Arousal Misattribution and Attitude Change: A Replication of Croyle and Cooper (1983)

Cognitive Dissonance Theory suggests that cognitive dissonance occurs when an individual experiences an inconsistency between two or more cognitive elements (Festinger, 1957). This inconsistency leads to an uncomfortable psychological aversive state. Croyle and Cooper (1983) attempted to investigate the physiological nature of uncomfortable feeling caused by cognitive dissonance. They found evidence that cognitive dissonance is indeed accompanied by an increase in skin electrical activity. However, they did not find typical change in attitudes caused by dissonance when arousal was measured. They assumed that it happened because of the misattribution of arousal to the measurement device. In the current study we attempted to replicate Croyle and Cooper’s findings that misattribution of arousal caused by dissonance to the measurement device can prevent attitude change. The sample of 107 students from Tilburg University took part in our experiment. In our study we found no evidence for the classical effect of cognitive dissonance on attitude change. Moreover, we found no evidence that recording situation can prevent typical attitude change caused by cognitive dissonance.