ON INFERRING ONES BELIEFS FROM ONES BEHAVIOR

61 undergraduate Ss were led to believe that they were going to deliver arguments against air pollution to passers-by in the street. Confederates delivered the experimental manipulation by promoting auto safety. The confederate stated that he was willing to argue in favor of auto safety because (1) he believed strongly in it (belief-relevant condition), or (2) the experiment was scientifically valuable (belief-irrelevant condition). Belief-relevant Ss were found to be more opposed to air pollution than either belief-irrelevant Ss or control Ss who were not committed to the behavior. Results support Bem's hypothesis that people infer their beliefs from their behavior and suggest that such a process occurs only when there are cues implying that behavior is relevant to belief. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.