This study used the national crisis following President Nixon's decision to send troops into Cambodia as an opportunity to investigate the effectiveness of social influence variables (sex and clothing attire) under conditions of high ego-involvement. Four hundred and forty-six adult passersby were presented an antiwar petition by the authors (one male, one female) who wore either conventional or hippie attire. Results show that both sex and dress of the petitioner influenced the rate of signatures and the type of response given by those individuals not signing the petition. Specific results are discussed in terms of various social psychological theories. In general, it is suggested that the impact of social influence variables is inversely related to the strength of an individual's commitment to an attitude. (Author/TL)