The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change

by Gregory R. Maio, Geoffrey Haddock, Bas Verplanken

Overview

People spontaneously evaluate things. Opinions are constantly being formed as to the legitimacy of war or climate change, on other people such as our work colleagues and celebrities, and on behaviors such as sexual activity. At times, these attitudes can be the focus of bitter debate, and as humans we naturally crave to understand attitudes and how to change them. The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change, written by two world-leading academics in the field of attitudes research, is a brand new textbook that gets to the very heart of this fascinating and far-reaching field and will be perfect for all students studying the subject.

In four sections and 11 chapters, Greg Maio and Geoffrey Haddock describe how scientific methods have been used to better understand attitudes and how they change. The first section looks at what attitudes are and why they are important. The second section examines the ability of attitudes to predict behavior. From there, the authors consider how attitudes are formed and changed. Finally, they present a variety of major issues for understanding internal (e.g., neurological) and external influences on attitude (e.g., culture), along with unresolved questions. With the aid of a few helpful metaphors, the text provides readers with a grasp of the fundamental concepts for understanding attitudes and an appreciation of the scientific challenges that lay ahead.

The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change is useful for students in psychology, health psychology, communication, business and political science. It is intended as a core text for courses in the psychology of attitudes, persuasion, and social influence and a key resource for modules in social cognition and introductory social psychology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526425843
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/10/2018
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	7.32(w) x 9.13(h) x (d)

About the Author

Professor of Psychology, Cardiff University

I have a number of interests within the study of attitudes, including the role of affective and cognitive processes in attitudes, the impact on mindfulness on attitudes and attitude change, how individual differences influence attitude processes, and how reading persuasive material in different media formats influences attitudes and attitude change. Other research helps to understand how social values get translated into action.

http://psych.cf.ac.uk/contactsandpeople/haddockgg.php

Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Bath.

My research is in the broader domain of attitudes and attitude-behavior relations. I have a particular interst in habits (both behavioral and mental habits), values, the self, and self-regulation. I apply these interests in areas such as health, consumer and environmental behavior.

http://www.bath.ac.uk/profiles/faculty-of-humanities-social-sciences-director-of-doctoral-studies-bas-verplanken/

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Section 1 Why Do Attitudes Matter? 1

1 What are Attitudes and How are They Measured? 3

What is an Attitude? 3

A Short History of Attitudes Research 5

How are Attitudes Measured? 10

2 The Three Witches of Attitudes 24

The First Witch - Attitude Content 24

The Second Witch - Attitude Structure 34

The Third Witch - Attitude Functions 38

Making a Better Brew: Linking Attitude Content, Structure, and Function 41

Section 2 What Do Attitudes Do? 45

3 The influence of Attitudes on Information Processing and Behavior 47

The Influence of Attitudes on Information Processing 48

The Influence of Attitudes on Behavior 55

4 How Do Attitudes Influence Behavior? 67

The Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behavior 68

Issues Relevant to the Reasoned Action Framework 70

The "MODE" Model 77

The Composite Attitude-Behavior Model 82

Section 3 What Shapes Attitudes? 87

5 Cognitive Influences on Attitudes 89

The Close Connection Between Beliefs and Attitudes 90

Incentives to Change 91

Processing Stages 92

Cognitive Responses 94

Different Processes: To Think or Not to Think 96

One Process or Two? 105

Meta-Cognitions 106

6 Affective Influences on Attitudes 111

The Close Connection Between Feeling and Attitudes 112

Exposure 112

Emotion Learning 117

Mood Effects on Attitude Judgments 123

Emotion Effects on Attitude Judgments 127

7 Behavioral Influences on Attitudes 131

Why Did I Do That? 132

Behavioral Exploration 133

Role Playing 134

Self-Perception 135

Cognitive Dissonance 139

8 Basic Principles in How Attitudes are Shaped 153

Difficulty in Identifying the Basic Principles of Persuasion 154

Principle 1: Influence by Silly Things 154

Principle 2: Influence by Motivation and Ability 156

Principle 3: Influence by a Common Language 158

Principle 4: Influence by the Unknown 163

Other Potential Principles 165

Principles from Another Point of View 168

Section 4 What More Is There To Learn? 171

9 The Internal World 173

Implicit Windows into Attitudes 174

Let's Get Physical: The Effects of Body Movements on Attitudes 175

Revealing the Biological Underpinnings of Attitudes 179

Nuerological Processes Underlying Attitudes 184

Attitudes over the Lifespan 189

10 The External World 193

Time 194

Relationships 198

Groups 203

Culture 210

The External World: An Aerial View 213

11 Adding to the Witches' Brew 215

The Three Witches Revisited 216

Potions Relevant to All Three Witches 223

General Issues 225

Stirring the Brew 229

References 231

Subject Index 266

Author Index 271

Editorial Reviews

"This is a really comprehensive look at attitudes, beliefs and behavioural change, looking at not only biological underpinnings of attitudes but also how this fits in real world situations. The 'key terms' and 'questions to ponder' sections really help to ensure understanding. This book is recommended for all students of psychology, health and social care as well as anyone with an interest in health promotion and behavioural change. "

Julie Burton

This book strikes an excellent balance between general aspects and attention to details of attitudes and attitude change. Without being repetitive, the authors draw helpful connections between different parts of the book. The chapter structure makes the book easy to use as well as interesting for both students and teachers.

Hanna Kusterer

This revision of an already-outstanding textbook provides a comprehensive, current, and well-organized description of research on attitudes and persuasion. It takes an international perspective and constitutes an excellent textbook for undergraduate or graduate courses on attitudes.

James Olson

This excellent book presents contemporary developments in research and theory of the psychology of attitudes and persuasion. The editors, experts in the field, have done an amazing job organizing the content in a very comprehensive, accessible, and attractive way. For those interested in the processes behind changing minds, this book offers a great selection of current topics. The content is stimulating and up to date. This book is a “must” for students in psychology, communication, and marketing, and to any scholar interested in the science of psychological change.

Pablo Briñol Turnes

A must-read for any aspiring attitudes expert. A great balance of classic foundational material and new developments. Maio, Haddock, and Verplanken have produced a valuable contribution to the vibrant literature on attitudes and persuasion. Reading this book will teach you the basics AND keep you on the cutting edge.

Duane T. Wegener

This book is a great example of fine scholarship. Written in a comprehensible and cogent style, this essential book is comprehensive, yet accessible and undeniably engaging. The authors provide both breadth and depth, in a very compelling manner, and the end result is a fantastic combination of an ideal teaching text and an excellent research reference book.

Joseph Vella

The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change” is an essential text for those engaged in the application of sport psychology with athletes and coaches. Our programme recognises attitudes and attitude change as the foundation from which to build, apply and integrate psychological skills training into preparation and performance for athletic competition.

Gerry Fitzpatrick

The third edition of ‘The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change’ provides a scholarly overview of research in this exciting area of social psychology. The book is written in an engaging and novel style and focuses on what attitudes are and what they do for us. Both basic and applied research is covered and examples of applications to everyday life drawn out. Recent work is presented alongside classic studies to provide the reader with a detailed understanding of the area.

Mark Conner

The third edition of this book provides a comprehensive overview of attitudes and attitude change, topics central to social psychology. The new edition contains an updated glossary and questions to ponder section. It also details the latest attitudinal research including, for instance, recent studies involving implicit attitude measures. As such, the book is a must-read for students, teachers and researchers in psychology and related fields.

Dr Robert M. McKenzie

The third edition of this book provides a comprehensive overview of attitudes and attitude change, topics central to social psychology. The new edition contains an updated glossary and questions to ponder section. It also details the latest attitudinal research including, for instance, recent studies involving implicit attitude measures. As such, the book is a must-read for students, teachers and researchers in psychology and related fields.

Dr Robert M. Mc Kenzie

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