AN INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING 2-SIDED PERSUASION

This article develops a framework that encompasses past two-sided pers uasion research and incorporates additional theory and research on opt imal arousal and attitude toward the ad to provide explanations for in consistencies in previous findings. In particular, explanations are pr ovided for the following: (1) when credibility gains will be enhanced, (2) when refutation is needed, (3) how the message should be structur ed (in terms of amount and placement of negative information), and (4) what types of attributes should be discounted (in terms of importance , type, and correlation with other attributes). In addition, direction s for future research are discussed.