Examining the Target of Receiver Elaborations: Rhetorical Question Effects on Source Processing and Persuasion

Abstract

A replication and extension of the Petty, Cacioppo, and Heesacker (1981) study on the effects of rhetorical questions is used to demonstrate the importance of considering the target of receivers' elaborations in theory testing and development. An examination of source-related elaborations provides new insight into how rhetorical questions influence persuasion. Implications for the Elaboration Likelihood Model are discussed.