The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change

People spontaneously evaluate things. Opinions are constantly being formed as to the legitimacy of war or climate change, on other people such as our work colleagues and celebrities, and on behaviors such as sexual activity. At times, these attitudes can be the focus of bitter debate, and as humans we naturally crave to understand attitudes and how to change them. The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change, written by two world-leading academics in the field of attitudes research, is a brand new textbook that gets to the very heart of this fascinating and far-reaching field and will be perfect for all students studying the subject.

In four sections and 11 chapters, Greg Maio and Geoffrey Haddock describe how scientific methods have been used to better understand attitudes and how they change. The first section looks at what attitudes are and why they are important. The second section examines the ability of attitudes to predict behavior. From there, the authors consider how attitudes are formed and changed. Finally, they present a variety of major issues for understanding internal (e.g., neurological) and external influences on attitude (e.g., culture), along with unresolved questions. With the aid of a few helpful metaphors, the text provides readers with a grasp of the fundamental concepts for understanding attitudes and an appreciation of the scientific challenges that lay ahead.

The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change is useful for students in psychology, health psychology, communication, business and political science. It is intended as a core text for courses in the psychology of attitudes, persuasion, and social influence and a key resource for modules in social cognition and introductory social psychology.