ABSTRACT
In contrast, in the domain of judgment, "social influence" was always associated with specific psychological mechanisms that were seen as either motivational or informational in nature (e.g., Deutsch & Gerard, 1955). The need for
Address correspondence to: Fritz Strack, Psychologie II, Universitát Würzburg, Rõntgenring 10, 97070 Würzburg, Germany. E-mail: strack@psychologie.uniwuerzburg.de
an inclusion of underlying mechanisms is most apparent in the domain of "persuasion" and "attitude change." While researchers in the Yale Attitude Change Program (e.g., Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953) conceived of attitudinal influence as a special type of learning that could be understood by identifying the situational and personal determinants, this doctrine was soon considered to be incapable of explaining many of the phenomena that had been described.
