title: Motivated reflection on attitude-inconsistent information: an exploration of the role of fear of invalidity in self-persuasion.
abstract: The mere thought effect is defined in part by the tendency of self-reflective thought to heighten the generation of and reflection on attitude-consistent thoughts. By focusing on individuals' fears of invalidity, we explored the possibility that the mere opportunity for thought sometimes motivates reflection on attitude-inconsistent thoughts. Across three experiments, dispositional and situational fear of invalidity was shown to heighten reflection on attitude-inconsistent thoughts. This heightened reflection, in turn, interacted with individuals' thought confidence to determine whether attitude-inconsistent thoughts were assimilated or refuted and consequently whether individuals' attitudes and behavioral intentions depolarized or polarized following a sufficient opportunity for thought, respectively. These findings emphasize the impact of motivational influences on thought reflection and generation, the importance of thought confidence in the assimilation and refutation of self-generated thought, and the dynamic means by which the mere thought bias can impact self-persuasion.
authors.affiliation: 1University of Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Clarkson
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Zakary L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Tormala
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013850:Thinking
keywords: attitude change; mere thought; personal fear of invalidity; self-persuasion; self-validation