ABSTRACT
For the theory of social judgment, to be described and assessed in this chapter, the book Social Judgment (Sherif & Hovland, 1961) is a key source. For present purposes, the subtitle of that volume, Assimilation and Contrast Effects in Communication and Attitude Change, is also instructive. The subtitle makes clear that this is a theory about the process of communication. I will use 1961 as a pivotal point in time, describing in this initial section events and developments in theory and research which preceded it. In subsequent sections I will describe the basic concepts and propositions in the theory and then attempt to relate empirical evidence reported since 1961 to the theory.
