Attitude Change: Multiple Roles for Persuasion Variables

OVERVIEW The O.J. Simpson " trial of the century " in the mid-1990s captured the attention of the American populace more than any other public spectacle since the kidnaping of the Lindberg baby in the 1920s. A prominent football player and popular sportscaster was charged with a gruesome double homicide. The attorneys for the prosecution and defense were of various races and genders. The evidence presented on each side was at times amazingly simple, visual, and emotional, and at times was verbal, abstract, and probably incomprehensible to jurors. The witnesses included individuals of diverse styles, demeanors, and credibility. The jurors, the recipients of the messages from these various sources, were themselves a mixed group of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and personal experiences who had to sift through the trial material and arrive at a decision as to whether the defendant had been proven guilty or not. The context in which all of this took place was at times tense and sad, and at times filled with humor and positive feelings. Not surprisingly, no experiment has ever captured the extraordinary complexity inherent in this situation, yet almost all of the variables present in this trial (and many not present) have been examined in the social psychological literature on attitude formation and change. This chapter provides an overview of research on these diverse variables and addresses the processes by which these variables are thought to result in influence. Although it has become a cliché to say that the attitude construct is the most indispensable concept in contemporary social psychology, this statement appears as true today as when Allport (1935) initially wrote it in reviews of the attitude concept). Attitudes remain important as we enter the 21st century because of the fundamental role that individuals' attitudes, both explicit and implicit (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995), play in the critical choices people make regarding their own health and security as well as those of their families, friends, and nations. From purchase decisions provoked by liking for a product to wars spurned by ethnic prejudices, attitudes help to determine a wide variety of potentially consequential outcomes. Before turning to the relevant studies, it is useful to address some definitional issues. The term attitude is used to refer to a person's overall evaluation of persons (including oneself), objects, and issues. Thus, one's attitude refers to how favorably or unfavorably or how positively or negatively in general …