London Metropolitan University
PC5002
10.03.2015
Assignment 2
With reference to relevant theory and research on attitudes and attitude measurement, critically discuss the idea that attitudes are predictive of behaviour.
The understanding and evaluating of attitudes is and has been the forefront of Social Psychologists attention and research. By understanding the term attitudes, recognising that they are an abiding evaluation and apprehending how it is measured, it aids to understand grounding concepts of society as well as current events and affairs. It still remains one of the most researched subjects in Social Psychology, especially the link between attitudes and associated behaviour. Whether attitudes can be predictive of
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The concepts evolving around attitude formation can include one single component (affect) up to three (affect and behaviour; affect, behaviour, and cognition) components. One of the models which include all three segments is identified by Maio & Haddock (2010, p. 4) in which they state that attitude is “an overall evaluation of an object that is based on cognitive, affective and behavioural information”. The mentioned components can be divided into an individuals feelings about the object, resolving into a positive or negative judgement of the assessed object, represented by the affective element. The behavioural factor, which affects an individuals behaviour due to their attitude and represents the mental capability of (re)acting. As well as the cognitive segment, which is determined by an individuals knowledge about the attitude subject on hand, as well as their beliefs towards the evaluated …show more content…
53), in which they asked white collage students to verbally express their attitudes towards black raced individuals. Afterwards they were asked to take part in a photo shoot with another person, who they have been told was supposed to be of the opposite gender and black. 18 out of the 23 people who stated negative attitudes towards different races refused to take part in the study, whereas 14 out of the 23 ‘non-prejudiced’ participants agreed to the photo shoot. A positive correlation between verbal expression of attitudes and resulting behaviour has been found. However, there still remained a discrepancy of 30 percent, in which participants did not choose to act the way their attitudes would have