Cognitive Factors in Consultee Defensiveness.

Defensiveness is the most frequently utilized concept to explain inadequate change on the part of consultees. Defensiveness, in this context, indicates a motive to protect a central component of the self-concept, or a motive to present oneself favorably. Another source of consultee resistance to change results from the limitations of the human cognitive apparatus. Some of these limitations include: (1) the lack of a conscious awareness of higher mental processes; (2) disproportional cognitive availability of vivid events; (3) fundamental attribution error; and (4) other memory-related factors. While the defensiveness hypothesis assigns blame to the consultee for consultation failure, cognitive explanations do not, and tend to lead to changes in consultant behavior designed to circumvent these limitations. (Author/NRB)