Audience effects of apologia

Subjects read a set of charges against the moral character of a fictitious person and then, if assigned to a treatment group, read either part or all of one of four speeches constructed so as to enact a particular rhetorical stance—a particular kind of apologia. All subjects responded to a series of dependent measures assessing the perceived credibility, perceived culpability and perceived rhetorical stance of the apologist. The results indicated that subjects could differentiate among the four stances and that they responded more positively to denial strategies than to bolstering strategies; the apologias that employed denial strategies were the most effective both in repairing damage to perceived credibility and in reversing perceptions of culpability.