THE EFFECTS OF REPEATED EXPRESSIONS ON ATTITUDE POLARIZATION DURING GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Classic explanations of the ''group polarization phenomenon'' emphasiz e interpersonal processes such as informational influence and social c omparison (Myers and Lamm, 1976). Based on earlier research, we hypoth esized that at least part of the polarization observed during group di scussion might be due to repeated attitude expression. Two studies pro vide support for this hypothesis. In Study 1, we manipulated how often each group member talked about an issue and how often he or she heard other group members talk about the issue. We found that repeated expr ession produced a reliable shift in extremity. A detailed coding of th e groups' discussions showed that the effect of repeated expression on attitude polarization was enhanced in groups where the group members repeated each other's arguments and used them in their own line of rea soning. Study 2 tested for this effect experimentally. The results sho wed that the effect of repeated expression was augmented in groups whe re subjects were instructed to use each others' arguments compared to groups where instructions were given to avoid such repetitions. Taken together, these studies show that repeated expression accounts for at least part of the attitude polarization observed in the typical studie s on group polarization and that this effect is augmented by social in teraction, i.e., it occurs particularly in an environment where group members repeat and validate each other's ideas.