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An experiment was conducted using a novel misattribution source to investigate the motivational state underlying dissonance-induced attitude change. Misattribution sources associated in the past with negative experiences (e.g., a pill) have been criticized as negatively biasing subjects' interpretation of their dissonance arousal. However, prism goggles, which were used in place of an “experimental pill” as the misattribution source in the present research, were found in pilot testing to be novel, affectively neutral, and affectively malleable. Subjects wore prism goggles for 3 min and were informed that the goggles may have the delayed side-effect of making them feel pleasantly excited (positive hedonic state) or tense (negative hedonic state). Subsequently, subjects agreed to write a counterattitudinal essay under conditions of high or low choice. Results revealed that the frequency of nonspecific skin conductance …