Developmental Sources of Implicit Attitudes

Explanations for implicit and explicit attitude dissociation have largely focused on causes of explicit attitudes. By contrast, this article examines developmental experiences as potential sources of implicit (more than explicit) attitudes, using attitudes toward smoking and body weight, which have...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality & social psychology bulletin 2007-12, Vol.33 (12), p.1700-1713
Main Authors: Rudman, Laurie A., Phelan, Julie E., Heppen, Jessica B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitude
Attitudes
Body image
Body Weight
Childhood experiences
Dissociation
Dreams
Female
Humans
Implicit beliefs
Male
Parent-Child Relations
Smoking
Social psychology
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Transference (Psychology)
United States
Weight
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Summary:Explanations for implicit and explicit attitude dissociation have largely focused on causes of explicit attitudes. By contrast, this article examines developmental experiences as potential sources of implicit (more than explicit) attitudes, using attitudes toward smoking and body weight, which have shown dissociation with self-reports. In Study 1, smokers' implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking were uniquely predicted by their early and recent experiences with smoking, respectively. In Study 2, participants' childhood and current weight uniquely predicted implicit and explicit body weight attitudes, respectively. Furthermore, being raised primarily by a beloved, heavyweight mother predicted proheavy implicit (but not explicit) attitudes. In Study 3, people's reports of pleasant dreams in childhood (but not currently) predicted their implicit attitudes toward dreams. In concert, results provide support for theorizing that implicit and explicit attitudes may stem from different sources of information and are, therefore, conceptually distinct.
ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167207307487