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Abstract
Previous research in the domain of attitude change has described 2 primary dimensions
of thinking that impact persuasion processes and outcomes: the extent (amount) of
thinking and the direction (valence) of issue-relevant thought. The authors examined
the possibility that another, more meta-cognitive aspect of thinking is also important-the
degree of confidence people have in their own thoughts. Four studies test the notion
that thought confidence affects the extent of persuasion. When positive thoughts dominate
in response to a message, increasing confidence in those thoughts increases persuasion,
but when negative thoughts dominate, increasing confidence decreases persuasion. In
addition, using self-reported and manipulated thought confidence in separate studies,
the authors provide evidence that the magnitude of the attitude-thought relationship
depends on the confidence people have in their thoughts. Finally, the authors also
show that these self-validation effects are most likely in situations that foster
high amounts of information processing activity.