How Judgments Change Following Comparison of Current and Prior Information

Although much observed judgment change is superficial and occurs without considering prior information, other forms of change also occur. Comparison between prior and new information about an issue may trigger change by influencing either or both the perceived strength and direction of the new information. In four experiments, participants formed and reported initial judgments of a policy based on favorable written information about it. Later, these participants read a second passage containing strong favorable or unfavorable information on the policy. Compared to control conditions, subtle and direct prompts to compare the initial and new information led to more judgment change in the direction of a second passage perceived to be strong. Mediation analyses indicated that comparison yielded greater perceived strength of the second passage, which in turn correlated positively with judgment change. Moreover, self-reports of comparison mediated the judgment change resulting from comparison prompts.     

PERSONAL CONSTRUCT PSYCHOLOGY AND AUTISM

There has been no significant writing within personal construct psychology about autistic spectrum disorders, despite the fact that this approach provides promising models in a number of other specific areas of human difficulty. This article outlines a PCP model of autism, based on a wide variety of recent research findings and writings, including those of autism sufferers themselves. Autism is considered in the light of Kelly's fundamental postulate and 11 corollaries as well as Procter's (1978) group and family corollaries. It is argued that Kelly's theory provides an integrative framework for considering this complex set of disorders with implications for further research in autism and the early development of social cognition as well as for therapeutic and educational intervention in helping people struggling with autistic spectrum disorders.