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Self‐categorization theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher & Wetherell, 1987) proposes that identification with a social group will elicit a tendency to conform to in‐group norms. Following this proposition, we argue that the extent to which persuasive in‐group communication is perceived to reflect in‐group norms, that is, is prototypical, will affect attitudes. Attitudes are predicted to be more affected by exposure to prototypical messages. Moreover, it is argued that prototypicality might both instigate systematic message processing and function as a heuristic cue. Whether systematic processing will occur was hypothesized to be dependent on the availability of cues enabling heuristic processing. A study was designed in which subjects were exposed to a persuasive message from either a prototypical or an non‐prototypical in‐group source. In half of the conditions, subjects were informed about the opinion of the source before message exposure (which would enable heuristic processing). Quality of the message (i.e. strong vs. weak arguments) and position advocated by the message were experimentally varied. It was predicted that prototypicality would elicit conformity to in‐group norms, but that it would only instigate systematic processing when subjects had no foreknowledge about the source opinion. Results supported these predictions
Knippenberg et al. (Thu,) studied this question.