Blackwell Reference Online

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Defined as evaluative response tendencies, attitudes exert a dynamic and directive influence on behavior. As a general rule, positive attitudes predispose behaviors that support or enhance the attitude object, while negative attitudes predispose unfavorable behaviors toward the attitude object. Casual observation supports the idea that attitudes motivate and guide our actions: We tend to associate with people we like and avoid people we dislike, we mainly eat foods that are to our tastes, we speak out in opposition to policies we consider undesirable, and we generally seem to behave in ways that are consistent with our attitudes. Social psychologists rely extensively on the attitude construct to predict and explain human behavior, to the extent that attitude has been called the most distinctive and indispensable concept in social psychology (All-port, 1968). Thus, discriminatory behavior is attributed to prejudice (negative attitudes toward racial or ethnic groups); opposition to family plannng or abortion is explained by reference to religiosity; behavior in the political domain is ascribed to liberal or conservative attitudes; and educational decisions and achievements are traced to favorable or unfavorable attitudes toward education. To discern the effects of attitudes on behavior is, however, not as easy as it may appear at first glance. Indeed, empirical research conduced ... log in or subscribe to read full text