Self-Monitoring and Susceptibility to the Influence of Self-Prophecy

摘要

Having people predict whether they will perform a socially normative behavior increases their probability of performing that target action. Recent empirical evidence supports a dissonance-based theoretical explanation for this self-prophecy effect. While the effect is robust, few boundary conditions have been identified. We report two experiments within the dissonance paradigm providing theory-relevant evidence for the moderating effects of self-monitoring on people's susceptibility to self-prophecy. In particular, low self-monitors are more likely than high self-monitors to be influenced by self-prediction regarding normative behaviors. Implications for theory and the practice of social influence are provided.