From the illusion of choice to actual control: reconsidering the induced-compliance paradigm of cognitive dissonance

Pauer, Shiva; Linne, Roman; Erb, Hans‐Peter

doi:10.1177/25152459241265002

From the illusion of choice to actual control: reconsidering the induced-compliance paradigm of cognitive dissonance

Publication date

2024-11-13

Document type

Forschungsartikel

Author

Pauer, Shiva

Linne, Roman

Erb, Hans‐Peter

Organisational unit

Sozialpsychologie

DOI

10.1177/25152459241265002

URI

https://openhsu.ub.hsu-hh.de/handle/10.24405/22934

Publisher

SAGE Publishing

Series or journal

Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science

ISSN

2515-2459

Periodical volume

7

Periodical issue

4

Article ID

25152459241265002

Has another version

https://openhsu.ub.hsu-hh.de/handle/10.24405/22787

References

https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459241268197

https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459231213375

Peer-reviewed

✅

Part of the university bibliography

✅

Language

English

Abstract

The induced-compliance paradigm is a fundamental pillar in the literature on cognitive dissonance. A recent failed replication by Vaidis et al. casts doubt on the widely used experimental method, thereby challenging the literature and prevailing theorizing about the role of perceived choice in cognitive dissonance. However, the nonreplication of the experimental effects could be attributable to methodological factors, such as laboratory settings and cross-temporal dynamics. We therefore reanalyzed the replication data to further explore the relationship between dissonant-attitude change and choice perceptions, employing self-report items instead of the traditional experimental manipulation of choice. Our analysis revealed a significant interaction effect between perceived choice and dissonant behavior (writing a counterattitudinal essay vs. a self-chosen essay) on attitude change: Participants who wrote a counterattitudinal essay aligned their attitudes only if they reported high (vs. low) freedom of choice. These findings suggest a crucial role of choice perceptions in dissonance reduction, consistent with the original theorizing. Future research can employ various methods and draw from adjacent fields, especially from the literature on control perceptions, to reconsider the induced-compliance paradigm and advance research on cognitive dissonance.

Description

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Published version

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