Based on a theoretical rationale derived from dissonance theory, this study investigated the effects of 80%/20% ratios of positive/negative and negative/positive audience feedback on perceptual, attitudinal, and behavioral responses of normal speaking college students. Twenty-six skilled speakers and 30 unskilled speakers were randomly assigned to either a primarily positive or primarily negative audience feedback condition, with skilled speakers receiving negative and unskilled speakers receiving positive feedback (thereby constituting two dissonance groups). Ten paid undergraduate students comprised the audience. Results indicated that (1) speakers will resolve dissonance by changing attitudes towards the audience or speaking situation before they will change attitudes towards self-related variables (topic of speech and experience as a public speaker); (2) no significant differences were found between dissonant-consonant groupings on any of the behavioral variables, but differences in the amount of dysfluency were observed between positive and negative treatment conditions (e.g., speakers receiving negative feedback had significantly more interjections and hesitations); (3) after audience confrontation, unskilled speakers changed their attitudes in the direction which they had advocated significantly more than did skilled speakers. (Author/MF)