Attitudes and the Attitude-Behavior Relation: Reasoned and Automatic Processes

The chapter re-examines, in light of recent developments, the reasoned action perspective inherent in the expectancy-value model of attitude and in the theory of planned behavior. According to this perspective, people's attitudes follow spontaneously and consistently from beliefs accessible in memory and then guide corresponding behavior. The number and types of beliefs that are accessible vary with motivation and ability to process attitude-relevant information and with the context. Based on these considerations, it is shown that the reasoned action perspective is compatible with evidence for automatic processes in the activation of attitudes and behavior, and with the finding that attitudes can vary with the context in which they are expressed. Implications for the attitude-behavior relation and for the role of habit in human behavior are discussed.