propels it into acceptance of the odd and somewhat unconvincing arguments and doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses?
In the classic paper by Festinger and Carlsmith on CD, published in 1959, it states;
Let us consider a person who privately holds opinion "X" but has, as a result of pressure brought to bear on him publicly stated that he believes "not X."
1. This person has two cognitions which, psychologically, do not fit together: one of these is the knowledge that he believes "X," the other the knowledge that he has publicly stated that he believes "not X." If no factors other than his private opinion are considered it would follow, at least in our culture, that if he believes "X" he would publicly state "X." Hence, his cognition of his private belief is dissonant with his cognition concerning his actual public statement.
2. Similarly, the knowledge that he has said "not X" is consonant with (does fit together with) those cognitive elements corresponding to the reasons, pressures, promises of rewards and/or threats of punishment which induced him to say "not X."
3. In evaluating the total magnitude of dissonance one must take account of both dissonances and consonances. Let us think of the sum of all the dissonances involving some particular cognition as "D" and the sum of all the consonances as "C." Then we might [p. 204] think of the total magnitude of dissonance as being a function of "D" divided by "D" plus "C."
Let us then see what can be said about the total magnitude of dissonance in a person created by the knowledge that he said "not X" and really believes "X." With everything else held constant, this total magnitude of dissonance would decrease as the number and importance of the pressures which induced him to say "not X" increased.
Thus, if the overt behavior was brought about by, say, offers of reward or threats of punishment, the magnitude of dissonance is maximal if these promised rewards or threatened punishments were just barely sufficient to induce the person to say "not X." From this point on, as the promised rewards or threatened punishment become larger, the magnitude of dissonance becomes smaller.
4. One way in which the dissonance can be reduced is for the person to change his private opinion so as to bring it into correspondence with what he has said. One would consequently expect to observe such opinion change after a person has been forced or induced to say something contrary to his private opinion. Furthermore, since the pressure to reduce dissonance will be a function of the magnitude of the dissonance, the observed opinion change should be greatest when the pressure used to elicit the overt behavior is just sufficient to do it.
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Festinger/
When 'pressure' to perform FS is compelling but not forced would this create a stronger attachment to the belief system as the new believer states publicly what the magazines state, thus changing the opinion of the new adherant, not before the FS, but after? Thus, the higher incident of early exit from the cult by those 'raised in the Truth', since the pressure was far greater to announce oneself, thereby creating lesser committment to the viewpoint?
Perhaps I am missing the point here - but it seems likely that this is part of the effect. Those later converts take it strong and hard, while those raised are finding a way out at age of majority often.
Jeff