Indirect Measures Of Attitudes Research Articles

Approach-Avoidance Training: Exploring the Role of Action Identification Processes

Approach-Avoidance Training (AAT) aims to modify evaluations and behaviors towards specific stimuli through repetitive engagement in approach and avoidance behaviors. The current research investigates whether training conditions that promote action identification at the level of approach-avoidance movements, rather than at the level of behavioral actions effecting these movements, are more effective in changing evaluative reactions towards fictitious social groups. In two experiments (total N = 411), participants directed a computerized manikin, symbolizing the self, towards one group and away from another. Following the training, participants liked the approached group more than the avoided group in both explicit and indirect attitude measures. These changes in liking were not influenced by training conditions that enabled consistent key presses throughout the task (facilitating action identification at the motoric level) and those that necessitated alternating key presses (promoting action identification at the approach-avoidance level). Furthermore, changes in liking were unrelated to changes in AA-related response tendencies as assessed with a separate response task. It is concluded that the manikin task utilized for AAT is robust against task variants that facilitate action identification at the motor level, especially when the training instructions are clear about which stimuli should be approached and avoided. Insights for the practical application of AAT are discussed.

Do indirect measures of attitudes improve our predictions of behavior? Evaluating and explaining the predictive validity of GATA

The generalization of the results accumulated to date has shown that the implicit measures of attitudes (some even suggest defining them with a less pretentious term “indirect”) show a disappointingly weak predictive potential in relation to real behavior. Thus, the predictive validity of the Graphical Association Test of Attitude (GATA), which also claims to be an indirect method, has been questioned. To check this assumption, we analyzed the results obtained with GATA in 64 predictions provided that the predicted outcome could be verified by real action. Such forecasts cover the domains of electoral, consumer and communicative behavior. In some cases, the prediction based on the data from a representative sample was checked referring to the actual behavior of the group represented by the sample, e.g., the electorate, or the consumers of a certain category of goods, etc. In other cases, the accuracy of the forecast was checked for each respondent. This allows to avoid the effect of “mutual compensation” of erroneous forecasts with opposite valence. The test method consisted of a comparison of the prediction accuracy of pairs of “control” and “experimental” prediction models: the only difference identified was that the latter used the data from indirect measurements of GATA as an additional factor of action. In the article, all models are presented in their simplest and most transparent versions. The results of the conducted meta-analysis do not fully correspond to the general trend: the use of the GATA data significantly and continuously improves the accuracy of predicting behavior. In addition, the incremental effect on the accuracy of individual forecasts (for each respondent) turned out to be higher than that of the sample-based group forecasts.

We like it ‘cause you take it: vicarious effects of approach/avoidance behaviours on observers

ABSTRACT We present five studies investigating the effects of approach and avoidance behaviours when individuals do not enact them but, instead, learn that others have performed them. In Experiment 1, when participants read that a fictitious character (model) had approached a previously unknown product, they ascribed to this model a liking for the object. In contrast, they ascribed to the model a disliking for the avoided product. In Experiment 2, this result emerged, with a smaller effect size, even when it was clear that the behaviours followed specific instructions from a third party. The model had been a mere executor instead of behaving autonomously. Finally, in Experiments 3, 4, and 5, we showed, with direct and indirect measures of attitudes, that reading that the model had approached vs avoided products was sufficient to create preferences in the participant for the approached one, regardless of whether it was explained that the model was a mere executor. This research highlights the largely unexplored effects of vicarious approach/avoidance behaviours. Theoretical and practical implications and possible developments of this line of research are discussed.

Employing the theory of planned behaviour to design an e-cigarette education resource for use in secondary schools

BackgroundAn extended version of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used to inform the design of a framework for an educational resource around e-cigarette use in young people.MethodsA sequential exploratory design was employed. In Phase 1, elicited behavioural, normative and control beliefs, via 7 focus groups with 51 participants, aged 11–16 years, identified salient beliefs around e-cigarette use. These were used to construct a questionnaire administered to 1511 young people aged 11–16 years, which determined predictors of e-cigarette use and ever use. In Phase 2, sociodemographic variables, e-cigarette knowledge, access, use, marketing and purchasing of e-cigarettes and smoking behaviour were also gathered. The composite findings from Phase 1 and 2 informed the design of a post primary educational resource in Phase 3 around e-cigarette use.ResultsCurrent e-cigarette use was 4%, with almost 23% reporting ever use, suggesting current use is stable but experimentation may be increasing in this cohort. Sociodemographic variables, knowledge of e-cigarettes, smoking behaviour and TPB variables (direct and indirect measures of attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control) accounted for 17% of the variance in current e-cigarette use, with higher intentions to use e-cigarettes within the next month, having the strongest impact on use (p < 0.001), followed by self-efficacy (p = 0.016). Sociodemographic and TPB variables accounted for 65% of the variance in intentions to use e-cigarettes in the next month; current e-cigarette use (p < 0.001), more positive attitudes (p < 0.001), stronger social influence (p < 0.001), higher self-efficacy (p < 0.001), higher control beliefs (p < 0.001) and greater motivation to use e-cigarettes (p < 0.001) were the main predictors of intentions. Phases 1 and 2 informed the mapping of key predictors of intentions and use of e-cigarettes onto the Theoretical Domains Framework, which identified appropriate intervention functions and behaviour change techniques.ConclusionsThis paper is the first to bridge the theoretical-practice gap in an area of significant public health importance through the development of a framework for a novel theory driven school-based educational resource aimed at reducing experimentation and uptake of e-cigarette use in young people.

Implicit attitudes towards risky driving behaviors: Evidence of validity for the implicit association test

Introduction: Attitudes toward risky driving behaviors are commonly evaluated through direct self-report measures. Nevertheless, these instruments have limitations, such as socially-desirable responding. This study examines the validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as an indirect measure of attitudes towards risky driving. An IAT with “risky” vs. “safe” driving behaviors categories was evaluated. Method: A sample of 100 participants (ranging from 18 to 70 years of age) completed the IAT and measures of attitudes, driving styles, personality traits, risk-taking (IOWA Gambling Task), and social desirability (Driver Social Desirability Scale). Results: A high level of internal consistency was found for IAT scores. The IAT was correlated with driving styles (risky, dissociative, and careful dimensions), risk-related personality traits (impulsive/sensation seeking and aggression/hostility) and risk-taking measures. IAT scores were also associated with self-reported risky driving behaviors (r = 0.33). As expected, a higher level of negative implicit attitudes was found among young drivers. The driver social desirability scale was correlated with most self-report measures, but not with the IAT. Conclusion: The present study provides reliability and validity evidence for the IAT as an indirect measure of attitudes towards risky driving. The IAT can serve as an important complement to conventional self-report measures of driving attitudes. Practical Applications: Potential use of global measure of implicit attitudes toward risky driving behaviors in the evaluation, education, and training of drivers are discussed.

College Students’ Intention to Select Healthy Snacks: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

ABSTRACT Background As snacking has become an increasingly important part of adult diet over the past decades, better understanding of the intent to choose healthy snacks is crucial for promotion of healthy eating. Purpose: This study aimed to explain college students’ intentions to choose healthy snacks using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Methods: An online survey of students was conducted in a large public university in the South-eastern U.S. In addition to basic demographics, behavioral intention to choose healthy snacks as well as direct and indirect measures of attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were assessed. Stepwise multiple linear regressions were estimated to determine relationships between constructs. Results: University students’ attitude and perceived behavioral control regarding healthy snacking were key predictors of behavioral intention. Controlling for TPB variables, African American students had significantly lower intention to choose healthy snacks. Discussion: TPB is an effective framework in identifying variables predictive of nutrition behaviors and food choices. The study showed that factors outside of TPB also play a role. Translation to Health Practice Education: To improve snacking behaviors, education efforts should include components to increase student motivation and provide resources and ideas to help prepare or purchase healthy snacks. A AJHE Self-Study quiz is online for this article via the SHAPE America Online Institute (SAOI) http://portal.shapeamerica.org/trn-Webinars

Shaken & Stirred: effect alcohol portrayals in movies on attitudes toward alcohol and self-alcohol associations

ABSTRACT Background: Little experimental researches have investigated how alcohol portrayal influences alcohol-related cognitions that could lead to long-term alcohol consumption. We identified two potential cognitive processes by which alcohol portrayals could lead to increased change in alcohol consumption: changes in implicit attitudes and association between the active self-concept and alcohol.Methods: We tested participants (n = 87) to see if incidental exposure to alcohol portrayals in movies resulted change in indirect measures of attitudes toward alcohol and self-alcohol association. Results showed that participants exposed to alcohol portrayals had more negative implicit attitudes toward alcohol after watching the movie.Results: Participants showed stronger self-alcohol association in the alcohol portrayal condition compared to the control condition, and this effect was stronger for participants that liked the James Bond series.Conclusions: Perspectives related to long term alcohol consumption are discussed.

Re-assessing the incremental predictive validity of Implicit Association Tests

Indirect measures of attitudes or stereotypes, such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT), assess associations that are relatively automatic, unintentional, or uncontrollable. A primary argument for the IAT's use is that it can predict relevant outcomes beyond parallel direct measures, such as self-report (a claim referred to as demonstrating incremental predictive validity). Prior work on this issue relied primarily on least squares linear regression analyses, which are unable to correct for measurement (un)reliability and may then seriously inflate false positive rates in claims of incremental predictive validity. Properly accounting for the impact of measurement reliability requires using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). In a pre-registered analysis, we investigated 10 IATs and 250 outcomes variables (N > 14,000), and found that 69.6% of outcomes were reliably correlated with the IAT. Among outcomes that were associated with both the IAT and self-report, the IAT showed incremental predictive validity in 58.6% of cases using least squares linear regression analysis and 59.2% of cases when using SEM, with the two analytic approaches reaching the same conclusion 91.4% of the time. Though the two analysis strategies largely converged, discrepancies were large enough to suggest a non-trivial percentage of conclusions drawn from least squares linear regression will be erroneous. As only SEM properly accounts for measurement reliability, it should be adopted in future analyses. To facilitate that goal, we provide tools for researchers to complete SEM analyses on tests concerning the incremental predictive validity of the IAT.

How alcohol advertising and sponsorship works: Effects through indirect measures.

We tested whether incidental exposure to alcohol marketing messages in sporting events: (i) influenced automatic evaluation of brands and alcohol in general; and (ii) if these processes occur through deliberative (conscious) or non-conscious processes. Using an experimental design, participants watched a sport event containing: (i) a prototypical alcohol brand; (ii) a brand unrelated to alcohol; or (iii) a non-prototypical alcohol brand. One hundred and nine participants were randomly assigned to either a cognitively depleting task to impair motivation for effortful conscious processing before watching the excerpt, or a control task. We measured indirect (implicit) and direct (explicit) attitudes toward alcohol and brands, and self-report measures assessing affective response toward the event, involvement in processing the message and identifications toward the playing teams. We found a positive main effect of incidental exposure to alcohol brands on indirect measures of attitudes toward alcohol as well as the specific brand. No effect of cognitive fatigue on indirect measure toward brands and alcohol was observed. Incidental exposure to alcohol marketing messages appear to impact indirect measures of attitudes toward the brand and alcohol in general, and seems to rely on non-conscious automatic processes.

Predicting road safety behavior with implicit attitudes and the Theory of Planned Behavior

Introduction The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is one of the most widely used psychological models when it comes to explaining road safety behaviors. Recently, studies have also been conducted from the perspective of dual-process models. However, the present is the first study on road safety behaviors that integrates both perspectives. The study evaluates the roles of both implicit attitudes and TPB constructs in the prediction of seatbelt use. Method A sample of 100 drivers completed: (1) a self-reporting instrument on seatbelt use, (2) a questionnaire addressing TPB constructs, (3) an indirect measure of attitudes (Implicit Association Test), and (4) a social desirability scale. Results Results suggest that both types of attitudes make a significant and quite similar contribution to the explanation of seatbelt use. Interestingly, implicit attitudes were a better predictor than explicit attitudes among participants reporting inconsistent seatbelt use. In addition, path analysis models suggested that implicit attitudes appear to be relatively independent of TPB constructs and have a direct effect on seatbelt use. Conclusion The findings advance the idea of adding implicit attitudes to variables from the TPB model in order to increase the explanatory power of models used to predict road safety behaviors. Practical applications Potential use of implicit attitude measures in the education and training of drivers are discussed.

How do implicit/explicit attitudes and emotional reactions to sustainable logo relate? A neurophysiological study

Food package labels can be used to influence consumers’ evaluation and purchasing behaviour, fostering sustainable consumption. Therefore, it is important to understand consumers’ emotional reaction to food package labels that convey sustainable information. The aim of the present research is to get a better understanding of the relation between consumers’ attitudes and emotional reactions often used to measure the effectiveness of a communication. Particularly, we focused on recyclability, assessing participants’ prior explicit and implicit attitudes towards recyclability and their emotional reaction to food packages featuring logos of (non-)recyclability. The emotional reaction was measured both at an explicit and at an implicit level, using direct (self-reported) and indirect (eye movement, facial expressions and pupil dilation) techniques respectively. Results showed that explicit attitudes predicted self-reported emotions, while implicit attitudes predicted the spontaneous emotional reactions, highlighting the importance to assess both explicit and implicit attitudes. Moreover, results showed that the relation between the time that people looked at the logo and the spontaneous emotional reaction was contingent upon the participant’s implicit attitudes. Finally, a follow-up analysis revealed that people with positive implicit attitudes towards recyclability were faster in detecting the recyclable logo and spent more time on processing the logo which on its turn resulted in better emotional reactions. Thus, the results suggest that implicit attitudes influence both visual attention and emotional reactions. Overall, the research contributes to a better understanding of the relation between prior attitudes and emotional reactions to food packaging, and supports the use of an approach that comprises both direct and indirect measures of attitudes and emotions.

Trait perfectionism and attitudes towards people with disabilities

Attitudes towards people with disabilities play an integral role in determining social inclusion. Unfortunately, attitudes are often negative and based on views of disability that are focused on impairment. The current study aimed to examine whether a commitment to perfection and flawlessness, in the form of trait perfectionism, predicted attitudes towards people with disabilities. A cross-sectional survey-based design was used. One hundred and eighty-eight university students completed measures of trait perfectionism (self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented) and an indirect measure of attitudes towards people with disabilities (negative affect, interpersonal stress, calm, positive cognitions and distancing behavior). A series of multiple regression analyses revealed that socially prescribed perfectionism positively predicted negative affect, interpersonal stress, and distancing behavior. The other two trait dimensions of perfectionism did not predict any aspect of attitudes towards people with disabilities. The findings can be explained by the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and difficulties interacting with others generally or, alternatively, the projection of socially prescribed beliefs on to others when measuring attitudes in an indirect fashion (i.e., others are perceived to have negative attitudes towards people with disabilities).

Factors related to medical students' and doctors' attitudes towards older patients: a systematic review.

Backgroundstudies have sought to identify the possible determinants of medical students’ and doctors’ attitudes towards older patients by examining relationships with a variety of factors: demographic, educational/training, exposure to older people, personality/cognitive and job/career factors. This review collates and synthesises these findings.Methodsan electronic search of 10 databases was performed (ABI/Inform, ASSIA, British Nursing Index, CINAHL, Informa Health, Medline, PsycINFO, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science) through to 7 February 2017.Resultsthe main search identified 2,332 articles; 37 studies met the eligibility criteria set. All included studies analysed self-reported attitudes based on correlational analyses or difference testing, therefore causation could not be determined. However, self-reported positive attitudes towards older patients were related to: (i) intrinsic motivation for studying medicine, (ii) increased preference for working with older patients and (iii) good previous relationships with older people. Additionally, more positive attitudes were also reported in those with higher knowledge scores but these may relate to the use of a knowledge assessment which is an indirect measure of attitudes (i.e. Palmore's Facts on Aging Quizzes). Four out of the five high quality studies included in this review reported more positive attitudes in females compared to males.Conclusionthis article identifies factors associated with medical students’ and doctors’ positive attitudes towards older patients. Future research could bring greater clarity to the relationship between knowledge and attitudes by using a knowledge measure which is distinct from attitudes and also measures knowledge that is relevant to clinical care.

Feature-Specific Attention Allocation Modulates the Generalization of Recently Acquired Likes and Dislikes

We examined whether the generalization of recently acquired likes and dislikes depends on feature-specific attention allocation. Likes and dislikes were established by means of an evaluative-conditioning procedure in which participants were presented with several exemplars of two subordinate categories (e.g., young men vs. old women). Whereas exemplars of one category were consistently paired with negative stimuli, exemplars of the second category were consistently paired with positive stimuli. In addition, we manipulated feature-specific attention allocation for specific stimulus dimensions (e.g., gender vs. age), either during (Experiments 1 and 2) or before the acquisition phase of the experiment (Experiment 3). Both direct and indirect attitude measures revealed a clear impact of this manipulation on attitude generalization. More specifically, only generalization stimuli that were similar to the CSs in terms of the stimulus dimension that was selectively attended to were evaluated in a manner that was congruent with the acquired liking of those CSs.

Assessing and treating sexual offenders with mental disorders

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the role of mental disorder in sexual offending as well as identifying innovations in assessment and treatment with offenders who present with these typically complex risks and needs. Design/methodology/approach – The converging literatures on “good lives” and other developments in sexual offender treatment are compared with recovery from mental disorder and what is known about the particular needs and characteristics of sexual offenders with mental illness and severe personality disorder (PD). Findings – A key outcome of this review is that many mentally disordered sexual offenders have similar needs to those in prison and the community but there are particular challenges posed by severe PD, paraphilias and the relatively rare individuals whose offending is functionally linked to psychotic symptoms. Practical implications – Practical implications include the need for case formulation of complex needs related to mental disorder using direct and indirect measures of attitudes and interests. Treatment needs to be responsive to very different personality and mental health presentations as well as problems with offending and cognitive schemas. Direct functional links between mental health symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations are very rare in practice and are usually secondary to PD and sexual offending issues. In practice, treatment promoting recovery from mental disorder is highly compatible with the “good lives” approach to sexual offender treatment. Staff development, supervision and support are particularly important for staff treating mentally disordered sexual offenders. Originality/value – It is argued that mentally disordered sexual offenders are an under-researched sub-group within the wider sexual offender population. This paper brings together the relatively limited literature on treatment with examples of recent treatment innovations, multi-modal assessment approaches and reviews of research on the needs of this relatively uncommon but highly risky group.

On the relationship between the indirectly measured attitude towards beer and beer consumption: the role of attitude accessibility.

Although some studies have demonstrated that the indirectly measured attitude towards alcohol is related to alcohol use, this relationship has not always been confirmed. In the current study, we attempted to shed light on this issue by investigating whether the predictive validity of an indirect attitude measure is dependent upon attitude accessibility. In a sample of 88 students, the picture-picture naming task, an adaptation of the affective priming paradigm, was used to measure the automatically activated attitude towards beer. Attitude accessibility was measured using a speeded evaluative categorization task. Behavioral measures were the amount of beer poured and drunk during a bogus taste test and the choice between a bottle of beer or water at the end of the experiment. In line with our hypothesis, the indirectly measured attitude towards beer predicted behavior during the taste test only when it was highly accessible. In contrast, this attitude was related to choice behavior irrespective of attitude accessibility. This study confirms that indirect attitude measures can be valuable predictors of alcohol-related behavior, but that it is sometimes necessary to take attitude accessibility into account.

A comparative investigation of seven indirect attitude measures

We compared the psychometric qualities of seven indirect attitude measures across three attitude domains (race, politics, and self-esteem) with a large sample (N = 23,413). We compared the measures on internal consistency, sensitivity to known effects, relationships with indirect and direct measures of the same topic, the reliability and validity of single-category attitude measurement, their ability to detect meaningful variance among people with nonextreme attitudes, and their robustness to the exclusion of misbehaving or well-behaving participants. All seven indirect measures correlated with each other and with direct measures of the same topic. These relations were always weak for self-esteem, moderate for race, and strong for politics. This pattern suggests that some of the sources of variation in the reliability and predictive validity of the indirect measures is a function of the concepts rather than the methods. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) and Brief IAT (BIAT) showed the best overall psychometric quality, followed by the Go–No-Go association task, Single-Target IAT (ST-IAT), Affective Misattribution Procedure (AMP), Sorting Paired Features task, and Evaluative Priming. The AMP showed a steep decline in its psychometric qualities when people with extreme attitude scores were removed. Single-category attitude scores computed for the IAT and BIAT showed good relationships with other attitude measures but no evidence of discriminant validity between paired categories. The other measures, especially the AMP and ST-IAT, showed better evidence for discriminant validity. These results inform us on the validity of the measures as attitude assessments, but do not speak to the implicitness of the measured constructs.

Emotional Labour and Indirectly Measured Attitude Towards Occupation in Explaining Employee Well-Being

Abstract Drawing on the model of Grandey (2000), it was proposed that the attitude towards occupation could buffer the negative effects of emotional labour. A total of 173 teachers participated in the study. Attitudes towards occupation, surface acting, emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction were estimated. The indirect measure of the attitude towards occupation was assessed using the Approaching-Avoidance Simulation Method. Confirmatory Factor Analysis proved the validity and reliability of the indirect measurement, which is based on uncontrolled reactions of the respondents towards stimuli representing the profession. The results revealed a positive correlation between attitudes towards occupation and indicators of employees’ well-being. The indirect measure of attitude towards occupation turned out to be a significant moderator of the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction. The results raise interesting questions about the connection between indirect measures of attitudes towards occupation and employee well-being

A Comparative Investigation of Seven Implicit Measures of Social Cognition

The present research compared the psychometric qualities of seven indirect attitude measures across three attitude domains (race, politics and self-esteem) with a large sample (n = 23,413). We compared the measures on internal consistency, sensitivity to known effects, relationship with indirect and direct measures of the same topic, reliability and validity of single-category attitude measurement, ability to detect meaningful variance among people with non-extreme attitudes, and robustness to the exclusion of misbehaved or well-behaved participants. All seven indirect measures correlated with each of the other indirect measures, and with direct measures of the same topic. For all seven measures, these relations were weak for self-esteem, moderate for race and strong for politics. This suggests that some of the source of variation in reliability and predictive validity of indirect measures is a function of the concepts rather than the methods. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) and Brief IAT (BIAT) showed the best overall psychometric quality, followed by the Go-No go Association Task, Single-target IAT (ST-IAT), Affective Misattribution Procedure (AMP), Sorting Paired Features task, and Evaluative Priming. The AMP showed a steep decline in its psychometric qualities when people with extreme attitude scores were removed. Single-category attitude scores computed for the IAT and BIAT showed good relationship with other attitude measures, but no evidence of discriminant validity between paired categories. The other measures, especially the AMP and ST-IAT, showed better evidence for discriminant validity. In a follow-up study, we improved some of the AMP’s psychometric qualities by increasing the number of trials.

Discriminating between the Effects of Valence and Salience in the Implicit Association Test

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is the most widely used indirect measure of attitudes in social psychology. It has been suggested that artefacts such as salience asymmetries and familiarity can influence performance on the IAT. Chang and Mitchell (2009) proposed that the ease with which IAT stimuli are classified (classification fluency) is the common mechanism underlying both of these factors. In the current study, we investigated the effect of classification fluency on the IAT and trialled a measure-the split IAT-for dissociating between the effects of valence and salience in the IAT. Across six experiments, we examined the relationship between target classification fluency and salience asymmetries in the IAT. In the standard IAT, the more fluently classified target category was, all else being equal, compatible with pleasant attributes over unpleasant attributes. Furthermore, the more fluently classified target category was more easily classified with the more salient attribute category in the split IAT, independent of evaluative associations. This suggests that the more fluently classified category is also the more salient target category.