The elaboration likelihood and meta-cognitive models of attitudes: Implications for prejudice, the self, and beyond (original) (raw)

Attitudes and Attitude Change

Annual Review of Psychology, 1997

We review empirical and conceptual developments over the past four years (1992-1995) on attitudes and persuasion. A voluminous amount of material was produced concerning attitude structure, attitude change, and the consequences of holding attitudes. In the structure area, particular attention is paid to work on attitude accessiblity, ambivalence, and the affective versus cognitive bases of attitudes. In persuasion, our review examines research that has focused on high effort cognitive processes (central route), low effort processes (peripheral route), and the multiple roles by which variables can have an impact on attitudes. Special emphasis is given to work on cognitive dissonance and other biases in message processing, and on the multiple processes by which mood influences evaluations. Work on the consequences of attitudes focuses on the impact of attitudes on behavior and social judgments.

Attitudes, Persuasion, and Behavior

Tesser/Blackwell, 2001

Social psychologists conceptualize attitudes as "a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor" (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1; see chapter 20, this volume, for a review of different definitions). Although most definitions characterize attitudes as relatively enduring mental states, attitudes change as people interact with their social environment. In fact, the bulk of attitude research has addressed the conditions and processes of attitude change. Understanding the dynamics of attitude change is as useful for basic researchers who try to explain social information processing as it is vital for practitioners in business, health, law, marketing, or politics who are interested in effective strategies of influencing attitudes and behavior. The present chapter provides a selective review of mainstream theorizing in two key areas of attitude research. We first address attitude change through persuasion and subsequently review research into the attitude-behavior relationship. Issues pertaining to the conceptualization of attitudes and the emergence of context effects in attitude measurement are discussed by Schwarz and Bohner (chapter 20, this volume).

Attitudes and Persuasion

Annual Review of Psychology, 2006

Key Words attitude formation, attitude change, majority and minority influence, attitude strength, affect, attitude-behavior consistency ■ Abstract Study of attitudes and persuasion remains a defining characteristic of contemporary social psychology. This review outlines recent advances, with emphasis on the relevance of today's work for perennial issues. We reiterate the distinction between attitude formation and change, and show its relevance for persuasion. Single-and dual-process models are discussed, as are current views on dissonance theory. Majority and minority influence are scrutinized, with special emphasis on integrative theoretical innovations. Attitude strength is considered, and its relevance to ambivalence and resistance documented. Affect, mood, and emotion effects are reviewed, especially as they pertain to fear arousal and (un)certainty. Finally, we discuss attitude-behavior consistency, perhaps the reason for our interest in attitudes in the first place, with emphasis on self-interest and the theory of planned behavior. Our review reflects the dynamism and the reach of the area, and suggests a sure and sometimes rapid accumulation of knowledge and understanding.

The influence of attitudes on beliefs: Formation and change

2005

This chapter discusses attitudes' influence on beliefs, drawing from limited research and theorizing because most researchers have focused on the reciprocal causal direction. Theories that examine attitudes as anchors against which subsequent judgments are adjusted, theories of cognitive consistency, theories regarding the organization of thought systems, and information processing principles offer primary explanations for attitude-belief effects. Most of the research on the influence of attitudes on beliefs has demonstrated that attitudes have a congruent effect on the retrieval, formation, and change of beliefs, and that variables that increase salience of one's attitude through thought, elaborative processing, or personal importance of the attitude object will strengthen this congruence. In contrast, some recent research offers a caveat to these effects, demonstrating that when individuals have limited access to the original sources of information upon which their attitudes were formed, a disconnect can occur between components of one's attitude-belief systems.

NATURE AND OPERATION OF ATTITUDES

This survey of attitude theory and research published between 1996 and 1999 covers the conceptualization of attitude, attitude formation and activation, attitude structure and function, and the attitude-behavior relation. Research regarding the expectancy-value model of attitude is considered, as are the roles of accessible beliefs and affective versus cognitive processes in the formation of attitudes. The survey reviews research on attitude strength and its antecedents and consequences, and covers progress made on the assessment of attitudinal ambivalence and its effects. Also considered is research on automatic attitude activation, attitude functions, and the relation of attitudes to broader values. A large number of studies dealt with the relation between attitudes and behavior. Research revealing additional moderators of this relation is reviewed, as are theory and research on the link between intentions and actions. Most work in this context was devoted to issues raised by the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. The present review highlights the nature of perceived behavioral control, the relative importance of attitudes and subjective norms, the utility of adding more predictors, and the roles of prior behavior and habit.