Affect, Motivation, and Resistance in Inoculation

The chapter examines the roles of affect, motivation, and resistance in the inoculation process. Tracing the historical development in inoculation theory, the importance of affective and motivational factors in conferring resistance to persuasion is highlighted. Key concepts such as intrinsic and extrinsic threats, uncertainty, and arousal are discussed in relation to affective processes, motivation, counterarguing, and resistance to influence. The chapter also explores how need for affect can influence the effectiveness of inoculation messages. Recent studies on the effects of matching versus mismatching affective and cognitive appeals, as well as the impact of discrete emotions such as fear, anger, and surprise, are summarized.