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The terms left and right can refer to spatial or political orientations. We hypothesized that a match (vs. mismatch) of spatial position and political orientation would lead to more positive political judgments. In three experiments, German participants (total N = 517) evaluated statements from the political left-wing and right-wing spectrums as well as German political parties presented either on the left or on the right side of their screens. When statements were presented on the left, politically left statements as well as left-wing parties were evaluated more favorably than when these statements were presented on the right. Conversely, politically right statements and right-wing parties were evaluated more favorably when the statements were presented on the right versus left side of the screen. Cultural conservatism, need for cognitive closure, and openness to experience were assessed but did not mediate these effects. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the results.

We present a theory of sequential information processing in persuasion (SIP). It extends assumptions of the heuristic-systematic model, in particular the idea that information encountered early in a persuasion situation may affect the processing of subsequent information. SIP also builds on the abstraction from content-related dichotomies in accord with the parametric unimodel of social judgment. SIP features one constitutional axiom and three main postulates: (A) Persuasion is the sequential processing of information that is relevant to judgment formation. (1) Inferences drawn from initial information may bias the processing of subsequent information if they are either activated rules or valence expectations that are relevant to the subsequent information. (2) Inferences drawn from initial information are resistant to change. Thus, the interpretation of subsequent information is assimilated to inferences drawn from the initial information. Or, if assimilation is impossible, contrast effects occur. (3) The overall effect of a persuasion attempt corresponds to the recipient's judgment at the moment the processing of information is terminated. We illustrate how our predictions for assimilation and contrast effects may be tested by presenting results from an experiment (N = 216) in which we presented exactly the same arguments but varied the processing sequence. We discuss theoretical and applied implications of sequence effects for persuasion phenomena, as well as challenges for further research developing and testing the theory. Copyright © 2022 Linne, Hildebrandt, Bohner and Erb.

The stereotype content model (Fiske et al., 2002) defines warmth and competence as basic dimensions of social judgment, with warmth often dominating perceptions; it also states that many group-related stereotypes are ambivalent, featuring high levels on one dimension and low levels on the other. Persuasion theories feature both direct and indirect source effects (Bohner et al., 1995). Combining both the approaches, we studied the persuasiveness of ambivalently stereotyped sources. Participants (total n = 296) read persuasive arguments attributed to groups stereotyped as either low in competence but high in warmth (e.g., housewives) or vice versa (e.g., lawyers). In Study 1, high competence/low warmth sources were more persuasive than low competence/high warmth sources. In Study 2, this pattern replicated when an accuracy motive had been induced, whereas it reversed when a connectedness motive had been induced. These source effects were direct, that is, independent of message processing. We discuss our findings in terms of the persuasiveness of warmth vs. competence of the source as being dependent on recipient motivation; we also consider theoretical implications and perspectives for future research.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jiv-10.1177_0886260520914565 for Negative Third-Party Reactions to Male and Female Victims of Rape: The Influence of Harm and Normativity Concerns by Eva Mulder and Gerd Bohner in Journal of Interpersonal Violence

The authors present a revised version of the Acceptance of Modern Myths About Sexual Aggression scale (AMMSA-21) in four languages (English, German, Polish and Spanish) and examine its reliability and validity (total N = 1,459). AMMSA-21 addresses themes emerging in recent public discourse (e.g., beliefs about false accusations) and contents similar to the original scale (e.g., antagonism towards victims’ demands); with 21 items, it is 30% shorter than the original. Factor analyses suggested that AMMSA-21 may be treated as a unidimensional construct. Across the four language versions, AMMSA-21 showed high internal consistency and criterion validity (positive correlations with hostile and benevolent sexism, social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism); its scores were unrelated to socially desirable responding. Also, AMMSA-21 predicted judgements of victim-blaming and rape proclivity in relation to acquaintance-rape scenarios. Mean differences across language versions (Spanish < English = German < Polish) are discussed in terms of cultural influences. In sum, AMMSA-21 represents a reliable, valid and economical measure of contemporary sexual aggression myths.

Two studies addressed effects of the labels 'victim', 'battered woman' and 'survivor' on the perception of women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Spanish undergraduates provided free associations (Study 1; N = 54) and completed semantic differentials (Study 2; N = 142) regarding the labels. Results showed that the term 'survivor' evoked more positive associations and ratings than both 'victim' and 'battered woman', which did not differ from each other. At the same time, however, when asked directly, participants rated 'survivor' as the least appropriate term. These seemingly opposing findings replicate research on the terms' use in sexual aggression. Results were independent of individuals' acceptance of myths about IPV or knowing a woman who has experienced IPV. Implications for the use of specific language when communicating about IPV are discussed.

Hypotheses derived from the lateral attitude change (LAC) model were tested in a study on majority and minority influence. The authors predicted that reading majority arguments would lead to explicit and implicit focal attitude change as well as LAC (i.e., generalization), whereas reading minority arguments would lead to explicit LAC, but not to explicit focal attitude change (i.e., displacement). In a 3 (source: majority vs. minority vs. control) x 2 (order of attitude assessments: explicit-implicit vs. implicit-explicit) design, students (N = 180) read arguments against an unconditional basic income (focal topic) that came from either a majority or a minority, or no arguments (control condition). Later, their explicit and implicit attitudes toward the focal topic and four lateral topics (e.g., inclusive schooling) were assessed. Individual differences in the need for uniqueness were assessed as a potential moderator of majority and minority influence. The results showed focal explicit and implicit attitude change in both the majority and minority conditions, but no evidence for LAC. Need for uniqueness did not moderate the effects of majority or minority arguments. Potential reasons for the lack of evidence for LAC and implications for future research are discussed.

Two studies addressed effects of the labels ‘victim’, ‘battered woman’ and ‘survivor’ on the perception of women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Spanish undergraduates provided free associations (Study 1; N = 54) and completed semantic differentials (Study 2; N = 142) regarding the labels. Results showed that the term ‘survivor’ evoked more positive associations and ratings than both ‘victim’ and ‘battered woman’, which did not differ from each other. At the same time, however, when asked directly, participants rated ‘survivor’ as the least appropriate term. These seemingly opposing findings replicate research on the terms’ use in sexual aggression. Results were independent of individuals’ acceptance of myths about IPV or knowing a woman who has experienced IPV. Implications for the use of specific language when communicating about IPV are discussed. En dos estudios distintos se abordan los efectos de las etiquetas “víctima”, “mujer maltratada” y “superviviente” en la percepción de las mujeres que han sufrido violencia de pareja (IPV, intimate partner violence). Una muestra de estudiantes universitarios españoles completaron tareas de asociación libre (Estudio 1, N = 54) y diferencial semántico (Estudio 2, N = 142) sobre estas etiquetas. Los resultados revelan que el término “superviviente” evoca asociaciones y valoraciones más positivas que “víctima” y “mujer maltratada”, que no mostraron diferencias entre ellos. No obstante, cuando se les preguntó directamente, los participantes valoraron el término “superviviente” como el menos apropiado. Estos hallazgos aparentemente contradictorios corroboran los de investigaciones previas sobre los términos utilizados en agresiones sexuales. Los resultados fueron independientes del nivel de aceptación de los participantes de los mitos sobre la violencia de pareja o de haber conocido personalmente a alguna mujer que la hubiese sufrido. Por último se discuten las implicaciones del uso del lenguaje cuando se comunican informaciones sobre violencia de pareja. Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under Grant PSI2016-79812-P (State Research Agency/10.13039/501100011033) Junta de Andalucía and University of Granada through the FEDER 2018/Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento, Program B-SEJ- 135-UGR18.

Supplemental material, Supplementary_material_Vignette for Negative Third-Party Reactions to Male and Female Victims of Rape: The Influence of Harm and Normativity Concerns by Eva Mulder and Gerd Bohner in Journal of Interpersonal Violence

As part of a campus-wide prevention program, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC) implemented a cross-sequential survey on sexual violence. In this article, we report data from the first wave (2018; N = 2,046) from three cohorts of undergraduates (Year 1, n = 792; Year 2, n = 601; Year 3, n = 653). We found an overall twelve-month prevalence for victimization experiences of 18.7 percent (4.3 percent by force or threat of force; 12.9 percent while unable to resist; 7.1 percent by verbal pressure; multiple responses allowed). Women (22.9 percent) were victimized more frequently than men (9.7 percent). Among women, victimization rates were highest for Year 1 students (25.7 percent), intermediate for Year 2 (22.3%), and lowest for Year 3 (19.8 percent). Only 10.9 percent of reported incidents happened in a university context. In most cases, perpetrators were male (88.9 percent) and known to the victim (72.1 percent); 24.4 percent were partners, 35.5 percent were friends. We present additional data on risk factors and attitudinal correlates. We also discuss our findings in relation to previous research suggesting higher prevalence rates at Chilean universities, considering differences in methodology and implications for future research., International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV), Vol 14 No 1 (2020)

The Lateral Attitude Change Model (LAC) model (Glaser et al., 2015) features two phenomena of attitude change: generalization and displacement. Generalization occurs when attitude change toward a focal attitude object X (on both implicit and explicit levels) generalizes toward a lateral attitude object Y. Displacement occurs when there is no explicit attitude change toward X, but explicit and implicit attitudes toward Y do change nonetheless. The LAC model specifies conditions leading to each phenomenon and the cognitive processes involved. In a research proposal, Glaser and Bohner (2015) described several experiments designed to test the LAC model. In three studies reported here (total N = 281), 145 attitude objects were pilot-tested for use in those experiments. The focus lay on the similarity between objects, which is the main proposed moderator of LAC. Study 1 featured four sets of dinosaur drawings, which were tested for neutrality and similarity. Study 2 featured eight sets of attitude objects depicted in photographs (e.g., household articles and sports equipment), which were tested for valence and similarity. Studies 3(a) and 3(b) featured socio-political issues, which were tested for valence, importance, similarity, and participants’ awareness of similarity. All stimuli and the results of pilot testing are presented.

Two studies addressed effects of the labels ‘victim’, ‘battered woman’ and ‘survivor’ on the perception of women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Spanish undergraduates provided free associations (Study 1; N = 54) and completed semantic differentials (Study 2; N = 142) regarding the labels. Results showed that the term ‘survivor’ evoked more positive associations and ratings than both ‘victim’ and ‘battered woman’, which did not differ from each other. At the same time, however, when asked directly, participants rated ‘survivor’ as the least appropriate term. These seemingly opposing findings replicate research on the terms’ use in sexual aggression. Results were independent of individuals’ acceptance of myths about IPV or knowing a woman who has experienced IPV. Implications for the use of specific language when communicating about IPV are discussed., En dos estudios distintos se abordan los efectos de las etiquetas “víctima”, “mujer maltratada” y “superviviente” en la percepción de las mujeres que han sufrido violencia de pareja (IPV, intimate partner violence). Una muestra de estudiantes universitarios españoles completaron tareas de asociación libre (Estudio 1, N = 54) y diferencial semántico (Estudio 2, N = 142) sobre estas etiquetas. Los resultados revelan que el término “superviviente” evoca asociaciones y valoraciones más positivas que “víctima” y “mujer maltratada”, que no mostraron diferencias entre ellos. No obstante, cuando se les preguntó directamente, los participantes valoraron el término “superviviente” como el menos apropiado. Estos hallazgos aparentemente contradictorios corroboran los de investigaciones previas sobre los términos utilizados en agresiones sexuales. Los resultados fueron independientes del nivel de aceptación de los participantes de los mitos sobre la violencia de pareja o de haber conocido personalmente a alguna mujer que la hubiese sufrido. Por último se discuten las implicaciones del uso del lenguaje cuando se comunican informaciones sobre violencia de pareja., Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under Grant PSI2016-79812-P (State Research Agency/10.13039/501100011033), Junta de Andalucía and University of Granada through the FEDER 2018/Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento, Program B-SEJ- 135-UGR18.

The lateral attitude change (LAC) model posits that attitude change toward a focal object generalizes to similar, lateral objects. In two experiments (total N = 331), the authors tested the hypotheses that (1) priming a particular lateral object would increase generalization of attitude change to that (vs. another) lateral object, and (2) priming a particular attribute of a focal object would increase generalization of attitude change to lateral objects sharing (vs. not sharing) that attribute. The method used for changing focal attitudes was evaluative conditioning (EC); explicit and implicit attitudes were assessed via self-reports and the affect misattribution procedure, respectively. In Experiment 1, where pictures of dinosaurs were used as attitude objects and one of two lateral objects was primed, EC unexpectedly produced a trend toward a contrast effect on implicit focal attitudes. However, in line with Hypothesis 1, this contrast pattern generalized to implicit attitudes toward the primed (vs. non-primed) lateral object. In Experiment 2, where social groups were used as attitude objects and one of two attributes (gender or age) was primed, no effects of EC on focal attitudes were found. Additional analyses using contingency awareness, need for cognition, and preference for consistency as potential moderator variables yielded some interesting effects. Related studies as well as conceptual and methodological implications for LAC are discussed.