ABSTRACT
There are two crucial respects in which dissonance theory can be distinguished from its balance theory counterparts. First, the variable of commitment is all important, and plays a role in virtually every dissonance analysis. The second critical ingredient of the theory is responsibility for the commitment, a two-component concept consisting of the dimensions of choice and foreseeability. The previous chapter spelled out the experimental determinants of choice and its effects, and in all of that research foreseeability was held at a constant high level. In fact, every piece of research reported thus far has held the foreseeability aspect of responsibility at a high level, simply by insuring that subjects understand the consequence of the discrepant actions before committing themselves.
