Do warnings of an impending influence appeal really forearm people? In a comprehensive synthesis of the literature, we found that warnings do make people defensive (Wood & Quinn, 2003). But defensiveness can lead to resistance to the influence attempt or, paradoxically, to agreement with the appeal. It depends on what is being attacked by the warning.

When a warning threatens people's attitudes, people respond by defending their opinions. They cognitively bolster their own views and resist the appeal. However, when a warning threatens people's self-images, especially their image as certain of their opinions and not easily influenced, people respond by defending their self-concepts. They defend the self in a paradoxical way. They pre-emptively shift their attitudes before the appeal is delivered, and thereby avoid being gullible and having to change to the message.

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Quinn, J. M., & Wood, W. (2004). Forewarnings of influence appeals: Inducing resistance and acceptance. In E. S. Knowles and J. A. Linn (Eds.), Persuasion and resistance (pp. 193-214). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. [request paper]

Wood, W., & Quinn, J. M. (2003). Forewarned and forearmed? Two meta-analytic syntheses of forewarnings of influence appeals. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 119-138. [request paper]