Howe and Krosnick (2017) - Attitude strength

Question 1

Attitude definition

Answer 1

Relatively enduring evaluation or mental disposition toward a particular object, person, group, issue, or concept. Can be positive, negative, or ambivalent.

Question 2

Attitude importance definition

Answer 2

How much personal relevance a person attaches to a particular attitude, making attitude relevance a part of attitude strength (stronger attitudes are considered more personally relevant). Strong attitudes predict behaviour better.

Question 3

Attitude strength definition

Answer 3

The extent to which an attitude influences the shaping of thinking and action across situations. Strong attitudes are hard to change, so it is easier to try and change weaker ones first. This may influence behaviour enough to eventually change the strength of the strong attitude.

Question 4

4 features of strong attitude

Answer 4

1. Resistant to change
2. Stable over time
3. Influential on cognition (ideas about stuff)
4. Influential on action (how one behaves)

Question 5

Causes of attitude importance (4)

Answer 5

1. Self-interest (if something is likely to affect you in some way, you will have a stronger attitude about it due to self-relevance)
2. Social identification (if an attitude is relevant to your ingroup, it is relevant to you too)
3. Values (when something has to do with our values, we attach more importance to it –> attitudes often in line wit values)

Question 6

Attitude importance and implicit and explicit attitudes

Answer 6

The more important an attitude (stronger attitude), the more likely it is that implicit and explicit attitudes align.