A model of dual attitudes.

TLDR

Current attitude theory assumes a new attitude replaces the old one, yet evidence shows that implicit and explicit attitudes can coexist, with the explicit attitude overriding the implicit one when cognitively accessible. The study proposes that a new attitude can override but not replace the old one, leading to dual attitudes. The authors review literature supporting the dual‑attitude hypothesis and discuss its implications for attitude theory and measurement. The authors find that relying solely on explicit measures can overstate how easily attitudes change.

Abstract

When an attitude changes from A1 to A2, what happens to A1? Most theories assume, at least implicitly, that the new attitude replaces the former one. The authors argue that a new attitude can override, but not replace, the old one, resulting in dual attitudes. Dual attitudes are defined as different evaluations of the same attitude object: an automatic, implicit attitude and an explicit attitude. The attitude that people endorse depends on whether they have the cognitive capacity to retrieve the explicit attitude and whether this overrides their implicit attitude. A number of literatures consistent with these hypotheses are reviewed, and the implications of the dual-attitude model for attitude theory and measurement are discussed. For example, by including only explicit measures, previous studies may have exaggerated the ease with which people change their attitudes. Even if an explicit attitude changes, an implicit attitude can remain the same.