Attitudes and attitude certainty guiding pro‐social behaviour as a function of perceived elaboration

Abstract

AbstractThis research examined the effect of perceived elaboration on the relationship between attitudes and prosocial behaviour. Study 1 revealed that group fusion was more predictive of pro‐group behaviour (donation to in‐group members) when perceived elaboration was high rather than low. In Study 2, attitudes toward helping were more likely to guide prosocial behaviour (helping others in a learning task) for participants who reported higher levels of perceived elaboration. Studies 3 and 4 manipulated perceptions of elaboration, demonstrating that attitudes guided subsequent hiring decisions (Study 3) and an actual behavioural choice in a natural setting (Study 4), and that this link was stronger for those participants induced to believe that they engaged in high (vs. low) elaboration. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 4 revealed that the effects of perceived elaboration on attitude‐behaviour correspondence were mediated by attitude certainty. The present research reveals that prosocial behaviour can be facilitated by taking into consideration meta‐cognitive processes that accompany evaluation (perceived elaboration and attitude certainty).