ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of cognitive balance in social inference processes. The applicability of balance principles to social inference phenomena may be evaluated on the basis of two somewhat different criteria. One criterion is whether cognitive balance is actually one of the factors governing inferences, and whether balance principles, if they predict inferences accurately, do so for the reasons implied by the theory. If balance principles are used by subjects to avoid cognitive tension that would result from imbalanced sets of cognitions, these principles should apply equally well in all of the situations. Some general implications for cognitive balance theory should be noted. If balance principles are used in order to avoid the creation of unpleasant cognitive states, the cognitive processes underlying inferences based on imbalanced sets of relations should differ from those based on balanced sets of relations.
