Abstract
60 female Ss who were opposed to or neutral to using electric shock in research were led to believe that they had shocked another individual under voluntary and nonvoluntary conditions and with or without another individual (social support) confirming the decision to administer the shock. (a) Perceived choice was not a significant factor in pain minimization, but the absence of social support was. (b) A perceived choice significantly facilitated an attitude change toward favoring the use of shock, while social support had no significant effect on attitude change. (c) Social support was not related to felt obligation to participate in the experiment. (d) Perceived choice and social support was not related to devaluation of the shocked individual's performance.
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