Retroactive Inhibition of Cognitive Dissonance by Increasing Intensity of Counter-advocacy

Abstract

To examine the applicability of Bern's self-perception theory to the reversal of cognitive dissonance, subjects wrote counter-attitudinal essays under conditions of high and low choice and were provided either no feedback or bogus feedback designed to increase their judgments of the strength, effectiveness and extremeness of their counter-advocacy. Bogus feedback reversed 74 per cent of the attitude change shown by subjects who wrote under conditions of high choice without feedback. Low choice subjects in both feedback conditions and control subjects showed no change. The findings are interpreted in terms of communicator credibility and it is proposed that additional variables identified by the self-perception theory might effectively inhibit attitude changes induced by cognitive dissonance.

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