Well-being : the foundations of hedonic psychology

This survey of attitude theory and research published between 1996 and 1999 covers the conceptualization of attitude, attitude formation and activation, attitude structure and function, and the attitude-behavior relation. Research regarding the expectancy-value model of attitude is considered, as are the roles of accessible beliefs and affective versus cognitive processes in the formation of attitudes. The survey reviews research on attitude strength and its antecedents and consequences, and covers progress made on the assessment of attitudinal ambivalence and its effects. Also considered is research on automatic attitude activation, attitude functions, and the relation of attitudes to broader values. A large number of studies dealt with the relation between attitudes and behavior. Research revealing additional moderators of this relation is reviewed, as are theory and research on the link between intentions and actions. Most work in this context was devoted to issues raised by the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. The present review highlights the nature of perceived behavioral control, the relative importance of attitudes and subjective norms, the utility of adding more predictors, and the roles of prior behavior and habit.

http://psych415.class.uic.edu/Readings/Ajzen,%20Attitude%20theory,%20AnnRevPsy,%202001.pdf

Nature and Operation of Attitudes

▪ Abstract We review empirical and conceptual developments over the past four years (1992–1995) on attitudes and persuasion. A voluminous amount of material was produced concerning attitude structure, attitude change, and the consequences of holding attitudes. In the structure area, particular attention is paid to work on attitude accessiblity, ambivalence, and the affective versus cognitive bases of attitudes. In persuasion, our review examines research that has focused on high effort cognitive processes (central route), low effort processes (peripheral route), and the multiple roles by which variables can have an impact on attitudes. Special emphasis is given to work on cognitive dissonance and other biases in message processing, and on the multiple processes by which mood influences evaluations. Work on the consequences of attitudes focuses on the impact of attitudes on behavior and social judgments.

Attitudes and attitude change

Meanwhile, the authors' antidote to the American sicknessa quest for democratic community that draws on our diverse civic and religious traditionshas contributed to a vigorous scholarly and popular debate. Attention has been focused on forms of social organization, be it civil society, democratic communitarianism, or associative democracy, that can humanize the market and the administrative state. In their new Introduction the authors relate the argument of their book both to the current realities of American society and to the growing debate about the country's future. With this new edition one of the most influential books of recent times takes on a new immediacy.\

Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life

Interest in mindfulness and its enhancement has burgeoned in recent years. In this article, we discuss in detail the nature of mindfulness and its relation to other, established theories of attention and awareness in day-to-day life. We then examine theory and evidence for the role of mindfulness in curtailing negative functioning and enhancing positive outcomes in several important life domains, including mental health, physical health, behavioral regulation, and interpersonal relationships. The processes through which mindfulness is theorized to have its beneficial effects are then discussed, along with proposed directions for theoretical development and empirical research.

http://www.gruberpeplab.com/teaching/psych231_fall2013/documents/231_Brown2007.pdf

Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects

Understanding the conditions and processes necessary for intergroup contact to reduce prejudice.

Lassiter, Pezzo, and Apple (this issue) replicated the effect of transmitter tuning on attitude change persistence (Boninger, Brock, Cook, Gruder, & Romer, 1990) and included an additional condition as the basis for an alternative explanation. Although their independent replication is an important contribution that provides significant empirical corroboration, a superficial rendering of the interrupted-task literature (Zeigarnik, 192711938) and ambiguity in the operationalization of the additional condition appear to weaken their proposed interruption-perseveration explanation. We also summarize ancillary data from our earlier work (Boninger et at., 1990) that shed further doubt on this alternative explanation.

David S. Boninger

Papers

Understanding the conditions and processes necessary for intergroup contact to reduce prejudice.

Effects of Transmitter Tuning on Attitude Change Persistence: An Examination of Alternative Explanations

The Influence of Level of Involvement on the Feature Matching Process in Consumer Preference Judgments