Influences of Position Justification on Perceived Bias: Immediate Effects and Carryover Across Persuasive Messages

Abstract

The current research examined how people infer whether novel sources are biased based on their ability to justify their position. Across nine studies, when sources provided weak versus strong arguments, message recipients perceived the source as more biased. This effect held controlling for other possible inferences, such as lack of expertise or untrustworthiness. This research also examined whether perceived source bias on one message can carry over to ambiguously related future persuasive messages. Studies 6 to 8 demonstrated that perceivers use both the perceived bias from an initial message and the argument quality of the second message to determine a source’s bias on the new topic. Finally, perceived bias carried over from an initial message can influence persuasion on a second topic (Study 9). Ultimately, the present work provides insight into factors that affect perceived bias and the dynamic consequences of those perceptions.

Ambivalent Stereotypes and Persuasion: Attitudinal Effects of Warmth vs. Competence Ascribed to Message Sources

“…Although our data suggest stronger effects of competence than of expertise, more specific subdimensions (e.g., intelligence or likability; cf. Wallace et al, 2021) may come into play in certain settings. This may be the case, for example, when a group source is well-known, such as the student source in our current studies.…”

A test of vaccine endorsement by political in‐ versus out‐group sources: Effect on vaccination likelihood and exploration of mediation through perceived bias and liking

“…All source perceptions were measured with two items on nine‐point scales anchored with “1— not at all ” to “9— very much ” adapted from Wallace, Wegener, et al. (2021), which were averaged to create an index for each perception. The items below used the names of sources instead of [source].…”

Undermining Your Case to Enhance Your Impact: A Framework for Understanding the Effects of Acts of Receptiveness in Persuasion

“…For instance, if one infers trustworthiness from an act of receptiveness in one context, this inference might extend beyond that context and reflect a more general impression of trustworthiness across settings. If true, an act of receptiveness in one domain (e.g., a product recommendation) might spillover and enhance one’s persuasive impact in another (e.g., a policy endorsement; Wallace et al, in press; cf. Reich & Maglio, 2020).…”

“…Our review also contributes to a burgeoning literature on source bias (Wallace et al, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, in press). Biased sources are defined as those who present slanted or skewed (though not necessarily dishonest) perspectives, or as those who have vested interest in a specific outcome (e.g., a partisan news source).…”