Postdecision changes in the desirability of alternatives
Brehm, sole author. The founding free-choice study tested three derivations from dissonance theory: that choosing between two alternatives creates dissonance, reduced by rating the chosen option more desirable and the rejected one less so after the choice than before it; that the pressure is greater the closer the alternatives are in desirability; and that new consonant information helps reduce it. No sample size could be verified at the published record.
Brehm, sole author. The founding free-choice study tested three derivations from dissonance theory: that choosing between two alternatives creates dissonance, reduced by rating the chosen option more desirable and the rejected one less so after the choice than before it; that the pressure is greater the closer the alternatives are in desirability; and that new consonant information helps reduce it. No sample size could be verified at the published record.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-18.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Brehm, J. W. (1956). Postdecision changes in the desirability of alternatives. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 52(3), 384-389. doi:10.1037/h0041006.