Values as mediators in attitude perception

Zorzi, Rochelle A. (2000) Values as mediators in attitude perception. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The Value-Referent Model of attitude inference proposes that people refer to values when inferring one attitude from another. This paper presents two studies designed to test the model. Study One used a non-experimental design to explore the assumption that people perceive links between values and attitudes. Participants were required to infer values on the basis of attitudes, or attitudes on the basis of values. It was found that the participants perceived consistent and meaningful relationships between the values and the attitudes, but inferring attitudes from values was easier than inferring values from attitudes. -- Study Two used an experimental design to test the model more directly. Participants were asked to make attitude-to-attitude inferences. The attitude statement that was attributed to the target person was relevant to two values, each of which was made salient for some of the participants prior to the attitude inference task. Each of these values was relevant to some of the attitudes that were to be inferred. If the model is correct, value salience should have increased response speed for those items related to the value. A General Linear Model analysis found no significant effects. A manipulation check revealed problems with the response speed measurement, so the results of the experiment are inconclusive. Qualitative data collected from participants at the end of the study suggested that many of them did refer to values when making the attitude inference, although not to the values that were made salient in the experiment- Further research is necessary to confirm or disconfirm the model.

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