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Attitude alignment in close relationships
1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|July 28, 2001
Summary
Interacting partners align their attitudes to achieve congruence, especially when discrepancies are noticeable or the issue is important to the relationship. Relationship adjustment influences this attitude alignment process.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Interpersonal Dynamics
- Attitude Formation
Background:
- Attitude alignment, the convergence of attitudes between interacting individuals, is explored.
- Theoretical underpinnings include balance theory and interdependence theory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the factors influencing attitude alignment in interpersonal interactions.
- To test a model predicting attitude congruence based on relational and issue-specific factors.
Main Methods:
- Three experimental studies were conducted.
- Participants' attitude alignment tendencies were measured under varying conditions of attitudinal discrepancy, issue centrality, and relationship type.
Main Results:
- Attitude alignment was greater when attitudinal discrepancies were salient.
- Alignment increased when issues were central to a partner, with peripheral issues to the self also impacting processes.
- Alignment was more pronounced in dating partners than strangers and in highly adjusted couples.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a model where attitude alignment is influenced by the salience of discrepancies and issue centrality.
- Relationship quality and type moderate the extent of attitude alignment observed between partners.