Anticipatory Attitude Change

Definition

Anticipatory attitude change refers to shifting or changing one's expressed opinion or attitude on a topic as a result of being informed that one will be exposed to a message or communication on the topic. Thus, prior to receiving any aspect of the message itself, people might adjust their opinions on a topic to be more positive, negative, or neutral simply in anticipation of receiving a message. In other words, when you know someone is going to try to change your mind, you may change it some already in advance, before even hearing what that person has to say.

Anticipatory attitude change has been studied primarily within the domain of forewarning research, which involves informing people they will be exposed to a persuasive message. Within this ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles