Affect, Ideology, and Action: A Dual-Process Model of Attitude Responses.

Abstract

Based on prior research and theory, an dual-process model of the accessing and reporting of attitude responses is proposed. An affective response to an object that was previously stored in memory may be accessed in a fast, relatively automatic way under some conditions. Alternatively, a more effortful search of memory for some rule or schema to use in evaluating the object may take place. Two experiments test and confirm several hypotheses derived from this model. Attitude responses that are generated more automatically (indexed by a lower probability or recall or shorter response times) correlate more strongly with direct reports of affect toward the object. Attitude responses that are generated less automatically correlate more strongly with self-reported behaviors toward the object. Ideological consistency among attitudes and self-reported political identification is stronger for attitude responses that are generated less automatically. Implications of the model for attitude measurement and attitude change are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA184260

Entities

People

  • Eloit R. Smith
  • Michael A. Zarate
  • Nyla R. Branscombe

Organizations

  • Purdue University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Automatic
  • Availability
  • Classification
  • Cognitive Science
  • Consistency
  • Hypotheses
  • Identification
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Probability
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Psychology
  • Security
  • Social Psychology

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Naval Personnel Management
  • Robotics and Automation.