Rhetorical elicitation of agreement in persuasion.

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Abstract
Assessed the persuasive effect of the rhetorical elicitation of agreement responses under various conditions of initial attitude toward the attitudinal position advocated, using a total of 90 undergraduates as Ss. The resulting resistance to counterpersuasion was also measured. A significant increase in the effectiveness of persuasion was obtained, especially under conditions of initially opposed attitude. No facilitation of effectiveness was found under conditions of initially neutral attitude. Resistance to counterpersuasion was not differentially affected by treatments. Results indicate that enhancement of cognitive involvement is an insufficient explanation. It is suggested that findings reflect either (a) operant learning of the connotations of significance and certainty associated with verbal constructs, e.g., rhetorical agreement question; or (b) a lowering of the communicatee's defenses as a consequence of changes in source perception brought about by the style of language used. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

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