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This essay analyzes and evaluates the slippery slope argument (SSA) as presented by the National Rifle Association. The work of argument scholars and informal logicians, particularly of Douglas Walton, provides the central interpretive and evaluative vocabularies enabling the most complete understanding of this argument. Evaluation of the argument is enabled both by the SSA critical vocabulary, as well by a dialogic approach that considers the NRA's SSA within the larger context of President Obama's public discourses on the issue. Analysis of the argument generates insights that enrich the theoretical foundations of SSA scholarship, and potentially contribute to a more reasonable public debate about gun rights and gun control. KEYWORDS Slippery slope argument; slippery slope; drivers; bright lines; gray area; universal background checks; National Rifle Association; gun control, Introduction Among the most radical disjunctions between public opinion and public policy is the gulf between the 90% (Quinnipiac 2014) of Americans who support 'universal background checks' for purchasing a [...]

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. (Contains 3 tables.)

This investigation compared the traditional explanation for the way inoculation confers resistance to influence with an alternative rationale for resistance based on attitude accessibility. Four hundred forty-three participants took part in the investigation in four phases spanning 54 days. The combined multiple regression and structural equation modeling results suggest that the traditional and alternative explanations for the way that inoculation confers resistance involve separate processes; counterarguing and accessibility appear to be distinct tracks en route to resistance, but the two explanations also are overlapping processes in which elicited threat plays an integral role.

Argues that the influence of televised, general election, presidential debates on prospective voters' perceptions of participating candidates may be larger than previous research suggests. Finds that two sources of debate effects have gone largely undetected to date: those based on candidates' relational communication, and those which are commingled with the influence of other communication forms. (SG)

Examines the influence of soft-money-sponsored issue-advocacy advertising in U.S. House and Senate campaigns, comparing its effects against candidate-sponsored positive advertising and contrast advertising on viewers' candidate preferences and on their attitude that reflect democratic values. Reveals no main effects for advertising approach on candidate preference. (SG)

Deals with the role and impact of affect in the process of resistance among undergraduate students. Notes that initial results indicated that the cognitive, affective-anger, and affective-happiness inoculation treatments all conferred resistance to persuasive attacks. Indicates that greater receiver involvement was positively associated with experienced anger and, therefore, indirectly contributed to resistance, whereas greater receiver self-efficacy tended to dampen resistance. (SG)

Examines the influence of five communication modalities on voters' perceptions of candidates. Finds that political talk-radio exerted the greatest influence on voters' perceptions of Bob Dole and considerable impact on perceptions of Steve Forbes. Finds also that prospective voters' conversations with other people, television news, and candidate (only for Forbes) exerted modest influence on perceptions of Republican candidates. (SR)

Indicates that inoculation treatments, using central and peripheral approaches, confer resistance to influence and thus imply that threat is more prominent than refutational preemption in the process of resistance. Suggests that greater receiver need for cognition enhances resistance but only with highly involving issues. Rules out assimilation and contrast as potential explanation of the cognitive process triggered via threat. (SR)

Tests effectiveness of inoculation treatments on 790 undergraduate students. Probes relationship between threat and involvement, their role in inoculation, and nature of cognitive processes triggered via inoculation. Suggests inoculation elicits threat, threat contributes to resistance, and resistance is most pronounced for more involved receivers and on behalf of more involving topics. Reveals a process more intricate than initially predicted. (PA)

Argues that the 1992 presidential election campaign was the first to employ nontraditional news media such as talk shows as a prevalent form of campaign communication for the candidates. Outlines the format of the study. Documents the impact of nontraditional news media on the campaign efforts for each candidate. (PA)

Examines the relative influence of six communication modalities on voters' perceptions of lesser-known candidates during contested presidential primary campaigns. Indicates that interpersonal communication dominates all modalities in influencing voters' perceptions in the "distant phase" and persists into the "localized phase." Suggests that television advertising and news exert the most impact on voters' perceptions during the localized phase. (PA)

Examines theoretical and methodological controversies identified with the cultivation explanation of the way television shapes perceptions of social reality. Finds that content-specific viewing is a more reliable predictor than total viewing or select viewer sociodemographic variables of the public's tendency to perceive attorneys in the same way they are portrayed in prime-time television programming. (RS)

Investigates the role and impact of receiver involvement in product class, comparative message format, and receiver sex on the relative effectiveness of comparative advertising messages. Indicates that females and males respond uniquely to comparative advertising, revealing consistent patterns regarding both circumstances and approaches. (SR)

Investigates the potential of inoculation for promoting resistance to smoking onset among young adolescents. Provides data from a two-year study of efficacy of inoculation videos for promoting resistance to smoking. Suggests that, if resistance approaches are to have a chance of success, they must target young adolescents at the transition from elementary to secondary school. (HB)

Examines the potential of the inoculation message strategy to deflect the persuasiveness of comparative advertisements. Indicates modest potential for inoculation, confirming that inoculation pretreatments confer resistance to a comparative ad's influence on consumer attitudes, especially on behalf of high-involving products. (SR)

Finds that (1) inoculation promotes resistance to smoking onset, but only among adolescents of low self-esteem, precisely those most at risk to smoking initiation in the first place; (2) among this group inoculation contributed to a greater chance of overtly resisting smoking, less positive attitudes toward smoking, and subsequently to less likelihood of smoking. (SR)

Examines the effectiveness of direct mail communication strategies--inoculation (a strategy which promotes resistance to attitude and behavior change), inoculation-plus-reinforcement, and refutation messages--in combating the persuasiveness of political attack messages. Finds that inoculation is more effective than the refutation approach in deflecting the persuasiveness of attack messages. (KEH)

This essay represents the author's attempt to grapple with a number of tensions inspired and enriched by Habermas's Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. This author's interest in history and [...]

This investigation introduced multiple competitive attacks in order to assess the effectiveness of inoculation treatments in protecting established attitudes in a natural setting. A four-phase experiment was conducted involving 433 participants. The results revealed that the effectiveness of refutational inoculation messages dissipated some in the face of an additional attack. Still, refutational inoculation messages proved to be more effective than supportive, restoration, and control (no message) conditions in protecting established attitudes in the face of multiple attacks. The content of an additional attack (the same as the first attack or different) did not affect the capacity of inoculation refutational messages to confer resistance to competitive attacks. Keywords: inoculation,' resistance; multiple attacks

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. Keywords: (Mis)Matching Hypotheses; Attitude Base; Inoculation; Resistance

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. Keywords: Inoculation; Affect; Resistance to Influence

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2008.01330.x Byline: Josh Compton (1), Michael Pfau (2) Abstract: Although inoculation has established efficacy in conferring resistance to influence for those directly exposed to inoculation pretreatment messages, we argue that inoculation's effects may extend beyond those directly exposed to others via word-of-mouth communication (WOMC) along social networks. Specifically, we argue that inoculation's effects on attitude accessibility, involvement, and threat are particularly conducive to the spread of inoculation content, offering WOMC as a new inoculation modality. Abstract (French) Resume La diffusion de l'inoculation : Inoculation, resistance a l'influence et communication de bouche a oreille Bien que l'efficacite de l'inoculation pour generer de la resistance face a l'influence ait eteetablie chez ceux directement exposes a des messages d'inoculation pre-traitement, nous soumettons que les effets de l'inoculation peuvent s'etendre des personnes directement exposees a d'autres personnes par le biais de la communication de bouche a oreille (CBO) dans les reseaux sociaux. Nommement, nous arguons que les effets de l'inoculation sur l'accessibilite des attitudes, sur l'implication et sur la menace sont particulierement propices a la propagation du contenu d'inoculation et nous proposons la CBO comme une nouvelle modalite d'inoculation. Abstract (German): Abstract Die Verbreitung von Inokulation: Inokulation, Widerstand gegen Beeinflussung und mundliche Kommunikation Auch wenn die Wirksamkeit von Inokulation bezuglich des Widerstand gegen eine Beeinflussung fur diejenigen, die der inokulativ behandelten Botschaft direkt ausgesetzt werden, nachgewiesen wurde, argumentieren wir, dass diese Inokulationseffekte auch auf diejenigen ausgedehnt werden konnen, die uber einen direkten Zugang hinaus, namlich durch mundliche Kommunikation in sozialen Netzwerken, mit diesen in Kontakt kommen. Wir nehmen an, dass insbesondere die Inokulationseinflusse auf Einstellungszuganglichkeit, Involvement und Bedrohung dazu dienen, den Inokulationsinhalt zu verbreiten, und fuhren deshalb die mundliche Kommunikation als neue Inokulationsmodalitat ein. Abstract (Spanish): Resumen Diseminando la Inoculacion: La Inoculacion, La Resistencia a la Influencia, y la Comunicacion Boca a Boca Aun cuando la inoculacion ha establecido eficacia en conferir resistencia a la influencia de aquellos expuestos directamente a los mensajes de pre-tratamiento de inoculacion, sostenemos que los efectos de la inoculacion pueden extenderse mas alla de aquellos directamente expuestos a otros mediante la comunicacion boca a boca (WOMC) en las redes sociales. Mantenemos, especificamente, que los efectos de la inoculacion sobre la actitud de accesibilidad, participacion y amenaza son particularmente propicios para la diseminacion del contenido de la inoculacion, ofreciendo la comunicacion boca a boca (WOMC) como una nueva modalidad de la inoculacion. Author Affiliation: (1)Institute for Writing and Rhetoric, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (2)Department of Communications, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK Article note: Josh Compton; e-mail: Joshua.Compton@Dartmouth.edu

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.00414.x Byline: Michael Pfau (1) Author Affiliation: (1)Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 Article note: Michael Pfau; e-mail: mwpfau@ou.edu