Why people say "Yes": A dual-process theory of acquiescence

In 3 studies the authors investigated yea-saying acquiescence from the stan dpoint of D. T. Gilbert's (1991) 2-stage model of comprehension, wherein co mprehension requires automatic acceptance during the first stage, which is then reconsidered and evaluated during a more effortful second stage. In St udy 1 respondents' response times to 100 self-descriptive adjectives, 10 ad jectives endorsing each pole of each of the Big Five personality factors, w ere measured. Yea-sayers said "yes" faster than appropriate responders or n ay-sayers, but "no" answers took equally long for these 3 types of people. These findings were consistent with the proposition that yea-sayers truncat e the reconsideration stage of processing. Studies 2 and 3 supported this m odel more directly with findings that answering questions under cognitive l oad increased yea-saying. Implications are drawn for self-report measuremen t.