Profiling persuasion: The role of beliefs, knowledge, and interest in the processing of persuasive texts that vary by argument structure

Undergrauate participants read both a one-sided text on educational reform and a two-sided nonrefutational text on the V-Chip. Students completed topic-specific beliefs, knowledge, and interest measures and reacted to specific text characteristics. The results indicated that although both forms of text affected readers, the effects varied by the type of argument structure. Specifically, after adjusting for topic, the one-sided text was more effective in changing readers' beliefs than the two-sided nonrefutational text, whereas the two-sided nonrefutational article was more effective in changing participants' knowledge. The knowledge and interest profiles of more or less persuaded readers differed significantly for the two-sided nonrefutational text but not for the one-sided text. Readers' reactions to the articles also differed by argument structure. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of readers' processing of one-sided and two-sided nonrefutational texts.