Correlation between Attitude and Behavior
Does Behavior always follow from Attitudes?
We have maintained that attitude affects behavior. Early research on attitudes assumed that they were causally related to behavior; that is, the attitude that people hold determines what they do. Common sense, too, suggests a relationship. Isn’t it logical that people watch television programs that they say they like or that employees try to avoid assignments they find distasteful.
However, in the late 1960s, this assumed relationships between attitude and behavior was challenged by a review of the research. Based on an evaluation of a number of studies that investigated the attitudes-behavior relationship, the reviewer concluded that the attitudes were unrelated to behavior or at best, only slightly related. More recent research has demonstrated that attitudes significantly predict future behavior and confirmed original thinking that the relationships can be enhanced by taking moderating variables into account.
Moderating Variables:
The most powerful moderators of the attitudes behavior relationships have been found to be importance of the attitude,its specificity, its accessibility, whether there exist social pressures, and whether a person has direct experience with theattitude.Important attitudes are ones that reflect fundamental values, self-interest, or identification with individuals orgroups that a person values. Attitudes that individuals consider important tend to show a strong relationship to behavior.The more specific the attitude and the more specific the behavior, the stronger is the link between the two. For instanceasking someone specifically about his/her intention to stay with the organization for the next 6 months is likely to betterpredict turnover for that person than if you asked him/her how satisfied he/she was with his/her pay.
Attitudes that are easily remembered are more likely to predict behavior than attitudes that are not accessible in memory. Interestingly you are more likely to
We have maintained that attitude affects behavior. Early research on attitudes assumed that they were causally related to behavior; that is, the attitude that people hold determines what they do. Common sense, too, suggests a relationship. Isn’t it logical that people watch television programs that they say they like or that employees try to avoid assignments they find distasteful.
However, in the late 1960s, this assumed relationships between attitude and behavior was challenged by a review of the research. Based on an evaluation of a number of studies that investigated the attitudes-behavior relationship, the reviewer concluded that the attitudes were unrelated to behavior or at best, only slightly related. More recent research has demonstrated that attitudes significantly predict future behavior and confirmed original thinking that the relationships can be enhanced by taking moderating variables into account.
Moderating Variables:
The most powerful moderators of the attitudes behavior relationships have been found to be importance of the attitude,its specificity, its accessibility, whether there exist social pressures, and whether a person has direct experience with theattitude.Important attitudes are ones that reflect fundamental values, self-interest, or identification with individuals orgroups that a person values. Attitudes that individuals consider important tend to show a strong relationship to behavior.The more specific the attitude and the more specific the behavior, the stronger is the link between the two. For instanceasking someone specifically about his/her intention to stay with the organization for the next 6 months is likely to betterpredict turnover for that person than if you asked him/her how satisfied he/she was with his/her pay.
Attitudes that are easily remembered are more likely to predict behavior than attitudes that are not accessible in memory. Interestingly you are more likely to