TEST 1:
Article: Resistance to persuasion as self-regulation: Ego-depletion and its effects on attitude change
processes. Wheeler, Briñol & Hermann (2005).
People are often motivated to resist persuasion in order to hold
- correct attitudes
- restore freedom
- maintain psychological consistency and sense of control
Counterargument is the most extensively documented means of resistance, especially
under conditions when processing motivation and ability are high, such as when one has
ample resources to evaluate a personally relevant persuasive message.
In this research: effects of a self-regulation construct, ego-depletion, on individuals’
ability to resist counter attitudinal messages.
Ego-depletion is a strength metaphor, whereby exertion in one situation is followed by a
period of reduced ability in a subsequent situation. Any exertion of willpower or self-
regulation in one task, so long as it is sufficiently demanding, should reduce any
subsequent self-regulation on a second, seemingly unrelated task. (the longer doing a
task = less concentrating)
Additionally, given our self-regulatory framework, we predict that the depletion
manipulation will inhibit the generation of counterarguments (i.e., unfavourable
thoughts), rather than amount of thoughts generally. As a result, rather than reporting
middling attitudes reflective of lack of attention to message arguments as shown in
distraction experiments, ego-depleted participants could report acquiescent attitudes
reflective of the types of agreement and “going along” shown in other self-regulation
breakdowns.
Individuals were given a task shown in prior research to use and deplete regulatory
resources. Following
this task, they were presented with a message in favour of a counter attitudinal proposal.
The quality of the message was varied such that some participants received strong and
compelling counter attitudinal arguments whereas others received specious counter
attitudinal arguments. Last, participants reported their attitudes and cognitive responses.
We predicted that ego-depletion would lead to higher levels of favourability in thoughts
and attitudes.
we predicted an ego-depletion x argument quality interaction on attitudes and cognitive
responses such that individuals would distinguish between strong and weak arguments
less when their self-regulatory resources were depleted.
Additionally, we expected the depletion to be observed primarily when arguments
were weak, when naturally occurring counterargument would be reduced by virtue of the
limited self-regulatory resources available to the depleted participants.
Method
Procedure and materials
This task consists of two parts. In the first part, participants were instructed to cross out
every “e” they could locate in a written passage. This task is relatively easy for
participants and is used to establish a behavioural pattern that will be subsequently
overridden or not. 5 minutes to complete
2nd part = manipulation
Participants in the low-depletion condition repeated the first part, using the same rule
that they had already learned. Participants in the high-depletion condition circled letters
again but were instructed to cross out each “e” in the text, except when another vowel
(klinker) followed the “e” in the same word (e.g., “read”) or when a vowel was one letter
,removed from the “e” in either direction (e.g., “vowel”). necessitated the exertion of self-
regulatory resources.
Counter attitudinal appeal: Participants were told that large mandatory exams were going
to happen next semester is order to create counter-attitudinal to motivate resistance to
the message. Quality of arguments was manipulated. (weak=to compare with other
universities, strong= to improve undergraduate education).
Attitude 9-point semantic deferential scale.
Discussion
Self-regulatory resources are involved in resisting counter attitudinal messages and that
such resistance can be thwarted by reduced self-regulatory capacity. More specifically,
individuals who engaged in a task designed to reduce their self-regulatory resources
reported more positive attitudes toward a counter attitudinal policy than those not so
depleted. These effects occurred primarily among individuals who received weak and
specious messages, and patterns of cognitive responding were consistent with the notion
that depleted individuals generated more favourable cognitive responses than did
individuals who were not depleted.
Interesting: high level of processing effort ability, differences in perceptions of the
depletion tasks, or of the
difficulty of the depletion tasks, had no effect on outcome.
Findings important because:
- Our findings suggest that, even when individuals are free to take unlimited time to
read self-relevant persuasive messages in a non-distracting environment, they
may still fail to accurately assess the merit of and reject weak and specious
arguments. (Hence, situation can affect attitude change)
- Build a bridge between attitude change and self-regulation literature (but there
are more). Will lead to more great hypotheses.
- potential implications for why people may engage in undesired behaviours:
present research shows that it can promote positive attitude shifts toward counter
attitudinal policies, especially when justification for such policies are weak.
we examined resistance to persuasion as the process of generating more unfavourable
cognitive responses to the weak persuasive messages; however baseline weak
arguments can be questioned. Therefore compare baseline with weak arguments: results
are consistent in the absence of ego-depletion, participants who read
weak arguments in favour of a policy are able to resist persuasion in the sense that
exposure to the persuasive communication does not change their attitudes.
Ego-depleted participant are more likely to believe any statement they have read
Implications:
For marketing: people are tired late on the day = self-regulation low(use or do not use it).
SUM:
Participants were asked to resist a counter attitudinal persuasive message. Participants whose self-regulatory
resources had been depleted by a previous and unrelated self-regulation task showed less resistance than
nondepleted participants, especially when message arguments were weak.
,Article 2: Acts of Benevolence: A Limited-Resource Account of Compliance with
Charitable Requests
FENNIS, JANSSEN, VOHS (2009)
weexamine the internal process that takes place when consumers are approached by a
fundraiser or social marketer who asks for a contribution to a charitable cause. The
current study tests how and why social influence techniques promote charitable
behaviour.
According to Cialdini and others, the effectiveness of influence techniques hinges on the
notion
of consumer automaticity or “mindlessness”. In these states, consumers are prone to
employ simple
heuristics that increase compliance rates, such as the principles of consistency (i.e.,
propensity to behave congruently across situations), reciprocity (i.e., felt obligation to
return a favour), and liking.
Stage 1: RESPONDING TO INITIAL REQUESTS PRODUCES SELFREGULATORY RESOURCE DEPLETION
In a state of self-regulatory resource depletion, the controlled, purposeful self fails to function effectively,
which renders people vulnerable to untoward impulses, habit, routine, and automatic processes.
disrupt-then-reframe (DTR) first pennies than dollars
foot-in-the-door (FITD) small offer than big offer.
In sum, there is evidence in support of the hypothesis laid out in stage 1 of our model: yielding to the initial
request in a multiple request influence procedure to gain compliance with a charitable request affects self-
regulatory resource availability (hypothesis 1) because yielding involves either effortful self-presentation or
intellectual demands. Stage 2 of the model proposes that this state of self-regulatory resource depletion drives
the mindlessness so often observed in compliance contexts and thereby ups the odds that the target individual
will yield to a charitable request.
STAGE 2: DEPLETION-INDUCED MINDLESSNESS AFFECTS COMPLIANCE THROUGH RELIANCE ON HEURISTICS
This work suggests that a state of self-regulatory resource depletion weakens resistance to temptations and
(unwanted) influence attempts. Resistance to persuasion attempts requires active self-control and therefore
depletes regulatory resource stores, particularly when the persuasive message is highly involving.
why and how mindlessness may result in compliance with charitable requests across many social influence
techniques typically employed by charity professionals. Our key postulate is a two-stage model that accounts
for the influence of sequential request techniques on compliance. Recall that these two stages are: (1) the
initial request phase of sequential request techniques induces mindlessness through a state of self-regulatory
resource depletion (uitputting) (hypothesis 1), and (2) depletion- induced mindlessness heightens compliance
through reliance on heuristics (hypothesis 2).
Our model allows for an alternative behavioural outcome, namely, that self-regulation failure may also produce
prosocial behaviour if a suitable context (i.e., heuristic) that fosters compliance in the interest of a prosocial
cause is present.
, Research contributes literature because: (1) wide spread subject, no attention literature; (2) extends literature
charity ; (3) social influence literature; (4) self-regulatory resource depletion by addressing the prosocial
behavioural consequences of regulatory resource depletion, which provides a counterpoint to the acts of self-
centred and selfish behaviours that have been documented in earlier studies.
Experiment 1:
FITD (e.g., in the current experiment the initial questions pertained to one’s eating habits and the target
request was whether people were willing to keep a food diary). vs. no initial request.
Predicted: effect different technique.
Compliance (nakoming/toekenning) measured with yes food diary after questions
Self-Regulatory Resource Depletion: measured raise school fee? override your primary answers with
counterarguments. The number of arguments served as a measure.
Results: no FITD technique = less counterarguments. Therefore, being exposed to a sequential request
technique involving a series of self-disclosing questions affects the extent of regulatory resource depletion.
Experiment 2:
(1) only FITD technique. (2) actual consumers as participants (3) cognitively demanding topic (CO2 uitstoot)
(4) complex topic. People that answered the most question could win 20 euro to motivate participants.
+ cognitive performance test comprising 25 problems that involved complex reasoning.
Measured: questions attempted+ correct answers + procentueel goed van ingevulde vragen.
Results: same findings as experiment 1. Field study + cognitively demanding questions about CO2 emissions,
brought about a state of self-regulatory resource depletion.
Answering cognitively demanding questions or questions that involve effortful self-presentation seems to be an
important element in multiple request encounters in that they deplete self-regulatory resources. The combined
results of the two follow-up studies indicated that the results of experiments 1 and 2 cannot be attributed to
the fact that participants were stopped in the street to have a conversation with a stranger, nor can they be
attributed to changes in emotions, reduced liking for the influence agent, or perceptions of the influence agent
demanding too much from the target.
Experiment 3:
Mediating role: bridge between stage 1 and 2. Type of influence technique would evince a main effect on self-
regulatory resource depletion. Moreover, we expected that self-regulatory resources would mediate the
impact of type of technique on compliance, as the two-stage model holds. (type of FITD influence attempt:
demanding vs. undemanding initial request),
these questions required high-level intellectual processing. In the low demanding condition, the 10
questions were on the same topic (consumer taxes) but did not require active and controlled problem solving
and therefore were considered less demanding. (e.g. what should we do about problem? Vs. were do you think
about when…?)
Cognitive effort: mental effort & thinking extensively 9-point Likert scale.
Self-Regulatory Resource Depletion: colours in font, participants more depleted of their regulatory resources
should take longer to report the ink colour.
Compliance: how many studies want you to participate (1-10)
Results: self-regulatory resource depletion mediates the impact of a sequential request social influence
technique on compliance with a volunteering request. Not only by providing converging evidence that
sequential request techniques elicit self-regulatory resource depletion, but additionally showing that this state
of reduced self-control in turn promotes yielding to a target request.
Experiment 4:
Induced a state of regulatory resource depletion with a self-control task and manipulated the salience of the
heuristic principle of reciprocity, which is the principle featured in the door-in-the-face technique
2 (self-regulatory resource depletion condition: depletion vs. no depletion) X 2 (heuristic activation: reciprocity
vs. no reciprocity (=wederkerigheid)). After first task (drawing e’s) participants were told next task wasn’t
necessary anymore because enough data. Next task was boring and hard math test VS. just math test. Length
of time participants were prepared to volunteer was our measure of compliance.
Results: self-regulatory resource depletion fosters compliance with a charitable request, namely, through
reliance on heuristics. We observed greater compliance with the request when self-regulatory resources had
