Attitudinal Ambivalence: A Test of Three Key Hypotheses

Abstract

This article reports two studies designed to test the hypotheses that lower levels of attitudinal ambivalence are associated with attitudes that are more predictive of behavior, more stable over time, and less pliable. Study 1 (n = 346) employed a prospective design to test the effects of ambivalence on attitude-intention-behavior relationships. Findings indicated that less ambivalent attitudes were more predictive of subsequent behavioral intentions and behavior but were unrelated to attitude stability. Study 2 (n = 344) used a simple pre-post experimental design and showed that ambivalent attitudes were more pliable in the face of a persuasive communication. The findings are discussed in relation to future research into the bidimensional conceptualization of attitudes.