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The Stability of Moralized Attitudes Over Time
Andrew Luttrell1, LaCount J Togans2
1Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA.
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|July 3, 2020
Summary
Attitudes with a moral basis are more stable over time. This study shows that the degree of attitude moralization predicts long-term attitude consistency, even when controlling for other factors.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Attitude Formation and Change
Background:
- Attitudes with a perceived moral basis are generally resistant to direct challenges.
- The long-term endurance of moralized attitudes over time remains less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the moral basis of an attitude predicts its stability over extended periods.
- To examine the moderating role of attitude moralization on attitude consistency.
Main Methods:
- Conducted five longitudinal studies examining attitudes across 19 diverse topics.
- Assessed the degree of attitude moralization and attitude stability over time.
- Controlled for other metacognitive predictors of attitude strength.
Main Results:
- Found that higher degrees of attitude moralization significantly predict greater attitude stability over time.
- This effect persisted even after accounting for factors like certainty, importance, and self-definition.
- The reliability of the effect was supported across studies, though topic-specific variations were noted.
Conclusions:
- Attitude moralization is a key predictor of long-term attitude consistency.
- Findings contribute to models of attitude strength and moral psychology.
- The influence of moralization on attitude stability may vary depending on the specific attitude topic.
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