Resistance to "Counterpropaganda" Produced by One-Sided and Two-Sided "Propaganda" Presentations

Abstract

This article describes an experiment on the effectiveness of two different types of communication in preparing individuals to resist the influence of subsequent propaganda. Different classrooms of a high school were given one of two versions of a recorded radio program, in both of which the commentator took the view that it would be at least five years before Russia could produce A-bombs in quantity. Some classrooms received a one-sided version, which presented only the arguments that supported the speaker's conclusion. Others were given a two-sided version, which contained the same arguments and the same conclusion but, in addition, discussed the main arguments on the opposite side of the question. For those students who were not exposed to counterpropaganda, the two versions were found to be about equally effective in modifying opinions. But for those who were subsequently given another radio program that advocated a contradictory point of view, the two-sided version proved to be markedly more effective in producing sustained opinion changes. The authors discuss various psychological factors which could account for the effectiveness of a two-sided presentation in “inoculating” the audience against subsequent counterpropaganda.