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Abstract:
Abstract: Social psychologists often study when and why
attitudes change, but seldom explore the processes by which it
occurs. In contrast, cognitive neuroscientists study memory and
attentional processes but seldom in the context of attitudes or
other forms of motivated cognition. We combined these approaches to
investigate the roles of explicit memory and attentional resources
in post-decision attitude change. In this form of attitude change,
participants decide which of two sets of stimuli is more desirable.
Post-decision attitude assessments typically show that liking for
selected stimuli increases, and liking for rejected stimuli
decreases, relative to pre-decision levels. Experiment 1 tested the
prevailing hypothesis that this form of attitude change requires
post-decision re-evaluation of the choice, which would draw on
explicit memory. Participants were a group of 12 amnesic patients
and their matched controls. Both groups showed similar amounts of
significant attitude change. Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis
that attention is needed to evaluate choice alternatives and change
attitudes. Separate groups of normal undergraduate participants
completed the task with full or divided attention. Magnitude of
attitude change was unaffected by attentional load. Together, these
experiments suggest that attitude change can be automatic or
implicit, and challenge prevailing theories of attitude change that
consider conscious evaluation and re-evaluation essential to the
attitude change process.
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