The central question addressed by the concept of attitude–behavior consistency is whether people act in accord with their attitudes. In other words, does knowing a person’s attitude allow one to predict that person’s behavior? Our naïve theories lead us to believe that this is true: we assume that attitudes guide behavior. Although it may initially
In social psychology, consistency theories constitute a body of four theories: Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory (1957), Fritz Heider’s balance theory (1946, 1958), Charles Osgood and Percy Tannenbaum’s consistency theory (1955), and Rosenberg’s model of affective–cognitive consistency (1956). Consistency theories are characterized by the assumption that humans strive for a balanced state of cognitions and
Attitude-Behavior Consistency Definition The study of attitude-behavior consistency concerns the degree to which people’s attitudes (opinions) predict their behavior (actions). Attitude-behavior consistency exists when there is a strong relation between opinions and actions. For example, a person with a positive attitude toward protecting the environment who recycles paper and bottles shows high attitude-behavior consistency. The
Cognitive Consistency Definition You have a friend named Jeff who likes to smoke cigarettes regularly. After attending a lecture on the grave cause-effect relationship between smoking and cancer, he quits. Why? This evening, you will be meeting with two people, Chris and Jean. You really like Chris, but you don’t like Jean. However, Chris really