Psychological Foundations of Attitudes

Anthony G. Greenwald, Timothy C. Brock, Thomas M. Ostrom, Anthony G. Greenwald, Timothy C. Brock, Thomas M. Ostrom

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781483258515
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Physiological Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Psychological Foundations of Attitudes presents various approaches and theories about attitudes. The book opens with a chapter on the development of attitude theory from 1930 to 1950. This is followed by separate chapters on the principles of the attitude-reinforcer-discriminative system; a systematic test of a learning theory analysis of interpersonal attraction; a "spread of effect" in attitude formation; Hullian learning theory; and possible origins of learned attitudinal cognitions. Subsequent chapters deal with mechanisms through which attitudes can function as both independent and dependent variables in the attitude-behavior link; and the problem of how people go about applying a summary label to their attitudes and the reciprocal effects that rating has on the content of attitude. The final chapters discuss a commodity theory that relates selective social communication to value formation; the freedoms there are in regard to attitudes; attitude change occasioned by actions which are discrepant from one's previously existing attitudes or values; and the conflict-theory approach to attitude change.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Psychological Foundations of Attitudes
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• PART I: INTRODUCTION
• PART II: LEARNING-BEHAVIOR THEORY CONTRIBUTIONS TO ATTITUDE THEORY
• PART III: COGNITIVE INTEGRATION THEORY CONTRIBUTIONS TO ATTITUDE THEORY
• PART IV: CONCLUSIONS
• ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER 2 (P. 56)
• Author Index
• Subject Index