ABSTRACT
This chapter examines one of the consequences for attitudes that are formed via different sources of influence. It includes a measure of behavioural intention to determine whether the predicted effects concerning attitude persistence also affected participants' intention to behave in a message-congruent way. The research shows a difference in attitude persistence depending on the credibility of the source and the extent to which participants' dissociate the message from the source. The chapter examines an important consequence of attitudes formed via majority or minority influence, namely attitude persistence over time, to gain an insight into the processes that had occurred in their formation. Considerable research in the persuasion literature shows that attitudes changed via systematic and detailed message-processing are strong in nature and should therefore persist over time. The impact of attitude-change over time has been examined within the persuasion literature in relation to what is referred to as the sleeper effect.
