Whether biased assimilation is a cognitive or a motivational bias has been debated. The current study empirically tested this question by having participants high and low in prejudice toward homosexuality read and evaluate an attitude-disconfirming study. For half the participants, a self-affirmation manipulation was inserted between the reading and the evaluation of the study. For half the participants, a control task was inserted between the reading and the evaluation of the study. Self-affirmation participants rated the study as more convincing than control participants, but this was most evident among high prejudice participants.
Discussion focuses on the functions of attitude for one's self-concept.