Motivated Reflection on Attitude-Inconsistent Information: An Exploration of the Role of Fear of Invalidity in Self-Persuasion

The mere thought effect is defined in part by the tendency of self-reflective thought to heighten the generation of and reflection on attitude-consistent thoughts. by focusing on individuals' fears of invalidity,we explored the possibility that the mere opportunity for thought sometimes motivates reflection on attitude-inconsistent thoughts. across three experiments,dispositional and situational fear of invalidity was shown to heighten reflection on attitude-inconsistent thoughts. this heightened reflection,in turn,interacted with individuals' thought confidence to determine whether attitude-inconsistent thoughts were assimilated or refuted and consequently whether individuals' attitudes and behavioral intentions depolarized or polarized following a sufficient opportunity for thought,respectively. these findings emphasize the impact of motivational influences on thought reflection and generation,the importance of thought confidence in the assimilation and refutation of self-generated thought,and the dynamic means by which the mere thought bias can impact self-persuasion. © 2013 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.