Counterattitudinal Advocacy as a Means of Enhancing Instructional Effectiveness: How to Teach Students What They Do Not Want to Know.

Describes an undergraduate psychology class that required the students to either write an essay (counterattitudinal advocacy) or read an essay supporting a scientifically acceptable position contrary to one of their beliefs. Maintains that counterattitudinal advocacy is more effective for overcoming beginning students' erroneous beliefs about psychological phenomena than are other methods. (MJP)