Postdecision dissonance at post time.

2 experiments were conducted to investigate postdecisional dissonance reduction processes following a commitment to bet on a horse in the natural and uncontrived setting of a race track. In the 1st study, 69 $2 Win bettors rated the chance that the horse they had selected would win the forthcoming race and 72 other bettors provided ratings immediately after making a $2 Win bet. On the 7-point rating scale employed, prcbet subjects gave a median rating of 3.48, which corresponded to a "fair chance of winning"; postbet subjects gave a median rating of 4.81, which corresponded to a "good chance of winning." This difference was significant beyond the .01 level. The general findings were replicated in a 2nd study in which harness-race patrons rated how confident they felt about their selected horse either just before or just after betting. Results from both studies provide support for Feslinger's theory in a real life setting and indicate that dissonance-reducing processes may occur very rapidly following commitment to a decision.