| Abstract: | This paper reports four tests of Berger's role enactment model of persuasion. The model is addressed to generalizing counter attitudinal communication to social situations when persons find themselves encoding belief-discrepant messages. This encoding takes the form of role enactments which lead to attitude change. Crucial to predicting from the model are variables identifying the communicator's self-perceived role enactment competence (SPREC), post performance evaluation (PPE), information, and role involvement. Studies 1 and 2 found no support for predictions concerning the predictive utility of information but did point to the importance of SPREC and PPE in assessing post enactment attitude. Study 3 tested a re-conceptualization of Berger's model and confirmed a multivariate relationship among SPREC, PPE, message intensity, and attitude change. In Study 4 ego involvement was conceptually linked to role involvement, and results confirmed the SPREC, PPE, involvement, message intensity, and attitude change relationship. |
