Unpacking attitude certainty: Attitude clarity and attitude correctness.

Abstract

Attitude certainty has been the subject of considerable attention in the attitudes and persuasion literature. The present research identifies 2 aspects of attitude certainty and provides evidence for the distinctness of the constructs. Specifically, it is proposed that attitude certainty can be conceptualized, and empirically separated, in terms of attitude clarity (the subjective sense that one knows what one's attitude is) and attitude correctness (the subjective sense that one's attitude is correct or valid). Experiment 1 uses factor analysis and correlational data to provide evidence for viewing attitude clarity and attitude correctness as separate constructs. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrate that attitude clarity and attitude correctness can have distinct antecedents (repeated expression and consensus feedback, respectively). Experiment 4 reveals that these constructs each play an independent role in persuasion and resistance situations. As clarity and correctness increase, attitudes become more resistant to counterattitudinal persuasive messages. These findings are discussed in relation to the existing attitude strength literature.

Instructor’s Use of Social Presence, Teaching Presence, and Attitudinal Dissonance: A Case Study of an Attitudinal Change MOOC

“…Seeing how one's attitude is aligned to a perceived social consensus regarding the topic can enhance confidence about newly established attitudes (Petrocelli, Tormala, & Rucker, 2007). Effectively structuring and facilitating an instructional environment for attitudinal change that encourages collaboration and critique has been found to be effective (Kamradt & Kamradt, 1999;Simonson & Maushak, 1996).…”

Representative Decision-Making: Challenges to Democratic Peace Theory

“…Finally, the beliefs are ego-involving and are also held by many society members with high confi dence as central and important, contributing to their stability. All these factors contribute to the rigid structure of the societal beliefs of the ethos of confl ict and collective memory, preventing it from transformation in more conciliatory beliefs (Petrocelli et al 2007 ; Chaiken 1993 , 1998 ;Fazio 1995 ;Jost et al 2003 ;Krosnick 1989 ;Lavine et al 2000 ).…”

“…Finally, the beliefs are ego-involving and are also held by many society members with high confi dence as central and important, contributing to their stability. All these factors contribute to the rigid structure of the societal beliefs of the ethos of confl ict and collective memory, preventing it from transformation in more conciliatory beliefs (Petrocelli et al 2007 ; Chaiken 1993 , 1998 ;Fazio 1995 ;Jost et al 2003 ;Krosnick 1989 ;Lavine et al 2000 ).It is important to note in the discussion of the cognitive factor that this closed-mindedness is also affected by general worldviews , which are systems of beliefs that are unrelated to the particular confl ict but provide orientations that contribute to the confl ict's continuation because of the perspectives, norms, and values forming them (Bar-Tal and Halperin 2011 ). Since their childhood, …”

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“…This increase in persuasion is a function of people subconsciously asking themselves "how they feel about the message," and in doing so they attribute the positive affect to their judgment of confidence (Forgas, 1995 ;Schwarz and Clore, 1983 ). For sexample, feedback, suggestions, and expressions can improve the persuasiveness of a system by improving the clarity and correctness of one's attitude toward the message (Petrocelli et al, 2007). Positive dialog support (e.g., praise and reward) promotes positive affect or feelings (Enns et al, 2003;Petty et al, 1993;Westphal and Stern, 2007 ), which will influence users' confidence in the source (Briñol et al, 2007;Petrocelli et al, 2007).…”

“…For sexample, feedback, suggestions, and expressions can improve the persuasiveness of a system by improving the clarity and correctness of one's attitude toward the message (Petrocelli et al, 2007). Positive dialog support (e.g., praise and reward) promotes positive affect or feelings (Enns et al, 2003;Petty et al, 1993;Westphal and Stern, 2007 ), which will influence users' confidence in the source (Briñol et al, 2007;Petrocelli et al, 2007). Negative feedback, suggestions, and expressions can also be very persuasive.…”