Sugaring the Pill: Assessing Rhetorical Strategies Designed to Minimize Defensive Reactions to Group Criticism

Autor/inn/en	Hornsey, Matthew J.; Robson, Erin; Smith, Joanne; Esposo, Sarah; Sutton, Robbie M.
Titel	Sugaring the Pill: Assessing Rhetorical Strategies Designed to Minimize Defensive Reactions to Group Criticism
Quelle	In: Human Communication Research, 34 (2008) 1, S.70-98 (29 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0360-3989
DOI	10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00314.x
Schlagwörter	Communication Strategies; Criticism; Groups; Responses; Defense Mechanisms; Positive Reinforcement; Interpersonal Communication; Foreign Countries; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kommunikationsstrategie; Kritik; Abwehrverhalten; Interpersonale Kommunikation; Ausland; Australien
Abstract	People are considerably more defensive in the face of group criticism when the criticism comes from an out-group rather than an in-group member (the intergroup sensitivity effect). We tested three strategies that out-group critics can use to reduce this heightened defensiveness. In all studies, Australians received criticism of their country either from another Australian or from a foreigner. In Experiment 1, critics who attached praise to the criticism were liked more and agreed with more than were those who did not. In Experiment 2, out-group critics were liked more and aroused less negativity when they acknowledged that the problems they identified in the target group were shared also by their own in-group. In both experiments, the ameliorative effects of praise and acknowledgment were fully mediated by attributions of constructiveness. Experiment 3 tested the strategy of spotlighting; that is, of putting on the record that you intend your comments to apply to just a portion of the group rather than to the whole group. This strategy--which did not directly address the attributional issues that are presumed to underpin the intergroup sensitivity effect--proved ineffective. Practical and theoretical implications for intergroup communication are discussed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10