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.     

Attitude accessibility,attitude-behavior consistency,and the strength of the object-evaluation association

Two experiments were conducted in order to examine the accessibility of attitudes from memory as a function of the manner of attitude formation. The findings of the first experiment indicated that subjects could respond more quickly in a response-time task to inquiries about their attitudes when the attitudes were based upon direct behavioral experience with the attitude objects than when they were based upon nonbehavioral experience. It was suggested that, relative to indirect experience, behavioral experience may facilitate the attitude formation process and increase attitude accessibility once the attitude is formed. A second experiment found support for both of these notions. Two additional experiments indicated that repeated association of the attitude object and the attitudinal evaluation enhanced both attitude accessibility and attitude-behavior consistency. It was suggested that the strength of the object-evaluation association is a critical determinant of accessibility, which, in turn, acts as a central factor in the process by which attitudes affect later behavior. It was further suggested that the manner of attitude formation affects attitude-behavior consistency because direct experience produces a stronger object-evaluation association and, hence, a more accessible attitude than does indirect experience.     

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.     

Understanding implicit and explicit attitude change: a systems of reasoning analysis

There is considerable controversy about how to conceptualize implicit and explicit attitudes, reflecting substantial speculation about the mechanisms involved in implicit and explicit attitude formation and change. To investigate this issue, the current work examines the processes by which new attitudes are formed and changed and how these attitudes predict behavior. Five experiments support a systems of reasoning approach to implicit and explicit attitude change. Specifically, explicit attitudes were shaped in a manner consistent with fast-changing processes, were affected by explicit processing goals, and uniquely predicted more deliberate behavioral intentions. Conversely, implicit attitudes reflected an associative system characterized by a slower process of repeated pairings between an attitude object and related evaluations, were unaffected by explicit processing goals, uniquely predicted spontaneous behaviors, and were exclusively affected by associative information about the attitude object that was not available for higher order cognition.     

Attitude processing strategies

Several models of memory-based attitude processing were examined in a laboratory experiment. After receiving stimulus information with implications for either one or both of two attitudes (toward a person and toward a behavior with respect to this person), subjects were asked to recall the information and to report their attitudes. Information was received under instructions to form only one of these two attitudes. Consistent with past research, information was subsequently better recalled when it had implications for the attitude being evaluated than when it did not. However, null effects of the instructional set on reported attitudes suggested that subjects relied on their memory-for-attitude (or additional implications) rather than on memory-for-facts. The present findings extend the generality of this conclusion to behavioral attitudes, large stimulus sets, and heterogeneous stimulus items. Low correlations between recalled stimuli and reported attitudes also supported a memory-for-attitude model. However, correlations between behavioral attitudes and recall of behavioral outcomes increased under certain conditions. Results are discussed in relation to recent findings in person perception research.     

Forming attitudes that predict future behavior: a meta-analysis of the attitude-behavior relation

A meta-analysis (k of conditions = 128; N = 4,598) examined the influence of factors present at the time an attitude is formed on the degree to which this attitude guides future behavior. The findings indicated that attitudes correlated with a future behavior more strongly when they were easy to recall (accessible) and stable over time. Because of increased accessibility, attitudes more strongly predicted future behavior when participants had direct experience with the attitude object and reported their attitudes frequently. Because of the resulting attitude stability, the attitude-behavior association was strongest when attitudes were confident, when participants formed their attitude on the basis of behavior-relevant information, and when they received or were induced to think about one- rather than two-sided information about the attitude object.     

Strength in positive and negative political attitudes

The aim of the study was to examine whether positive-negative asymmetry can be found in the strength of political attitudes. Two hundred and eleven subjects participated in the study. Attitudes toward political parties were examined by means of a questionnaire with three strength measures. As was expected, attitude intensity, centrality and behaviour were found to be linked together in positive attitudes but not in negative attitudes.     

品牌态度强度与品牌态度可达性的关系性质

运用态度量表和反应时实验比较了品牌态度强度与品牌态度可达性的关系性质。研究发现,女性被试对保健品品牌要素的态度评价越肯定,态度通达和提取的时间就越快,两者之间形成有规律的函数关系;但在否定性态度条件下,没有出现类似的规律性;当要求被试把模糊性态度明确为肯定或否定态度时,67％的被试明确为否定态度,但所用时间显著慢于明确为肯定态度所用的时间     

Salience of initial attitude,magnitude of incentive,and attitude change in a forced compliance paradigm

To examine the application of interpersonal simulation findings to cognitive dissonance and incentive theories of attitude change in the forced compliance paradigm, 60 Ss were paid 50 cents or $2.50 to write counterattitudinal essays with salient or nonsalient initial attitudes. Findings showed that the larger incentive yielded greater change for salient pretest attitudes but that the smaller incentive led to more change of nonsalient pretest attitudes. Measures of error in attitude recall and a correlational analysis between pretest, posttest, and recalled attitudes were also consistent with Bem's (1967) hypothesis of isomorphism between the attributions of Ss and observers. It is proposed that remaining simulation data reported in the cognitive dissonance/self-perception controversy may identify additional parameters of attitude changes in forced compliance experiments.     

On the automatic activation of attitudes

We hypothesized that attitudes characterized by a strong association between the attitude object and an evaluation of that object are capable of being activated from memory automatically upon mere presentation of the attitude object. We used a priming procedure to examine the extent to which the mere presentation of an attitude object would facilitate the latency with which subjects could indicate whether a subsequently presented target adjective had a positive or a negative connotation. Across three experiments, facilitation was observed on trials involving evaluatively congruent primes (attitude objects) and targets, provided that the attitude object possessed a strong evaluative association. In Experiments 1 and 2, preexperimentally strong and weak associations were identified via a measurement procedure. In Experiment 3, the strength of the object-evaluation association was manipulated. The results indicated that attitudes can be automatically activated and that the strength of the object-evaluation association determines the likelihood of such automatic activation. The implications of these findings for a variety of issues regarding attitudes--including their functional value, stability, effects on later behavior, and measurement--are discussed.     

Affective-cognitive consistency and thought-induced attitude polarization

Subjects whose preexperimental attitudes toward either capital punishment or censorship were high or low in affective-cognitive consistency were identified. These four groups thought about their attitudes by writing two essays, one on the topic for which consistency had been assessed (relevant essay) and one on the unassessed topic (distractor essay). In accord with the hypothesis that thought-induced attitude polarization requires the presence of a well-developed knowledge structure, high-consistency subjects evidenced greater polarization than low-consistency subjects only on the relevant topic after writing the relevant essay. Content analyses of subjects' relevant essays yielded additional data confirming Tesser's ideas regarding mediation: High (vs. low) consistency subjects expressed a greater proportion of cognitions that were evaluatively consistent with their prior affect toward the attitude object and a smaller proportion of evaluatively inconsistent and neutral cognitions. Moreover, although high-and low-consistency subjects did not differ in the amount of attitudinally relevant information they possessed or their awareness of inconsistent cognitions, their method of dealing with discrepant information diverged: High-consistency subjects evidenced a greater tendency to assimilate discrepant information by generating refutational thoughts that discredited or minimized the importance of inconsistent information.     

Empirical validation of affect, behavior, and cognition as distinct components of attitude

A prevalent model of attitude structure specifies three components: affect, behavior, and cognition. The validity of this tripartite model was evaluated. Five conditions needed for properly testing the three-component distinction were identified. Two new studies were then designed to validate the tripartite model. A consideration of the tripartite model's theoretical basis indicated that the most important validating conditions are (a) the use of nonverbal, in addition to verbal, measures of affect and behavior, and (b) the physical presence of the attitude object. Study 1, in which subjects' attitudes toward snakes were examined, indicated very strong support for this tripartite model: The model was statistically acceptable, its relative fit was very good, and the intercomponent correlations were moderate (.38 less than r less than .71). Study 2 was a verbal report analogue of Study 1. Results from Study 2 indicated that higher intercomponent correlations occurred when attitude measures derived solely from verbal reports and when the attitude object was not physically present.     

The Waffle Phenomenon: Negative Evaluations of Those Who Shift Attitudinally1

The past two presidential campaigns have been filed with charges that the Democratic nominee “changed his mind” on various issues. The present research explored the possibility that negative evaluations may be produced by attitude change per se. In the first experiment, subjects responded to a stranger whose attitudes remained stable or who changed his attitudes over a period of two months vs. one year. Individuals who changed their attitudes were generally evaluated more negatively than those whose attitudes remained stable; the amount of time over which the change occurred produced no effect. A second expcriment sought to determine if the direction of change (toward increased or decreased similarity with subjects) influenced evaluations of a stranger. Attitude change which resulted in decreased similarity was rated most negatively. Even when a stranger changed his attitudes in the direction of greater similarity with subjects, however, he was still regarded as less decisive, less reliable, and a worse leader than was an individual with stable attitudes. This negative evaluation of attitude change was labeled the “waffle phenomenon”, and the implications for political candidates were discussed.     

广告干预对消费者品牌态度和信任的影响

为了探讨广告干预对危机品牌的消费者品牌态度和信任的影响,采用实验组与控制组对照的前测后测设计,其中实验组采用2×2因素型被试间实验设计。结果表明:广告干预对被试的内隐品牌态度发生了一定程度的影响,对被试的外显品牌态度和品牌信任则发生了很大程度的影响;高渗透广告相较于低渗透广告能驱使消费者对危机品牌产生更为正向的外显品牌态度;理性诉求广告相较于感性诉求广告能驱使消费者对危机品牌产生更为正向的外显品牌态度;广告的渗透程度和诉求方式对内隐品牌态度的影响存在交互作用;品牌信任受双重态度驱动。     

On the nature of attitude–behavior relations: the strong guide,the weak follow

This study investigated the role of attitude strength as a moderator variable with regard to the direction of the relation between attitudes and behavior. The hypothesis was tested that strong attitudes guide behavior, whereas weak attitudes follow behavior in accordance with self‐perception principles. The study (N = 106) consisted of two sessions. In session 1, attitudes and attitude strength (certainty, importance, centrality) towards Greenpeace were measured. One week later, participants returned to the laboratory (session 2) and were given the opportunity to donate money to Greenpeace. After the participants' decision to donate money or not, attitudes towards Greenpeace were measured again. The results were consistent with the predictions. First, strong attitudes were more predictive of donation behavior than weak attitudes. Moreover, session 2 attitudes of weak attitude participants were influenced by their donation behavior, whereas no such effect was found among strong attitude participants. Finally, strong attitudes were also found to be more stable over time than weak attitudes. The results provide a complete overview of the moderating role of attitude strength with regard to the bi‐directional attitude‐behavior relationship. Results are discussed in the light of attitude retrieval versus attitude‐construction processes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived Similarity in Interracial Attitudes and Behaviors: The Effects of Belief and Dialect Style1

The present study investigated the role of two types of similarity (attitude similarity and dialect style) on interpersonal attitudes and behaviors in a face-to-face interaction. Sixty subjects interacted with an experimental confederate who was either black or white, spoke either standard white English or a black dialect, and whom the subject perceived as agreeing or disagreeing on an attitude questionnaire. Subjects' nonverbal behavior during the interaction was coded using Mehrabian's scheme of immediacy cues, and attitudes toward the confederate were measured via questionnaire following the interaction. Subjects showed more favorable attitudes toward the white than black confederate and had more positive attitudes toward the black confederate when she spoke white English. Contrary to previous findings, no significant main effect was found for belief similarity. While no significant mean differences were obtained between conditions for the nonverbal measures, correlations between these measures and a measure of likinglfriendship indicated that this relationship differed depending on the race of the confederate and the dialect used. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the role of perceived similarity in interracial interaction.     

Predicting Cigarette Use: The Need to Incorporate Measures of Salience in the Theory of Reasoned Action1,2

It is shown that incorporating a measure of belief salience in the theory of reasoned action improves both the model's predictive and explanatory power. It is demonstrated that the sum of the five evaluative-beliefs which are most salient for each person is more predictive of a semantic differential measure of that person's attitude than is the sum of the remaining nonsalient evaluative beliefs. In addition, it is shown that the perceived utilities of smoking are differentially salient for smokers and nonsmokers. It is argued that latitude of rejection, centrality, and certainty can be used as measures of the degree of definition of a person's attitudes and subjective norms. It is consequently predicted that these variables will be correlated and that attitudes and subjective norms which are well defined will be more highly predictive of a person's intention and behavior. While some support was found for these hypotheses, it is argued that the present results suggest that the relationship between these variables may be more complicated than was initially hypothesized.     

A model of dual attitudes

When an attitude changes from A1 to A2, what happens to A1? Most theories assume, at least implicitly, that the new attitude replaces the former one. The authors argue that a new attitude can override, but not replace, the old one, resulting in dual attitudes. Dual attitudes are defined as different evaluations of the same attitude object: an automatic, implicit attitude and an explicit attitude. The attitude that people endorse depends on whether they have the cognitive capacity to retrieve the explicit attitude and whether this overrides their implicit attitude. A number of literatures consistent with these hypotheses are reviewed, and the implications of the dual-attitude model for attitude theory and measurement are discussed. For example, by including only explicit measures, previous studies may have exaggerated the ease with which people change their attitudes. Even if an explicit attitude changes, an implicit attitude can remain the same.     

I like you,I like you not: Understanding the formation of context-dependent automatic attitudes

Previous research has shown that automatic evaluations can be highly context dependent. Expanding on past research demonstrating context effects for existing attitudes toward familiar objects, the present research examined basic principles that guide the formation of context-dependent versus context-independent automatic attitudes. Results from four experiments showed that: (a) newly formed attitudes generalised to novel contexts when prior experiences with the attitude object were evaluatively homogeneous; (b) when prior experiences were evaluatively heterogeneous, automatic evaluations became context sensitive, such that they reflected the contingency between the valence of prior experiences and the context in which these experiences occurred; and (c) when prior experiences were evaluatively heterogeneous across different contexts, novel contexts elicited automatic evaluations that reflected the valence of first experiences with the attitude object. Implications for research on automatic evaluation and attitude change are discussed.     

Attitude alignment in close relationships

On the basis of principles of balance theory and interdependence theory, this research examined a phenomenon termed attitude alignment, or the tendency of interacting partners to modify their attitudes in such a manner as to achieve attitudinal congruence. The results of three experiments generally were consistent with the proposed model. First, tendencies toward attitude alignment were greater to the extent that attitudinal discrepancies were salient. Second, alignment tendencies were greater to the extent that an issue was central to the partner; there was also evidence that the degree to which an issue was peripheral to the self affected alignment processes (e.g., for changes in centrality of issue, with regard to persuasion methods). Third, degree of alignment tended to be greater in dating-partner interactions than in stranger interactions and tended to be greater among couples with high adjustment than among those with low adjustment.