Involvement and Set as Determinants of Behavioral Stereotypy

Ss were run in a “two-choice” experiment in which the stimulus series consisted of equally-likely alternatives arranged in a random sequence. Half the Ss were run under non-involving instructions and half under involving instructions. Half the Ss in each of these groups were told that the sequence of alternatives was random and half were told that the sequence had a definite structure. Telling an S that the problem was soluble significantly reduced his stereotypy and increased his tendency to alternate an incorrect response. Involvement had no effect on an S who believed the problem to be insoluble, but had a significant effect on Ss who believed the problem to be soluble. Ss in the involved-structured group grossly underevaluated their performance and had the highest level of aspiration relative to Ss in the other groups.