Perceiving stability as a means to attitude certainty: The role of implicit theories of attitudes

Petrocelli, John V.; Clarkson, Joshua J.; Tormala, Zakary L.; Hendrix, Kristin S.

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2010.07.012

Cited by 37 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Finally, it is worth noting that the certainty–advocacy relation could in some cases be obscured by the fact that high certainty can be accompanied by a perception that people's attitudes are immutable. In a recent series of studies, Akhtar and Wheeler () explored the effects of implicit theories of attitudes (Petrocelli, Clarkson, Tormala, & Hendrix, ) on advocacy. People with entity theories of attitudes (i.e., people who held the view that attitudes are inherently fixed) were both more certain of their attitudes (see also Petrocelli et al., ) and more convinced that others’ attitudes were fixed, which canceled each other out in affecting advocacy.…”

Section: Consequences Of Attitude Certaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent series of studies, Akhtar and Wheeler () explored the effects of implicit theories of attitudes (Petrocelli, Clarkson, Tormala, & Hendrix, ) on advocacy. People with entity theories of attitudes (i.e., people who held the view that attitudes are inherently fixed) were both more certain of their attitudes (see also Petrocelli et al., ) and more convinced that others’ attitudes were fixed, which canceled each other out in affecting advocacy. Thus, understanding why people feel certain, or how their certainty has been derived, can be critical to predicting the effect of certainty on advocacy.…”

Section: Consequences Of Attitude Certaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attitude certainty: Antecedents, consequences, and new directions

Tormala

Rucker

2017

Consumer Psychology Review

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Psychological certainty has been the subject of a great deal of research across a number of different literatures. This review focuses on prior and ongoing research on attitude certainty-the subjective sense of confidence of conviction a person has about an attitude-to provide a general overview of the role of certainty in attitudes and persuasion.First, we describe the antecedents, or origins, of attitude certainty, with particular attention to the metacognitive appraisals that drive people's feelings of certainty or uncertainty about their own attitudes. Second, we review the known consequences of attitude certainty, emphasizing the role of certainty in shaping information processing, attitude strength, and attitudinal advocacy. Third, we discuss recent developments that point to an upside for uncertainty in persuasion, whereby uncertainty experienced during message processing can increase message engagement and, thus, enhance message impact.Finally, we highlight several promising directions for future research. Our hope is that this review helps organize classic and contemporary research on attitude certainty and, in so doing, sparks new interest and continuing progress in the years to come. K E Y W O R D Sadvocacy, attitude strength, attitudes, confidence, conviction, information processing, persuasion | INTRODUCTIONSubjective feelings of certainty and uncertainty play a crucial role in human behavior. Indeed, across diverse literatures, an individual's level of certainty-about a judgment, decision, thought, attitude, or even selfconcept-has been shown to affect how that individual thinks, feels, evaluates, and acts (e.g., Abelson, 1988;Kruglanski, 1989;Petty, Briñol, Tormala, & Wegener, 2007;Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). Within social and consumer psychology, researchers have paid particular attention to the role of certainty in attitudes and persuasion. This interest can be traced back several decades, but in the last 15 years or so a marked growth in this area has occurred (for reviews, see Rucker, Tormala, Petty, & Briñol, 2014;Tormala, 2016). In particular, a wealth of recent research has sought to understand attitude certainty and its origins and consequences.An attitude refers to one's general evaluation of something; the extent to which one sees an object as good or bad, positive or negative.For example, an attitude could reflect the degree to which one likes a product or brand, supports a political candidate, or views a social policy as wise or foolish. Attitude certainty refers to the subjective sense of confidence or conviction one has about an attitude (Gross, Holtz, & Miller, 1995;Rucker et al., 2014;). An individual can be certain or uncertain, confident or doubtful, about the attitude she holds toward a product or brand, a political candidate, a social policy, and so on. In essence, attitude certainty is a metacognitive assessment of an attitude, or a tag on that attitude, that reflects a person's belief that the attitude is correct and/or clear in one's mind (Petrocelli, Tormala, & Rucke...

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Section: Consequences Of Attitude Certaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consequences Of Attitude Certaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitude certainty: Antecedents, consequences, and new directions

Tormala

Rucker

2017

Consumer Psychology Review

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“…As reviewed above, some work has suggested that entity theories of attitudes are associated with greater attitude certainty (Petrocelli et al, 2010). Other work has shown that attitude certainty increases the likelihood of advocacy (Akhtar, Paunesku, & Tormala, 2013;Barden & Petty, 2008;Visser, Krosnick, & Simmons, 2003).…”

Section: Implicit Theories Of Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For example, some prior research has shown that entity theories of attitudes are associated with greater attitude certainty (Petrocelli, Clarkson, Tormala, & Hendrix, 2010). Attitude certainty is important to marketers because certain attitudes are more likely to guide behavior (Fazio & Zanna, 1978;Tormala & Petty, 2002).…”

Section: Implicit Theories Of Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential growth areas for implicit theories research

Wheeler

Akhtar

2015

J Consum Psychol

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Implicit theories have great potential relevance to shape theory and research in consumer psychology. Beliefs about the stability or malleability of human characteristics can affect the behaviors of companies and customers alike, including the ways in which the two interact with one another. In this paper, we speculate about potential extensions and boundary conditions for the effects of implicit theories on consumer behavior. We also propose a number of new directions for future research, especially regarding the role that implicit theories can play in persuasion and social influence.

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“…One reason might be that the leap of inference required to make predictions about memory distortion based on persuasion research is at odds with the basic intuition that attitudes are inherently unlike memories. There is considerable variation in laypeople's and experts' understanding of the stability of individual attitudes and opinions (Fazio, 1995;Petrocelli, Clarkson, Tormala, & Hendrix, 2010;Schwarz & Bohner, 2001), yet most people agree that attitudes are constructs that a person might reasonably set out to 'change' in others. Indeed, entire industriespolitics, marketing, health promotion, and so forth-depend on the possibility of attitude change.…”

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confidence: 99%