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Walking the Talk? What Employers Say Versus What They Do
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Attitudes and Behaviors Understandings of the Attitude-Behavior Relationship The term “attitude” encompasses a wide range of definitions. In its broadest and most common use, “attitude” refers to almost any perspective or orientation toward an attitude object, including the totality of beliefs, feelings, and judgments toward the object (Schuman, 1995).
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Notably, this definition of attitude includes the verbalizations called
“behavioral intentions,” which are statements about action a respondent intends to take, as a form of attitude. More specifically, attitudes are typically defined as consisting of an affective component, an evaluative component, and a behavioral component (Schuman, 1995).
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The expectation of A-B correspondence results naturally from the view that human action results from conscious mental states. Several psychologists, most notably Fishbeing and Ajzen (1975), have formally modeled the relationship between these components to describe the formation of attitudes and their subsequent influence on behavior. In their model, feelings or beliefs about an object give rise to positive or negative evaluations toward the object; these evaluations then influence behavioral intentions, which ultimately influence behavior (see Fishbein and Ajzen 1975; Ajzen 2001). If attitudes can be successfully measured by survey questions or interviews, then these should have at least some power to predict overall patterns of behavior toward the attitude object.
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Most survey research begins from the standpoint that expressed attitudes are related to behaviors. Attitude questions are frequently asked because they are believed to be illuminating about one or more behaviors of interest. Many studies about racial attitudes, for instance, are motivated by their presumed relationship to discriminatory behavior. Some studies take the correspondence between attitudes and behaviors a step further, treating attitudinal measures as near proxies for behavioral measurements—an especially common strategy when the behavior of interest is difficult or costly to directly measure. Although these studies do not require a perfect correspondence of attitudes and behavior, they make the strong assumption that an almost complete separation between attitudes and corresponding behaviors would undermine the rationale behind most attitudinal analyses.
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In a more narrow use frequently cited in the literature on social psychology, the term attitude refers to a
favorable or an unfavorable evaluation of an object (Thurstone, 1931). In our discussion in this article, we will use the broader meaning of the term attitude, which is consistent with LaPiere’s usage of the term.
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The affective component corresponds to feelings about an object; the evaluative component corresponds
to judgments about an object; and the behavioral component corresponds to behavioral intentions with respect to an object.
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While the self-reports obtained from social surveys are typically referred to as attitudes, the measurement
of attitudes is necessarily mediated by the survey instrument. It is impossible, of course, to be sure of the extent to which an “expressed attitude” measure by a forced-choice survey corresponds to the respondent’s “true” underlying attitude. The empirical discussion of attitudes cannot be separated from the influences of the method by which they are measured.
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| | Authors: Pager, Devah. and Quillian, Lincoln. |
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Attitudes and Behaviors
Understandings of the Attitude-Behavior Relationship
The term “attitude” encompasses a wide range of definitions. In its broadest and most
common use, “attitude” refers to almost any perspective or orientation toward an attitude
object, including the totality of beliefs, feelings, and judgments toward the object
(Schuman, 1995).
3
Notably, this definition of attitude includes the verbalizations called
“behavioral intentions,” which are statements about action a respondent intends to take,
as a form of attitude. More specifically, attitudes are typically defined as consisting of an
affective component, an evaluative component, and a behavioral component (Schuman,
1995).
4
The expectation of A-B correspondence results naturally from the view that human action
results from conscious mental states. Several psychologists, most notably Fishbeing and
Ajzen (1975), have formally modeled the relationship between these components to
describe the formation of attitudes and their subsequent influence on behavior. In their
model, feelings or beliefs about an object give rise to positive or negative evaluations
toward the object; these evaluations then influence behavioral intentions, which
ultimately influence behavior (see Fishbein and Ajzen 1975; Ajzen 2001). If attitudes
can be successfully measured by survey questions or interviews, then these should have
at least some power to predict overall patterns of behavior toward the attitude object.
5
Most survey research begins from the standpoint that expressed attitudes are related to
behaviors. Attitude questions are frequently asked because they are believed to be
illuminating about one or more behaviors of interest. Many studies about racial attitudes,
for instance, are motivated by their presumed relationship to discriminatory behavior.
Some studies take the correspondence between attitudes and behaviors a step further,
treating attitudinal measures as near proxies for behavioral measurements—an especially
common strategy when the behavior of interest is difficult or costly to directly measure.
Although these studies do not require a perfect correspondence of attitudes and behavior,
they make the strong assumption that an almost complete separation between attitudes
and corresponding behaviors would undermine the rationale behind most attitudinal
analyses.
3
In a more narrow use frequently cited in the literature on social psychology, the term attitude refers to a
favorable or an unfavorable evaluation of an object (Thurstone, 1931). In our discussion in this article, we
will use the broader meaning of the term attitude, which is consistent with LaPiere’s usage of the term.
4
The affective component corresponds to feelings about an object; the evaluative component corresponds
to judgments about an object; and the behavioral component corresponds to behavioral intentions with
respect to an object.
5
While the self-reports obtained from social surveys are typically referred to as attitudes, the measurement
of attitudes is necessarily mediated by the survey instrument. It is impossible, of course, to be sure of the
extent to which an “expressed attitude” measure by a forced-choice survey corresponds to the respondent’s
“true” underlying attitude. The empirical discussion of attitudes cannot be separated from the influences of
the method by which they are measured.
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