Moderator effects of attitudinal ambivalence on attitude-behaviour relationships

Attitudinal ambivalence is generally construed as existing when the same attitude object is evaluated simultaneously as both positive and negative. The present research examined the moderating role of attitudinal ambivalence (as assessed by split‐semantic differential measure) on the relationship be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of social psychology 2002-09, Vol.32 (5), p.705-718
Main Authors: Conner, Mark, Sparks, Paul, Povey, Rachel, James, Rhiannon, Shepherd, Richard, Armitage, Christopher J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambivalence
Attitude-behaviour relationships
Attitudes
Behavior. Attitude
Biological and medical sciences
Diet
Food
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human behaviour
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Semantics
Social psychology
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Summary:Attitudinal ambivalence is generally construed as existing when the same attitude object is evaluated simultaneously as both positive and negative. The present research examined the moderating role of attitudinal ambivalence (as assessed by split‐semantic differential measure) on the relationship between bipolar semantic differential measures of attitude and subsequent behaviour using moderated regression analysis. In Study 1, higher levels of attitudinal ambivalence were shown to result in weaker attitude–behaviour relationships for eating a low‐fat diet (N = 140) and eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day (N = 142). Study 2 (N = 361) replicated this effect when also including a measure of past behaviour for eating a low‐fat diet. Implications for understanding the relationship between attitudes and behaviour are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0046-2772
1099-0992
DOI:10.1002/ejsp.117