Abstract

A recently developed receiver characteristic, argumentativeness, was examined for its relations to attitude change and information processing in persuasive communication. Generally thought to be a flowed personality trait, argumentativeness is currently being regarded in communication studies as a beneficial personality trait that correlates with other qualities such as high grade point average, dynamism in speech, achievement orientation, competitiveness and leadership behavior. This study examined the effect of argumentativeness on persuasion. It was predicted that high argumentative would be more resistant to persuasion, yet the findings show that, with a strong message, high argumentative are more likely to be persuaded by the message. The number of thoughts generated by high argumentative contrary to the message was predicted to be higher than low argumentative, when presented with a strong argument the high argumentative were more accepting of the message and produced fewer thoughts against the message. A comparison of argumentativeness between males and females was also undertaken. This research indicated that, although a higher percentage of men were argumentative than women, the difference was not significant. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research were discussed.

Graduation Date

1995

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Pryor, Albert

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Program

Communication

Format

PDF

Language

English

Rights

Written permission granted by copyright holder to the University of Central Florida Libraries to digitize and distribute for nonprofit, educational purposes.

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0013270

Contributor (Linked data)

Albert Pryor (Q59527190)

Pryor, Albert

Accessibility Status

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Included in

Communication Commons

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