Moderators of test-retest reliability in implicit and explicit attitudes

A great deal of research in dual-process models has been devoted to highlighting differences in the structure and function of the implicit and explicit attitude constructs. However, the two forms of attitudes can also demonstrate important shared properties, and prior work suggests that one similarity may be in factors that determine measurement reliability. To better explore this issue, Study 1 analyzed the test-retest reliability in measures of both implicit and explicit attitudes within a single study session across 75 topics (N > 35,000). Explicit attitudes had greater test-retest reliability than implicit attitudes, but each showed considerable heterogeneity across topics even when measured within a single study session. Analyses also included several candidate moderator variables, such as attitude certainty or familiarity. While results were not identical, the moderators associated with greater test-retest reliability for implicit and explicit attitudes exhibited more similarities than differences. Specifically, attitudes experienced as more distinctive, more relevant to one's self-concept, more certain, and more accessible had higher test-retest reliability for both forms of evaluation. Variation in short-term reliability for implicit and explicit attitudes was replicated in Study 2, and Study 3 revealed that topics low in short-term reliability were also lower in a longitudinal sample that completed attitude measures separated by several weeks. These results advance our understanding of each attitude construct and are consistent with a more dynamic relationship between an attitude and its measure, as even attitudes measured with high levels of conscious control could show remarkable short-term instability when assessed only minutes apart. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).