Andrew Guess
Andrew Guess is a researcher in political science and first author, with Alexander Coppock, of the paper Does counter-attitudinal information cause backlash? Results from three large survey experiments.
Who they are
The paper appeared in the British Journal of Political Science, first online in 2018 and in print in 2020. Guess is listed first, with Coppock as co-author.
Key papers
Guess, A., & Coppock, A. (2020). Does counter-attitudinal information cause backlash? Results from three large survey experiments. British Journal of Political Science, 50(4), 1497-1515. doi:10.1017/S0007123418000327
The paper defines backlash as people who meet evidence or arguments against their views ending up holding those views more strongly, and explains how to measure it. It reports three survey experiments, two using online worker samples and one using a nationally representative sample.
Key ideas
The authors found no sign of backlash, even in conditions set up to make it most likely, and concluded that backlash is much less common than the information-processing literature often implies. The finding sets a limit on the strongest versions of the claim that opposing evidence hardens opinion.
Sources
- Guess, A., & Coppock, A. (2020). Does counter-attitudinal information cause backlash? Results from three large survey experiments. British Journal of Political Science, 50(4), 1497-1515. doi:10.1017/S0007123418000327