Affect versus evaluation in the structure of attitudes

Abstract A distinction is made between affect and evaluation in the structure of attitudes. Affect refers to emotional responses and feelings engendered by an attitude object. Evaluation refers to thoughts, beliefs, and judgments about an attitude object. In Study 1, multiple measures of affect and evaluation were collected in six attitude domains. Estimates of the disattenuated correlation between affect and evaluation varied from .25 to .89, supporting discriminant validity of the distinction. Affect and evaluation were both correlated with a global measure of attitude, even when the effects of one were partialled from the other. Study 2 focused on the attitude domain of blood donation. The disattenuated correlation between affect and evaluation was .52. Affect, but not evaluation, was correlated with independent measures of mood. Self-reported behaviors relating to blood donation were more strongly related to affect than to evaluation. However, the relationship between affect and behavior diminished with increasing experience in donating blood. These results have important implications for theories of attitude structure, techniques of attitude measurement, and studies of attitude change and the attitude-behavior relationship.

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