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This study measured the effects of message threat level, message quality, and initial receiver attitude on attitude change and evaluations of source credibility. Significant positive attitude change occurred as the main effect of message quality, with no main or interaction effects for threat or receiver attitude. Significant source derogation on the dimensions of trustworthiness, objectivity, and expertness occurred as primary effects of message threat level and initial receiver attitude, with the greatest derogation occurring among disagreeing receivers exposed to high threat messages. The implications of these results for the theory of psychological reactance is discussed.
Mary John Smith (1977) studied this question.