Handbook of Social Psychology (eBook)

Contributors 6
Preface 9
Contents 14
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES 16
The Symbolic Interactionist Frame 17
Expectation States Theory 43
Social Exchange Theory 66
Social Structure and Personality 90
DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIALIZATION 136
Socialization in Adolescence 168
Development and Socialization through the Adult Life Course 194
INTRAPERSONAL PROCESSES 214
Self and Identity 215
Language and Social Interaction 243
Social Cognition 268
Ideologies, Values, Attitudes, and Behavior 291
Emotions and Sentiments 317
INTERPERSONAL PROCESSES 344
Attraction and Interpersonal Relationships 345
Interaction in Small Groups 369
Interaction in Social Networks 394
Social Structure and Psychological Functioning 415
THE INDIVIDUAL IN SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT 452
Social Psychological Perspectives on Deviance 453
Intergroup Relations 481
Social Psychological Perspectives on Crowds and Social Movements 504
Cross-Cultural Social Psychology 529
Index 554

CHAPTER 12
Ideologies, Values, Attitudes, and Behavior (p. 283-284)

GREGORY R. MAIO
JAMES M. OLSON
MARK M. BERNARD
MICHELLE A. LUKE

History is replete with cases wiiere people have worked hard as individuals and groups for causes they regarded as important, these efforts have ranged in intensity from simple letterwriting campaigns to extreme acts of violence. An example of the violent end of the spectrum occurred in the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. In the attacks, Muslim extremists killed thousands and sacrificed their own lives for a cause that the extremists regarded as important. Since then, public speculation about the reasons for the attacks has varied. Some explanations focus on psychological attributes of the extremists themselves. In particular, the extremists' actions have been regarded as an inevitable consequence of their peculiar mix of Islam and conservative ideology, their lack of respect for innocent human beings, and their hatred toward the United States. In other words, the extremists' behavior has been partly regarded as a product of their ideologies, values, and attitudes.

Such explanations do not apply only to acts of terror. These explanations can account for the behaviors of most people, in circumstances ranging from voting during elections to protesting at rally. This chapter describes abundant social psychological research supporting the speculation that such behaviors and behaviors in general are influenced by three psychological constructs: ideologies, values, and attitudes. By the term "attitudes," we mean tendencies to evaluate an object positively or negatively (Bern, 1972, Eagly &, Chaiken, 1998, Olson &, Zanna, 1993, Petty, Wegener, &, Fabrigar, 1997). Values are regarded as abstract ideals (e.g., freedom, helpfulness) that function as important guiding principles (Rokeach, 1973, Schwartz, 1992), and ideologies are systems of attitudes and values that are organized around an abstract theme (e.g., liberalism, Converse, 1964, McGuire, 1985). We will first discuss how these constructs are interrelated, followed by detailed descriptions of each construct and how they predict behavior. Finally, we will describe directions for future research.

CONCEPTUAL SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

Our definitions make evident that ideologies, values, and attitudes differ in levels of abstraction. People can possess attitudes toward any concrete object (e.g., milk, pizza) or abstract issue (e.g., abortion, censorship) in their environment. In contrast, values focus entirely on abstract ideals, such as freedom, helpfulness, and equality. Ideologies are even more abstract than single values, because ideologies subsume sets of values and attitudes. For example, a liberal ideology may encompass the values of freedom and helpfulness, together with unfavorable attitudes toward censorship and reduced social spending. In addition, values and ideologies are more prescriptive than attitudes. For instance, people may not feel that they have an obligation to buy a flavor of ice cream that they like. In contrast, if people value helpfulness, they should feel obliged to help an ailing person (Feather, 1995, Maio &, Olson, 1998). Sinnilarly, people may feel duty-bound to vote in a manner that is consistent with their political ideologies.

Despite the differences between ideologies, values, and attitudes, they share several conceptual features. First, all of these constructs are evaluative—they reflect positivity or negativity toward an entity. Second, all of these constructs are subjective. That is, they reflect how a person sees the world and not necessarily how the world actually exists. For example, a person who values equality may desire equal treatment of others, even if such treatment is rare in the real-world. Third, all of the constructs may exist at nonconscious and conscious levels—they can be the focus of our attention on some occasions, but not on other occasions (see below). Finally, none of the constructs exist in isolation from each other. For example, people's ideologies should affect their values, which should shape their attitudes. Similarly, people's attitudes may influence their values, which may influence their ideologies. Thus, there are bidirectional causal influences between these constructs.

Although a particular concrete attitude may elicit changes in higher order values and ideologies, researchers have focused on the influences from the highest level of abstraction (ideologies) to the lowest level of abstraction (attitudes). This direction of influence is particularly interesting because it would involve a mechanism wherein even small changes in the most abstract ideologies and values lead to numerous changes in related, lower level attitudes. This mechanism can be illustrated by considering the effects of changing the extent to which people value equality. If people begin to attach less importance to this value, they might change their attitudes toward a variety of issues, ranging from affirmative action to immigration quotas and attitudes toward equal rights organizations. This potential breadth of effects makes ideologies and values powerful constructs.