation strategies were employed to mitigate the process of the spiral of silence, especially focusing on resistance to counter-attitudinal attack, attitudinal confidence, willingness to speak out, fear of isolation, and change of attitude. A field experiment was conducted in a two-wave survey of randomly sampled citizens in Taiwan. The issue employed was Taiwan's political future in relation to the People's Republic of China. Results are consistent with major inoculation findings and support the study's core hypotheses: Inoculation treatments enhanced people's resistance to attitude change. People who received an inoculation pre-treatment, as compared with those who did not, became more confident in their attitude over time, more willing to speak out on behalf of one's attitudes, and more likely to overtly resist the counter-attitudinal attempts of others to influence oneself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation introduced the concept of associative networks to the resistance domain. A four-phase experiment was conducted involving 298 participants. The results confirmed the role of known elements in the process of resistance: the core elements of threat, issue involvement, and counterarguing output facilitated resistance, as did the more recently introduced element of attitude certainty. Also, the results indicated that inoculation treatments modified the structure of associative networks, planting additional nodes and increasing the linkages between nodes. Subsequently, changes in the structure of associative networks contributed to resistance to counterattitudinal attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]