Self-perception, dissonance, and premanipulation attitudes

Abstract

A controversy has arisen between cognitive dissonance researchers and self-perception theory advocates regarding the relevance of premanipulation attitudes to postmanipulation attitudes in dissonance experiments. The present study attempted to test the relevance of premanipulation attitudes to postmanipulation attitudes by preselecting Ss for a forced-compliance experiment on the bais of the extremity of their premanipulation attitudes concerning a particular topic. It was found that Ss with extreme premanipulation attitudes differed significantly in their postmanipulation attitudes from Ss with neutral premanipulation attitudes. In addition, the extreme premanipulation attitude Ss demonstrated significantly greater attitude change than did the neutral premanipulation attitude Ss. After ruling out a regression effect explanation of the greater change in the extreme premanipulation attitude Ss, the results were interpreted as consistent with cognitive dissonance theory predictions and as nonsupportive of self-perception theory assumptions that premanipulation attitudes are not relevant to postmanipulation attitudes. © 1972, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.