Abstract
The present study was designed to make clear the relationship between communication discrepancy and opinion change. According to social judgment and cognitive dissonance theory, extreme discrepancy between S's attitude and the position advocated in communication produces a “boomerang effect. ”
But the results showed that, in any experimental conditions or in any way of analysis adopted in this study, the “boomerang effect” and little opinion change occurred at small discrepancy levels, while more opinion change occurred at large discrepancy levels. And contrary to the prediction of dissonance theory, Ss derogated the communicator at small discrepancy levels and raised the evaluation of the communicator at large discrepancy levels.
With reference to the suggestion of Haraoka (1970) to the boomerang effect, the following hypothesis was proposed in this paper: Sb will be motivated to reexamine the topic advocated in the persuasive communication from other viewpoints, if he is presented with the opinion of his own or the opinion almost the same to his own in the communication.
