Proattitudinal versus counterattitudinal messages: Message discrepancy, reactance, and the boomerang effect

• Published in: Communication monographs Vol. 88; no. 3; pp. 286 - 305
• Main Authors: Zhao, Xinyan, Fink, Edward L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 03.07.2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Belief boomerang; Beliefs; Between-subjects design; experiment; message discrepancy; reactance
• ISSN: 0363-7751; 1479-5787
• DOI: 10.1080/03637751.2020.1813317

A boomerang effect involves the movement of a message recipient's belief, attitude, or behavior in a direction contrary to the advocated position in the message. There has been limited scholarly attention to the mechanism of belief boomerang. To better understand boomerang effects, we tested th...