After the Supreme Word

Abstract

In this article, I explore the role that “reception” of Supreme Court cases plays in attitude change. By reception, I mean that individuals must be exposed to and understand Court cases to be influenced by them. I conducted a quasi-experiment during June 2005 to test whether receiving McCreary v. ACLU and Van Orden v. Perry increases the probability of attitude change on public displays of the Ten Commandments. I also examine the relationships among receiving cases, preexisting beliefs, source credibility, and attitude change. I find that receiving McCreary is associated with less support for the unconstitutional Kentucky display. Also, the effect of receiving Van Orden is related to one's preexisting beliefs.