If the last few years are an indicator, inoculation research will soon better reflect the important role of affect in inoculation’s story, and particularly, the role of affect in inoculation’s next chapters. With increasing attention to inoculation as an antidote to mis- and disinformation in particular, it is critical to consider a full range of cognitive and affective dimensions to inoculation theory.

JOSH COMPTON, BOBI IVANOV, & ERIN HESTER

https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19094/3828

Although affect factors into most theoretical explanations for inoculation-conferred resistance to influence, it has received comparably less attention than its cognitive features. What we do know from extant research, however, is important for our understanding of resistance to influence. This review surveys research in affect and inoculation theory with special attention to how affect can bolster or thwart resistance; how affective messages function in comparison with other approaches; and the role of specific emotions, like anger, in inoculation. It provides an overview of the conventional inoculation theoretical model and a careful reading of what we can learn from research exploring issues of affect in inoculation.


Keywords: persuasion, social influence, emotion, campaigns, resistance to influence

Compton, J., Ivanov, B., & Hester, E. (2022). Inoculation theory and affect. International Journal of Communication 16, 3470-3483. doi:1932-8036/2022FEA0002