An investigation of the role of affective and moral evaluations in the purposeful behaviour model of attitude

Two studies were conducted to investigate the antecedents of attitudes in the purposeful behaviour model. Study 1 demonstrated that distinct affective and moral evaluations exist towards at least some everyday behaviours. Giving blood, in particular, produced the most unambiguous evidence for distinct evaluations according to certain theoretical and empirical criteria. This behaviour was then chosen as the focal action for inquiry in study 2. A 2 (high vs. low affect) × 2 (high vs. low moral) × 2 (high vs. low involvement) experiment was conducted to examine the conditions under which affective and moral evaluations have linear additive or interaction effects on attitudes. The findings show that a person's resistance towards giving under high involvement conditions is overcome only when affective and moral pressures are both favourable. Under low involvement, avoidance is minimal no matter what the levels of affective and moral pressures. By examining the antecedents of attitude, this study complements an earlier study on attitude formation by Bagozzi (1986) and in so doing deepens the construct validity of the purposeful behaviour model of attitude.