Every object-attribute association to which an individual is exposed may be viewed as an"informational item." The individual's belief directly corresponding to an informational item will be termed a proximal belief. For example, the re ceiver of a persuasive communication may be exposed to such a statement as"The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech." This informational item links the object"United States Constitution" to the attribute"guarantees freedom of speech." The corresponding proximal belief is the receiver's initial(preexposure) subjective probability concerning this object-attribute link. In the case of active participation, the actor may observe a link between an object(such as a person) and an attribute(such as the person's hair color). The proximal belief corresponding to the observation that the person has black hair is the prior subjective probability concerning this object-attribute link.