assimilation-contrast theory

n. A theory of attitude change and resistance to change in which it is assumed people have preformed categories which they use to evaluate incoming persuasive positions and into which they try to fit or assimilate new information. When we hear an opinion that falls near our zones of acceptance or rejection we tend to distort that information to make it fit into our existing belief. When we hear something that is highly different from our preexisting beliefs we simply reject it and may even move our opinions in the opposite direction. It is only when new information is close to our opinions but contrasting sufficiently that we cannot assimilate it that we change our attitudes and do so in small degrees.