The Influence of Positive and Negative Affectivity on Attitude Change Toward Organizations

This study tests hypothesized differences in pre-post (product-harm) crisis attitude change toward an organization for positively and negatively oriented individuals. Contrary to theoretical predictions, there was not a strong differential attitude change between positively and negatively oriented individuals. The results suggest a possible boundary condition for the influence of positive and negative affectivity on attitude change. Two explanations are offered for these findings: (1) that the vividness of the situation might override affectivity and (2) that affectivity might not be a strong predictor of attitude change for nonpersonalized attitudes.