On the predictive validity of attitudes: The roles of direct experience and confidence1

Previous research has demonstrated that behavior is more accurately predicted from attitudes formed via direct, behavioral interaction with the attitude object than from attitudes developed via indirect, nonbehavioral experience. The present research examined the hypothesis that the confidence with which an attitude is held may be a mediating variable in the observed relationship between the manner of attitude formation and attitude-behavior consistency. In the first experiment, it was demonstrated that subjects who formed their attitudes through direct experience held those attitudes more confidently and behaved more consistently with those attitudes than did subjects who formed their attitudes through indirect experience. In the second experiment, it was found that, regardless of the manner of attitude formation, subjects who were led to believe that they held their attitudes confidently displayed greater attitude-behavior consistency than did subjects led to believe that they held their attitudes with little confidence. Taken together, the results suggest that it may be fruitful to view confidence both as a variable which mediates the effect of the manner of attitude formation on attitude-behavior consistency and as one which, independent of how an attitude is formed, acts as a determinant of attitude-behavior consistency.     

Dimensions of “Introversion-Extroversion”

Recently, social psychologists have set forth various hypotheses concerning the conditions that may affect the extent of attitude-behavior consistency. In this research we test the hypothesis, generally suggested by Fishbein, that attitude-behavior consistency is affected by the extent to which attitude and behavior are measured at approximately an equivalent level of generality. Behavior was measured at two levels of generality, and attitude was measured at five levels of generality. As the various attitudes were found to be moderately related, a multiple regression analysis was employed to estimate the independent effects and combined additive effects of the attitudes on each of the two levels of behavior. Briefly, the data supported the hypothesis, showing that both specific and general patterns of behavior were only affected by attitudes measured at an equivalent level of generality.     

FEMINIST ATTITUDE ACCESSIBILITY AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS

In order to investigate the role of attitude accessibility in reported intentions to engage in feminist behavior, feminist attitudes were or were not activated, and attitude behavior relations in the two conditions were assessed. Overall, the attitude-behavior relationship was strong and significant when the attitude was made accessible via a priming manipulation. In contrast, the attitude-behavior relationship was low and not significant when the attitude was not accessible, even though domain relevant behavioral intentions had been accessed. Other theoretical perspectives, potential d-irectiorss for future research on feminist attitude behavior consistency, and the applied implications are discussed.     

情绪、态度与行为的关系：基于APE模型

以Gawronski & Bodenhausen（2006）提出的联结性-推理性评价模型（associative-propositional evaluation model, APE）为基础,分析情绪在内隐态度向外显态度转化过程中的作用,以及情绪、态度与行为的关系。研究通过操纵被试的情绪状态（积极或消极）,分析了不同情绪下个体对薯片的外显态度、内隐态度对其在五分钟内食用薯片数量的预测作用。研究发现,外显态度可以预测行为结果;而内隐态度对行为结果的预测受到情绪的调节,积极情绪下内隐态度能够预测行为结果,消极情绪下内隐态度不预测行为结果。因此,与消极情绪相比,积极情绪降低了个体对内隐态度进行修正的可能性,促使个体基于内隐态度直接构建外显态度,从而使得内隐态度能够预测行为结果。研究最后分析了情绪影响内隐态与行为之间关系的心理机制、本研究的理论价值及未来的研究方向。     

Amount of information about the attitude object and attitude-behavior consistency

The synthesis of two separate lines of inquiry--research on information integration and longitudinal studies of attitudes--prompted the hypothesis that the degree of consistency between attitudes and behavior will increase as a function of the amount of information available about the attitude object. The hypothesis was tested in three separate longitudinal studies, ranging in length from 4 days to 4 months, that investigated the following behaviors: voting for candidates for political office, voting for two social policy election initiatives, and having an influenza vaccination. In support of the hypothesis, in each study, amount of information moderated the consistency between attitudes and behavior; and the significance of this relation remained even after controlling for the effects of a number of other potential moderators, including prior direct behavioral experience with the attitude object and attitude certainty. Consistent with previous research, direct behavioral experience was also a determinant of attitude-behavior consistency, and for the behavior of having an influenza vaccination, this relation was independent of the effect of amount of information. The discussion focuses on the interrelation among moderators of attitude-behavior consistency and on the theoretical implications of the findings.     

Dissonance motivation: Its nature,persistence, and reinstatement

This paper examines whether arousal is a necessary component of the motivation to reduce dissonance. Alternative responses to attitude-behavior inconsistency include attitude change, explaining the behavior by a consonant cognition (i.e., low choice), and attributing the dissonance-induced state to an alternative source, such as the purported side effects of an ingested “drug.” For conditions in which there are few consonant cognitions (i.e., high choice), a comparison of different “drug” conditions in which attitude change does or does not occur was expected to clarify which components of the dissonance-induced state mediate attitude change. Attitude change occurred in high choice conditions where the “drug” was described as pleasant, but not in high choice conditions where the “drug” was described as unpleasant or in a low choice condition. In addition, when the “drug” was descibed as arousing there was, if anything, more attitude change than when the “drug” was described as nonarousing. These results suggest that unpleasantness and not arousal per se is the motivating factor in dissonance reduction. The effects of the passage of time and reinstating the counterattitudinal behavior on the alternative responses to attitude-behavior inconsistency were also examined. Subjects returned 2 weeks later, stated their attitudes, recalled their original counterattitudinal essay, and again stated their attitudes. Although there was a general decrease in attitude change during this period, the pattern of attitude change remained basically the same. Attitude change following reinstatement increased from its original level only in those conditions where it had been initially attenuated through misattribution or a consonant cognition.     

The Bantu Clerk: A Study of Role Expectations

Summary

In an earlier work an hypothesis of consistency between a number of independent beliefs and attitude, and between a number of independent behaviors and attitude, was developed and tested by survey research. The present study extended the earlier work by investigating the joint relationship of belief and behavior to attitude. Both belief and behavior indices were found to correlate significantly with attitude. Further, the multiple correlation, with attitude as the dependent variable, was significantly stronger than either first-order relationship. This research has implications for specific attitude-belief and attitude-behavior consistencies and for attempts to understand unimpressive relations between behavior and attitude.     

Some comments on the distinction between intention and intentionality

The topic of intention has recently received attention from behavior analysts (Hineline, 2003; Neuman, 2004). From a behavior-analytic perspective, it is important to identify the circumstances in which people utter such terms, and to identify the potential circumstances that maintain such utterances. It follows that from a behavior-analytic perspective, the focus is primarily on those who observe behavior and attribute intentions to that behavior. However, there has not been a distinction between intention and intentionality. The current analysis stresses the distinction between the two terms, both from a traditional point of view (psychologist and layperson) and from a behavior-analytic point of view. From a behavior analyst's perspective, the distinction is important because observers may be responding to distinct functional relations when they attribute intention or intentionality to behavior.     

Parallals between attitudes and traits as predictors of behavior

Both attitudes and traits have served as within-person constructs intended to permit the prediction of later behavior. Despite this similarity, research in the two domains has tended to progress in a relatively independent fashion. A number of parallels between the attitude and trait literature are noted with regard to definitions of the constructs and their utility as predictors of behavior. Parallels with respect to the identification of variables that moderate the attitude-behavior and trait-behavior relation are also discussed, as are similarities in the potential processes by which attitudes and traits guide behavior. It is concluded that the parallels are so extensive that research in each domain would benefit from an increased exchange of theory, methods, and findings.     

Using partially structured attitude measures to enhance the attitude-behavior relationship

This article recalls a classic scheme for categorizing attitude measures. One particular group of measures, those that rely on respondents' interpretations of partially structured stimuli, has virtually disappeared from attitude research. An attitude measure based on respondents' interpretation of partially structured stimuli is considered. Four studies employing such a measure demonstrate that it predicts unique variance in self-reported and actual behavior, beyond that predicted by explicit and contemporary implicit measures and regardless of whether the attitude object under consideration is wrought with social desirability concerns. Implications for conceptualizing attitude measurement and attitude-behavior relations are discussed.     

A psychological perspective interpretation of the attitude-behavior relationship

In two experiments subjects were shown seven items that described uses for photographs taken of them with an opposite-sex black. The uses formed a graded series ranging from a situation in which only other researchers would see the photos to one in which they would be employed in a nationwide campaign for integration. Subjects were either asked to sign releases so that the photographs could actually be taken and used in the ways specified (behavior) or to indicate their hypothetical agreement or disagreement with each release as part of a survey on attitudes (attitude). In both experiments, the attitude subjects agreed to more of the releases than did the behavior subjects. This difference has been termed an attitude-behavior discrepancy by some researchers. However, in both experiments, behavior subjects judged themselves as no less prejudiced than attitude subjects and scaled agreement with each photographic release as reflecting less prejudice than did attitude subjects. These data are consistent with the interpretation that subjects changed their psychological perspectives (Ostrom & Upshaw, 1968) in order to interpret their own behaviors as attitudinally consistent.     

态度研究的新进展——双重态度模型

态度一直是社会心理学领域一个极为重要的研究课题,一直以来研究只关注有意识状态下人们的外显态度,对于无意识状态下的内隐态度最近才引起人们的意识。双重态度模型理论认为,人们对同一态度客体可能同时拥有两种不同的态度－－外显态度和内隐态度,这一理论对传统的态度概念及测量技术都提出了新的挑战。该对双重态度模型的理论来源、基本观点、双重态度类型及相关的研究证据作了详细介绍,最后探讨了双重态度模型理论对态度改变、态度测量及态度与行为一致性等未来研究方向的意义与启示。     

COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND BEHAVIOR: APPLYING A MULTIPLE ACT CRITERIA1

Operating from a model derived from research on the attitude-behavior relationship, a conceptualization is presented which indicts current attempts to select a specific behavior and examine its relationship with a personality characteristic relevant to the field of communication. Evidence is presented demonstrating that the characteristic should predict well a multiple act criteria but not a single act criterion. In addition, an empirical distinction is predicted between apprehension and attitude and a comparison is made between three self-report measures of apprehension.     

Cultural evolution: interpersonal influence, issue importance, and the development of shared attitudes in college residence halls

This article investigates cultural evolution in four college residence halls. Up to four attitude surveys were completed by 1,252 participants in a semester. Participants' attitudes became more similar to those living closest to them over time as a result of localized interpersonal influence processes. Correlations between attitudes also increased with time as these cultural attributes grew increasingly interdependent. These basic findings support the predictions of dynamic social impact theory. However, these effects were stronger for more important issues even when controlling for discussion. These findings are likely the result of (a) individual-level selective attention to personally important information, (b) greater attitude-behavior consistency for important issues, and/or (c) nonlinear attitude change processes for important issues as suggested by the catastrophe theory of attitudes. These results suggest that intrapsychic processes as well as interpersonal processes contribute to cultural evolution.     

Behavior analysis and the study of human aging

As the population of older adults continues to rise, psychologists along with other behavioral and social scientists have shown increasing interest in this age group. Although behavior analysts have contributed to research on aging, the focus has been on applications that remedy age-related deficits, rather than a concern with aging as a developmental process. In particular, there has been little interest in the central theoretical questions that have guided gerontologists. How does behavior change with advancing years, and what are the sources of those changes? We consider the possibility that this neglect reflects the long-standing commitment of behavior analysts to variables that can be experimentally manipulated, a requirement that excludes the key variable—age itself. We review the options available to researchers and present strategies that minimize deviations from the traditional features of behavior-analytic designs. Our comments are predicated on the view that aging issues within contemporary society are far too important for behavior analysts to ignore.     

A contextual approach to research on AIDS prevention

The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease that is transmitted almost entirely through behavioral factors. In the absence of a cure or vaccine, the modification of AIDS-risk behavior presents a unique challenge to behavioral scientists and should be taken as a clear imperative by behavior analysts. This paper discusses the currently dominant social-cognitive theories (the health belief model, the theory of reasoned action, and self-efficacy theory) that have been widely used to predict and understand AIDS-risk behavior. Although these theories have generated a voluminous literature on the cognitive, attitudinal, and demographic correlates of AIDS-risk behavior, they have not resulted in specific intervention strategies to influence risky behavior, most likely because they fail to specify manipulable variables. As an alternative to social-cognitive theories, this paper evaluates the usefulness of a behavior-analytic approach to stem the spread of HIV infection. It examines some of the philosophical differences underlying cognitive and behavioral approaches that are embedded in mechanistic versus functional contextualistic principles. It explores the theoretical and practical implications of adopting either predicting and explaining behavior or predicting and influencing behavior as the goals of science. To illustrate the value of adopting the goal of prediction and influence, behavior-analytic research on the social context of risky sexual behavior in adolescents is described. The paper argues that in order to alter the future course of the AIDS epidemic, the behavioral sciences must move beyond describing cognitive and attitudinal correlates of risky behavior and focus on the social context of the behavior of individuals. In addition, population-wide changes in AIDS-risk behavior can be accomplished only if research focuses on how to influence larger social systems, including the media, school systems, and community organizations.     

态度结构一致性及其对态度和行为的影响

态度结构一致性指态度的情感或认知成分与总体态度的一致程度以及态度的情感与认知成分两者间的一致程度。本文介绍了结构一致性的界定和操作方法,回顾了结构一致性对态度和行为的影响,包括其在态度形成中的作用以及对态度可获得性和态度-行为关系的影响。同时指出未来研究应关注各种结构一致性的交互,将结构一致性研究推广到群体水平,并进一步应用于社会预警研究。     

On the consistency between attitudes and behavior: Look to the method of attitude formation

A field study and a laboratory experiment were conducted to test the hypothesis that the method by which an attitude was formed is a crucial variable affecting attitude-behavior consistency. It was predicted that people who form their attitudes on the basis of direct behavioral interaction with the attitude object will demonstrate significantly greater attitude-behavior consistency than individuals whose attitudes were formed by other means. In the field study, students with direct prior experience with a housing crisis demonstrated greater consistency between their attitudes and behavioral attempts to alleviate the crisis than did students with similar attitudes but without prior direct experience. In the laboratory experiment, subjects who indicated their attitude toward a variety of puzzle types after working examples of each demonstrated greater consistency between these attitudes and subsequent behavior in a free play situation than subjects with similar attitudes formed on the basis of information given by the experimenter. It was suggested that direct behavioral experience produces an attitude which is more clearly, confidently, and stably maintained than an attitude formed through more indirect means.