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The use of inoculation techniques in intelligent design communication strategies

Waidelich, Dan The use of inoculation techniques in intelligent design communication strategies. 2015. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.

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Abstract

The experiment reported herein tested the effectiveness of inoculation strategies used by the intelligent design movement and the effectiveness of metainoculation, the use of interventions to prevent inoculation, against those strategies. The experiment had a three condition (control, inoculation, metainoculation), pretest/posttest design with 113 participants. Inoculation and metainoculation treatments were given in different combinations to each condition to test the effects of those treatments on participants’ strengths of attitude. Hypotheses stated that inoculation group members would have a more positive attitude toward ID than others and metainoculation group members would have a more negative attitude toward ID than others. An episode of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was used to refute ID and trigger inoculation effects. Findings indicate that the inoculation treatment did not significantly impart more positive feelings toward ID and the metainoculation did not make participants more likely to reject ID. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was shown to be an extremely successful persuasive message, perhaps blocking the inoculation and metainoculation effects.

Item Type: Thesis
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > School of Communication
Date Deposited: 28 Jul 2016 12:34
Last Modified: 20 Apr 2023 18:44
URI: http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/241

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