Replication Data for: Does Counter-Attitudinal Information Cause Backlash? Results from Three Large Survey Experiments

Several theoretical perspectives suggest that when individuals are exposed to counter-attitudinal evidence or arguments, their preexisting opinions and beliefs are reinforced, resulting in a phenomenon sometimes known as "backlash." We formalize the concept of backlash and specify how it can be measured. We then present results from three survey experiments -- two on Mechanical Turk and one on a nationally representative sample -- in which we find no evidence of backlash, even under theoretically favorable conditions. While a casual reading of the literature on information processing suggests that backlash is rampant, we conclude that it is much rarer than commonly supposed.