Conducted an experiment with 65 undergraduates to test whether the anticipation of discussion on a topic would bring about a moderation of position (i.e., movement toward the neutral point) on that topic prior to the discussion. Half of the Ss expected to engage in a face-to-face discussion with a peer on an issue. The other Ss expected only to listen to a peer state his opinion on an issue. It was found that (a) only those expecting to discuss exhibited moderation shifts, on the 7-point opinion scale, (b) when the expectation of discussion was cancelled, the Ss returned to their initial issue positions, and (c) the mechanism for the obtained moderation shifts appeared to involve movement toward the center of the opinion scale rather than movement toward the position of the discussion opponent. The implications of these results are discussed for previous studies of anticipatory "attitude change," especially those concerning forewarning. A general formulation of anticipatory shifts as instrumental responses to situational demands is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)