Bogus Pipeline Attitude Assessment, Impression Management, and Misattribution in Induced Compliance Settings

Summary

Two explanations for the finding that bogus pipeline (BPL) assessment attenuates attitude change following induced compliance were investigated: (a) Ss misattribute dissonance arousal produced by the compliance to trepidation concerning the BPL; hence, no dissonance-reducing attitude change is necessary. (b) BPL assessment inhibits the misrepresentation of attitude statements for purposes of impression management. In an experiment with 153 male and female undergraduates, experimental Ss' attitudes were assessed on paper-and-pencil questionnaires after they had written counterattitudinal essays and some were led to believe that their attitudes would be reassessed on a BPL. Attitude change was eliminated by this BPL expectation even though Ss were unlikely to misattribute arousal to the BPL because they never came in contact with it. In further support of the impression-management explanation, attitude change was obtained when Ss believed they could misrepresent their attitudes on the paper-and-pencil questionnaires without being detected, either because the BPL was unreliable or because only questions irrelevant to their attitude statements would be reassessed.