Under What Conditions Do Opinions Predict Behavior

HIGH on the list of problems harassing opinion researchers is that of validity. When people tell an interviewer how they expect to act, will they really act that way when the time comes? This article discusses some of the social and cultural factors which tend to sustain the validity of surveys, and also various other factors which tend to make people's opinions unreliable indices for predicting their behavior. Seven conditions which, if kept in mind, may assist in understanding the relationship between opinion and action are presented. The author, well known for his writing on race relations, morale, and other subjects, is Research Associate in Psychology, and a member of the Institute of Human Relations, at Yale University.