Related Experiment Videos
Using partially structured attitude measures to enhance the attitude-behavior relationship.
Patrick T Vargas1, William von Hippel, Richard E Petty
1Department of Advertising, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA. pvargas@uiuc.edu
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|March 20, 2004
Summary
This study revives a classic attitude measurement technique using partially structured stimuli. This method uniquely predicts behavior, outperforming current explicit and implicit measures, even for sensitive topics.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Attitude Measurement
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Classic schemes for categorizing attitude measures exist.
- Measures relying on interpretation of partially structured stimuli are underutilized in current attitude research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate an attitude measure based on respondents' interpretation of partially structured stimuli.
- To demonstrate the predictive validity of this underutilized measure.
Main Methods:
- Four studies were conducted using an attitude measure based on interpretation of partially structured stimuli.
- The measure's predictive power was compared against explicit and implicit attitude measures.
Main Results:
- The proposed measure uniquely predicts self-reported and actual behavior.
- It shows predictive validity beyond contemporary explicit and implicit measures.
- Its effectiveness is independent of social desirability concerns associated with the attitude object.
Conclusions:
- Attitude measures based on interpretation of partially structured stimuli offer unique behavioral prediction.
- Reintroducing these measures can enhance understanding of attitude-behavior relations.
- This approach provides a valuable alternative to existing attitude measurement techniques.