Altering Category-Level Beliefs: The Impact of Level of Representation at Belief Formation and Belief Disconfirmation

This research program investigates whether representational level of information underlying initial beliefs (individual vs. category) and disconfirming information (individual vs. category) influence the magnitude of belief and attitude change regarding categories of objects. In 3 experiments, 2 key effects emerged. A main effect of type of disconfirming information indicated that category-level information produced more belief and attitude change than did individual-level information. Also, a significant interaction between type of information at formation and disconfirmation indicated a relative matching effect, with category-level disconfirmation producing substantially more belief and attitude change than individual-level disconfirmation when initial beliefs were based on category-level information but only slightly greater change when initial beliefs were based on individual-level information.