ABSTRACT
I first got to “know” Elliot Aronson through his writings, particularly his books, The Social Animal (1988) and Methods of Research in Social Psychology (Aronson, Ellsworth, Carlsmith, & Gonzales, 1990), and his papers on cognitive dissonance theory (Aronson, 1968, 1969, 1992; Aronson & Carlsmith, 1962; Aronson & Mills, 1959). His writing conveyed a contagious passion for psychological research. So when I first met Elliot in 1997 at the dissonance conference in Arlington, Texas, I told him, “I think you’re the best writer in psychology.” He leaned over and replied, “You know what, I agree with you.” We shared a big laugh, the first of many. Each time I see Elliot, he makes me laugh.
