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Vested interest, symbolic politics, and attitude-behavior consistency
1Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, USA. crano@ccit.arizona.edu
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|March 1, 1997
Summary
Vested interest significantly influences attitude-behavior consistency, challenging symbolic politics theory. This research reconciles both perspectives, showing vested interest moderates attitude consistency in public opinion on school busing.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Political Psychology
Background:
- Vested interest is often linked to attitude-behavior consistency.
- Symbolic politics theory posits self-interest is irrelevant, with early attitudes driving behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate and extend previous research on symbolic politics and mandated school busing.
- To investigate the moderating role of vested interest on attitude consistency.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of archival data from a study on mandated school busing (N > 1,300).
- Examination of attitude-criterion and attitude-behavior consistency.
Main Results:
- Vested interest significantly moderates racial attitude consistency.
- Vested interest also significantly moderates attitude-behavior consistency.
Conclusions:
- Both vested interest and symbolic politics theories offer valuable insights.
- These perspectives can coexist, with vested interest moderating attitude consistency.