Subject Awareness and Order Effects in Persuasive Communications

Abstract
This study was performed with 128 college students acting as Ss. The primary hypothesis that Ss confronted with a hidden pretest in an opinion change study will yield a significant recency effect, and Ss confronted with an exposed pretest will yield a significant primacy effect, was rejected. A primacy effect is in evidence when the pretest is hidden, and no directional effects are present when the pretest is exposed. The secondary hypothesis that a group exposed to a highly controversial topic will yield a significant primacy effect, and a group exposed to a topic of medium controversy will yield a recency effect, or no effect at all, was also rejected.

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