Self-perception and characteristics of premanipulation attitudes: A test of Bem's theory.

In a study to provide evidence for the assumption of self-perception theory that premanipulation attitudes are not salient to postmanipulation phenomenology, Bem and McConnell (1970) performed two forced-compliance experiments. One experiment was a typical forced-compliance experiment in which Ss indicated their postmanipulation attitudes. In the other experiment, the Ss were asked to recall their premanipulation attitude after the essay writing task. It was found that the recall ratings were essentially the same as the postmanipulation attitude ratings. The present study was a partial replication of the Bern and McConnell experiment. The results of this study indicate that premanipulation attitudes are salient to the postmanipulation phenomenology of Ss for whom these attitudes are highly relevant.