Study of attitudes and persuasion remains a defining characteristic of contemporary social psychology. This review outlines recent advances, with emphasis on the relevance of today's work for perennial issues. We reiterate the distinction between attitude formation and change, and show its relevance for persuasion. Single- and dual-process models are discussed, as are current views on dissonance theory. Majority and minority influence are scrutinized, with special emphasis on integrative theoretical innovations. Attitude strength is considered, and its relevance to ambivalence and resistance documented. Affect, mood, and emotion effects are reviewed, especially as they pertain to fear arousal and (un)certainty. Finally, we discuss attitude-behavior consistency, perhaps the reason for our interest in attitudes in the first place, with emphasis on self-interest and the theory of planned behavior. Our review reflects the dynamism and the reach of the area, and suggests a sure and sometimes rapid accumulation of knowledge and understanding.

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This research examines the possibility that the relation between attitude similarity and attraction is mediated by people's attributions of the other's evaluation of them. Using the hypothetical stranger paradigm, we manipulated subject/stranger similarity and the stranger's evaluation of the subject. Auxiliary dependent variables tapped subjects' (N = 226) estimates of the extent to which they were in agreement with the stranger and their perception of the stranger's evaluation of them. The results demonstrated significant effects for both manipulated variables on attraction. Partial correlational analyses demonstrated that the similarity-attraction relation was mediated by subjects' inferences of the stranger's evaluation of them; holding inferred evaluation constant strongly attenuated the similarity-attraction association. Moreover, the inferred evaluation-attraction relation was unaffected when attitude similarity was partialed from it. The correlational pattern is contrary to that put forward by Byrne (1971) and suggests a reconsideration of the conventional interpretation of the similarity-attraction relation.The study of factors that influence people's attraction to others is a major and continuing preoccupation of social psychology (

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The authors investigated relationships between marijuana and inhalant use and several cultural and demographic factors in Anglo American and Hispanic American adolescents (N=1,094). Outcome measures assessed lifetime and 30-day marijuana and inhalant use. Predictors and covariates used in logistic regression analyses were region, grade, gender, knowledge, acculturation, familism, and parental monitoring. Hispanic Americans exhibited higher usage across all measures. In this group, high acculturation was associated with low marijuana, but high inhalant, use. Across all participants, positive family relations and parental monitoring were strongly associated with attenuated marijuana use hut only among those most knowledgeable about drugs. Familism and monitoring were not associated with diminished usage among the less knowledgeable. For inhalants, monitoring combined with high knowledge or high familism was associated with diminished usage.

In-group minorities instigate indirect change because of their distinctiveness, the unexpectedness of their position, and their common identity with their targets. Preliminary study (/V = 408) uncovered links among a set of attitudes and revealed participants were unaware of the relationship between some attitudes despite significant correlation and proximity in multidimensional space. Study 1 (N -222) advocated a ban of homosexual soldiers attributed to majority, in-group, or out-group minority sources. No direct influence was evident. When credited to an in-group minority, the message influenced attitudes toward gun control, which were linked to the focal beliefs. Relative to other sources, the in-group minority was more positively evaluated, and its message less strongly counterargued (both p < .05) Study 2 (JV = 78) reversed direct and indirect attitude objects and replicated these results. Study 3 (N -66) examined majority influence and revealed direct, but not indirect, majority influence when participants' membership group was threatened.

Considerable research suggests the relevance of vested interest for attitude-behavior consistency. Conversely, symbolic politics theory holds that self-interest is irrelevant for attitude valence and related attitude phenomena. Rather, attitudes acquired early in life generalize to other issues and motivate actions, even actions contrary to self-interest. The present research replicates and extends the findings of an earlier symbolic politics study (D. O. Sears, C. P. Hensler, & L. K. Speer, 1979) on the mandated busing of school children (N > 1,300). Analysis of the archival data revealed that vested interest is a significant moderator of (racial) attitude-criterion consistency and of attitude-behavior consistency as well. The results are taken as supportive of both the vested interest and the symbolic politics orientations and form the basis of a position that suggests both schools of thought can coexist.