Inoculation theory

Inoculation Theory was developed by social psychologist William J. McGuire in 1961 to explain more about how attitudes and beliefs change, and more importantly, how to keep existing attitudes and beliefs consistent in the face of persuasion attempts. Inoculation Theory continues to be studied today by communication, social psychology, and other social science researchers. The theory has been proposed and assessed in various contexts, including politics (e.g., Pfau et al., 1990; see Compton & Ivanov, 2013, for a review), health campaigns (e.g., Pfau & VanBockern, 1994; see Compton, Jackson, & Dimmock, 2016, for a review), marketing (e.g., Compton & Pfau, 2004), education (Compton, 2011), among others. ( See Banas & Rains, 2010, for a meta-analysis, and Compton, 2013, for a narrative overview.)