This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Whaley, B. B. Articles by Wagner, L. S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Rebuttal Analogy in Persuasive Messages

Communicator Likability and Cognitive Responses

University of San Francisco

Lisa Smith Wagner

University of San Francisco

Research concerning rebuttal analogy suggests that communicators using this argument form are perceived unfavorably by message receivers. To further understand the effects of rebuttal analogy, the present investigation examines respondents’ perceived likability of rebuttal analogy users, respondents’ cognitive responses to the message, and their reported attitudes toward messages using rebuttal analogy. Respondents were either exposed to one of four persuasive messages employing rebuttal analogy or to one of the same four messages with a nonanalogy version of the argument. As predicted, results revealed that respondents rated the communicator using rebuttal analogy as less likable. Cognitive responses and argument recall showed the message-processing effects of rebuttal analogy. However, no significant difference for attitude was detected between groups. Implications of the findings are discussed and research directions concerning persuasion are offered.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?